Can I get 1 year of canadian experience for EE working with the Working Holiday visa + Young Professionals visa?

[david8911]

I'm trying to see if there's any way to boost my EE points while being already in Canada. At first I forgot about this option because I realised it would be impossible to get 1 year of experience within the 1 year Working Holiday visa, but then I read that some countries can "extend" it to two years.

The website says:

Note: As a Spanish citizen, you may participate in IEC twice. You must choose a different category each time. There must be a three-month break between the expiry date of your first Canadian work permit under IEC and the submission date of your second IEC work permit application.

For the sake of simplicity, let's assume that there's no problems with covid (because now IEC requires a job offer) and I get accepted. Does this mean, that I can get the Working Holiday Visa for 1 year, go there, find a job, and work for around 7-8 months until the permit ends and then apply for the Young Professionals visa to continue working?

So some doubts with this:

- If I get the YP and work some more months, would this count as a year of canadian experience or does it have to be continuous?
- Does this mean I have stop working in Canada for at least 2 months after the WH visa expires and then apply for the other provided I have a job offer? Is there any way to just extend it if my employer wishes to do so?

Thanks for the help

 

[scylla]

I'm trying to see if there's any way to boost my EE points while being already in Canada. At first I forgot about this option because I realised it would be impossible to get 1 year of experience within the 1 year Working Holiday visa, but then I read that some countries can "extend" it to two years.

The website says:

Note: As a Spanish citizen, you may participate in IEC twice. You must choose a different category each time. There must be a three-month break between the expiry date of your first Canadian work permit under IEC and the submission date of your second IEC work permit application.

For the sake of simplicity, let's assume that there's no problems with covid (because now IEC requires a job offer) and I get accepted. Does this mean, that I can get the Working Holiday Visa for 1 year, go there, find a job, and work for around 7-8 months until the permit ends and then apply for the Young Professionals visa to continue working?

So some doubts with this:

- If I get the YP and work some more months, would this count as a year of canadian experience or does it have to be continuous?
- Does this mean I have stop working in Canada for at least 2 months after the WH visa expires and then apply for the other provided I have a job offer? Is there any way to just extend it if my employer wishes to do so?

Thanks for the help

Yes, this is possible.

- You would need to stop working between the time your WH expires and your YP is approved. The break would be more than two months. You can't apply for the YP until your WH has been expired for 3 months. So more like a 5-6 month break in being able to work.
- If you want to continue working without stopping, your employer would need to obtain an approved LMIA so that you can switch to a closed work permit (vs. going for the YP which requires no LMIA).
- Work experience in Canada does not have to be continuous to count towards CEC. As long as it's in a NOC A, B or 0 skill level role, you are good.

 

[scylla]

I'm trying to see if there's any way to boost my EE points while being already in Canada. At first I forgot about this option because I realised it would be impossible to get 1 year of experience within the 1 year Working Holiday visa, but then I read that some countries can "extend" it to two years.

The website says:

Note: As a Spanish citizen, you may participate in IEC twice. You must choose a different category each time. There must be a three-month break between the expiry date of your first Canadian work permit under IEC and the submission date of your second IEC work permit application.

For the sake of simplicity, let's assume that there's no problems with covid (because now IEC requires a job offer) and I get accepted. Does this mean, that I can get the Working Holiday Visa for 1 year, go there, find a job, and work for around 7-8 months until the permit ends and then apply for the Young Professionals visa to continue working?

So some doubts with this:

- If I get the YP and work some more months, would this count as a year of canadian experience or does it have to be continuous?
- Does this mean I have stop working in Canada for at least 2 months after the WH visa expires and then apply for the other provided I have a job offer? Is there any way to just extend it if my employer wishes to do so?

Thanks for the help

Adding to my comments above... Spain is unfortunately one of those countries where you are required to be a resident of Spain at the time you apply. So you would need to physically return to Spain after your WH ends to re-establish yourself as a resident there, wait the three months from the time your WH expired, and then submit an application into the pool for YP. Switching from the WH to the YP while remaining in Canada won't be possible.