Candidates on open work permits and working in Canada need more visibility in Express Entry system.
The Express Entry system for immigration, putting thousands of temporary workers on post graduate work permit in great difficulty. Foreigners graduating from Canadian universities and colleges formerly had various options to stay. Consequently, many of us did work towards said options, as life resulted in many of us losing their heart to this county. We have been in Canada for 3 to 6 years, have settled down, adapted and assimilated with the Canadian society and culture. Also, we already have full time jobs which we had to compete for. In fact, well-integrated and hard-working students bring many benefits to Canada:
- Our brains! An economy thrives when people create and innovate. Studies show that nearly half of innovative start-ups are founded by immigrants. However, in order to continue doing so, we need more than just a (hard-to-get) start-up visa.
- Your future. Much like in most Western countries, Canada's suffering from an aging population. We'd be your tax-payers of the future. So, don't throw us out just yet...
- We have special skills. For dozens of years, immigrants have brought many benefits to Canadian businesses. Not only are we well-educated and hard-working, we also add a ton of value with our language skills. Many of us speak and write more than 5 (!) languages.
- We create jobs. Immigrants found about 50% of new ventures. Down the line, this means that we don't just create our own job but many more. Look at Montreal, Toronto, or Vancouver: the number of foreign business owners is immense!
- We have a Canadian education: most foreign post-graduates studied in Canada for 2 to 4 years.
- Our youth and health: We are young and thus not a major burden on the heath system (yet, we pay the health premiums as part of our taxes).
- Most of us are single: International students will most probably be immigrating to Canada by themselves, thus neither burdening Canada by bringing in families nor using the health and education systems.
Unfortunately, the recent draw in the Express Entry system brought up the following concerns:
1. Points awarded for Canadian work experience are too few (Considering the whole thing is out of 1200).
2. We did not get CRS-Arranged Employment points since we already have a full time job without LMIA as we are on PGWP?
3. We are (in most cases) educated in Canada often with 2 to 4 year degrees.
4. Our English language skills are up to the mark.
5. We have work experience here.
6. We required to create a Job Bank profile even though we have full time jobs?
7. We are already in Canada, often for 3-6 years and have already settled down, adapted and assimilated with the Canadian society and culture.
8. We already have full time jobs which we had to compete and struggle for to acquire.
9. As international students we have been contributing to the Canadian economy by paying extremely high fees (including fees, residence, travel, food and other expenses).
10. We have been paying taxes on our salaries as well as other purchases for 3-6 years we have been here.
11. We are young and thus not a major burden on the health system (and we pay the health premiums in our taxes).
12. International students will most probably be immigrating to Canada by themselves, thus not burdening Canada by bringing in families and burdening the health and education systems with a few exceptions.
13. We are already working in Canada on open PGWP, this puts us in a very difficult position in terms of being LMIA exempt. Our employers are mostly not willing to apply for LMIA or they might even let us go thinking that we are only going to be in CANADA for a short time period. No promotions either if he finds out about this whole LMIA thing.
14. We are mostly recent graduate and cannot score anything for the foreign experience section, as we mostly have Canadian work experience again with a few exceptions.
15. Even if you bring in foreign workers with foreign work experience, trust me Canadian companies prefer candidates with Canadian experience first (so why not keep PGWP with experience here).
16. Some of us are in a very difficult situation as their work permits are expiring soon and by the time few draws are done and CRS comes down to their level it would be too late.
17. Having a job offer and an LMIA doesn't mean you're going to integrate fantastically well in Canada, you might get fired after a week for being useless. You would think a year or more of proven work experience with a Canadian employer would be afforded more recognition
So below are our suggestions
1. Let candidates who are in express entry pool and have expiring post graduate work permit be allowed to extend their post graduate work permits.
2. Eliminate LMIA requirement for Candidates on post graduate work permit and award them the 600 points.
3. If LMIA requirement cannot be eliminated then atleast make LMIA process easy and educate employers and promote employers to apply for LMIA. Also increase points awarded for Canadian experience.
The Express Entry system for immigration, putting thousands of temporary workers on post graduate work permit in great difficulty. Foreigners graduating from Canadian universities and colleges formerly had various options to stay. Consequently, many of us did work towards said options, as life resulted in many of us losing their heart to this county. We have been in Canada for 3 to 6 years, have settled down, adapted and assimilated with the Canadian society and culture. Also, we already have full time jobs which we had to compete for. In fact, well-integrated and hard-working students bring many benefits to Canada:
- Our brains! An economy thrives when people create and innovate. Studies show that nearly half of innovative start-ups are founded by immigrants. However, in order to continue doing so, we need more than just a (hard-to-get) start-up visa.
- Your future. Much like in most Western countries, Canada's suffering from an aging population. We'd be your tax-payers of the future. So, don't throw us out just yet...
- We have special skills. For dozens of years, immigrants have brought many benefits to Canadian businesses. Not only are we well-educated and hard-working, we also add a ton of value with our language skills. Many of us speak and write more than 5 (!) languages.
- We create jobs. Immigrants found about 50% of new ventures. Down the line, this means that we don't just create our own job but many more. Look at Montreal, Toronto, or Vancouver: the number of foreign business owners is immense!
- We have a Canadian education: most foreign post-graduates studied in Canada for 2 to 4 years.
- Our youth and health: We are young and thus not a major burden on the heath system (yet, we pay the health premiums as part of our taxes).
- Most of us are single: International students will most probably be immigrating to Canada by themselves, thus neither burdening Canada by bringing in families nor using the health and education systems.
Unfortunately, the recent draw in the Express Entry system brought up the following concerns:
1. Points awarded for Canadian work experience are too few (Considering the whole thing is out of 1200).
2. We did not get CRS-Arranged Employment points since we already have a full time job without LMIA as we are on PGWP?
3. We are (in most cases) educated in Canada often with 2 to 4 year degrees.
4. Our English language skills are up to the mark.
5. We have work experience here.
6. We required to create a Job Bank profile even though we have full time jobs?
7. We are already in Canada, often for 3-6 years and have already settled down, adapted and assimilated with the Canadian society and culture.
8. We already have full time jobs which we had to compete and struggle for to acquire.
9. As international students we have been contributing to the Canadian economy by paying extremely high fees (including fees, residence, travel, food and other expenses).
10. We have been paying taxes on our salaries as well as other purchases for 3-6 years we have been here.
11. We are young and thus not a major burden on the health system (and we pay the health premiums in our taxes).
12. International students will most probably be immigrating to Canada by themselves, thus not burdening Canada by bringing in families and burdening the health and education systems with a few exceptions.
13. We are already working in Canada on open PGWP, this puts us in a very difficult position in terms of being LMIA exempt. Our employers are mostly not willing to apply for LMIA or they might even let us go thinking that we are only going to be in CANADA for a short time period. No promotions either if he finds out about this whole LMIA thing.
14. We are mostly recent graduate and cannot score anything for the foreign experience section, as we mostly have Canadian work experience again with a few exceptions.
15. Even if you bring in foreign workers with foreign work experience, trust me Canadian companies prefer candidates with Canadian experience first (so why not keep PGWP with experience here).
16. Some of us are in a very difficult situation as their work permits are expiring soon and by the time few draws are done and CRS comes down to their level it would be too late.
17. Having a job offer and an LMIA doesn't mean you're going to integrate fantastically well in Canada, you might get fired after a week for being useless. You would think a year or more of proven work experience with a Canadian employer would be afforded more recognition
So below are our suggestions
1. Let candidates who are in express entry pool and have expiring post graduate work permit be allowed to extend their post graduate work permits.
2. Eliminate LMIA requirement for Candidates on post graduate work permit and award them the 600 points.
3. If LMIA requirement cannot be eliminated then atleast make LMIA process easy and educate employers and promote employers to apply for LMIA. Also increase points awarded for Canadian experience.
best of luck in future, and hopefully you ill get your PPR soon.
