Is it possible to extend the IEC Working Holiday Visa?

[thombradley]

Hey friends,

I'm hoping someone may have some insight into the above question because truth be told, the research that my wife and I have done up to this point has left us a few brain cells lighter and much more confused. We've just passed the half way point in our IEC Visa and we're in the process of our PR application, the only thing about this is that it looks as though we may not be eligible to apply.

Neither my wife nor I achieved the equivalent of a Bachelor's degree which means the other factors in the required criteria only amount up to a mere 350+ points. This means that unless we're able to either find another avenue to follow for residency or we're able to extend out IEC Visa in order to gain more work experience, we're on our way back to the UK (which really isn't an option for us).

So far the only related options that we've been able to find are PNP (but we're not eligible for this either), the Atlantic Immigration Pilot (which won't work as my employers aren't registered in any of these provinces) and the LMIA Visa (but neither of our employers subscribe to this option). With that said, we're now looking to find a way in extending our existing Visa for another year to give us the opportunity to gain further work experience and support our PR application. I wonder if anyone knows if it is possible to acquire a 1 year Working Permit that isn't related to PR. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Thom

 

[scylla]

IECs cannot be extended.

You may qualify for another IEC depending on your country of origin - have you verified that?

Otherwise if you want to continue working - you would need to obtain a full time job offer from an employer in Canada and that employer would need to obtain an approved LMIA. You could then apply for a closed work permit tied to that specific employer. If one of you is able to obtain a job offer + LMIA in a skilled occupation (i.e. NOC A, B or 0) - your partner can then apply for an open work permit based on the first partner's closed work permit. Note that it tends to be very difficult to find employers willing to go through the LMIA process to due to the expense, length of time it takes and the fact there's no guarantee of approval.

 

[scylla]

Sorry - forget about qualifying for another IEC. I missed that you were from the UK. So it's one time only.

 

[scylla]

To add to the above - if you have at least $25K in available funds, another option would be for one of you to apply for a study permit to attend school full time (i.e. college diploma or university degree). The program this person takes would need to make sense in light of their previous education and experience. The person studying would be able to work up to 20 hours a week off campus. The partner would be able to apply for an open work permit based on their partner's study permit. To be approved, you need to have a bank balance that covers at a minimum first year tuition + $10K in living expenses - this will amount to a minimum of $25K - more depending on the program taken.