scrubbedexpat069

Hi. New here and really needing some advice please.
My husband has been offered a job through LMIA, we're just currently waiting on that coming back. I will be going on an OSWP. We have two young children too.

Husband got the job through a recruitment agency who are helping us along with the process right now but I feel a bit lost.

So, if/when the LMIA comes back postive, do we need to then pay for our work visas?

I'm also thinking ahead to PR. We want to live in the Canada permanantly. The recruitment agency have told us that we cant apply until we have been in the country for a year, but I've seen some people apply before they leave the UK? Do we need proof of funds for this? I'm led to believe we dont need proof of funds for the LMIA, is this correct? We wont have sat any tests etc before coming on the LMIA, so we know we will have to pay for that when it comes to PR. Was just wondering about other costs while we are there?
I am going to be doing freelance work while we are there, so not sure how that contributes with Canandian work experience?

Sorry for all the questions, i really do have a million more. It's all feeling very daunting right now.

Thanks for any advice given.

christmasoompa

Hi, and welcome to BE.

Yep, you then need to apply for your work permits.

They are wrong. Anybody can apply if eligible, no matter where they are - you could apply having never set foot in Canada! Personally, I would advise you look in to your eligibility asap, particularly if you have young children. If you think you'll want to stay permanently then best to check you'll be able to before you move your family IMO.

I'd also advise you don't use the recruitment agency for any visa related advice, hopefully you've not paid them anything at all for the job hunting? So now they've got you the job I'd leave them be, and if you need visa advice go to a qualified professional.

That is correct, proof of funds isn't relevant for TWP applications. Other costs while you were there, do you mean for PR, or just in general? For PR allow a few thousand for the fees, medicals, police certs, etc, etc. For the move it'll cost more though, this thread has some useful figures in on the cost of getting set up out there - cost of moving to canada It's a bit old now but will give you an idea at least.

Not sure what you mean by 'contributes with Canadian work experience'? Do you mean qualifying experience for the Canadian Experience Class? If you're self-employed, it won't count for that - https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration...nce-class.html

HTH, best of luck with the LMIA, hope it's granted.

scrubbedexpat069

Thank you so much, this is more information that we've had from the recruitment agency so thats good to know.

Yes, the recruitment agency have said that I need to have one years work experience in Canada before applying for PR, hence why them telling us that we couldnt apply for PR until we had lived in Canada for 12 months made sense to us at the time. So I was wondering if my freelance work would count? It's for an American company and I'm currently doing it from the UK.

I'm going to go and have a look at the eligibilty thing now and I'll report back.

Thanks again.

scrubbedexpat069

I've had a look at the eligibilty and it's telling me that we are eligible under the express entry. It's not giving me points or anything, just a reference number. Is this how I go about finding out eligibility for PR? Sorry if this is a silly question.

christmasoompa

They're a recruitment agency though, they shouldn't really be doing anything to do with visas or advising on them! Hence I'd steer clear of asking them about them personally.

As above, they're incorrect. They're probably thinking of the Canadian Experience Class, and you do need a year's work experience in Canada for that, but that's only one of the 50+ visa routes available to PR. So you may well find you're eligible before then via another route, possibly even now and could apply before you leave so you know it's underway before then.

No afraid not, as above, for Canadian Experience Class you must be employed, not self-employed. And you must be employed by a Canadian company.

HTH.

christmasoompa

It's not a silly question at all, there is a lot to get your head around I know! So that's a good starting point, it means you're eligible to apply as a Federal Skilled Worker and can enter the Express Entry 'pool' of applicants. Once in that pool, then those scoring the highest are selected and invited to apply for PR. You can stay in the pool for a year and then if you haven't been selected by that point, you'd have to reapply.

You can check your score here, best to do it for both of you as things like age and education level will be factors. You'd need above approx 460-470 as a rough guide.

HTH.