Choosing the right path to residency in BC
 

Hi all. My wife and I are really struggling to understand what would be the best path to getting permanent residency in BC.

My wife is a registered nurse and is currently getting her qualifications verified. I am self-employed (landlord) managing a number of letting properties which I have done (with my wife) for 3 years.

We currently live on a small holding which is mortgage free so when we sell it we will have a decent level of capital. We have looked at the skilled worker program and also at the self-employed/business option but what would be the best option for us regarding getting PR. I assume we'll both need work permits initially, and apply for residency at a later date. We met the criteria but don't quite have enough points for express entry.

We intend to buy acreage/farm in BC and start a business in agriculture. My wife intends to continue her nursing though. It seems the more we read the more confusing it gets...

So what is the best/quickest path to PR? So hoping someone can shed some light on this for us.... thanks is advance.

Re: Choosing the right path to residency in BC
 

If you do apply for PR, then that would get you (as the name implies) Permanent Residency, so no need for work permits first. But that of course is only if you are eligible! It doesn't sound as though you'd meet the criteria for a Self Employed visa (only a few occupations are eligible - landlord isn't one of them unfortunately), and that visa has a processing time of several years anyway, so isn't an option if you want to be there sooner than that.

FSW is great if eligible, when you say you don't score enough, do you mean not enough as a FSW, or not enough on the CRS? What are you scoring for both?

Does it absolutely have to be BC or would you consider other provinces?

The quickest is either Express Entry, or spousal sponsorship, but the latter isn't an option!

If you can give us some more info on your points etc, we can try and help you figure it out.

Re: Choosing the right path to residency in BC
 

Thanks for the quick reply.

How do we work out our scores for CRS? We have tried the FSW tool and it simply says we don't have sufficient points, however it doesn't show what our score is and it also suggest my wife would need a valid job offer.

Does province make a big difference? I guess we'd consider Saskatchewan.

I was surprised to see that nurses was not on the priority list for BC on the FSW entry....

Re: Choosing the right path to residency in BC
 

Ive just found the CRS tool and our score was a grand total of 341. A long way off, I guess the work experience and a job offer would help...

Re: Choosing the right path to residency in BC
 

The reality is immigration these days is tough. I know if we applied as FSW's now, being that much older and the criteria having changed, it's highly unlikely we would get into Canada via the same route. It would appear, that for most people, a valid job offer backed up by a LMIA is necessary to meet the CRA points requirement.