Living in Ontario, Working in Quebec, Post-Graduate Work Permit

[EHKhiari]

Hi there,

• I have been living in Ottawa for the past 4 years and I intend to remain here.
• I passed the IELTS general test with flying colors on the 29th of August 2015 (1 year 3 months ago).
• I started working as a full-time software developer for a Quebec-based company (in Gatineau) as of October 2015 (over a year ago) under the post-graduate work permit

According to the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) Express Entry (EE) program requirements, I am fully elligible.

I tried the 'Come to Canada' tool and it deemed me eligible for Express Entry.

However, I created an EE profile and it deemed me ineligible. My guess is that the employment address that I had to type is in Quebec, since I was not asked for my residential address in the profile creation section. I gave the call centre a call to settle this confusion and was told to fill out an IRCC web enquiry form, which I did twice and received very poor answers that did not address my concern at all.

Any advice on how to proceed? Is the issue really with the employment address, or could I be missing something? Maybe I forgot to fill out a field in one of the profile forms?

Once again, I fully intend to remain in Ottawa. I have proof that I'm currently living here and proof that I've been living here for nearly 4 years. I have family and friend ties in Ontario, as well as academic ties (I recieved a masters of science from the University of Ottawa).

Thank you for your time!
-Hebri

 

[rezafc]

Hey Hebri,

I'm not trying to be a hard on you or anything, but when you say you fully intend to remain in Ottawa why is it that you have a job in Quebec for more than a year now? Am I missing something here? Do you work remotely? Do you pay your taxes under Ottawa's governing law? There is something missing here. Maybe you forgot to fill out a field in one of the profile forms?

Best of luck,

 

[jes_ON]

Where you are currently working does not matter, but where you INTEND to work in the future does. As I'm sure you're aware, you will not be eligible if your intention is to continue to work in Quebec.

However, that is not likely the issue. There are many questions that if misunderstood and answered incorrectly, can result in your profile being deemed ineligible.

For example, at the end of each Canadian work experience entry, there's a couple of questions that a lot of people mess up. One asks if you were on a student work permit during the time you were working - if you say yes, the experience is ineligible. Another asks if you were authorized to work the entire time of your job - if you say no, you are not eligible.

All I can say is create a new profile and go through the questions again.

 

[EHKhiari]

Hey Hebri,

I'm not trying to be a hard on you or anything, but when you say you fully intend to remain in Ottawa why is it that you have a job in Quebec for more than a year now? Am I missing something here? Do you work remotely? Do you pay your taxes under Ottawa's governing law? There is something missing here. Maybe you forgot to fill out a field in one of the profile forms?

Best of luck,

Thanks for replying!

You are not missing much. My employer is located in the city of Gatineau which is literally less than a 20 minute bus ride from where I live. I chose this job because, simply, it was offered to me and I needed to work as soon as possible.

Do you work remotely? In fact, I do the vast majority of my work remotely from home or nearby coffee shops here. I do not "officially" work remotely, however, so I'm not sure if this would help.

Do you pay your taxes under Ottawa's governing law? I get my salary with the Quebec deductions in place. However, when I file my taxes I file them as an Ontario resident. Whatever deficit I get from Quebec's taxes gets returned to me.

Maybe you forgot to fill out a field in one of the profile forms? Could be. I'll fill another profile and make sure that I leave no stone unturned.

Again, you are not missing anything. I live in Ottawa and work in a company that's 20 minutes away from me that happens to be in Quebec.

Thanks again!

 

[EHKhiari]

Where you are currently working does not matter, but where you INTEND to work in the future does. As I'm sure you're aware, you will not be eligible if your intention is to continue to work in Quebec.

However, that is not likely the issue. There are many questions that if misunderstood and answered incorrectly, can result in your profile being deemed ineligible.

For example, at the end of each Canadian work experience entry, there's a couple of questions that a lot of people mess up. One asks if you were on a student work permit during the time you were working - if you say yes, the experience is ineligible. Another asks if you were authorized to work the entire time of your job - if you say no, you are not eligible.

All I can say is create a new profile and go through the questions again.

Thank you for replying!

I'll definitely create a new profile and go through the questions with extreme caution and scrutiny. I seriously doubt that the issue is in my permit, however. I was never a student during my working experience and I was always eligible to work (wouldn't have been able to star the job otherwise).


Where you are currently working does not matter, but where you INTEND to work in the future does. As I'm sure you're aware, you will not be eligible if your intention is to continue to work in Quebec.
You are right, this is what the CEC requirements clearly state. However, how do I convey my intention that I intend to work in Ontario? Should I write some Ontario address for 'employment location' in the 'Work Experience' form? A friend of mine was in a similar spot 2 years ago and he conveyed his intentions by writing a letter and enclosing it in his written application that he mailed. Everything is electronic now, however, and there was no chance to upload a similar letter or anything.

Thanks, again, for your response. I'll create another profile and fill everything again carefully as you suggested.

 

[azaadpanchee]

I am fairly certain you are allowed to upload a "Letter of Explanation" after you get your ITA and submit your documents.