Ok, i'm confused...

I've always been led to believe that my BUNAC work permit cannot be extended. It even says as much on the permit itself.
Everytime I call the CIC helpline they don't even know what it is, until I explain what it is and how it says it cannot be extended, and they say that it can't.

So, i've applied to stay in Canada as a visitor at the end of my BUNAC permit until my perm res application goes through.

As Sod's Law would have it, no sooner do I pop the visitor application in the mail to Vegreville - my co-worker comes back from vacation. Her husband is Australian, and he was in the same boat, but apparently, he got his non-extendible permit extended.

I have a float around on here, and some people are claiming that they'll be able to get their BUNAC permits extended.

So...

Can it be extended or not? My employer wants me to stay employed here (i'm the best at the job I do), and I would much rather be working than visiting and blowing my savings.

If it can, I need to act fast, because Vegreville have my visitor application now (hope I didn't ruin anything by doing this). My work permit expires in 5 weeks...

If anyone can answer this for me, then I would be very happy indeed. This, combined with various perm res headaches, is sending me to an early grave, I swear it.

Cheers!

As far as I know you need HRSDC approval to get your visa extended (or a new work visa issued), not sure how it works if you are in a job that doesn't need HRSDC Approval..

I don't think you would have time for your employer to get this, so I'd get legal visitors status and get you employer to look into this for you in the mean time.

I'm not an expert, but we have been through all these options ourselves, in the end HRSDC approval came through just in time for us to apply for new work visas.

Hope this helps,

Mike

Hi

Your employer would have to get a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) see: http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/epb/lmd/fw/tohrdcassess.shtml and have to demonstrate that they were unable to find Canadians/PRs for the position. If they receive that then they could offer the postion to you and you could apply for a new work permit.

PMM

This is by no means professional advice, nor is it even advice from any professional source...I went through the exact same dilemna as you and this is all I figured out from talking to an immigration lawyer briefly, talking to the cic call centre and this forum:

Immigration lawyer: You cannot extend your non extendable bunac working holiday maker visa nor continue to work under this visa. To stay in current job you must get your employer to seek HRSDC approval. The employer must be willing to do this and everything PMM wrote.

CIC call centre: You cannot extend BUNAC visa. Send in work permit with PR application and it will be considered when AIP is decided. If you were on some other type of work visa you can probably extend it depending on the type of visa (I have absolutely no examples of what visa they would be but that's my ignorance)

From the forum: two sides...there are some who changed their status when BUNAC visa ended to visitors visa (myself included), used all our savings (to be expected) and volunteered to pass the time (definitely worthwhile if you go this route) and when AIP is granted get their work permit.
The other side is something which confused me for a long time but another forum member helped me clarify it a bit. It appears that there is something called "implied status". From what I can gather (and again I warn this is just stuff I have gathered and is by no means actually proper advice) this implied status is that if you have a PR application in process then you can continue on your current status (working if you came on a BUNAC visa) until AIP. However, if AIP is rejected then you will be deported (obviously not good news if you like travelling and have to fill out those little cards at the airport or if you wanted to come back to canada). If it's approved...well this forum hasn't documented anyone getting in trouble for this. If you're not married, obviously applying as common law has its risks. I have asked the call centre about this and they don't seem to be able to help on this implied status...perhaps you'll have better luck.

So from personal, I couldn't get HRSDC (even though my company was really up for it), changed my status to visitors and have been volunteering and using my savings. It sucks to be using up your savings but it's been worth it to stay with my partner during this time and I'm hoping AIP will arrive in my hand soon along with that WP.

So, as I say, this is just what I have gathered from trying all avenues to keep working during the PR application and again, this is by no means professional, just my thoughts.

Good luck.

Well, many many thanks to all who replied - those replies were exactly what I needed.

So in summary, yes it cannot be extended - however you can apply for another permit to run concurrently. Guess that solves that one!

Ok, so my next step is to try and convince my employer to go through all the HRSDC ballache. I honestly don't know if they will or not, nor am I sure we would get vaildation.

On the face of it, my job seems pretty menial. I work for a large Canadian telecom company in one of their retail outlets as a Sales Consultant. However, my sales for the last three months have been the best in the store (it must be the accent!), and therefore my manager is very eager to keep me, and says she will try and keep the job open for me for when I do get my PR. She also said that she would be willing to try and get me to keep hold of the job now.
What works in my favour is that the company have been permanently advertising my job in the window of the store, and on-line, since i've been working there (9 months), and we haven't been able to hire anyone else suitable. Also, even though i'm a mere salesperson, the job does involve some technical awareness (cell phones), and I have lots of this.
But against me we have the fact that this is probably one of the biggest companies in Canada, and i'm not sure if they would want to get involved...

As for the "implied status" thing - looking into that would probably make my head explode! This whole immigration episode has drained me (we started off with a failed Conjugal Partner application 2 years ago), and I don't want to go there!

I sent my Common-Law PR application to Mississauga 2 weeks ago. We're applying as outland because of my previous history with the Conjugal app through CHC London: the officer there who interviewed me gave me specific instructions as what to do with this application, so i've sent it there.
It shouldn't take as long as an inland sponsorship, as the processing times are generally <1yr anyway, plus I sent in the app after 10 months of Common-Law living (as per the advice of the officer at CHC London - when it comes to getting processed, we will have been living together for over a year).

I have some pretty decent savings, and volunteer work is a great idea, will be a nice summer, will pass the time, help others and look good on the resume!

So, if my company is not interested in jumping through the HRSDC hoops, it's not the end of the world. Sure it would be nice, but I planned all along for this "work break".

Thanks again, and good luck to you all!

If your job has been advertised of 9 months with no resposnce, HRSDC has to be worth a go!!!

I think the 'implied status' thing only applies if you have applied for an extension or change of circumstances for your current work visa, whilst it is being decided. Not sure if that is the same for spouse PR app.

I'm sure one of the experts will give you a clear answer to this one....

Cheers

Mike