kezbea

Hello!
Me and my wife are currently trying to move to Canada. We have an EE profile floating in the pool at 437 CRS points, but were considering moving things along by one of us getting IEC (we are both in our 20's) and getting an 0, A or B job therefore racking up some Canadian work experiance or possibly that elusive job offer than could give us the points we need!

So I'm trying to apply for my wife to get IEC. Only I have an issue! She is Spanish nationality, and has a Spanish passport. She lives with me in the UK, her family home is in Madrid, but for all intents and purposes she lives and works in the UK, due to EU freedom of movement (lets ignore the looming Brexit on the horizon for the time being).

She has lived in the UK for ten years, but does not have any document saying she is a permanent resident of the UK. She does not have citizenship in the UK. She does not have a UK passport.
She does have Spanish citizenship card and ESP passport.

The IEC form asks three things in the 'immigration history' section;

1. What is your current country/territory of residence?
2. What is your country/territory of permanent residence?
3. Country/territory of citizenship

So her answers would be...
1. England
2. ???????
3. Spain

I'm stuck on number 2! Don't want to lie to immigration or even risk our EE profile, want to get this right! Has anyone had this problem or has got any advice??

Thanks so much!

-Kez

neneromanova

If she doesn't have PR in the UK then it'll be Spain surely?

plasticcanuck

kezbea

She pays taxes in the UK. I would agree, it's her country of residency. But is it her country of PERMANENT residency?

Siouxie

This might help
Permanent residence after 5 years

You can currently apply for a permanent residence document if you’ve lived in the UK for 5 years.
However, you do not need a document to confirm your residence status in the UK unless:

• you want to apply for British citizenship
• you want to sponsor your partner’s visa application under the Immigration Rules

https://www.gov.uk/uk-residence-eu-citizens


So based on that I would say she is a permanent resident of England / UK - presuming she has a permanent address and has lived / worked / studied in the UK for the past 5 years or more (but do read and double check that she meets the criteria, on the website).

PMM

Hi

1. Except the OP is stating his wife is applying as Spanish citizen, so only eligible for 1 year, and according to the following must have a permanent address in Spain. With only a one year IEC (if issued) it is unlikely that she would be able to get a full year of work in Canada.

Siouxie

Good point PMM - I had forgotten that she would presumably be applying for IEC Spain.

kezbea

So,
When I put the answers as 1. England 2. Spain 3. Spain it allows me to create an application.

When I put the country of permanent residency as England it automatically says 'Based on the answers you provided, it seems you are not eligible to come to Canada through International Experience Canada'.

Interesting, not sure what I should do now!

Siouxie

Please see PMM's post above - he has a valid point.

kezbea

He does make a good point.

Not so worried about the full year of work experience because she could at least use the time in Canada to try and get a job offer that could be used to support our EE application.

I suppose my wife could put her parents address in Madrid, but I don't want to cause an issue with this.

I guess I have to accept that she isn't eligible for IEC for whatever reason.

rivingtonpike

This raises an issue that has been raised before; should the IEC visa be used as a means for someone to circumvent the criteria that would otherwise make them ineligible for permanent residency? My understanding is that its purpose was to allow younger people to experience a different culture and to work in that country whilst there to finance their experience.

Siouxie

It's not circumventing - it's assisting people to meet the requirements - to have a permanent job offer - or to have gained Canadian work experience.. thus increasing their points and perhaps increasing their chances of being picked from the pool - or being sponsored by a Province.

It also gives people the opportunity to experience life in Canada and decide if this is somewhere they would really like to live and spend the rest of their lives! It benefits Canada in the long term!

What's wrong with that?

rivingtonpike

There's nothing wrong with it at all as far as I can see. It's simply a question that has previously been asked. Mind you, if that is the case, why put an age restriction on it? Why shouldn't someone older than 30 be afforded the same opportunity to come to Canada for 2 years, acquire the appropriate work experience and then become a permanent resident? Isn;t that what you're essentially advocating?

Siouxie

Because Canada favours young people for immigration - hence the points reduction once you get over 30 or so!

rivingtonpike

fair point.