katemaddy

Hello,
me and my partner of 5 years want to move to canada to live and work. I am a graduate photographer and he is a sports coach. My partner has been to canada last summer for three months to volunteer in a football coaching scheme and loved it so much he wants us to move out there. The problem i am having is where do we start? We both have degrees in sport science and editorial and advertisement photography so we would like to get jobs in these areas. My partner also has family in St. Catharine's which we stayed with in 2009 for three weeks, they are second cousins so we are unsure they can sponsor us. I am wondering if anyone has any advice as to how to start this process and if we can get working visas and then change our status if we want to stay there permanently? Any advise would be great.

christmasoompa

Hi there, and welcome to the forum.

The family you have in Canada are no use to you I'm afraid, second cousins (or even first cousins or an aunt or uncle) cannot sponsor you.

You could try and upgrade a Temp Work Permit to Permanent Residency, the trickiest bit will be getting the TWP to start with.

Have either of you been self-employed for at least 2 years in the past 5 by any chance? What age are you both and which province to you want to move to?

And lastly, what visa did your partner use to coach last summer?

Welcome to the forum btw.

katemaddy

Hi thanks for writing back, we are 23 and 24, i have just graduated and my partner has graduated last year. we both have full time jobs and i am also freelance with odd jobs but that has only been in the past couple of month as i have finished university. My partner had a holiday visa as it was unpaid work with the family he stayed with just to get a taste of what it would be like to do coaching in canada. We would want to move to ontario as this is were my partner has been offered work again by the family that he stayed with, they have their own business and offered him a job if he returned because am i correct in saying you have to have a job offer to apply for a working visa?

christmasoompa

OK, so maybe check out the Working Holiday Visa program? It's closed for this year, but you can apply next year and that would give you a one year open work permit as you are aged under 30. Would be a great way of trying out life over there without much hassle.

He should actually have had a work permit for that - just being unpaid isn't enough. If he's entering the labour market (either taking a job that a Canadian would get paid for, or getting any kind of work experience) then a work permit is required and he shouldn't have done it on a visitor visa. Ooops!

OK, so that sounds like a good option if you want to stay longer. You wouldn't need a job offer for the WHV mentioned above (as it's an open work permit), but if you wanted to get a Temporary Work Permit, then yes, you would need the job offer. As well as the job offer, your partner would need a Labour Market Opinion, which his potential boss would need to apply for - basically proving that he's advertised the job across Canada and been unable to find a Canadian willing, or able, to do the job. Once he has the LMO and job offer, he could apply for the TWP which will usually be for 2 or 3 years, and also has the advantage of you being able to apply for PR from it if you wanted to.

HTH a bit - the Wiki (on blue bar at top of page) has loads of info in which may well be worth a read.

Good luck.

katemaddy

thanks for all you advise this is great. I think he told me that he would have to offer the job to canadians first because thats how it works out there but if we apply for the working holiday visa then it gives us the chance to get jobs whist we are there. The soccer couching wasn't a business it was just a local team so hoping he didn't need a visa for that I think this will give us the opportunity to experience the life out there before we decide to stay permanently. thanks for all you help

Aviator

You do, even volunteer work requires a work permit.

chanceUK

isnt there an exemption for sports coaches?

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/ap...o-nopermit.asp

iaink

Its a gray area, if hes not volunteering in a position that would otherwise be paid I doubt there would be an issue.

Volunteering in an office is bad, volunteering to coach kids little league soccer is not going to be a problem. At least, I never got (or expected to be) paid. I suppose it depends on the level of coaching. Having read the whole thread I guess you are right after all. Wouldnt have thought being a soccer coach in Canada would be a path paved in gold, but who knows.

christmasoompa

That's only for competing i.e. a coach that comes from abroad with his team to compete in a one off competition.

The relevant CIC operating manual states that anybody doing 'work' needs a work permit, and goes on to define 'work' as:

Examples of “work” include, but are not limited to:

• a foreign technician coming to repair a machine, or otherwise fulfil a contract, even when they
will not be paid directly by the Canadian company for whom they are doing the work;
• self-employment, which could constitute a competitive economic activity such as opening a
dry- cleaning shop or fast-food franchise. (A self-employed person may also be considered to
be working if they receive a commission or payment for services);
• unpaid employment undertaken for the purpose of obtaining work experience

I would think that from what she's said, the OP's partner would come under the last point, so he should have had a work permit for it. Therefore, probably best not to mention it in any subsequent visa applications!

magnumpi

Sounds like a clear case of honesty is NOT the best policy then.

Good luck guys. If i recall the whv places can fill up sharpish, so get your aplication in, soon as.

katemaddy

but it defiantly wasn't work, as it is not a business and he didn't go to canada to coach the team specifically he went out to visit his family and going to watch the team was asked to help coach after they heard he had experience in that area, so i don't know if that classes as unpaid employment for work experience surely it has to be a business to be employed? Not really work experience or a job just helping, just helped him decide he would like to come over to do it professionally. Anyway thanks for the advise anyway

manitobain

guess that's what ppl are saying: It was a sparetime thing to pass time while on holiday, so don't mention it when you apply anywhere.