PR Pathway for ICT work permit holders

[sagarmallik]

Hi ,
I work in the USA on h1b and 42 years old. My company is transferring me to Canada on an ICT work permit.

I have come to know that I can apply for PR through CEC after one year of work in Canada. But, I am not too hopeful about it with my CRS score. Also, I really don't want to wait for an year to start the application process. What are my options here?

My job will be based in Ontario. So, can I start Ontario PNP process once I receive the ICT work permit?

Is there any other option for me to start the PR process earlier than a year?

 

[Naturgrl]

Hi ,
I work in the USA on h1b and 42 years old. My company is transferring me to Canada on an ICT work permit.

I have come to know that I can apply for PR through CEC after one year of work in Canada. But, I am not too hopeful about it with my CRS score. Also, I really don't want to wait for an year to start the application process. What are my options here?

My job will be based in Ontario. So, can I start Ontario PNP process once I receive the ICT work permit?

Is there any other option for me to start the PR process earlier than a year?

Read the OINP program as there are 9 streams. You will need ECA for education and IELTS to submit a profile. I can’t tell you chances because some programs are through Express Entry and some are directly through OINP. Don’t know if you are eligible for any right away without any Canadian work experience and coming on a ICT.

 

[sagarmallik]

Hi,
Thanks for your reply.
My job is very specialized and I have more than 15 years of experience in it. The job is easily LMIA eligible and high wage, but my company attorney made a mistake of applying for my ICT work permit (they don't seem to be having enough knowledge of job categories).
But, this way I am stuck for one year to start the express entry process.

Is there a way, my company may transfer me to an LMIA approved work permit after I start my work in Canada (before one year)?

 

[scylla]

Hi,
Thanks for your reply.
My job is very specialized and I have more than 15 years of experience in it. The job is easily LMIA eligible and high wage, but my company attorney made a mistake of applying for my ICT work permit (they don't seem to be having enough knowledge of job categories).
But, this way I am stuck for one year to start the express entry process.

Is there a way, my company may transfer me to an LMIA approved work permit after I start my work in Canada (before one year)?

Your company would need to apply for an LMIA for you and then you would need to apply for a closed work permit once the LMIA for you is approved.

It makes sense that the company attorney applied for the ICT work permit (instead of the LMIA work permit). The ICT work permit is the more efficient route for your company to secure a work permit and get you to Canada to work for them. They did the right and logical thing.

You can apply for PR through Express Entry now (before you even arrive in Canada). You do not have to wait a year. However you would need to score around 480 points to be selected.

 

[sagarmallik]

Thanks @scylla . Appreciate your response.
Couple of question -
1. Why do you think LMIA is not an option? Is this because its hard to obtain LMIA?
2. I was told that I couldn't claim points for Job offer in express entry for an ICT job (which is LMIA exempt). I have to wait one year to claim points.

 

[scylla]

Thanks @scylla . Appreciate your response.
Couple of question -
1. Why do you think LMIA is not an option? Is this because its hard to obtain LMIA?
2. I was told that I couldn't claim points for Job offer in express entry for an ICT job (which is LMIA exempt). I have to wait one year to claim points.

1. I didn't say that an LMIA is not an option. All I said was that the ICT was the most logical work permit for your company to apply for. You said the company attorney make a mistake in applying for the ICT. I was just correcting this to say that it wasn't a mistake. It was the most logical choice for your company since LMIAs take a long time and are a much bigger effort to obtain.
2. That is correct. But you don't need job offer points to apply under EE. As long as you have enough points, you can apply without a job offer and without Canadian work experience.

 

[Naturgrl]

Are you eligible to submit a profile to Express Entry now? If so you do not need to wait a year.

 

[sagarmallik]

Thanks @scylla .
@Naturgrl @scylla
I have IELTS (8.0) and ECA is in progress. So, I think I am eligible.
But, I hardly cross 400 at the moment. So,
1. Does it make sense to submit an EE profile?
2. I will be eligible to apply for PNP once I receive the work permit. Do you suggest to apply to the PNP program separately? OR, PNP through express entry (my EE CRS is pretty low as I mentioned)?

3. Also, getting back to my original question, which could be complicated - Is there a provision my employer can transfer me to an LMIA approved job once I start working in Canada (and before an year)?

 

[Naturgrl]

Thanks @scylla .
@Naturgrl @scylla
I have IELTS (8.0) and ECA is in progress. So, I think I am eligible.
But, I hardly cross 400 at the moment. So,
1. Does it make sense to submit an EE profile?
2. I will be eligible to apply for PNP once I receive the work permit. Do you suggest to apply to the PNP program separately? OR, PNP through express entry (my EE CRS is pretty low as I mentioned)?

3. Also, getting back to my original question, which could be complicated - Is there a provision my employer can transfer me to an LMIA approved job once I start working in Canada (and before an year)?

1. You need 67 points to be eligible to submit a profile. Then you calculate your CRS score.
2. What OINP program are you eligible for? There are 9 streams. Some are through EE, some not.
3. You need an approved LMIA exemption and then you apply for a work permit. You cannot work in Canada until both are approved.

 

[sagarmallik]

Thanks @Naturgrl .
1. Yes, I score 67 points for the EE eligibility
2. Could you pls. help me with the link where I can find which program is through EE and which not?
3. To clarify my question here - I have an ICT (lmia exempt) work permit and I will be joining work in Canada on that. But, as on ICT I can't claim the Job offer points in the first year, can my employer offer me An LMIA approved job before I finish one year of work in Canada?

 

[Naturgrl]

Thanks @Naturgrl .
1. Yes, I score 67 points for the EE eligibility
2. Could you pls. help me with the link where I can find which program is through EE and which not?
3. To clarify my question here - I have an ICT (lmia exempt) work permit and I will be joining work in Canada on that. But, as on ICT I can't claim the Job offer points in the first year, can my employer offer me An LMIA approved job before I finish one year of work in Canada?

2. Go on the OINP website and check the streams. Given you are on a LMIA exemption, you need to see which stream you are eligible for. Your CRS score is too low for OINP-EE streams.
3Since you have a LMIA exempt work permit, you cannot claim the 50 points until after one year. If your employer is going to apply for LMIA then they will need to post the job and prove they went through a recruitment process, and could not hire anyone in Canada. So they need to post your job on Job Bank and other job sites and then start the recruitment process for your job. If they file for a LMIA, it is showing that you don’t have enough of the skills to do your job through a LMIA-exemption.

 

[sagarmallik]

Thanks @Naturgrl .

For #3, That's the reason I thought the lawyers made a mistake. For an company-external recruit (which is one level junior to my position), the job got LMIA approved. They didn't take the LMIA path for me as I have been working in the US headquarter for them. I have been working in the US for quite sometime and in GC backlog due to country quota. I would love to work and settle in Canada as Canadian PR system is much more logical and systematic.

So, What about "OINP Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker Stream"? It seems the one year restriction on LMIA exemption doesn't hold here. Is the processing time too long for OINP non express entry streams? Do you have any suggestion on this?

 

[scylla]

Thanks @Naturgrl .

For #3, That's the reason I thought the lawyers made a mistake. For an company-external recruit (which is one level junior to my position), the job got LMIA approved. They didn't take the LMIA path for me as I have been working in the US headquarter for them. I have been working in the US for quite sometime and in GC backlog due to country quota. I would love to work and settle in Canada as Canadian PR system is much more logical and systematic.

So, What about "OINP Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker Stream"? It seems the one year restriction on LMIA exemption doesn't hold here. Is the processing time too long for OINP non express entry streams? Do you have any suggestion on this?

What your company did still makes sense and is logical. There wasn't any mistake. For external recruits, an ICT is not possible. That's why they had to go the LMIA route. An ICT is always the preferable process for a company which is why they did it for you since you'd worked for them for at least one full year. The ICT is faster and gets you to Canada and working for them faster.

For that OINP stream, your employer MUST be willing to complete the Employer Forms. You'll need to check with your employer to find out if they are willing to do this since this is mandatory to be approved. Unfortunate we see here that many employers are not willing to go through this process. Have that conversation with your employer now to see if they will.

 

[sagarmallik]

Perfect! Thanks @Naturgrl

 

[sagarmallik]

Lingering Question @Naturgrl ,
1. You mentioned my CRS being too low for EE OINP. Is there EE CRS score cutoff to be eligible for OINP?
2. Also, why do you think the companies don't agree to fill the employer form? Don't they need to fill the same supporting documents for EE eligble OINP streams like CEC?