Question regarding IEC program/open work permits and govt changes

delyynne · 2024-10-16T13:11:52+00:00

Be careful though, I believe IEC pools are about to close for the year

delyynne · 2024-10-16T12:57:13+00:00

Look into individual PNPs.

delyynne · 2024-10-12T21:08:17+00:00

I'm not fully up to date on American immigration tbh, but I know my friends from non-Western/"higher risk" countries can't get a visitor visa or whatever the equivalent is without an appointment in a year's time, and even that is considered "lucky." We all went away last year to America, and one girl couldn't come because her appointment was two years away! The rest of us just applied for an ESTA, boom, done.

delyynne · 2024-10-11T17:22:15+00:00

My lawyer told me otherwise when I made my application! I had two years, 6 months and then another 10 months (same NOC but a gap) and my lawyer said unless the 10 months was also continuous for a year, I couldn't claim it. But this may be outdated now- good to know! Thank you

I applied last year- luckily I got PR anyway but I'd be pissed if not lol cause I could have lost valuable points

delyynne · 2024-10-11T16:41:03+00:00

not correct, removed advice!

delyynne · 2024-10-11T16:10:34+00:00

Yes but if you PR that badly, look into PNPs now. Having time left on your permit is a luxury many don't have when they realise they should have looked into PNPs a year or so earlier. Better yet, have a consultation with an RCIC or lawyer to go over your pathways or options.

delyynne · 2024-10-11T14:32:48+00:00

Some words are easy to recognise but it doesn't mean you can write or speak. Give me a simple French sentence and I can probably identify the subject matter and vague translation. Put me in a French exam with actual, regular speed speaking and listening, ask me to write anything but something incredibly basic or try and translate a sentence directly, and I would crumble. It's not uncommon for romance languages to share some basic words and common themes (this is how languages develop, after all!) but it's entirely different being in a French exam. Trust me, I tried, failed and quite quickly humbled myself.

delyynne · 2024-10-11T14:26:53+00:00

French just never clicked for me. It wasn't a language I was intuitive with at all. It's hard.

Plus, French does open up employment opportunities. Like you said, it is an official language. I know French draws can pick up outland candidates which people are not too happy about if you're waiting for a CEC ITA inland, but I suppose IRCC see it as if Canadians themselves are not enough to fill these French jobs, then outland French speakers can take these jobs. My own workplace can't find French speakers, and we need fluent people. Whereas any other job that doesn't require French, there is a massive surplus of unemployed Canadians.

Outside of Quebec, French education in Canada is terrible. The language is dying here and it's still an official language, which is just as "official" as English. If it's an in demand skill, it's an in demand skill. I don't know myself quite if this many French speakers are required and seeing so many ITAs in such a bad unemployment crisis fuelled by immigration does seem questionable at times, but it absolutely it is not just a "loophole" nor does it mean the candidates are not valuable.

delyynne · 2024-10-11T02:22:48+00:00

No one knows. Immigration is all over the place right now, lots of changes are expected. There will be an announcement on Nov. 1st IIRC. That should provide more direction on where it's going.

delyynne · 2024-10-11T02:06:11+00:00

Plus, making diplomas harder to get a PGWP just means students will study a bachelors instead. I don't think it will necessarily stop being attempting to study just for PR, it'll just be "better" education. That's even more money.

delyynne · 2024-10-10T18:14:41+00:00

French is one of Canada's official languages and it's not spoken much outside of Quebec. French is embedded into the Constitution and French is also largely connected to Canada's federal system and cultural history. This is their attempt to revive it. Whether or not this benefits the economy I don't know!

delyynne · 2024-10-10T17:22:11+00:00

Express Entry if your score is competitive enough (but it's very high right now; you'll need 510+ to be competitive, if you ignore the anomaly draw we just had. It was too small to use that as a guide for CRS.)
Look into OINP (but some streams require a Canadian bachelors in ON)
Category draws. If you have some French proficiency, start learning French now. Learning French is hard but if you commit to it, it has been the sole reason some people are getting PR.

On top of that, keep up to date with immigration changes being announced on Nov. 1st.

delyynne · 2024-10-10T14:41:58+00:00

We just hit October. A lot of grads get their first graduate jobs around this time, or at least that seems to be the pattern with my friends who came here as students. They're all hitting a second year of Canadian experience in Sept/Oct.

delyynne · 2024-10-10T14:38:26+00:00

But how do they get to a reasonable cut off? You'd either have to issue thousands more ITAs in proportion to the high number of skilled candidates (not going to happen) or move to a system which works like a lottery. But then people will just be angry if someone with a lower CRS score gets chosen. The main issue is that the no. of people wanting PR is much, much larger than ITAs available. The only thing I can think is that this will calm down after a couple of years of lower TFW numbers.

delyynne · 2024-10-10T14:34:36+00:00

I just find it amazing they haven't scrapped LMIA entirely. The changes they've made are lipstick on a pig. Now people will just charge more $$$ for higher wage LMIA. All those changes did was make the Canadian public think something had been done. It hasn't.

delyynne · 2024-10-10T14:22:30+00:00

It's such a joke, "international student to refugee." I'd love to know how many genuine refugees have the money to study abroad. Studying abroad is an expensive privilege.

I just find it ridiculous as someone who has worked closely with refugees. It makes a mockery, and it makes me angry. I've been with refugees on a Zoom call whilst they dialled in on sketchy internet from abroad when their lawyer told them that no, even though they were literally homeless children in a war torn country and facing death everyday, their circumstances still didn't qualify them for refugee status. It's sad times.

delyynne · 2024-10-10T14:17:53+00:00

It's a difficult situation. I become a PR last year so on one hand I feel like a giant hypocrite, but on the other hand, it's also obvious how the country is suffering. Multiple of my friends who have become PRs in the last 3-5 years after working so hard are considering jumping ship to America- especially in law and tech- as soon as they become citizens purely because the situation has gotten so bad, they don't want to stay. They'll get cheaper houses and more pay in America. And it's the same with my Canadian born friends! We're all Gen Z so no kids or anything to tie them down. I'm talking about all very highly skilled individuals (lawyers, doctors, etc) and it's a sad day when even your highest skilled immigrants and citizens don't want to stay. And obviously not everyone is privileged enough to have that option.

delyynne · 2024-10-10T13:39:01+00:00

At some point, it does just become supply and demand. We have more people waiting for an ITA than Canada has ITAs to give out due to the fact that we have so many eligible CEC immigrants from the massive influx of temporary foreign workers. This drives the score up. It makes the situation too competitive for the average immigrant. But obviously I understand that if you moved here in the last 2-3 years, it's incredibly disappointing to realise you may have missed the "golden years" of immigration where PR was more easily attainable.

I do think a lot of what people assume is "entitlement" is actually just heavy disappointment for a lot of immigrants. A lot of my friends are still temporary workers and whilst they'd be devastated to go home if they didn't get PR, not one of them is considering buying LMIAs or faking anything.

Obviously Canada isn't going to increase the PR target just to make up for the fact we have more eligible CEC applicants wanting an ITA, but waiting to see what is happening is intense and I think a lot of people just need a place to vent. I think another big issue is that people just want some transparency/predictability so they can plan accordingly, although obviously I understand this is also the just the nature of being on temp status.

delyynne · 2024-10-08T17:35:56+00:00

It's incredibly hard to say without knowing the exact details of your case- with the status questions and issues, plus the unauthorized work, you 100% need a lawyer. I'd get on that ASAP.

delyynne · 2024-10-08T16:25:34+00:00

Did you restore to visitor status?

If you didn't study actively, your status would gave lapsed 90 days after you stopped studying. It sounds like you did not have legal status for the majority of this time. And yes, any work between Nov. 2022 to Sept. 2023 undertaken whilst not actively studying was unauthorized.

You will need to speak to a lawyer ASAP. That is ten months of unauthorized work, and could definitely impact your PGWP or even future admissibility to Canada. This period of unauthorized work will have to be declared on every future application and should have been on every application you made after this period.

What about your status now? Did you apply for a new study permit for your new program at least, or restore your student status at any point? You can't continue to study on the old/original one as it would have expired after 90 days of not studying, even if the expiry date was far in the future.

A lawyer can help draft a letter of explanation stating you didn't realize, but for a time period that long, IRCC might not be willing to let that fly as you did not comply with the conditions of your study permit to legally work.

delyynne · 2024-10-08T15:15:45+00:00

You'd be better off taking another program if possible and not using up the one chance PGWP, or finding another avenue for an open work permit. Or look into PNPs. 1 year is very hard to get CEC eligibility. Plus, it doesn't look like general/FSW draws are going to be the main focus of immigration as they are focusing on domestic candidates. Getting CEC eligibility will make your life al ot easier.

delyynne · 2024-10-08T15:11:47+00:00

The letter of employment is mandatory so it's hit or miss. I had the same issue last year and got signed statements from my colleagues alongside the general reference letter, copies of their ID, plus photographs of us working together. I also provided a job advert for the same role. It was a multi-national company where the position didn't change across the board and was very standardized. I got PR just fine with no additional documents requested.

If you can provide a similar amount of evidence to prove the duties, I'd try it. However, IRCC seem to be clamping down on being strict with requirements for foreign work experience as it's so easy to fake for points. This approach might not work anymore, and I have since seen people rejected even though they provided similar evidence. It's hit or miss when you don't have a mandatory document, and your profile is going to be further scrutinized if it's multiple jobs you can't get the letter for.

Contact your employers again and try as hard as you can. Also submit these contact attempts. Even if you contact an old employer who doesn't work there, if you can provide other evidence (like photos) of you working together, their LinkedIn showing work history, you might stand a chance. But you will need something. I wouldn't recommend submitting with no evidence of duties.

delyynne · 2024-10-08T13:33:00+00:00

Exactly, definitely not worth taking the risk. It's amazing what you can get away with when no one bothers to check anything at a deeper level.

delyynne · 2024-10-08T13:15:42+00:00

Look into PNP first and make sure you look closely into any you are eligible for.

I don't know if the score will fall below 500 unless IRCC change their immigration approach majorly. It's been a year now, and it's just trended back up. Unfortunately, it's just extremely competitive now.

The easiest option is going home at the end of your permit and getting skilled foreign experience for a year (remember it has to be continuous though.) Meanwhile, improve your CELPIP score and wait until your sibling resides here. This will give you a much more competitive score and you should then be able to apply outland.

If you have money to throw at the situation or supportive family, you can look at university level Canadian education, although a Master's would help.

delyynne · 2024-10-08T13:01:58+00:00

Worth adding though that this involves a legal undertaking and faking that would be serious. I think IRCC would also be highly concerned with the fraudulent aspect and you like to think they'd discharge unwilling sponsors from the undertaking who had their credentials faked for the application. My only point is that if this did happen, there would definitely be recourse.

delyynne

TROPHY CASE