djaybi

Hi everyone

I'm John, recently moved to Canada. I am currently on a tourist visa, and in the process of applying for permanent residency, under the Express Entry system, Federal Skilled Worker category.
I have received an Invitation To apply (ITA) a few days ago. I have found lots of useful information of this forum already, I thank everyone who contributed. I still have a few questions though, and hope you could help me out :

1/ Contact detail - Adress history
Which is my country of residence ? I made a move to live here, I have an adress and everything, but I am on a tourist visa for now.

2/ Study and languages - Educational history
Do I have to include all the studies made ? For instance I didn't go through my first year of studies, i didn't have it assessed by an ECA, and it's not relevant to my main diploma (which is assessed by an ECA) ?

3/ Personal history - Personal activities
I've had unemployment and sabbatical periods, but there is no category that refers to these (only work, study...). How do I do, since no gap in time is allowed ?

4/ Work history
My last semester of study was actually an internship in a private company, where I've worked 6 months. Do I need a letter of reference from them ? I don't need to take into account this 6-month period to qualify for the Skilled Worker Program, as I've worked 7 years after that.

I know it's a lot, but I would really appreciate some help !
Thank you,

John

christmasoompa

Hi, and welcome to BE. You haven't 'moved' to Canada though, you're just visiting until you get a longer term visitor - be very careful with your terminology, particularly if dealing with CIC!

You're not resident in Canada - you don't pay taxes there, you're not eligible for healthcare etc. So you'd put your home country where you do have those ties.

You still need to put it all down, even if you didn't complete the course - it's for background checks.

Is there no category for it? You definitely need to include them (again, for background checks), but I've not seen an electronic form so don't know how you'd do that. With the paper forms you just wrote it in.

Yes, you need reference letters for every job you've done in the past 10 years.

HTH, good luck.

djaybi

Hi Christmasoompa,
Thanks a lot for your help. I'll modify my statements accordingly.

If anyone has the answer on how to fill in sbbatical periods on the online form, that'd be great !

djaybi

So I changed the country of residence on my application, however I'm unable to change it on the initial Express Entry forms, which became blocked once I received an ITA. Will that be a problem ?
I guess only the actual application matters, but they will notice the "change" of Country of Residence, can it be an issue ?

djaybi

Hi everyone,

I have a question, regarding the "Work History" page. I am applying under the Skilled Worker Program.
My most important work experience, lasted form November 2007 to July 2014. But from January 2014 to July 2014, I was on a sabbatical leave. That means I still had a contract with my employer, but no work and no salary. The reference letter fromm my company states so, so it is clear. After that, in July, I quit the company, end of contract.

The quesiton is : In Work History, should the corresponding work history end in January or in July ?
- January : because after that, no work, meaning no "real" experience ;
- July : The contract ended in July, so if I don't put the same date here the CIC officer might see a mismatch.
Which one's right ?

Thanks for your insights.

JB

Tirytory

In my opinion you should separate them into paid work and sabbatical. Was the sabbatical anything you can purposefully explain?

scilly

"sabbatical" means an extended leave from work for study or training

could you explain it that way, even though you were not paid?

djaybi

I explain it further in the explanation letter, to make sure they understand it. What I am concerned with here is filling up the charts and ticking the right boxes so I don't get a red flag, such as "duration of contract different from duration of work experience --> not possible --> misrep --> application rejected". As I've seen on this forum that they can be pretty quick to reject some application without looking any further.

Thank you for your answers

djaybi

Hi everyone,

Reviewing my application another question came up, regarding the ECA. I have attented an Engineering School in France. This is a 5-year program, which awarded me in the end a "Diplome d'Ingénieurs" (it is written on the diploma that it is equivalent to a Master's Degree)

My ECA report (issued by WES) states that this is equivalent to a Bachelor's Degree AND a Master's Degree. The question is, in Education History, on the topic "Were any diplomas or qualifications awarded ?", should I pick :
- "Master's Degree" (since this the highest diploma I was awarded), or
- "Two or more certificates, diplomes, or degrees. One must be or a program of three years or more"

Thanks
JB

criodain

John, sorry for hijacking your thread, but my query overlaps with yours, and I think it might be the most crucial part of the EE application for me.

I've worked in places since I was 18 that no longer exist or the owner has died! (In this case, it was part time in a pub).
My first real job didn't begin until I finished uni at 22.
So I can't get a reference from the pub, as it was sold long ago, and the owner subsequently died.

I worked for a few Italian companies, but realistically I think all I might be able to get is a written letter to state when I worked there.

Is this enough? In theory, a reference letter like this could be created by anyone, so how could it be verified?

This is my biggest worry right now.

christmasoompa

A quick search of the forum will reveal several threads with useful info in, but basically you can either include a print out from Companies House to show the company no longer exists (not sure if you can find an equivalent for Italy though), or your National Insurance record.

You no longer have payslips or an employment contract I take it?

criodain

Thanks for the heads up.

I worked for the Italian company from 1999 - 2001 and then for another one, with an office in Ireland, from 2002 - 2004. That office has since closed, but I'm sure I could get *something*.

Both are still going, but what information they could provide me with is another thing.

I'll have a look and stop hijacking others' threads.

The pub would be a non runner, but it was a part time job really, so nothing

djaybi

Hi criodain,

I wonèt be able to help you more than christmasoompa did. Good luck with the paper hunt.

So back to my question

Reviewing my application another question came up, regarding the ECA. I have attented an Engineering School in France. This is a 5-year program, which awarded me in the end a "Diplome d'Ingénieurs" (it is written on the diploma that it is equivalent to a Master's Degree)

My ECA report (issued by WES) states that this is equivalent to a Bachelor's Degree AND a Master's Degree. The question is, in Education History, on the topic "Were any diplomas or qualifications awarded ?", should I pick :
- "Master's Degree" (since this the highest diploma I was awarded), or
- "Two or more certificates, diplomes, or degrees. One must be or a program of three years or more"

Thanks
JB

criodain

I was just informed by a visa specialist (!!) that it's (work experience) only the last 10 years as opposed to since you were 18?