Eligible for permanent residency?

[nsk]

Hi everybody,

I am a German consultant working in the SAP banking industry. I am currently working in Canada under an inter company transfer work permit for 11 months already. My work permit is bound to my company and i am thinking about becoming an independent contractor. I would require perm residency status to do so.

My questions are, am i eligible for any program?

Details
- 28 years old
- german citizen
- diploma in maths (equivalent to masters degree)
- 18 years of education (school and university)
- working on canadian project for 11 months, more than 40 hours a week. Exceptions: vacation and short travels to Europe
- more than 2.5 years experience in the banking IT consulting area (subject matter expert)
- current project will go on for at least one more year (canadian bank)
- SIN number and address in Canada
- i dont have an active job letter from a canadian company. I could somehow arrange something if it is really necessary
- current work permit expires soon and will receive a new one
- my german company or the registered part in canada will file taxes for me for 2012. I dont know the details
- fluent english skills in writing and reading. Worked my whole business life abroad
- very limited French knowledge
- decent salary and savings

I hope this is sufficient information but i can provide more if needed.

Would i be eligible for perm residency? If yes which program? How long would it take?
Besides getting a police certificate and a language test what else would i need?
I browsed the canadian gov side but i couldnt figure out what exactly the requirements are.

I really would appreciate some input

Thanks a lot

 

[namaste]

You might be eligible to apply under the Canadian experience class (CEC). Refer to the link below:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/cec/index.asp

The above website will tell you everything you need to know about this program. If you are eligible under this, it will most likely be the easiest way for you to get a PR.

You might also be eligible for the federal skilled worker program (FSWP) which begins in May this year. But, this program has a much wider pool of applicants, and it might be difficult to get PR without a valid job offer in Canada. Also, the rules and requirements for this program aren't out yet.

Since you are already in Canada, you could also try to go through provincial nominee program. Follow the link: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/apply.asp

 

[iam_toby]

Read into the CEC program.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/cec/index.asp
You'll find all the information and requirements on the CIC website.

Cheers

 

[nsk]

Hi all,

I checked the CEC program processing time. It says it is 13 months.
Would the skilled worker program be any faster?
I have to get the certificate first anyway. I am flying to germany in may.

Cheers

 

[namaste]

FSWP already has long backlogs that they are trying to clear. Even if you applied to FSWP with a valid job offer (the fastest way), the processing probably wouldn't be any faster than the CEC. Check this link for details: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/index.asp

So, if you are eligible for CEC, that's the best and the fastest way for you.

Hi all,

I checked the CEC program processing time. It says it is 13 months.
Would the skilled worker program be any faster?
I have to get the certificate first anyway. I am flying to germany in may.

Cheers

 

[nsk]

Thanks for the answer.
I have another question. Before coming to canada i worked in south africa for 1.5 years but never longer than 3 months at a time. The reasons was that there wasnt an one year work permit program. Instead a tourist visa with sometimes a permission to work as an extra stamp was stamped into my passport. THe visa was valid for 90 days. This whole process was in accordance with a lawyer. However i wasnt registered as a temp resident in south africa, nor did i have an official address there. I lived in a hotel apartment.

My question is, do i need a police certificate for that time? There wont be any record because as explained above i wasnt registered and i flew back to europe every 2nd to third month. Also i did not need one to obtain my current work permit. It would be very hard to get one from pretoria.

Thanks

 

[namaste]

As per the instruction, CIC says "These documents are to be provided for each country other than Canada, in which you have lived for six consecutive months or longer since reaching the age of 18."
Based on this statement, my interpretation is that you wouldn't need to provide PCC for South Africa. But, I am not exactly sure what constitutes a "6 consecutive months." In case you need one, here's a link that tell you how to get it.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/africa/south-africa.asp