LittleHoudini

Hi all,
Newbie here, and in the very early stages of getting the ball rolling with 101 questions so any advice would be amazing.

My partner and I (not married) are looking to move over to Canada (ideally Calgary) within the next 12-18months. As Luke is 32, he can't apply for the IEC therefore we are both hoping to apply via the express entry visa scheme. I work in HR and he is a Mechanical Fitter which both appear on the 'wanted' list of expat skills.

​​​​Neither of us have a job offer, is it possible to get PR without a job offer? Or do we need to get the ball rolling and then look at applying for roles? If we enter the 'pool' of applicants, what is the timeframe we are likely to be in here? Are we able to continue saving the expected funds or do we need to have proof of funds at the initial application point?

How do people go about searching for work, from experience are online job applications from UK citizens taken seriously? Or would we be best off visiting for a few weeks and 'networking'?

If we are successful, and invited to apply for PR, what is the time frame for completion? If we get accepted for PR are we limited to how soon we have to move?

Looking into booking the IELTS to get that out of the way, and understand we will need to purchase biometric testing but is the full application possible without the assistance of a third party? I'm seeing several websites which, for a fee, will assist you in the process - not something we want to splash out on, can it be done by ourselves?

Any advice, hints, tips and guidance would be amazing, like I said, we are still in the very early stages but keen to get everything moving.

Thanks for reading!
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Vulcanoid

What do you mean by "wanted list of expat skills"? Canada has no 'wanted' list - all skilled work is equal for Federal immigration purposes. Some Provinces will have specific roles they're seeking to fill through Provincial Nomination programs.

If you have been living together as a couple for over a year then from Canada's perspective you're the same as married, but you may need to prove that. If you have not (eg long-term r/s but not living together) then you cannot immigrate as a couple unless you get married.

Lots of people immigrate without job offers. You should look up your points online and see if you're within range of typical draws.

christmasoompa

Hi, and welcome to BE.

As above, not sure what list you're referring to here! There is no list of wanted skills any longer, that was scrapped years ago.

Depends on your score. If you score enough without one, then yes. What do you both score on the CRS?

Again depends on your score. Those scoring the highest are selected and invited to apply for PR, so if you're comfortably scoring above the usual minimum (say 480 or above) then you should get an invite to apply in the next draw, so maybe a week or two max. If you're borderline i.e scoring between 440 and 480 then you could be in the pool for a month or a few months before getting an ITA. If you're scoring less than that, you're likely to be in the pool for the full year before your profile expires without an invite unless the points drop between now and then.

You need them when you submit a PR application - so if you got an ITA straight away, you'd need them in your bank account then, but if it takes a while to get an ITA you'll have longer to save up (do save up as much as poss, the POF amount is considered by most to be ludicrously low and you're likely to spend double that moving over!).

Yep. Seems you've not discovered our amazing Wiki yet, so do have a good read of that. The Job Hunting section will tell you how to go about it, but essentially if you do need a job offer to get a visa, then yes, you need to get over there and knock on doors.

Approx 6 months, and again, info is in the Wiki but essentially you'd have 2-3 years before having to move.

Absolutely. The vast majority of people on the forum do it themselves, unless you have complicated circumstances no need to hire a consultant at all.

One last thing, you say your OH is too old for IEC, but what about you?

Siouxie

When you say your husband is a 'Mechanical Fitter' - what exactly does he do? It may go under a different name here - or there may be a better NOC fit for his job; which NOC matches his job description? http://noc.esdc.gc.ca/English/NOC/Qu...r=16&val65=731

Many trades are regulated in Canada and each Province has it's own regulatory body, he would need to apply to register for a Certificate of Qualification (if it's a regulated trade) - which would also give additional points - he may be able to apply through FSW (Trades) which has a lower points requirement.


https://www.alberta.ca/regulated-occ...ns-trades.aspx

LittleHoudini

Hi all,

Thank you for your responses - it's really appreciated.

Apologies, I hadn't come across the Wiki pages, I was using the site via my mobile and hadn't seen them, I will have a good read over them now I am aware
Also, my mistake with the 'wanted' reference!

In regards to my age christmasoompa , I am 27 so qualify for the IEC - is this a route I could go down then? What implications would this have on my partner - could he apply for a work visa if I was successfully chosen or would it be a case of a visitor visa and hopefully land work?

In regards to his NOC Siouxie he fits 7316, so we will look at the regulations for Alberta and potentially see if he could take the FSW route. He also has health and safety qualifications and is currently looking at 'topping up' to an international level, which should help boost our points.

Presuming we get top results in the IELTS, and the qualifications are recognised, I believe our combined score is around the 500 mark so hopefully we won't have too much of an issue getting an invitation. It's just a case of buckling down now with the additional savings and getting everything in place.

We're also looking into whether there are any additional qualifications we can do, that are both recognised in Canada, and available to do online - has anyone got any experience in doing this? Is it worth it for the additional points?

Siouxie

It's not necessarily a case of qualifications being recognised - particularly in trades - more of becoming Certified (obtaining a Certificate of Qualification) by challenging the requirements by demonstrating a minimum number of hours of experience (usually around 9000). Very few professional qualifications (trades) are recognised - so there may be little point in undertaking further courses unless they are Canadian. If he is able to obtain his C o Q then that would give additional points for CRS purposes.

With regards to the NOC - do check out 'Millwright' as well - in case it's a better fit - NOC 2011 - 7311 - Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics - Unit group

https://tradesecrets.alberta.ca/expe...n-certificate/

Regarding the IEC - if you were to obtain an invitation, when you arrived in Canada (with your Letter of Introduction) you would be issued with a work permit (providing you met the requirements re funds and insurance) and he would ask for a visitor record. Once you have obtained a Skilled job and have a contract of employment showing that it is a long term job plus a few payslips to show proof of you actually working, then he could apply for an open work permit on the back of yours. All this, of course, would depend on whether you qualify as common-law spouses (for Immigration purposes) or are married.

Have you checked what your academic qualifications would be recognised as (Trade qualifications are not normally assessed)? https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration...ad-report.html

What are you scoring on the CRS - can you give a breakdown..