Can I show my Canadian Spouse's bank account statements as proof of funds?

[menaka_p89]

My husband is a Permanent Resident of Canada, we got married in November, 2019 and filed our Family Sponsorship application in March, 2020. As the spousal applications have been significantly delayed because of COVID-19 I am exploring the possibility of applying for Express Entry. I understand that for a two-person household and despite the fact that my husband is a Canadian PR, I will have to show $16,135 as proof of funds. My question is whether I can show my husband's bank statements as proof of funds along with mine?

Secondly, does a person have to be presently employed to be eligible for Express Entry? I have over 3 years of full-time experience in an eligible occupation. I worked from May, 2016 to February, 2018 then January, 2019 to present. Does that qualify as a valid experience?

Thank you!

 

[lostinquebec]

My husband is a Permanent Resident of Canada, we got married in November, 2019 and filed our Family Sponsorship application in March, 2020. As the spousal applications have been significantly delayed because of COVID-19 I am exploring the possibility of applying for Express Entry. I understand that for a two-person household and despite the fact that my husband is a Canadian PR, I will have to show $16,135 as proof of funds. My question is whether I can show my husband's bank statements as proof of funds along with mine?

Secondly, does a person have to be presently employed to be eligible for Express Entry? I have over 3 years of full-time experience in an eligible occupation. I worked from May, 2016 to February, 2018 then January, 2019 to present. Does that qualify as a valid experience?

Thank you!

You seem to qualify for CEC program within EE if the work experiences you´re describing are canadian experiences, and in that case proof of funds is not needed. But keep in mind that currently all PR applications are delayed because of COVID-19, including EE. And I don´t think it´s a good idea to apply for multiple parallel PR applications at the same time.

 

[menaka_p89]

You seem to qualify for CEC program within EE if the work experiences you´re describing are canadian experiences, and in that case proof of funds is not needed. But keep in mind that currently all PR applications are delayed because of COVID-19, including EE. And I don´t think it´s a good idea to apply for multiple parallel PR applications at the same time.

Thanks for your response. My work experience is outside Canada therefore, I was considering applying under the Federal Skilled Worker category. Spousal applications from my country had significantly long waiting times pre-COVID too compared to EE which was processed much faster. Perhaps I should've taken the EE decision, to begin with, but I can't go back in time. I believe I have the necessary skills/qualifications to look into EE. I'd just like to know about the proof of funds and if the work experience needed for Federal Skilled Worker needs to be continuous. Thanks again!

 

[lostinquebec]

Thanks for your response. My work experience is outside Canada therefore, I was considering applying under the Federal Skilled Worker category. Spousal applications from my country had significantly long waiting times pre-COVID too compared to EE which was processed much faster. Perhaps I should've taken the EE decision, to begin with, but I can't go back in time. I believe I have the necessary skills/qualifications to look into EE. I'd just like to know about the proof of funds and if the work experience needed for Federal Skilled Worker needs to be continuous. Thanks again!

For FSW program the minimum is 1 year of continuous work (or the equivalent of continuous 1560 hours) within the last 10 years in the same NOC you want to use on your PR application. For proof of funds you can use your husband´s, but you need to prove you also have legal access to it, for example a joint account under both you and your husbands name.

Good luck!

 

[menaka_p89]

For FSW program the minimum is 1 year of continuous work (or the equivalent of continuous 1560 hours) within the last 10 years in the same NOC you want to use on your PR application. For proof of funds you can use your husband´s, but you need to prove you also have legal access to it, for example a joint account under both you and your husbands name.

Good luck!

Thank you so much, that is really helpful! One more quick question, My first full-time employment experience was from May 2016 to February 2018 then I took a gap until December, 2018 to complete my final year of MBA. I have been employed since January, 2019 in my current job. Both these jobs fall under the same NOC, which makes it more than 3 years of total full-time work experience. Would this help my score or will my job experience points be based on either one of the two continuous work experiences? Does that 10-month educational gap have an impact on my job experience score?

 

[lostinquebec]

Thank you so much, that is really helpful! One more quick question, My first full-time employment experience was from May 2016 to February 2018 then I took a gap until December, 2018 to complete my final year of MBA. I have been employed since January, 2019 in my current job. Both these jobs fall under the same NOC, which makes it more than 3 years of total full-time work experience. Would this help my score or will my job experience points be based on either one of the two continuous work experiences? Does that 10-month educational gap have an impact on my job experience score?

Once you qualify for FSW program and you enter the Express Entry pool, the gap won´t matter, you can add points for the 3 years of experience in total.