BrotherCooke

Hi. After following some great advice in late 2019 from christmasoompa and Siouxie we've been in Canada for just over a year (and what a year!) We came out in January 2020 on my girlfriend's IEC work permit and we're now looking at ways to stay out here permanently.

We're both working in skilled jobs, I'm NOC 2282 (B) and my girlfriend is NOC 1241 (B) and she has been offered a new job as a project coordinator NOC 0711 (A) for the same company who are very supportive and want to keep her here.

Although we thought the CEC route was going to be our best option for progression to PR status, we've seen that it is done through EE and therefore points based, and we don't have anywhere near enough - hovering around 400 CRS points. This was calculated including our ECA results which we have, and also assuming that we get top tier IELTS results once the test centers open again (my old one expired.) I have family here, but they are uncle, aunt and cousins which doesn't seem to count for much with IRCC.

With the OINP foreign worker stream being closed right now, do we have any other options to get the ball rolling? Even if it opens again, what is the likelihood of us being selected with such a low CRS score? Is there anything my girlfriend's employer could do to 'sponsor' her and keep her/us here in Canada?

Thanks for your help! 😊

Siouxie

Welcome back!

Could you give a breakdown of your points? Do it for each of you as the lead applicant. Ontario do pick people from the EE pool who score over 400, but the higher points the better with EE, as you are aware, the latest draws were around the 460 mark.
If your g/f has a degree there might be a possibility under the Human Capital Priorities Stream.. https://www.ontario.ca/page/ontarios...orities-stream

It's a shame you aren't in BC, as NOC 2282 is on the tech pilot list.

DigitalGhost

The only thing I'd say about IELTS is be very careful when assuming you'll both score in the top bracket just based on nationality and background alone. At the very least, you should both prepare and study for it and it sounds like you've been through it once already but even the general test is quite academic in style and tone. I can imagine it being quite tricky even for a native if they haven't been through the university education system.

BrotherCooke

Hi Siouxie , thanks for your reply. We were actually looking at BC back when I first joined this site in Nov/Dec 2019, but we settled in Ontario as I have family here. It would be a shame to have to move across country now that we're settled. I've seen that the BC PNP tech pilot still includes my NOC in the list of 29 occupations, so it will definitely be an option we will explore if Ontario doesn't work out for us.

With me as lead applicant, our combined CRS is only 283:
Core/human capital factors = 206
Spouse factors = 27
Skill transferability factors = 50
Additional points = 0

With my girlfriend as lead applicant, it is 400:
Core/human capital factors = 300
Spouse factors = 0
Skill transferability factors = 50
Additional points = 50 (job offer)

When we spoke with an immigration lawyer early last year about applying for my temp work permit, she suggested that my girlfriend should be the lead applicant for our PR application. She is a few years younger than me and will reach her "1 year Canadian work experience" sooner, in early March this year.

I'm not sure what else we can do. Neither of us have a second language or university degree, and our ECAs did not recognize any of our post-secondary studies, so there are no extra points to be gained there. I'm confident that we will both get top tier IELTS results again, as I did on my first test (which has expired) and we are both native English speakers.

If you have any thoughts about immigration pathways that would allow us to stay in Ontario, it would be appreciated. It was you and christmasoompa that put us on the right track with coming over on the IEC invitation and then some guidance on my SOWP application when the U.S. border closed, so we already have a lot to thank you for!

Stumpylegs

Without knowing your full breakdown of points- but surely with your girlfriend as lead applicant you should be gaining her some spouse points (as she did for you); potentially 20 for language proficiency, 5 points once you've got a year of work experience, at least 2 for your education (if your ECA stated high school) - putting you at 430ish, currently below the cut off but has got mighty close to that on some of the CEC specific draws last year (presumably held due to COVID).

Siouxie

It will be a lot more dificult for you to be chosen for BC PNP having lived in Ontario - even taking a holiday in another Province can be enough for a Province not to show interest. They will question why you suddenly are interested in BC when you have been living in Ontario (other than because of a route to PR where you may leave once you have it!)... that's why it's so important to go to the Province that you know you can qualify for PR routes for, if that is your plan.

Without a degree your g/f is unlikely to qualify for the human capital priorities stream for Ontario, she may struggle to qualify for NOC NOC 0711 without either a degree or extensive experience.

There is the Ontario Skilled Worker with Job Offer stream, which is currently closed - however, you might be able to make a start on preparations for when it reopens (with your g/f as lead applicant) ... you can read up on the requirements here: https://www.ontario.ca/page/oinp-emp...-worker-stream

The other stream you could potentially apply to is - https://www.ontario.ca/page/oinp-emp...-skills-stream if you could get a job offer for one of the 'in demand' NOC's - but you will need to get some experience before you can apply..

No need of immigration consultants unless you have a complex background - you'll need a fair bit of money for the PNP application and PR application, without the extra expense. You either qualify or you don't, no immigration consultant can magic up points you don't have.

DigitalGhost

Just to maybe add a bit more hope for you, if you're really struggling to find an inland pathway then you could always do what I did and do a part time distance degree. You can start it from pretty much anywhere in the world and use it to claim points later. If your girlfriend is currently on IEC then you can't be that old and you'd be able to complete it and then use it towards CRS points later on as long as you don't hang around too much over it.

Your skilled Canadian work experience can be still be used towards CRS for 7 years (or 3 years for CEC I think). It wasn't my reason for doing a degree (I actually started it just before I went to Canada with the original intention of teaching English in Asia afterwards) but it can really help when it comes to Express Entry.

If you are going to consider that option though then make sure that it's in an actually useful subject, ideally related to your current profession, and from a reputable university. Accredited British distance institutions like the open university and UoL are perfectly fine for immigration purposes. Dodgy American, Canadian, Chinese and Indian degree mills are not.

​​​​​​Obviously do some number crunching and calculate points lost for age in the future etc. Plus there would be the cost of the degree since they're not cheap these days and there is also the risk that Canada could overhaul the current system at any time. Immigration will no doubt play a big part in Canada's post pandemic recovery effort but they may need to change how things currently work. But quite a few people leave Canada and other countries having not met the grade for PR at the time only to be able to return as immigrants later.