Post doctoral fellow receiving a foreign scholarship with return obligations?

[psab2014]

Hello!

I have doubts if I can apply for my PR with the CEC program. My situation is the following…

I'm working in a hospital in Toronto as a post doctoral fellow since May 2013, so I have more than one year of experience working in Canada. But:


1) My scholarship is from my home country and is paid directly to me, so I don't have to pay taxes and I don't receive a T4 neither a T4A as I saw some cases here.

2) My contract says that I should return to my home country at the end of my scholarship or, if I want to stay, I need to refund the agency.

3) I'm not an employee of the hospital...

So… I was thinking… Am I qualified to apply under this program? Does this return obligation impairs the process? They can deny because of that…?

Thanks

 

[ZingyDNA]

3) I'm not an employee of the hospital...

This could be the deal breaker :-X

 

[psab2014]

It says in my letter that is a trainee research position and not an offer of employment…

I still need a work permit to do this… And I'm working in a Canadian Institution but not a formal employee…

Oh so many doubts…

 

[ZingyDNA]

It says in my letter that is a trainee research position and not an offer of employment...

I still need a work permit to do this... And I'm working in a Canadian Institution but not a formal employee...

Oh so many doubts...

If you ask the hospital to verify your duties, salary etc., would they do it, despite you are not an official employee of them and not paid by them?

 

[psab2014]

Yes,

I already asked my supervisor and he can do it, and it comes in an official letterhead from the hospital…

 

[thisisauser]

A fellowship as far as I understand is not employment per se. It's part of your studies, it's funded but you do not receive a salary/wage for it. That's partly why it doesn't require a LMO.

The absence if any documentation from CRA or any Canadian issued payslips don't your your case either. I suggest you find another alternative.

 

[psab2014]

A fellowship as far as I understand is not employment per se. It's part of your studies, it's funded but you do not receive a salary/wage for it. That's partly why it doesn't require a LMO.

The absence if any documentation from CRA or any Canadian issued payslips don't your your case either. I suggest you find another alternative.

Hi thisisauser,

I'm sorry but this information is wrong…
A postdoctoral fellowship counts as work experience. It is not considered part of study as it doesn't provide any degree, and that is why we are under work permit and not study permit. If you do a quick search even in this forum you can find many cases of postdoctoral fellows who applied under CEC.
About the LMO, research or professor positions don't require it. It is one of the categories of exception.

Now… the case of not having T4 and not being officially employee plus my return obligation is taking my sleep away

 

[sonnenstern]

I'm Postdoc with fellowship too and filed my application last month.

However I receive a topup and have a job offer letter by my department and I received the proof of employment letter by my department (not supervisor) as I'm employed by the department. I also get T4 and T4A. However, if you could get a letter by your supervisor, that should be sufficient too, but the letter has to be super accurate, and it is important that the word 'employed' is in the letter with regular working hours (40), matching your NOC code, job descriptions etc etc. You should mention that your income is payed from another country and that is why you don't receive T4/T4A. It could be a matter for them to doubt your work experience, but that's not under your control, so there is reason to worry.

About the return obligation: Do not mention this detail in your letter as it is not part of your application. However if you happen to stay in Canada permanently, you might run into problems with your fellowship organization from your home country and they demand the money back. Therefore it might be good to take on a short term work in your home country at some point and then return to CA later. But in my opinion it shouldn't affect the PR application per se.

You and your supervisor definitely want to set up a really good letter because the officer might have doubt about your employment.

 

[psab2014]

I'm Postdoc with fellowship too and filed my application last month.

However I receive a topup and have a job offer letter by my department and I received the proof of employment letter by my department (not supervisor) as I'm employed by the department. I also get T4 and T4A. However, if you could get a letter by your supervisor, that should be sufficient too, but the letter has to be super accurate, and it is important that the word 'employed' is in the letter with regular working hours (40), matching your NOC code, job descriptions etc etc. You should mention that your income is payed from another country and that is why you don't receive T4/T4A. It could be a matter for them to doubt your work experience, but that's not under your control, so there is reason to worry.

About the return obligation: Do not mention this detail in your letter as it is not part of your application. However if you happen to stay in Canada permanently, you might run into problems with your fellowship organization from your home country and they demand the money back. Therefore it might be good to take on a short term work in your home country at some point and then return to CA later. But in my opinion it shouldn't affect the PR application per se.

You and your supervisor definitely want to set up a really good letter because the officer might have doubt about your employment.

Thanks! I'm willing to refund the agency if I happen to stay here. I don't want any problems with my home country and I came here already thinking about this…
I think the key here will be getting a good reference letter then. Thanks for the information!

 

[sonnenstern]

Another point:

Make sure you can be found in google search with a profile on your supervisor's lab page. I know of a rejection because there was doubt about the work experience and the officer couldn't find the applicant on the labs webpage as Postdoc.

Also: Do you get any benefits from your canadian 'employer', like health insurance? If so, that should be stated in the letter too as it strengthens your case.

 

[psab2014]

I do have the option of getting the benefit of health insurance, but I didn't get it. But is states in my letter that I can.
My supervisor asked me to write the draft of the letter and I'll make sure to include this..

 

[maza]

my friend ... Listen

i am the same case as urs... sponsored from a middle east country to do a fellowship here,,, and my income is from my country.. and it is less than the income for Canadians doing the same job as mine...
1. r u on work permit? i believe u r .... so all u need to do is to get a T4A or T4( Even if reported income is ZERO) from the postgrad office or from the program director. and fill in a tax return , so you have the Notice of assessment.

2. ask your post grad office or better.. your program director to write you a letter with all the required details, and for the salary part to say u are being paid so and so by your country government


3. it is not the a problem that u have a return service in ur home country.... do not worry about this.. one can always pay them back their money and solve it./.. CIC is not testing ur intents in staying here or not...as simply if u do not stay ..... u will loose ur pr

4. i had the same worries as u exactly ... kept asking repeatedly and no one could help... so went to a lwayer and they never added anything more than what i had... just told me apply and see what happens... and it definitley worked as u ccan telll


so Cheer up... prepare ur papers and go for it

Maza

 

[psab2014]

my friend ... Listen

i am the same case as urs... sponsored from a middle east country to do a fellowship here,,, and my income is from my country.. and it is less than the income for Canadians doing the same job as mine...
1. r u on work permit? i believe u r .... so all u need to do is to get a T4A or T4( Even if reported income is ZERO) from the postgrad office or from the program director. and fill in a tax return , so you have the Notice of assessment.

2. ask your post grad office or better.. your program director to write you a letter with all the required details, and for the salary part to say u are being paid so and so by your country government


3. it is not the a problem that u have a return service in ur home country.... do not worry about this.. one can always pay them back their money and solve it./.. CIC is not testing ur intents in staying here or not...as simply if u do not stay ..... u will loose ur pr

4. i had the same worries as u exactly ... kept asking repeatedly and no one could help... so went to a lwayer and they never added anything more than what i had... just told me apply and see what happens... and it definitley worked as u ccan telll


so Cheer up... prepare ur papers and go for it

Maza

Thanks so much maza, it was everything I needed to know ;D

 

[ZingyDNA]

Hi thisisauser,

I'm sorry but this information is wrong...
A postdoctoral fellowship counts as work experience. It is not considered part of study as it doesn't provide any degree, and that is why we are under work permit and not study permit. If you do a quick search even in this forum you can find many cases of postdoctoral fellows who applied under CEC.
About the LMO, research or professor positions don't require it. It is one of the categories of exception.

Absolutely. I was a Postdoctoral Fellow under LMO-exempt work permit, and applied for PR under CEC with that experience. It was easier for me because I was officially employed and paid by the university (had employment letter from HR and job reference letter from supervisor).

 

[ramseriv]

my friend ... Listen

i am the same case as urs... sponsored from a middle east country to do a fellowship here,,, and my income is from my country.. and it is less than the income for Canadians doing the same job as mine...
1. r u on work permit? i believe u r .... so all u need to do is to get a T4A or T4( Even if reported income is ZERO) from the postgrad office or from the program director. and fill in a tax return , so you have the Notice of assessment.

2. ask your post grad office or better.. your program director to write you a letter with all the required details, and for the salary part to say u are being paid so and so by your country government


3. it is not the a problem that u have a return service in ur home country.... do not worry about this.. one can always pay them back their money and solve it./.. CIC is not testing ur intents in staying here or not...as simply if u do not stay ..... u will loose ur pr

4. i had the same worries as u exactly ... kept asking repeatedly and no one could help... so went to a lwayer and they never added anything more than what i had... just told me apply and see what happens... and it definitley worked as u ccan telll


so Cheer up... prepare ur papers and go for it

Maza

What about the question under the application form that says:
Did you studied in Canada? say 'no' if it were under an award that requires you to return back to your home country. If So, the studies points under CEC won't be added. What about it?