IEC change to work permit LMO needed? Same employer.

[Catou]

Hi all,
I'm asking a question for a panicked family member.
He is in Canada working full-time under an IEC visa. He has a letter from his employer saying that he is in a permanent position, working full-time and giving details of his job title and salary. His job was organised before he moved and he took up his position two weeks after arriving so will be two weeks short of being able to apply under the Experience Class. His employer wants him to stay for a further two years before heading home. However, following the changes to LMO's that happened this week his employer is unwilling to get an LMO due to costs.
The role is not currently in a skills shortage.

It is not strictly an intra-company transfer either, although he is working for the Canadian branch of the same international company he worked for at home. Because of the way this company works, he effectively resigned from his position at home and applied for his position in Canada. However, his starting date in Canada is recorded as the date he started with the overseas company because that's how they arrange moves within the overarching organisation.

Both the Canadian company and his original company overseas want him to stay on to gain experience in the Canadian one while sharing the experience gained at home. Is this going to be possible without an LMO or will he have to leave when his IEC visa expires?

I don't know if it makes any difference but he is from a visa-exempt country (for visiting anyway).

 

[scylla]

I'm assuming he's Australian? He needs an approved LMO if he wants to obtain a work permit.

Any chance he's allowed to apply for a second IEC? For some countries this is allowed.

 

[Catou]

Yes, he is Australian. His company won't apply for a LMO and CIC have told him he cannot apply for another IEC since he is there on an intra company transfer. However, the company doesn't treat it as an intra company transfer. He's stuck between a rock and a hard place at the moment since he loves Canada and really wants to stay for the next two years. Looking for another job that offers an LMO isn't the answer either because leaving the company would mean he doesn't have a job to come home to.

 

[Catou]

Anyone have any advice I can pass on to him please? He's rather panicked at the moment.

 

[nevenj]

Can you please answer several questions so I can give you more precise answers

1. how old is he
2. Is he on IEC working holiday or IEC young professionals
3. When did he enter Canada
4. What are the dates on his work permit
5. is this his first time that he is participating in IEC
6. This is the most important, please find letter of introduction which he received and see if the validity date is longer then expiry date of the work permit he holds.

I'm not Australian citizen but I'm here in Canada on IEC YP and I came with IEC WHP. I don't think your relative needs to worry about anything because Australia has a good deal with Canada in regards to IEC (there are almost no restrictions for participating as there are for other countries). I can tell you now that he is allowed to change his employer on IEC YP work permit (without LMO or anything similar) and the fact that he is missing two weeks for CEC doesn't pose any big problem and it can be solved.

I also have a friend from Australia who is here on IEC so I can ask him any for other information.

 

[Catou]

Can you please answer several questions so I can give you more precise answers

1. how old is he
2. Is he on IEC working holiday or IEC young professionals
3. When did he enter Canada
4. What are the dates on his work permit
5. is this his first time that he is participating in IEC
6. This is the most important, please find letter of introduction which he received and see if the validity date is longer then expiry date of the work permit he holds.

I'm not Australian citizen but I'm here in Canada on IEC YP and I came with IEC WHP. I don't think your relative needs to worry about anything because Australia has a good deal with Canada in regards to IEC (there are almost no restrictions for participating as there are for other countries). I can tell you now that he is allowed to change his employer on IEC YP work permit (without LMO or anything similar) and the fact that he is missing two weeks for CEC doesn't pose any big problem and it can be solved.

I also have a friend from Australia who is here on IEC so I can ask him any for other information.

He is not eligible for reapplying under IEC and has already been advised by CIC that he cannot do so. He cannot change to IEC YP either. Since his IEC visa expires two weeks before he will have worked for 12 months, he cannot apply for Canadian Experience Class either. So, he's a bit perplexed about what to do next.

Changing jobs is not an option because the whole reason he is in Canada is to bring his overseas skills and expertise to the Canadian subsidiary company then to learn the Canadian processes and take those skills back to his original subsidiary. He's not in Canada just to be in Canada - he is there to work at the Canadian subsidiary of the company he worked for overseas. The problem is that the corporation does not treat these personnel moves as intra company transfers so he has no idea of how to prove to CIC that this is what it is.

 

[nevenj]

He is not eligible for reapplying under IEC and has already been advised by CIC that he cannot do so. He cannot change to IEC YP either. Since his IEC visa expires two weeks before he will have worked for 12 months, he cannot apply for Canadian Experience Class either. So, he's a bit perplexed about what to do next.

Changing jobs is not an option because the whole reason he is in Canada is to bring his overseas skills and expertise to the Canadian subsidiary company then to learn the Canadian processes and take those skills back to his original subsidiary. He's not in Canada just to be in Canada - he is there to work at the Canadian subsidiary of the company he worked for overseas. The problem is that the corporation does not treat these personnel moves as intra company transfers so he has no idea of how to prove to CIC that this is what it is.

If he is not over 30 he can participate in IEC again.

https://www.whpcanada.org.au/faq.shtml

Q: Can I participate in the Canadian IEC initiative more than once?

A: Yes, you may participate in the IEC initiative more than once under the Canada-Australia youth mobility arrangement. The current policy has no limit to the number of times you can participate under the program as long as you continue to meet the age criteria and all other admissibility and eligibility requirements. You do not have to wait for your current work permit to expire before reapplying but the earliest you may mail a new IEC application to our office is 12 weeks before your current work permit expires. You must submit the correct Program Participation Fee with any new application.

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In regards to 2 missing weeks, he can send application for new work permit to CIC Vegreville in Canada which will be refused, but during that process he is in implied status and he is allowed to work while he waits for (negative) response (this is response from CIC customer service). If I'm not mistaken work experience gained under implied status can be counted for CEC.

Furthermore, I came here with IEC WH visa, started to work for one company as software developer on contract via recruiting agency. While I was working and my IEC WH visa was valid I managed to get a contract for another year and I applied for IEC YP visa which was issued without any problems. Participation in IEC is not evaluated by regular visa offices but by special commision in our countries.

If you relative is bellow 30 I don't see any problem with him applying for IEC, there is no limitation in number of times he can participate, and there is enough available places for IEC WH and IEC YP for Australia. People I know here who are from Australia didn't have any problems with getting new work permits under IEC. There is only one little thing in regards to applying for another participation, and that is that in official manuals for IEC, there is a part which says that it is preferable that second participation for IEC is in YP category.

And please find his letter of introduction (he received by email or regular mail and had to present it to visa officer when entering Canada), it has expiry date and official australian IEC program states that you can spend up to two years in Canada, which can mean that his letter of introduction has validity for two years while his work permit was valid for only one year. Again, official manuals do predict this possibility, and if expiry date of letter of introduction is longer then expiry date on work permit he is allowed to apply for extension of his current work permit.