Branna

Hi,

Long story short

Myself and my family made our move to Canada in June 2017 as I had managed to secure a LMIA Work Permit for a company in Atlantic Canada. We moved over and were really settled in Nova Scotia and were going through the PR process. Unfortunately around April 2018 we found out the company was being acquired and that we had to move back to the UK before our Work Permit expired.

We are looking at ways to return to Nova Scotia and we are looking at the Nova Scotia Experience: Express Entry route. Granted technically we were one day short of being in Nova Scotia a year but of course with the company being sold we had to move back.

My question is has anyone been through this stream? Also the only criteria that concerns me is around how my education will be compared. I left school at 16 which would have been Grade 11 in the UK and not Grade 12 like in Canada, so essentially only have GCSE's. My wife however does have higher education than me. Do you have to meet all the criteria to be nominated via this stream or do they look at all the factors of your application?

Any help anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Rob

christmasoompa

You need to meet all the criteria. If you didn't work there for a year or more, then sorry but I don't see how you'll qualify.

Branna

Thank you for the reply. According to an immigration lawyer in NS who we are speaking with it is more to do around hours and I meet the 'annual' hours required. That is even with the fact that we left Canada just one day short of the 12 month term.

My main concern is my education for this stream and how the secondary school system in the UK is different to that in Canada and how my ECA Report will reflect that. Already passed the required language test score when we started going through the PR process last year.

Suppose our best course of action is to submit our application and see what the answer is. Nothing to really lose at this point.

christmasoompa

Yep. Just get the ECA and see what it says, that'll give you your answer. Unfortunately it does seem to vary, so nobody can tell you for sure if your GCSE's will be accepted as secondary education.

How many months did you work for and how many hours?

Branna

So if my GCSE's aren't accepted does that mean I don't qualify for this stream or does it just mean I don't get any points?

I was given a 1 year work permit. So I arrived in June 2017 to get the Work Permit then returned back to the UK for a few weeks to sell our belongings and rent out our property and then returned a few weeks after. Aside from a weeks vacation I worked right up until we returned to the UK which was one day before the work permit expired. Working week was fluid as I was salaried so did more than my standard working week every week. Then I spent many weekends travelling for work purposes also. My role was global due to our clients so I did travel in and out of Canada but that was all work related and I can prove that. The reason why I came over in the first place was because the role was so niche and the company had advertised locally etc and provided all that evidence, hence why I was able to be issued with an LMIA work permit at the border. It stated clearly that my role would be global and that travel was a requirement.

It is very confusing as the IRCC states that:

In order to qualify and to obtain CRS points for Canadian work experience it must be acquired by the candidate while authorized to work in Canada and physically residing in Canada. Any period of employment where the candidate is working abroad (not physically present in Canada) is experience that is not considered Canadian work experience and would not count for the purpose of the Express Entry programs work experience qualification. Please also note that qualifying foreign work experience must be continuous for a minimum of one year (12 continuous months without a break) of full time (30 hours per week) or the equivalent in part time.

One immigration lawyer we spoke to said it could be an issue at IRCC level even if NS accept our application. Now another lawyer is saying it wont be an issue as being nominated by NS gives us the points required to go for PR and it is all point based.

Was hoping maybe someone in the forum had gone through this stream already, but the more time I spend here the more I feel that each situation is so unique.

Hence why we are confused and feel the only option is to just go ahead with the application to NS and see where it gets us.

christmasoompa

Both.

Which is all good, but to qualify you'll need to prove that you did the equivalent of a full-time job for a year and give exact hours. Did your payslips show hours? If so, do tot them up and make sure you'd qualify.

It is all points based, so you probably wouldn't need any points for Canadian work experience if you have the PNP nomination, as that's an instant 600 points. But you need to get to that point first.

It's a fairly new stream, and only reopened to applications in November, so not sure you'll find many others (or even any others) that have gone down that route tbh. It takes so few applicants each year that the chances of finding a few on BE are fairly slim.

I wouldn't do that yet - first step is to apply for your ECA and see what that says, plus very carefully work out your hours and make sure you can prove you did the equivalent of a full-time job for at least a year. No point in spending money applying for the PNP until you are sure you qualify for it.

I assume your wife didn't work whilst there so you couldn't use her as the principal applicant instead?

Branna

This is where I get confused. The whole aim of this stream is allowing people to apply who have at least one years experience. However you mention above that if NS nominate us that is really the main end goal and the work experience doesn't come into play as we will have the points needed. So does that mean that even if my education isn't the required equivalent as long as NS nominate us that will give us the required points to then progress for PR? Sorry if that is a confusing question.....finding it hard to try and word it

I assume your wife didn't work whilst there so you couldn't use her as the principal applicant instead?[/QUOTE]

No it was just me who had the Work Permit. She does however have a higher level of education than me, but I am assuming the NS Experience Express Entry is only going to assess myself.

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond, it really is appreciated

christmasoompa

The work experience doesn't come in to play for the CRS points, as you won't need them thanks to the PNP nomination. But you do need it to get the PNP in the first place. It's essentially a two stage process - firstly you need to meet the eligibility criteria for the PNP stream and apply under that for nomination. Once you've got nomination, you add that to your EE profile which then gives you an extra 600 points, meaning you're bumped to the top of the list and guaranteed to get an ITA in the next draw.

OK, so she wouldn't be eligible for that stream then. Assume she's not scoring enough on the CRS to qualify without PNP? Do double check that just in case.