BC234

Hi all,

I've got a few questions regarding what's next during the wait for PR. My boyfriend is the primary applicant (I am common-law partner), and we're currently in Canada on a WP using the BC PNP nomination letter. Our visas expire middle of June this year and we just received AOR (and med requests) this past week.

BOWP is what he needs to apply for, right? I've done a lot of searching and reading, but I'm going round in circles to be honest! On the, "application to change conditions etc" form is it just the choice of "a work permit with the same employer", or does "temporary resident permit" need to be selected too? Do I then apply for an open work permit at the same time, or do I have to wait for his BOWP to be approved first? Also, does his employer have to fill out (and pay) the workers exempt from LMIA form?

I think I just need to be told I'm going in the right direction, I've looked at so much my head is now rather muddled. Sorry for all the questions (and I'm sure I have more), I appreciate any answers!

scootb

Yes,you need to apply for BOWP,or rather your boyfriend does,while he applies he can apply for yourself at the same time.(I applied for myself,my partner,and our 3 daughters)

You can choose the same employer option,I am sure that I did.

Also choose the option to work in Canada temporarily for more than 6 months,otherwise it takes you to the EE forms.

From what I have read the application is not tailored directly for BOWP that's why it has been causing so much confusion with a lot of people lol.

Good luck!

BC234

Cheers for the pointers and help, I appreciate it! Things are never too straightforward with CIC I can't wait to no longer fill out visa related forms!

palmerq

I am not sure if you can get the bowp if you are going through bc pnp, although I could be well wrong about that... When I emailed them(bc pnp) for the work permit support letter in february they responded by telling me ;

"the BC PNP does not support open bridging work permit support letters. You will receive a closed work permit support letter for your sponsoring employer only."

and on the Bridging work permit: eligibility parameters section of the cic site it says this, "provincial nominees who have not submitted a copy of their nomination letter with the application for a bridging work permit, or whose nomination letter specifically indicates employment restrictions"

I could be mistaken though, hopefully someone here knows better than me.

scootb

Tell me about it lol,filling out forms for a family of 5 is NO fun at all,I am so glad that this Friday we get to flagpole and no more forms until citizenship application time(I am guessing that will be fun!)

Zoe Bell

a tip about the citizenship stuff.

Start keeping a spreadshett now ( one for each person) of any overnight trips out of the country. That time when you come to fill in your citizenship stuff you'll have all the info you need.

Much easier than trying to piece it all together 5 ( or whatever) years down the road.

scootb

Thanks Zoe,but with 3 daughters,a dog,and another kid on the way in October I don't see us doing much travel over the next few years lol.

Am I right in thinking that my 2 years on TWP counts as 1 year towards citizenship,so after 2 years of PR we can apply for citizenship?

Zoe Bell

I think that might have changed recently. I'd check.

christmasoompa

It does now, but the rules are about to change to 4 years as a PR before being eligible for citizenship, so you're looking at 2019 before you can apply.

HTH.

HGerchikov

This is good advice. We did not do this and my husband travelled a lot with work, on several passports (he had passports from two countries and both had been renewed) and trying to track all the trips after the event was an absolute nightmare.

BritishCanadianCouple

Hi BC234,

Did you ever figure out what you are supposed to do in your situation? We are in similar timeline, current visa expired June. We have however just received our BCpnp nomination and are waiting for the package in the mail.

From what I understand with BCpnp you can not apply for a BOWP because the nomination is employer specific and like palmar you apply instead for a Closed work permit.

This is the information we received from the BCpnp email contact.

Our office does not support an open work permit, rather we support a closed work permit permitting the applicant to work for the employer supporting their application/nomination.

If you are nominated and your current work permit is expiring, in your decision package you should also receive a work permit support letter. You will need to apply for a work permit extension with CIC and submit supporting documents (work permit support letter, nomination certificate). You will receive the decision package in the mail.


I just want to be clear that we only need to send in the application to change condition documents and the nomination letter? Or was there anything else to send? Do you have an idea of the timeline?

BC234

We'd already used the PNP nomination to get a (closed) work permit, it's that one that is about to expire. You should be able to use the nomination letter to get yourself a work permit- and if you've got the nomination, I don't think the package should be far behind. (Ours came together.)

We're waiting on PR, so I think we want a BOWP as we have so little time left on the visa. On the paperwork, my boyfriend (whose nomination it is) did specify to be with the same employer. But so far, we're only at them having read the application, so we'll see how it goes!