moving from Italy...

[silviafabbi]

]Hi everybody,
my name is Silvia and I live in Italy. As you may know, life here is not easy anymore, that's why I'm hinking about moving to Canada. I'm just 27 years old, I have a 5-year University degree in Foreign Languages and also a 3-year experience, not only in Italy, but also abroad. Also my boyfriend would come with me. He's an engineer, specialized in renewable energies, and he's not satisfied with his life here. We are wondering about what to do...I mean, would it be possible to apply for a job from here or it is a necessary condition to search for a Job when already in Canada? What do I need to enter in Canada? a temporary VISA or something else?
Thank you very much for your help.
Silvia

 

[Leon]

Have you lived with your boyfriend for 12 months or more? If yes, then you are common law partners in Canada and that is almost as good as being married. That means if one of you gets a work permit, they can take the other one with them.

It is best to start trying to look for jobs over the internet. If you find an interested employer, better if you find a few of them, you can go to Canada to visit and do some interviews. When you enter, of course you do not tell immigration that you are coming to look for a job. Only to visit.

I assume you are Italian, in which case you do not need a visa to visit Canada. If you are not Italian, you might need a visa. You can see that here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/visas.asp

If you get an offer of employment, there are two ways of going to Canada. One is that the employer can advertise the job in Canada and apply for a labour market opinion (LMO) proving that he advertised and found nobody in Canada who was qualified for the job and wanted the job. With the LMO, you can apply for a work permit tied to this job and employer and the partner can apply for an open work permit tied to your work permit. The other way is if the employer is not in a hurry to get you there, they can make you a permanent job offer and apply for an arranged employment opinion (AEO). With an AEO, you can apply for your permanent residency directly for you and your partner under the skilled worker program if you meet all of the other requirements, see http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/index.asp This program is currently being rested though, until January 2013 so you will see then what the new requirements will be.

Another possibility is that one of you applies for a study permit and the other one applies for an open work permit based on that. You would first have to be accepted to a program, then you can apply for the study visa. A 2 year program is better than 1 because a 2 year program gets you a 3 year open work permit after your studies.

One more option if you do not want to study and find it hard to find a job from outside Canada would be to apply for an IEC visa, see http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/italy-italie/experience_canada_experience/working_holiday-vacances_travail.aspx?view=d In this case, both you and your partner would have to apply and qualify. You would get a 6 month open work permit and you can use this time to look for jobs where you can actually work for employers on a trial basis and try to get them interested in taking some measures to keep you once your 6 months are up.

 

[silviafabbi]

Thank you very much for your reply and interest. I'll start applying for some jobs and wait...
Only one question more: In Italy we are not a couple, I mean, we are not recognized as couple...do you think it might be a problem.
Thank you in advance for your reply,
Silvia

 

[Leon]

Some countries have no common law partnership so either you are married or you are not. This may be the case in Italy. However, for immigration Canada whether it is for a visa application or a work permit, Canadian law applies. If you have a common law partner and have lived together as a couple for at least 12 months, you are obligated to list your marital status as common law and to list the name of your partner on any application to immigration Canada.