nikki dreaming

Hi

Looking to move to Alberta/Calgary via sw route.

My background is in insurance injury/motor fraud claims and was just wondering if anybody could offer any info advice???

Many thanks everybody!

Judy in Calgary

The skilled worker route is taking 5 years these days.

Another BE member who works in the insurance industry, by the online name of jericho, has recently received a job offer in Edmonton that should result in a Labour Market Opinion, which in turn should result in a temporary work permit, which in turn should fast-track his entry to Canada. By the way, when he was job hunting, I believe he secured interviews in both Calgary and Edmonton (if I remember correctly).

It would be helpful if you read Beginner's Guide to Canadian Immigration.

Hope that helps.
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nikki dreaming

Hi Thanks Judy

I am in contact with Jericho! he has given loads of great advice aswell.

Am I correct in thinking if I go SW route with a job offer in hand I can get temp wp and then apply for pm which may go through in about 1/2 yrs? I accept the difficulty with this is actually getting a job offer!

Thanks again

Judy in Calgary

You can submit your permanent residence (PR) application via the skilled worker (SW) route in advance if you wish, but you don't have to.

The trick, as you say, is to get a job offer. And remember that it's not just any old job offer. It has to be an offer of a job that no Canadian resident wants. The prospective employer needs to have advertised across Canada for X number of weeks.

Once the employer has recruited across the country and has been unable to attract a qualified Canadian resident to the job, he can submit an application for a Labour Market Opinion (LMO). There is a shortage of people who can work in the insurance industry in Alberta, so I think there's a reasonable chance that an employer who offered you a job would get an LMO.

If the employer gets an LMO, he's allowed to offer the job to a foreigner. Once your employer has received the LMO, you can submit an application for a temporary work permit (TWP).

My understanding is that a TWP comes through quite quickly once an LMO has been granted. The challenge is that there was such a backlog of LMO applications in Alberta last year that they were taking anywhere from 20 to 35 weeks to be processed.

So I would be surprised if you could find a job, get an LMO and get a TWP in under 6 months. It could be more like 9 - 12 months, depending on the length of time that it takes you to find a job and depending on the speed with which HRSDC processes the LMO application.

Once you're working in Canada on your TWP, your employer may offer you a permanent job. At that point you can ask Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to fast-track your PR application.

If you already had submitted your PR application before you'd done anything else, you would need to submit an updated PR application at this point. But you would not have to submit another application fee with this updated application.

If you had not submitted a PR application prior to this point, you would need to submit one now.

From what I've seen on the forum, it can take up to a year to receive a PR visa when you have requested CIC to fast-track your application. One of the other members of this forum, bazzz, said that it took 4.5 months for his PR visa to be granted, counting from the time that he requested fast-tracking of his application.

But keep in mind that, while you're waiting for your PR visa to come through, you'll be here on a TWP. So, while you're waiting for PR, you'll be entitled to live and work in Caanda.

To see the procedure you need to follow when you ask CIC to fast-track your PR application, please read the Wiki called Fast Track PR Application.

Hope that helps.
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nikki dreaming

I really appreciate your detailed reply, its great to get some advice in a jargon free straight forward way!

Thanks again, hope you have nice weekend