act1980

My Fiancee & I applied for PR in October last year and got our AOR 4 weeks later.

I just wondered if this means we will be the ones also having to wait 5 - 8 years as on our AOR is states processing time of 42 months.

Thanks!

Andrew Miller

If you have qualifications and experience in occupation that is in very high demand in Canada your case may be bumped up and processed much faster than stated 42 months. BTW - stated 42 months is to the stage when you may be asked for full application package with all supporting documents, it is not a total processing time. And it was based on the current at the time of designing the letter annual quotas of visas versus number of applications already in queue. As of 2008 number of annual visa quotas for Skilled Workers has been reduced (by shifting more than 30,000 to PNP and CEC classes) by 30% - this fact alone makes stated in your AOR 42 months at least 60+ months long.

If your occupation is not in high demand then you may wait forever, until you either find arranged employment in Canada or give up.

Both scenarios are likely, providing that tabled changes to the law pass.

Without changes to the law you are for at least 6 years wait. Or even 10 years or more if current trend of more and more applications with arranged employment being submitted continues and takes most (if not all) of available annual visa quotas.

act1980

Hi Andrew, thanks for your response.

I guess there is no hope for us!! My Fiancee is an accountant and that is not a job that is in demand in Ontario! What I don't understand though, is how they can quote a time frame if his occupation is not in demand? If the wait could be forever then why don't they just say they will contact you if and when the occupation comes in demand?

Andrew Miller

When your generic AOR letter was designed (look at the bottom for possible creation date) nobody knew nor imagined changes to the law that government tabled in Parliament just couple weeks ago.

You want to move to Canada? Then stop whining please and F I N D _ J O B _ O F F E R, move here on work permits and few payslips later upgrade your simplified "non-application" to a real, standard, full application package with arranged employment and get PR visas few months later.

act1980

Andrew, there is no need to be rude! I wish you would stop making it sound so easy to find a job offer. In your position you should know what the catch 22 is. I.E. No empolyment without WP and no WP without job offer!! If it was that easy do you not think we would already be over there!

R I C H

And yet 1000's of people manage to find a job and move over here every year with a WP. It's not impossible.

If you really want to move here perhaps look at different provinces where your OH's occupation is in demand - you might have to compromise for a few years in terms of location, but it moves you a step closer towards your goals.

Andrew Miller

Yes, over 130,000 new work permit holders were admitted to Canada last year. Majority of them found jobs remotely, without even visiting Canada.

And I wasn't trying to be rude - I was just trying to get point across as you are one of many who don't get it and complain here every day.

Canadian immigration in economic classes, especially in SW class has became the survival of the fittest - if you can't do what others can (getting job) and won't do it faster than others then I'm sorry, you'll have no chance.

act1980

Hi RICH, yes we have considered this. The reason we want Ontario is because we both have family there and it would make things easier for us e.g settling in. I guess if needs must though we will have to consider another location.

act1980

Andrew, I was not complaining nor have I ever complained on this forum. I was just being realistic. I do not have my head in the clouds and would rather just accept that we are not going to get in to Canada rather than just waste years and years keeping my fingers crossed and hoping. I fully understand the point you are making, however it does come back to the catch 22.

R I C H

I'm a believer that you'll integrate into Canadian society more quickly if you don't have close family or other ex-pats to rely on initially. Making Canadian friends and standing on your own feet might seem a bit daunting, but I think it's a healthier way to immerse yourself into your new life. Family are always on the end of the phone if you need some support.

With regard to the catch-22 comment, if that's your frame of mind, then you'll never be successful finding employment. Well qualified, experienced people can and do find employers here that are willing to go through the WP sponsorship rigmarole. You need to create a strategy that'll enable potential employers to know you/your OH is available, and in reality that probably means a trip over here to show your face around, network, and create some awareness.

act1980

Hi again Rich, thanks for the tips!

I have been told that some empoyers will not employ foriegn workers. Is this true? If so, do you know of any companies that are willing too? So you are basically saying to go round companies with our CV's? Have spoken to some employment agencies but they don't deal with that side of things.

Thanks.

R I C H

You're welcome.

I guess that some employers might not be inclined to employ foreigners - it's not necessarily a prejudice, I think that many SME's with skills shortages don't understand or even know that WP sponsorship is an option available to them. You need to be aware of this and be prepared to help educate them.

There are plenty of companies across many different markets that do employ /sponsor immigrants. You need to target those that your OH thinks would be best suited to provide work in his skill set.

A few examples I know of - a carpenter friend and his wife visited us from the UK on holiday. They loved BC and while here made a dozen inquiries with construction companies about potential work. Mark had 2 meetings while here and a job offer before leaving for home. They moved out here within 4mths.

Marks BIL (he's an electrician) visited on holiday. He went through the same process, found a job and also emigrated within 4mths.

A friend of a friend was interested in IT work - my friend suggested he apply for a vacancy that was available where he worked (the job had been advertised for a while). The company didn't know how the provincial nomination scheme worked, so he talked them through it and gave them all the information/links to how the process needed to be tackled. They are currently in the final stages of moving the guy out here from the UK.

The reality is that few companies are likely to jump on an unsolicited CV that's arrived from the UK from an individual with no immigration status asking for work. You stand a far better chance by showing your face, meeting people and discussing/creating opportunities.

Judy in Calgary

No company will hire a foreign worker if it has the option of hiring someone who already has authorization to work in Canada (that is, a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident). Look at it from the employer's point of view. If he wants to hire a foreign worker, he has to apply for a Labour Market Opinion. That's a hassle. Why would anyone do it if he didn't have to?

Companies hire foreign workers when they are unable to attract qualified Canadian residents. If they get desperate enough, they'll go to the trouble of applying for an LMO.

What kind of company is most likely to cave in and hire a foreign worker? I'm not sure. I think a tiny, tiny company (a one-man or one-woman show) is unlikely to do it.

Perhaps really large companies would be less inclined to do it too (I'm thinking of the multi-nationals here). Either they can attract enough local workers or, if they really need to import people, there's a reasonable chance they can do it by way of intra-company transfers from their overseas branches. (Intra-company transfers don't need LMOs.)

So I think medium companies would be the ones that would be most likely to hire foreign workers. (But I admit that the term "medium" covers a large range.)

Another thing I would do is broaden the scope of my search beyond Vancouver (assuming you've come to grips with the idea of going to BC). You may be able to get a TWP on the basis of a job offer in Vancouver, but I think you'll increase your chances if you think in terms of the Okanagan Valley (Kelowna et al), Kamloops ....... even Prince George and places like that.

I don't know what R I C H meant, but that is not what I would do, at least not as my starting point.

I would phone first. I would send my resume to the prospective employers with whom I had spoken on the phone. I would ask them for the names of other employers. I would phone those employers, send my resume to them, and ask them for the names of other employers.

After you've done this for a while, a picture is going to start emerging of who the likely employers are and where they're located.

Then I recommend that you go on a recce trip and meet the people who have been receptive on the phone. In some cases you might have formal interviews. In other cases you might have informal chats over a cup of coffee, a brain picking session, otherwise known as an informational interview.

If you have free time while you're on your recce, by all means visit companies with which you have not been in touch before. Alternatively, while you're on your recce, you might have a cup of coffee with someone, and that person might say, "While you're here, you should talk to So And So." For this reason, you should have spare copies of your resume with you. It also would be ideal to bring a memory stick so that you can print extra copies if need be.

But you need to make good use of your time while you're on a recce trip. That is not the time to start deciding the companies to which you will give your resume.

You need to line up as many meetings as possible before your Wiki. Consider also that you'll be doing other types of research during your Wiki -- exploring residential areas and looking at houses, getting an idea of supermarket prices and stuff like that. I think you'll find that the time just flies while you're on a recce.

In another thread I recommended that you read the Wiki called Quick Job Hunting Instructions. In my opinion, that is the most effective template to follow.

Oh yes, the one other recommendation that I would add, which I believe someone else has suggested to you already, is to check out how readily your fiance's qualifications would be accepted in Canada and what (if anything) he would need to do to get accreditation in the relevant Canadian province.

Postscript. Just before submitting my reply, I previewed my post, and saw that R I C H had responded to you in the meantime.

I don't feel that the example of the carpenter and electrician that R I C H mentioned are entirely helpful to you. Tradespeople are in big demand in BC and Alberta. I'm sorry, but I think an accountant is going to have to put more advanced preparation into it. As I said earlier, I don't think it's good enough to just show up in BC and start chatting to people. I think you should start phoning before you do a recce. The results of those phone calls will give you an idea of where it would be worthwhile to focus your efforts during a recce.

An observation that R I C H made and that I missed is the one about being ready to educate a potential employer about the immigration process. I think that is an EXCELLENT point. In your case, that means becoming familiar with the Labour Market Opinion / Temporary Work Permit application process and also BC's Provincial Nominee Program. (PNP culminates in permanent residence. Andrew Miller has stated that CHC London is tolerant towards applicants who already have lodged PR applications via the skilled worker route, which I gather is what you've done, and who want to switch to PNP midstream.)
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xxKellyxx

Hi act1980

I'm just going by your username '1980', but BUNAC might be an option?

http://www.bunac.org/uk/workcanada/

I landed my work permit on a BUNAC visa.

act1980

Hi Kelly thanks for the link. What sort of wages do you get with BUNAC? Does it cover all kinds of work?

Also can you apply for PR while working?

Thanks!