SLC

Hi everyone,

I was wondering whether anyone here went to Canada with a BUNAC visa, then was able to turn this into a TWP?

Did you have to return to the UK for a period between visas?

I'm planning on getting a career related job with the BUNAC visa, and would eventually like to settle there.

I'm wondering what the pitfalls would be.
- Would I have to return to the UK whilst waiting for the TWP?
- Or Can I apply for the TWP before the bunac visa runs out?
- Also, as TWP's are temporary, can these be extended/renewed?
- Could I apply for PR straight away whilst there with Bunac? Or is the PR via TWP the recommended route?

Lots of questions, I'd be grateful for your help!

Rasputin

Hey there.
This is just how I understand it, but be warned, I could be compleatly wrong, this is just the understanding I have come to.
It's easier to think of the BUNAC visa as a TWP, but it only lasts for a year and is non extendable or renuwable. However, once you are in Canada on the BUNAC TWP you could apply for a regular TWP, wich would give you up to three years. Once you have that you could apply for PR through PNP/SW/FSW or however would best suit your circumstances. Hope that makes sense.

iaink

People have done it for sure in the past, the hard bit is leveraging a (non renewable, one year only) BUNAC visa into a job offer, LMO etc for the TWP.


You either have to impress your new employer in an eligable field of work, or else look at it as a chance to shop around and generate interviews for a year while being able to make a bit of money here to support yourself, and hope you can land an employer willing to do the paperwork to get you here as a temporary resident.

The system changed recently where skilled worker application have to be within the "list" or desired occupations, so it now perhaps depends what your occupation is too.

Once you have the TWP, leveraging it into permanent residency is not all that hard. Getting the TWP is the hard part.

Good Luck

christmasoompa

But don't forget Iain that it's experince in one of the 38 occupations OR a job offer (in any occupation that is Skill Level A, O or B on NOC Matrix) to be eligible as a SW. So the occupation shouldn't matter if the OP is aiming to get a permanent job offer as they'd be eligible that way instead.

iaink

Thanks Oompa,,,I figured it was something like that.

Occupation could be critical in practical terms because the fact you work for someone on a BUNAC visa carries no weight as far as a LMO is concerned. With an economic slowdown coming LMOs will be harder to find as there will be more domestic candidates willing to take those jobs, unless you have niche skills that cant be found among the canadian skills base.


The stumbling block as ever is leveraging BUNAC into TWP, especially in a shrinking economy. My impression is that most BUNAC holders are doing relatively low grade work, rather than stuff that would qualify for a LMO/ Work permit. On an open permit like BUNAC an employer can effectively pay you peanuts, but for an LMO they have to pay the going rate, so unless you are exceptional, there is the temptation for them to ditch you and get a new BUNAC body to replace you.

The better strategy is to spend the year earning a bit and travelling the country to check it out, while working your socks off to find an employer to take you on for the next year, but then you run into the usual headaches of the LMO, regarding appropriate wages and no Canadian residents to do the job.

iaink

Never did answer these..

No, not necessarily.
Yes, in fact its your best plan
Yes, just apply a month or two before the expiration date, its not usualy an issue, but occasionally they are refused, so get PR wheels in motion as soon as possible.
If you meet a nice canadian and get married, or find a job eligiable for a provincial nomination program, which is basically a work permit with knobs on. I dont know that there is a "recomended route" there are just routes that work and routes that dont. Both would work, but both are dependent on getting a suitable job offer and LMO anyway.

Hobbess

This is exactly what we did/ are trying to do. Currently waiting for our PR to come through after getting through the first part of the PNP application.

Not much I can add to IainK's advice, finding the right company early enough in your BUNAC visa to allow for you to get your TWP application done in time is probably the most important part. Hopefully if a company is happy to take you through the TWP, they'll also help with the PNP.

christmasoompa

Totally agree, and it's not a great time to be job hunting either. But I guess all it takes is being in the right place and at the right time, so fingers crossed for the OP.