Can I study full time while waiting for my immigration hELP

[littleapple]

Hi everyone,

I got my nomination from AINP and currently I am waiting for FN from CIC.
I want to go back to university studing full time in Fall 2015.
Called AINP Office this afternoon, they said no I have to work until I become an immgrant.
I am not sure if there are other ways to get around if I really want to go back to school this coming September.

Thanks!

 

[stillwaiting001]

Hi everyone,

I got my nomination from AINP and currently I am waiting for FN from CIC.
I want to go back to university studing full time in Fall 2015.
Called AINP Office this afternoon, they said no I have to work until I become an immgrant.
I am not sure if there are other ways to get around if I really want to go back to school this coming September.

Thanks!

you need to wait for sure

 

[liisa227]

You can only study if you have a study permit. I don't think you're allowed to hold two types of permit at the same time to make your scenario possible (i.e. have a study permit as well as work permit). So unfortunately you would need to wait until you become a PR.

 

[fistillarte]

You can work and study part-time, that you can do.

 

[littleapple]

Hi Thank you for your reply. May I know the source of your info? Thanks!

You can work and study part-time, that you can do.

 

[Quink]

Check your current work permit. It will explicitly say if you're allowed to study. Mine says "Unless authorized, prohibited from attending any educational institutions and taking any academic, professional or vocational training course."

Don't be confused by the "unless authorized" comment - if you have this condition you are NOT allowed to study.

 

[littleapple]

Thank you! Yes mine has that too. But can I apply for another study permit?

Thanks!

 

[Quink]

I think you're able to apply for any permit you want at any time, however you can't have a work and study permit at the same time. And since the PNP program is based on you having a full time job, it might invalidate your nomination.

I'm definitely no expert on this though, as I've never held a study permit in Canada. But I think trying to do this will cause you problems. I'd say you should continue with the PNP process until you get your PR, and if that means waiting another year for school then so be it. Don't make the difficult process of being a Canadian Permanent Resident any harder than it already is!

 

[fistillarte]

Again, you can't have both permits. You can study part-time because part-time programs don't require a study permit. that's why you can do that.

 

[Quink]

I don't think you can do a full length course as a part time student though. The only exception to the permit requirement is if it's a short course lasting less than 6 months to completion.

Please correct me if I'm wrong though - I don't have a source for this, but I'm pretty sure I've read that somewhere (will look for a source now).

 

[fistillarte]

Yes exactly! So technically you're not enrolling in a program. You're just taking a course, and then another, etc. But you're not part of a program. You just take courses that belong to that program, and later on you use those credits into the program when you become a PR.

 

[Quink]

Ah OK, I understand what you mean there. Personally I'd get legal advice from an immigration lawyer just to make absolutely sure on that though. Not saying you're wrong, but it's always worth an official opinion - especially because the consequences of getting this one wrong will probably get you deported...

 

[littleapple]

Thanks everybody! Your words are appreciated!

I am stressed. Because I really want to go back to school and start taking courses.
I applied PR through AINP strategic recruitment stream- post graduate worker stream

Now I am waiting for FN from CiC
Yes my work permit says that I cannot take any sort of training while on my work permit
So instead of enrolling into the academic program, can I just take two courses while working part time?

Or AINP wants me to stay on full time working until I get PR?
Thanks again!

 

[Quink]

In all seriousness, this is what you need to do. Work out what courses you would like to take, get all the details of the start dates/times, length of course, etc. Then book a consultation with an immigration lawyer and tell them your plan, and ask them if it's absolutely certain that what you are intending to do is legal.

This forum is awesome for getting general advice and for sharing our timelines so we can estimate how long CIC processes take, but you have very specific questions and I think you should get professional legal advice. As I said earlier, a mistake here can get you deported from Canada (and possibly banned from coming back for a length of time).

I don't mean to scare you, but please be careful relying only on the advice of this forum.

 

[liisa227]

In all seriousness, this is what you need to do. Work out what courses you would like to take, get all the details of the start dates/times, length of course, etc. Then book a consultation with an immigration lawyer and tell them your plan, and ask them if it's absolutely certain that what you are intending to do is legal.

This forum is awesome for getting general advice and for sharing our timelines so we can estimate how long CIC processes take, but you have very specific questions and I think you should get professional legal advice. As I said earlier, a mistake here can get you deported from Canada (and possibly banned from coming back for a length of time).

I don't mean to scare you, but please be careful relying only on the advice of this forum.

I agree with Quink - don't chance everything you've achieved this far just because you want to go to school a year earlier. To me, taking a bunch of program-specific courses while not technically enrolling in the program, and assuming it's ok because technically it's ok, seems risky. CIC has enough power not to care about technicalities. If they find out you've been studying, and they determine that you've been deliberately bending the rules to be able to work and study at the same time, they can make your life miserable.

Again, it's a very good advice to consult a professional like Quink says. You've made it through the PNP grinder, which is the hardest part. PR stage is basically just a waiting game, and while waiting inevitably becomes excruciatingly hard, it's SO worth it. Maybe there is a legal way of doing what you want to do, but before you sign up or proceed with anything, make absolutely sure you know what you're about to do and whether it's worth it.