a visitor wishing to stay in canada

[kikikiarah88]

Hi. I am a visitor currently in Canada and wish to change my immigration status to stay. I've been in the country for almost 10 months now and wish to start a new life in Canada because i now like it here and it's a beautiful country. Besides, the company i worked for back in my home country kinda retrenched people (myself included). Anyone with any idea on how i can change my status within Canada before my visa is due in 2 and a half months and how best i can do that?

[scylla]

You won't be able to change your status from visitor to permanent resident in just two and a half months. Unfortunately the immigration process takes much longer than that.

As a first step, you'll need to determine if you actually qualify to immigrate to Canada (or what you need to do in order to qualify as an immigrant). I would recommend you start reading here and familiarize yourself with the various immigration categories available:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/index.asp

Hope this helps somewhat and let us know what questions you have once you've read through the various categories.

[kikikiarah88]

Thanks for the reply Scylla. How about extending my temporary stay then apply for a temporary skilled worker permit or something of that sort? Not that I'm in a hurry to be a perm res. I took the assement qualification but still expecting my responce today. Will take a look at the link you just sent me. Thanks

[scylla]

Yes - you can certainly request an extension to your visit.

To qualify for a temporary work permit, you will first have to find an employer who is willing to hire you. That employer will then have to apply for a Labour Market Opinion to request approval to hire you (as part of this process, the employer will have to prove they advertised the job and were unable to find a Canadian to fill the role). If the LMO is approved, you can then apply for a work permit. This is not an easy way to go since many employers are hesitant to go through the LMO process due to the amount of time it takes and the fact that some LMOs are refused.

How old are you? What country are you from? Depending on the answers, you might qualify for a working holiday visa which would allow you to live and work in Canada for a year.

[scylla]

Try this eligibility assessment tool. It's provided by the CIC and will give you an immediate reply:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/app/ctcvac/english/qc100