Fraserl

Hi

we are currently in Canada , my husband has a work permit for a specific company (who relocated us on a 2 year assignment) I’m on a spouse open work permit and 2 children on visitor visa.
Can we just apply to extend our work permits ?
Our employers wants him to stay and we are currently awaiting more information on this.

However our eldest daughter is 17 and will graduate from high school this year at the moment she cannot work (which is fine given Covid - but if we are to stay say for another 2 years she is at the age where she will need to work for some independence- ) but given she is our dependant her current visa will not allow ? Is there any route where she is able to work a part time job ?

thank you

PMM

Hi

1. No, she would be out of luck. If she attends a DLI post secondary school after graduation, she would be allowed to work 20 hours per week and full time during scheduled breaks.

Fraserl

Thank you, 20 hours would be fine it’s not that we don’t want to support her it’s more it’s an important life skill so go out and earn a bit of money for yourself. Would this mean we would need her to apply for a study permit rather than visitor visa as she would need to
go collage or uni ?

christmasoompa

Yes, if you apply for a study permit for her to attend college, then she can work part-time as above. If she wants to work without the restrictions on work linked to a study permit or before that, she'll need to apply for a work permit in her own right.

Info on the application to extend your husband's work permit is here - https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration...end/apply.html

When does his current work permit expire and has your husband's employer applied for a new LMIA for him?

Fraserl

Thank you that’s what I thought - but I suppose she cannot apply to collages before she has a study permit then ? All her friends are applying now for September so I suppose she would maybe have to delay a year. I don’t think she would qualify for a work permit in her own right ?
Husbands permit expires July 31st, they haven’t applied for a new Lima yet as we are still awaiting the job offer as this will be a permanent role (rather than secondment he is on now)

Twitcher1958

Is it still the case that on a work permit, she would be classed as an international student? So fees would be higher for her than if you had PR?

Fraserl

Yes I’m pretty sure that’s the case ! So it’s going to be expensive ! We would like to apply for pr eventually but obviously this won’t happen before July this year. She will have to study though as I can’t have a 17 year old not studying or working

Siouxie

I strongly suggest you apply for PR as soon as you qualify for one of the streams.. what is it your husband does? Perhaps have a read through our Wiki on some of the process - follow the very helpful guide by Christmasoompa and report back with what your points are.. there's more than one way to PR https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Quick...an_Immigration

Fraserl

Thank you I’ll have a good read through , we do want to apply for pr but know it’s take a while ? I’ll see what our points are.
if she were to study one year as international and if we got pr can she switch to domestic fees then ? Should she apply to collages now even though we haven’t extended our work permits yet ? Can she apply before having a study permit im not sure which comes first.
it’s a minefield and not expected as we thought we’d be going home in July !

Siouxie

Under the age of 18 or 19 (depending on Province) - are considered minors -- read this https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration...-children.html
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration...igibility.html

Twitcher1958

Depending on her interests, ambition etc, a third option could be volunteer opportunities. For some uni or college courses, or careers after that, it could have some positive benefits. For example, I have a niece who volunteered in a kennel as she had time on her hands, no paying job and wanted to go in to animal husbandry in college. It may not be the ideal option but would be a compromise, depending on her interests, application and a host of other factors and could be a positive experience whilst buying time.

christmasoompa

Yes, PR does take a while. But one key thing is that if you were to apply for PR now and get accepted before July, then you could apply for Bridging Open Work Permits, which would be much easier than trying to renew your current work permits as no LMIA would be required. It would also give you much more security as you wouldn't be tied to your husband's employer, and would mean your daughter would qualify for local tuition rates. So personally I'd be looking to PR as a priority and trying to get that sorted.

For a study permit, the student must have been accepted at the institution first, so your daughter would need to apply and be accepted, then she applies for the permit after that.

HTH.

Fraserl

thank you that’s very useful and I agree (especially after looking at the international fees for local collage or uni it doesn’t seem worth applying as the costs are prohibitive !) Thanks again will start looking into this now. So you mean if we got accepted the bridging permits are because it’s take longer to actually get the pr status even once accepted ?

Fraserl

Yes we discussed this aswell. We really want to stay in Canada so if the sacrifice is my daughter has to wait a year before she can work or study she is willing to - but volunteering would be great to keep her active ! I imagine options may be fairly limited due to Covid but we have lots to think about.

christmasoompa

Yes. So PR will take anywhere between 6 months and 2 years, and because of that you'd get Bridging Open Work Permits to tide you over until PR is granted.

But you need to have been approved at the first stage of a PR app to be eligible for a BOWP, so don't delay!