scrubbedexpat050

Hey

I wondered if anyone could help me work out a couple of things regarding work permit extension in Alberta and the PNP.

Firstly, I know applying for LMO and extending my work permit should not be a problem under my current employment as a Civil Engineer in Calgary; although I am not really happy in my job. I have been to a few job interviews in Calgary and although I'm skeptical, alot of the engineering companies I have approached are very interested to employ me, but not until the autumn (my current work permit expires at the beginning of October). My question is, even if I apply for an LMO for my current job to keep me in the country, are there any conflicts I should be aware of if I find employment with another company and apply for an LMO with them shortly after applying for my LMO in my current employment (I guess the worst case is that my employer is notified of two applications for me and I get fired)?

My second question is regarding the Alberta PNP. I assume since its Provincial Nomination; if they accept your application, I assume you are required to stay in the province for a specific period of time?

lof

it is the employer who has to apply for a lmo. once that is granted you apply for an extension / change of your wp. to avoid hassles you preferably do that before your current one expires. lmos can still take an awful long time to come through in ab (check the lmo-time line thread) which means your new employer should apply for the lmo asap if they want you to work with them by fall.

not sure if there is a clause in the forms you sign about staying in ab for a certain amount of time - but obviously they expect you to stay there for at least a reasonable amount of time.
(i got pr under bcpnp. there isn't a clause like that in the bcpnp forms which you accept with your signature. but they used to tell nominees that moving out of province shortly after getting pr as a bcpnp would be considered as misrepresentation which could lead to revoked pr-status and a ban to enter canada for 2 years)

scrubbedexpat050

Thanks for the info, although I was trying to find out if I have my LMO pending for my current employment (as the other jobs aren't certain yet) and then I get an employment offer from another company, and they apply for an LMO for me (essentially whilst my current employer's LMO is still pending), are there going to be any serious conflicts which may jeopardise staying in the country?

Judy in Calgary

There cannot be two different LMO applications being processed concurrently with respect to the same prospective employee.
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scrubbedexpat050

That's what I thought, but could I still get my employer to apply for the LMO, then cancel it if its still in process should i find new employer willing to apply for an LMO?

rae

i'm on this. 2yrs in alberta then go where you like. the pnp office in gov.ab very helpful.

scrubbedexpat050

Thanks Rae. I assume the 2 years are from the day you receive PR then? So from applying to receiving PR is at worst case 18 months, then a further 2 years in the province?

Lisa_W

You could go the skilled worker route rather than PNP if your new employers were to say that your job was a permanent one and you got a letter from them to prove this (plus a couple of pay slips). Then you would not be obliged to stay in Alberta for a specific length of time afterwards.

We did this whilst on a work permit. My OH is a structural engineer. Took less than 5 months from sending the application to London to landing as PRs.

Depends if you already have all the appliaction information to hand (police checks etc) as to whether it would be quicker for you than PNP though.

Judy in Calgary

What will your current employer do when you ask him to withdraw his LMO application? What will happen in the few months you'll probably have to wait for your future employer's LMO application to be approved?
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scrubbedexpat050

I was under the impression that as soon as you applied for your LMO with an employer, you are on implied status until you have the LMO. During the time which you are on implied status, you can still work. That's what happened to this Irish guy I work with. Am I wrong?

rae

thats a good question, not sure, presume it is from the day you land, as i was notified of my acceptance in uk, then if memory served had to land within 12 mths of accepting the offer. i think it will be landing date as i assume the only reason they put this time scale on you is to ensure they get some money out of you in taxes after sponsoring you to come over.

jimf

Last year I received two job offers from Canadian companies. In the time between verbal offer and written offer I did wonder whether the LMO process would alert each company to the other. It didn't seem to stop each offer.

How do you find civil engineering work in Calgary as compared to the UK? I work as a designer for one of the main consultants in the UK.

Both job offers last year were for 115k CD. Would that be considered a respectable salary for 15-20 years experience CENG MICE?

The jobs were both in the Toronto area. Turned the jobs down but now looking again focusing on western Canada. If you have any feedback on your Calgary experience it would be interesting to hear.

gryphea

Lots of people do seem to have more than one LMO being applied for.

gryphea

Did you apply this year through enginneryourcareer?

My OH is an engineer in Calgary. He really likes it. He had a very very stressful job in the UK and was working himself to an early grave preceeded probably by the divorce courts!! He has in some ways taken a slight step back and is now focusing on jobs/projects rather than on the management nightmare he ended up with in UK. Here he is probably on more money all told and is enjoying it far more. He says management tier are all really nice and he has the psych analysis to back this up, far less of them would sell their granny to get up the ladder. Far less budgetary pressures. Most jobs are sole sourced rather competitively bid. Margins and charge rates are far higher so there is more money floating around for nice things, traiing , team building etc. He sometimes has issues managing the clients who are less desicive than UK clients, he finds.

I am geotechnical and its funny I was offered two jobs and again it was pretty much exactly the same salary. I think they get them from the database/salary survey. My experiences echo my OPH's although I wasn't in consultancy recently in the UK.

BEst wishes

Gryph

scrubbedexpat050

Well, I haven't really been here that long, but the market seems to be very volatile at present for engineers here as far as I understand. People move around so much because there are so many opportunities here. I know that companies out here pump alot of money into junior civil engineers here. I'm on a salary in the mid $50k range, and this is literally my first engineering job out of University from the UK. I hear even that is on the low side for what most jr engineers earn here. I work for a small engineering company and the Project Managers with about 15 years experience earn about $80-90k. The ones with 20+ are probably on the range of your offers of $115k.

One thing to keep in mind though is that there's alot of money in Alberta and people get paid alot more than other provinces, but I've noticed, having lived in Toronto for a year by comparison that Calgary is more expensive in terms of goods and services (even though sales tax is only 5%). I know that if I worked in BC or Ontario I would be more likely to start on a salary in the range of $40-$48k, so bear that in mind if you are still planning to find work anywhere in Canada.