christmasoompa

As the annual IEC frenzy approaches, I thought I'd start the 2017 thread.

Please keep all IEC related questions in this thread, and before asking questions please do search the thread, or last years (which can be found here - http://britishexpats.com/forum/immig...2016-a-868659/) as many questions have been asked and answered lots of times before, and also the official IEC page FAQ.

Best of luck to all of you.

CRAY

Am I right in thinking that there is no "crazy dash" this year when the season starts as in previous years. And you just submit an application at your own leisure after the pools open?

christmasoompa

Yes, although the earlier you submit the more chance you've got of being chosen, so perhaps apply sooner rather than later so you're in the pool for all draws. But assuming that CIC don't change things for once, the old 'apply the second it opens or you haven't got a hope in hell' system thankfully has been replaced with a fairer lottery.

beckiwoo

I don't know, I kind of miss the adrenaline rush and refreshing a page every 2 seconds until it said it was open and then typing like my life dependend on it (which it kind of felt like it did at the time), my heart beating sooo fast I thought it would burst out of my chest and I'd collapse...



In all seriousness at least with the old system you knew if you were in or not with the application number where as with the lottery you wait longer to find outb

Snowy560

You can reminisce fondly about it now but it was probably hell going through it at the time!! If you hadn't been lucky, you'd probably be thinking what a vast improvement the new system is! ☺

RGH80

Quick question: Am I right in thinking Canada doesn't have any issues with 'dual intent' that the US does? If I, for example, apply for the IEC and Express Entry at the same time, would showing 'immigrant intent' from EE jeopardise an IEC application?

christmasoompa

Absolutely fine, lots on IEC have applied for PR via EE (including Becki above), no problem at all. Just remember though, that a job offer on an IEC won't give you the extra 600 points for arranged employment. Only a LMIA would do that, so whether or not you'd actually get PR will depend on your points score and if it's less than the 460 or so currently required, you'll need to hope you can convince your employer to help you with the LMIA app.

HTH.

RGH80

Thank you.

I've just completed the Come to Canada wizard but it won't let me continue as the pools are closed. Is there a workaround to submit for 2017 or should I just wait for that to resolve itself?

christmasoompa

You can't submit for 2017 yet, you have to wait until the 2017 program opens.

HTH.

Vulcanoid

Probably depends on the person & their situation. I'd rather know - most of us got through first-come-first-served, and knew we had our permits. People on place about 7500+ knew they weren't going to get one. Only about 2k people were in a limbo of might-might-not.


It's easy to say, getting a first-round permit each time, that I preferred it that way, but the way I structured mine, with a year's leave from work that had to take place between two specific dates (municipal calendar) would have been much harder to arrange with the random draw.


Personally, I feel the hell in the old system was about 10 minutes of typing, while hell in the new system is 8 months of waiting with random results *shrug*. That said, I know people who feel the new one is fairer, because I basically won my place through being a fast typist.

beckiwoo

+1

kswoosh

Has there been any updates on the opening date other than "mid-October"?

Also, does anyone remember from last year the percentage probability of getting selected in the first few rounds of last year (i.e. The number of people in the pool vs the number of visas allocated in each draw)? As it gets towards the end, I remember there being about a 1:4 / 25% chance, but is this higher at the beginning?

jennellapea

When I applied for my first one we had to print it off and send it to France by mail as London was closed. That was a bit nervy, not knowing if it got there until they got in touch with you.

Good luck to anyone thinking of doing the IEC.

acarlin95

Hi I've been trying to complete the come to Canada eligibility test, I'm a British citizen living in Northern Ireland and it keeps telling me I am not eligible. I have seen online there was a problem with this and that I needed to click British citizen for my country of passport and Northern Ireland for my country of residence and I have done this several times but it is still saying I'm not eligible. I'm really not sure where I'm going wrong.

samjam1234

Hi,

I'm not sure about this but it might be worth setting up your own thread asking the question and it might catch people's attention who know the answers.

Good luck in your quest