IT skilled worker visa via work & travel?

[sdi]

Hi everybody (and especially those who want to help ),

I am planning to move to canada permanentely, so I spent the last weeks in gathering information about the immigration process. The hardest step probably is finding a job and get a LMO.
My (long-term) goal is to get a permanent resident visa, and I found two approaches that might be suitable for me.

1.) Youth Mobility Program (Work & Travel)
Maybe the easiest way to get a job in Canada, as there is no LMO required. Unfortunately this visa cannot be extended, so I would have to get a valid work-permit within 12 months.
However I have the cance to prove my skills and I might find an employer willing to make the effort of applying for a LMO.

2.) Skilled Worker
This would be my favourite visa, however I don't know how steep the hurdle LMO might turn out. I am a software developer from Germany and meet all the requirements, might even be able to get a Job under NOC9990.6 which doesn't require a work permit at all.
It's just that I don't want to move overseas and realize that I cannot find a job, because of a missing LMO.

Some facts you might want to know:
I will fly to Canada in may this year, either with a work & travel visa or as a visitor, depending on your answers Yes, I know it's a short-term. First step of course would be finding a job, I think it's much easier from within canada. One problem that might arouse is the processing time for a skilled worker visa.
Unfortunately I don't have a diploma, because I decided to take a job instead after I finished my Abitur (school graduation), but I have a finished apprenticeship, six years work experience and IT - certificates to (hopefully) fulfil the NOC 9990.6 requirements.

Basically I got the following questions:

a) Is it possible to apply for a temporary / skilled worker visa or even permanent residentship, while being in Canada with a work & travel visa?
b) Do I have to worry about any disadvantages regarding my plans choosing a work & travel visa?
c) Is it possible to apply for both - and If yes, is it recommendable?

Any critics, corrections, hints and answers are welcome,
thanks in advance!

 

[joeyieh]

Hi sdi,
I just did what you are going to do.
I`m from Germany, and I got a work&travel visa stayed one year tried to find a job.
When your year is over you have to leave the country and reenter with your new working visa. You don`t have to go home you can just go to a US border, cross the border and come back into Canada right away with your new visa.
I am just in that process. When I`m back with my working visa, (in BC) my lawyer told me I can apply for the Provincial Nominee Program of BC and get my PR within 6 months.
The hard thing however was, to find a job. I am a Software Developer and thought it is going to be easy to get a job in that field, but it wasn`t. It only worked out through a lot of networking I had done in that year.

to your statement on the NOC9990 jobs: you still do need a work permit for these jobs and have to apply for it the regular way, what you don`t need with them is a Labor Market Opinion (LMO) that your potential emlpoyer has to apply for otherwise. So if you can fit in in one of these categories, you only need a Job offer and you then can apply for a work permit with that job offer.

But since you are German you can apply for a second year under the Youth Mobility Program call Young Professionals, for this you do need a job offer in `your field` and you have too proof that it is your field by a copy of your degree or a letter of experience but you don`t need an LMO.

If you have worked at least 1 year fulltime in Canada you can also apply for PR in the Canadian Experience class.

So to answer your questions:
a) yes you can apply for all kind of stuff from within Canada, just make sure you do it at least 3moths before your visa expires. If you have a permanent job and apply for PR under Provincal Nominee or Canadian Experience class you can get your PR in about 6 months if everything fits together.
b) there is no disadvantages if you start over with a Work&Travel except that it might be hard to find a job where it could be easier to get a job through an agency from Germany. But if you get a job offer you can apply for all kinds of visas from within Canada during the time of your Work&Travel.
c) You can apply for the Skilled Workers program from Germany before you leave. Then apply for and Do your work&Travel and if nothing works out during that time, you go home and wait until you get your PR from it and return to Canada. If you don`t qualify for federal skilled worker and you know a little french, you could apply in Quebec for PR and then go for your Work&Travel and go parallel.

The Work&Travel is a good opportunity to quickly get into Canada without a Job
But you should keep your Hauptwohnsitz in Germany and have and address in Germany where they can send the stuff from your applications you made through Germany while in Canada doing you W&T.

I regret, that I didn`t apply for Federeal skilled workers 2 years ago when it was much easier than it is now, when I first left for Canada so I would have my PR right now.

jo