need some advice

[omariewk1]

Hi, good day. I am getting married to my girlfriend next month. we are going to apply for my pr but what I would like to know is if I can work on an open work permit before I get my actual work permit which I will get in 8 months after we submit our application. any help or advice will be greatly accepted. thank you.

 

[scylla]

Do you already have an open work permit? If so, then you can keep on working using that open work permit.

If you don't have an open work permit at this time, then getting married to someone who has PR/citizenship will not automatically qualify you for an open work permit.

 

[omariewk1]

How about getting a job at for instance say Mcdonalds that have open lmo, will that affect my application for pr residency in anyway possible? we are going to do application ourselves without a lawyer before money is on the low at the moment.

 

[scylla]

No - this won't impact your PR application in any way. You can absolutely go ahead and get a work permit based on an LMO. There's nothing stopping you from doing that.

 

[omariewk1]

thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to give me some much needed advice. it has been puzzling me for a very longtime because I asked quite a few immigration lawyers the same question and some said I can go ahead and work on an open lmo after I get married and send my application in while some say they wouldn't recommend it so I am wondering why are these lawyers all saying different things as if they all study different immigration laws.

 

[scylla]

You can apply for an open work permit if you apply for PR using the inland method (not for outland). However you only qualify to receive the open work permit after your application has received first stage approval (which currently takes somewhere around 6-8 months).

The old process used to be that you would include an open work permit with the initial PR application. The new process is that you must wait until you actually receive first stage approval before submitting the open work permit. Some lawyers may not be aware the process has changed and this is why you are probably hearing different answers.

 

[omariewk1]

thank you very much but if their job is immigration consulting they should always be aware of all changes in laws and amendments to the immigration system. I know that I will only be able to get an open work permit once the first stage of my application is processed but I can get a job at a local mcdonalds working on their open lmo but I didn't want to take that chance if it by any chance will affect my application for pr residence status. but on the other hand with a baby on the way I cant wait 8 months before I start working.