Rob

Hi,

I hold an employment authorisation which was granted under the software pilot project
(I'm a programmer). I was recently laid off, due to restructuring of the company I
worked for. I rang the CIC to try and get some details about what my options are at
this point, but I didn't really get a clear answer, so I would appreciate input from
others on this.

I was wondering, what are my options to stay in Canada? I would really like to find a
way I can legally stay here since I have made many good friends and really enjoy
living here. I applied for PR status a few months ago and I expect this to be granted
(I easily meet all the criteria for the independent category), but obviously that
will take some time before my application is processesed.

I have heard that I can transfer my visa to another employer, although I
understand that involves them granting me another employment authorisation. I have
been told that it can be quite difficult to be granted an employment authorisation
while a PR application is in progress. Is this true? What difficulties do I face
in doing this (apart from the initial difficulty of simply trying to find a job in
the current economic climate!)? What, if anything, can I do to make this process
go more smoothly?

Does being terminated affect how long I can stay in Canada? I got the impression that
I can legally stay as a visitor for as long as the EA is valid.

I considered doing freelance contract work at home, but as I understand it, this is
still considered working in Canada, even if the income is paid in foreign funds, and
so is still subject to the requirment to have an employment authorisation
specifically authorising that. Am I correct in this assessment?

Cheers,

Rob

Jim Humphries

If you can arrange another job in the same specialyt you would do so and ask the
employer to apply for approval of an employment authorization under the same
program. A new EA would then be issued and you could remain until your PR was
finalized. Jim Humphries

Rob wrote:
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