FSW fast track

[gadi]

Hello Leon,

Thank you for the help and support you are providing members of this site. Currently, I am visiting my sister and I have been in Ontario for about a month or so. I am aware that I still have five months on my visit visa.
I would appreciate if you can answer my concerns/questions to the best of your ability.
I just turn forty and I started my career in finance and later I moved to IT/telecom sales. I do have five years experience in finance but I can only claim one year during the last ten years as finance manager and I have to work hard to come up with a reference!
Now to my concerns/questions
Can I extend my temporary visit visa another six months and on what ground? Does it interfere with my skilled worker application? Can I apply or change my status to student visa at a later stage?
Is one year of experience as Finance manager is sufficient enough to apply under FSW? What is the minimum requirement for references and if you can't obtain references what are my options? Would a financial accreditation help, I don't have one but I can get obtain one within six months?
What documents are required to apply for FWS and is IELTS a pre-request or it is recommended at later stage?
I have police clearance now but it was issue in April this year is it valid or I need a new one for later?
Currently, I am a resident of the UAE however, if I stay here for a long period of time I will loose my status (residency)? Should I apply as a resident of the UAE or my home country?
At what stage the Medial Exam is required and can I apply for it while I am in Canada?
Finally, is it true this is a fast track process or it will take the usual time (2-3years)?
I look forward to your response and thank you in advance for your help. 

[Leon]

You can apply to extend your visit visa based on that you want to explore Canada, spend more time with your sister or whatever you want.  There is no guarantee it will be approved though.  You will have to prove that you can support yourself and that you will leave at the end of your visa.

To get a student visa, you would have to be accepted to a university, you would still have to show that you can support yourself and pay your tuition and that you will go home a the end of your visa.  If you have already applied for PR via FSW, it may be hard to prove you are going home at the end of your visa.  You can apply to change your status from visitor to student.

To apply as an FSW under category 1, the list of 38, you only need 1 year experience in the last 10 years in one of the occupations on the list and you need to have at least 67 points.  You need to have letters from your former employers.  If you can't get a letter from your former employer, the best you can do is write a letter yourself about your job at that time and your job duties and get a former co-worker to verify that you worked there and did that job and hope that is good enough.

You will need a new police clearance when you are asked for documents and as for the IELTS, it's better to take it before you apply because then you can be sure of your points before you apply but if you choose to guess your points and take IELTS later when you are asked for documents, you can do that too.

It's up to you what country you apply from.  If you have at least a one year visa in the UAE, you can apply there.  You can have the medical exam in Canada if you want.  You can look at processing times at trackitt.com/canada-immigration-trackers/federal-skilled-workers

You can find answers to many of your by reading your application guide at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/guides/EG7.pdf and you can find a lot of other info by browsing through all the skilled worker pages starting at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/index.asp
Have fun

[gadi]

Thanks for your prompt response. I have been through the websites, but I realized that every single case has its unique situation or requirements. Can I apply Inland and if I get certified as financial manager while I am in Canada would it help my case? Finally, is it better to use a consultant, lawyer or nobody?

[Leon]

There is no inland FSW application.  If you have a 1 year student or work visa in Canada, you can opt to have your file processed in the US because they do not process FSW in Canada except for the first little part in Sydney.

Inland and outland applications refer to spousal sponsorships.

It doesn't really matter if you get certified as a financial manager in Canada.  If you have the work experience and points, you qualify same as everybody else with work experience and points.  There is no lottery.  If you qualify, you will get PR.  The only thing that might speed you up is if you have a job offer (AEO).  You can read about AEO's at http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/workplaceskills/foreign_workers/supperimm.shtml

Everybody uses the same forms so it's not like each case is special.  Your education and work experience translates to points, same as with everybody else.

If you are willing to do your own reading and research, you can apply yourself.  It's not that hard to fill out the forms and you have your case in your own hands and you save a bit of money.  If you want to get a consultant or a lawyer, research them first to find out if they are good.  I have heard that the lawyer who runs this forum is good, at least I haven't heard anything bad about him.