SarahMar

Thanks everyone for the responses, not what I want to hear, but probably what I need to. You're all expressing what I thought but the agent assured me it was possible, and hey, they're supposed to be the experts, right? They do begin with a B! Have I been scammed?
Do you feel that studying is an option then? There is a course at the Montreal College of IT that I am interested in to become a full stack web developer (have been a web designer in a previous life but skills really out of date!). It lasts a year and says that it qualifies for a Post graduate work permit. Another option, which I have been considering for a while is a PhD but the funding for that is the issue. Or just win the lottery. As long as you've got a plan, eh?
How about the AIPP? Do I have any more chance with that?
On the French, I am CLB7 for listening, CLB6 for reading and CLB4 for speaking and writing. If I were to study in Montreal for a year, I am sure that I would get the speaking and writing up.
I have run my own business before, web design and IT consulting but that was back in the 90's.

DigitalGhost

Whether or not you have been scammed by the consultation form that begins with a B will depend on whether or not you've paid them anything yet. They're kind of infamous and if you search their name in Google and on this forum then you'll see a lot of results and very few of them positive.

I know they often offer their initial reviews free of charge but then quickly start racking up charges for one on one meetings. What really annoys me about them and their ilk is they sell people a dream and raise hopes and expectations unrealistically and it's extremely cruel IMHO.

If you're sure you want to pursue something like a study permit rather than a spousal one then people on here can advise you on that. The course would need to meet these requirements to be PGWP but the good news is that Canada accepts the PGWP as a route to PR.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration...st/quebec.html

Becoming a full stack web dev, assuming you can make it through the course and secure employment, definitely sounds like a more realistic proposition than securing Express Entry on the back of an admin job offer though. The tech sector in Montreal is huge and is growing pretty rapidly in Ottawa as well and having French ability will only increase your prospects.

I really doubt you'd secure AIPP from outside the country of you're applying for jobs in admin and marketing really.

christmasoompa

Aha. This seems like the solution to me. Go over on a study permit, start living with your partner straight away and making sure that you gather proof of that (put your name on the bills, joint bank account, keep post addressed to both of you, etc). Once you've lived together for a year or more he can sponsor you for PR as his common-law spouse.

If it's who I'm thinking of, they don't even do that. They charge for visa assessments - something every other consultant does for free!

DigitalGhost

It is who you think it is and they often don't charge for visa assessments atm. They've been offering them free during Covid because they've been unable to do their normal thing of showing up in the UK and elsewhere, dressed in uniforms and Toronto Maple Leaf shirts and flogging the Canadian dream. They've been relying on weekend-long Zoom sessions instead.