Fallen at the first hurdle
 

Myself and my husband and 3 kids were wanting to emigrate over to Canada. We've been wanting to for the last 15 years but then kids arrived and one thing and another and now we are at the point of it has to be within the next few years or it'll be too late. Anyway we spoke to immigration consultants etc and got a general idea of which ways we can make it. Initially we were going to try to enter via the skilled worker route, however, I sent my education certificates off to be assessed to CES and finally tracked down the company who issued my certificate. (LCC Legal Secretaries Diploma) However the company who have taken over LCC only go back as far as 1996 and my qualification was issued in 1992. See their response below:

I am sorry but l have been informed that the records Pearson inherited from EDI/LCCI Qualifications does not go back to 1992, but 1996 onwards so we are unable to verify your qualification. Please note that this does not mean that you did not do your qualification.


CES has refunded my money because I can't get the original certificates to them direct from the institute that issued them. Is that it then.....does this mean I don't effectively have any higher education in their eyes. I needed these extra points to get in on the express entry route. My Brother lives in Vancouver Island so having him there was giving me extra points too.....actually still not sure how many extra points he will give me as that was a bit up in the air and waiting to be clarified when we were looking into this, I was under the impression it was changing and we would get more points for this aspect.

My other option was to do a college course and go in on a student visa (which is actually something I would like to do), so the hubby can get a work permit and the kids go to school. Then gain a 3 year working visa after that and then apply for PR. This is what I was lead to believe anyway.

Any help on the ECA's though would be grateful.

Thank you

BTW - we were looking at coming to BC probably Vancouver Island so I could be near my brother. And the husband isn't an option as primary applicant as he is a bus driver and has no evidence of higher education etc.

Re: Fallen at the first hurdle
 

Hi, and welcome to BE.

What do you score on the CRS? Would you definitely have enough points if you had got the ECA? What was the actual diploma, was it an NVQ, BTEC etc? Who was the issuing body i.e. Edexcel etc?

The study permit is a good option is there is not other route and you have the funds, but I'd definitely try and get the ECA sorted if you can.

Re: Fallen at the first hurdle
 

I can't remember the exact CRS score we came up with. It was below the entry level though even with the ECA sorted. But they said it was still worth putting an entry in as if the level dropped which was anticipated at the time and if the amount of points for having a sibling rose which again was anticipated then we would have been in with a chance of going through. I know there's a lot of ifs and buts there....lol. The consultant wanted £7,000 plus to sort this out...and I doubt they would have gotten anywhere further than I have either.

The qualification I have is a 2 year legal secretary diploma - issued by the London Chamber of Commerce. Who have since been taken over by Pearsons. I did ask them how was I supposed to obtain copy certificates before 1996 but they didn't have an answer for that, just said they has no records before that date.

I think the study route is looking more likely. We have about £120,000 to £140,000 so will have the funds to show etc. I was just wondering if anybody else had experienced not being able to get copy certificates of actual diplomas they had and if they had a different solution.

Re: Fallen at the first hurdle
 

It doesn't sound to me as though the certificate would count anyway, even if you could get a copy of it? I might be wrong, but it just doesn't sound like an academic qualification - and please don't think I'm saying it's not very good, it's just that vocational qualifications don't count for points/ECA purposes, and I can't see how it could be considered academic having done something similar myself.

How far below the 450ish are you on the CRS? Do double check it, as if you're well below then personally I would say it's not worth trying to get an ECA anyway, and to concentrate on another visa route, but if you're close then it might be worth trying another ECA agency to see if they have any suggestions. Is a job offer possible for either of you?

Re: Fallen at the first hurdle
 

I will double check the CRS score tonight. As for a job offer, neither of us are in the type of jobs that can get an LMO I don't think (bus driver/ legal secretary). But we are going over for 3 weeks in August so will try and do a bit of networking and see if we can bag a job , maybe in a different work field. Who knows, we will definitely be keeping our eyes and ears open.

Thank you 😊

Re: Fallen at the first hurdle
 

I'm not butting in I hope...if you are looking at working on this over the next couple of years and you have the funds, as your husband is already a professional driver, could your husband take a class 1 lorry licence in the UK and perhaps work in that field for the next couple of years (i have no idea how he would go about it, just keep seeing adverts for LMIA supported jobs in this field on Canadian job searches)....lots of trucking companies out here have and use Temporary workers, once PR/etc approved he can always go back to the buses.

Re: Fallen at the first hurdle
 

Not butting in at all, you are very welcome to post! But drivers need at least a couple of years Class 1 experience to get a LMIA I believe, and LMIA's are very scarce at the mo (most companies will only consider those already in Canada).

The OP could ask in the trucking forum though, but I think he'd need quite a bit of Class 1 experience first.

Re: Fallen at the first hurdle
 

Thanks, I have no idea of the industry, just kept seeing the jobs on the sites.

Re: Fallen at the first hurdle
 

We did look into this a few years ago. He was considering getting his class 1 licence, but like you say would probably need experience in the driving as well. I'd forgotten about this option though. I might look into it further.
Thank you

Re: Fallen at the first hurdle
 

I have no idea about the immigration options any more and def not in BC but does that province (or any for that matter) still have Provincial nomination route? We came through that to Nova Scotia and I know many others who also took that road that are photocopier engineers or secretaries etc etc and didn't have degrees.