Skilled worker, how to move and work ASAP + stay permanently

[Vince8]

Hello

I'm a French guy willing to move to Canada asap to work, and then live there (permanent immigration).
I would appreciate your advises on how to proceed and I will be very grateful for any suggestion.

Here are my caracteristics:
- French citizen
- 34 years old
- Master degree + 10 years of experience in computer science
- Perfectly speaking french/english (soon to pass IELTS and TEF)
- Single, no child, no criminal record, no known disease
- 20k€ financial reserves
- Proven high possibilities to find a job (I already put my resume on a Canadian job boards and had a lot of contacts)


So how can I proceed ?
Here are my plans:

For long term:
As soon as I have the test language (IELTS and TEF) I'll submit my Entry Express (skilled worker) visa demand for permanent immigration.
Can I do it twice, one for Canada, and once for Quebec ? For Quebec it would be QSWP : Quebec Skilled Worker Program I think

For short term (in 2 months):
Move to Canada with a tourist visa (having a return flight 5 months in the future).
Try to find a job, if success : get a work permit via my new employer, to be a temporary worker.


Knowing I'm 34 would it be interesting to play the Working Holiday Visa, in stead of the tourist visa ?
Apparently it may take a lot of time to proceed... I would like to move to Canada in 1 or 2 months....

Thanks a lot for answers and suggestions

V

 

[scylla]

You can't move to Canada on a tourist visa. Remember that if and how long you are allowed into Canada is entirely up to the CBSA officer who you speak with at the border. If the CBSA officer feels you are trying to move to Canada as a tourist or have plans to remain long term - you may only be allowed a very short visit and while it happens rarely, even refused entry.

You should apply for an IEC/Working Holiday Visa rather than "moving" to Canada on a tourist visa. The IEC is an open work permit that allows you to work for any employer. If you go the other route, you have to find an employer willing to offer you a full time job and who is also willing and able to obtain an approved LMIA - so that you can then apply for a closed work permit. This is typically very difficult to impossible to do since the vast majority of employers aren't willing to go through the LMIA process. While you may have contacts in Canada, it's a different story when an LMIA is required and even if you find a willing employer, there's no guarantee the LMIA will be approved (anything related to computers tends to be difficult for LMIAs since there's plenty of Canadian talent available). The IEC is the most viable option for coming to Canada soon.

You should post your specific questions related to Express Entry and QSWP in the relevant sections of this forum. You should take the language test(s) as soon as possible and also have your education officially assessed. You can't set up an EE profile until you have done these things and received the results.

 

[bellaluna]

OP, you can look into this, as there's a chance you can get a temporary work permit without an LMIA, under certain conditions:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/francophone.asp

The Canadian work experience will make it easier for you to apply for PR, with the boost in points.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/apply-who-permit-result.asp?q1_options=1i&q2_options=2m

You’re a French-speaking or bilingual skilled worker who intends to work in a Francophone community outside Quebec
Based on your answer, you may be eligible for an employer-specific work permit if you:

will live and work in a Francophone community outside Quebec,
have been recruited through a Francophone immigration promotional event coordinated between the federal government and francophone minority community stakeholders,
use French on a daily basis, and
will work in a job at a National Occupation Code (NOC) skill level of 0, A or B.
You do not have to work in French to be eligible for this permit. However, we may ask you to complete language testing after you apply. You must get a score of 7 on the TEF: Test d’évaluation de français (available in French only).

If you apply online, you should provide a letter of explanation that briefly explains how you meet these requirements.

Before you submit your work permit application, your employer must:

submit an offer of employment to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada,
pay a $230 employer compliance fee, and
provide you with an offer of employment number.
How to apply

If this is your first work permit under an LMIA exemption for Francophones working outside Quebec, you must:

fill out the Application for Work Permit Made Outside Canada (PDF, 345.06 KB), and
apply online or to a Visa Application Center (VAC).
If you’re already working in Canada under an LMIA exemption for Francophones, you can apply to extend your work permit.

There are also upcoming immigration information sessions in France this month, where I expect they can flesh out your options as a francophone, and you can look into the LMIA exemption (it's not too clear for me, as it is fairly new and not too popular on this forum):

http://www.destination-canada-forum-emploi.ca/sessions.php?lang=en


Maybe 1 or 2 months isn't too realistic, unless you are very, very lucky. But you already have the advantage of getting some callbacks for jobs from outside Canada.