PNP, LMO or CEC Which one?

[Farquea]

I am 27 and from the UK and have been in Canada, B.C since October 2011 on a working holiday visa. I have just activated my 2nd one a month ago so now i want to look at my options for permanent residency.

I work in I.T and currently have a job as a Systems Administrator with a small company in Vancouver. I am also planning to move in with my Canadian girlfriend this January in case that makes any difference to my eligibility for either. I want to get the ball rolling but i dont really know where to start.

I have heard of PNP, LMO and CEC but do not know the pro and cons of each, whether i am eligible for all or the restrictions of each, for example if i do LMO through my current job how long i would then be required to stay in this job or if i do PNP do i then have to stay in B.C for a period of time.

Some general info and pointing me in the right direction to be help me make a choice would be massively appreciated!

 

[Leon]

LMO = Labour market opinion. An LMO is for your employer to prove that they have advertised your job and found no Canadians or PR's who were qualified and interested although they are offering market rates. If the LMO is approved by Service Canada, you can use it to apply for a work permit. Your work permit will only be valid for this employer, location and position. You are not obligated to work for this employer if you don't want to but you can not start another job unless your new employer gets an LMO too and you get a new work permit for him first.

PNP means your employer sponsors you for PR. You would have to stay with the employer during the processing time of your PR. Once you get your PR, because it is BC PNP, it is advisable to stay in BC for at least 6 months after you get your PR. After that, it should be safe to move.

CEC you can apply for once you have 2 years of full time skilled work in Canada. If you have been with many employers, you would have to get experience letters from each one of them stating which periods you worked there and what you were doing. Low skilled jobs don't count. There are currently some proposals to change the 2 year requirement to one year so that would be good for you.

As for your girlfriend, once you have lived together for 12 months, she could sponsor you for PR or if you get married, she could sponsor you right away.

 

[Farquea]

Thanks Leon,

I didn't realise that LMO meant that you could only work for that employer. So if i go the LMO route and stay in the job for say a year, my working visa i am currently on will have expired so then what happens when i leave that job, do i have to leave the country or if not under what grounds am i able to stay in the country on. I ask also so that i can know what would happen if i lost my job.

Do you have any idea how long it would take for the entire PNP process at all?

CEC i would not have 2 full years of working experience so unless this gets changed to 1 year pretty quickly, i guess its not for me although i'm not even sure what you get from CEC, do you get permanent residency?

 

[Leon]

The LMO is a prerequisite for applying for a normal temporary work permit. That's all it is.
If you go the LMO route, it is possible that you get a work permit for 2 years. That will just buy you more time to stay in Canada and apply for something else. If you want to stay and your work permit is about to expire, you have to apply to extend it before it expires. That way, you have so called implied status and can continue to work until you hear back about your application. If you let your work permit expire completely, you can not work any more. You will then have a 3 month grace period to either restore your status or leave.

CEC is an application for PR. First you have to qualify, then you apply, then you wait for something like a year to get your PR. The good thing about CEC is that if you qualify, it doesn't matter if you leave the employer, even go back to your home country, your application will continue processing. If you go the LMO route, you can wait until you have 2 years of skilled work, then apply for PR under CEC.

PNP is also an application for PR. PNP is a provincial thing. You have to qualify to be nominated. With the PNP nomination, you can apply for PR. If you are sponsored for PNP by an employer, normally you must stay with that employer until you get your PR. If you quit or lose your job, the PNP will most likely withdraw their nomination which means that if your PR is still being processed, you lose your application. You are not safe until you have your PR. This is the one immigration class you can apply for right away if your employer agrees. You might as well do it. If it fails, you can look for other options. With a PNP nomination, you also do not need an LMO to get a regular work permit. The work permit is however still tied to that employer.

If you apply for PNP now, you have to see if you get your nomination before your work permit gets close to expiring. If you don't have it yet, then you would have to go the LMO route to be able to continue working. Because it takes a while, you either have to apply for things well in advance, say apply for the LMO 4 months before your work permit expires or so in order to have it and be able to apply for your work permit before your current permit expires or if you leave it until the last minute, if your work permit is 2 weeks away from expiring, you can apply for the LMO and new work permit simultaneously. However, you have to make sure your employer has their ducks in a row for the LMO, has advertised for the required amount of time etc. or it will not work.

 

[tracytran]

How's about graduate with Pgwp? Does your employer have to do recruitment effort and ads while they hire you on your pgwp

 

[Leon]

PGWP is open so the employer does not need to show anything. However, if you want to stay when the PGWP is about to expire, the employer needs to apply for an LMO so you can get a regular work permit if they want to keep you.