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Self-Employment or other???

khall059

Newbie
Jun 3, 2020
3
0
Okay so I've pretty much scoured the official immigration website and documents and am having a hard time finding more info. I am self-employed as a fairly successful author, and my spouse and I want to move to Canada. The self-employed option seems to be the way to go, but I'm not sure if we can do something else to be in Canada legally before the application is finished processing? I've been looking at housing near Calgary but pretty much nowhere offers a 6-month lease that would be allowed under the current policy of visiting from the US, and I'm not even sure if we'd be allowed to then immigrate if we go as visitors and file an extension. I'm trying to figure out a legal way for us to live in Canada without having to get sponsored for Canadian jobs, as we are doing just fine under my income alone. And really, the only jobs we'd possibly get sponsored for would be in the trucking industry, as we are both professional CDL-A license holders who otherwise only have 2-year college degrees (Associate's Degree in the US). I am even willing to go so far as to enroll as students to get our Bachelor's degrees somewhere near Calgary if that's a better path for us to take. Now that we can finally afford to immigrate out of the US, I'd like to work toward that goal. (neither of us has any known health issues or criminal backgrounds that would hurt our chances, but we don't have enough points under Express Entry to go that route)
 

scylla

VIP Member
Jun 8, 2010
92,538
20,357
Toronto
Category........
Visa Office......
Buffalo
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
28-05-2010
AOR Received.
19-08-2010
File Transfer...
28-06-2010
Passport Req..
01-10-2010
VISA ISSUED...
05-10-2010
LANDED..........
05-10-2010
Okay so I've pretty much scoured the official immigration website and documents and am having a hard time finding more info. I am self-employed as a fairly successful author, and my spouse and I want to move to Canada. The self-employed option seems to be the way to go, but I'm not sure if we can do something else to be in Canada legally before the application is finished processing? I've been looking at housing near Calgary but pretty much nowhere offers a 6-month lease that would be allowed under the current policy of visiting from the US, and I'm not even sure if we'd be allowed to then immigrate if we go as visitors and file an extension. I'm trying to figure out a legal way for us to live in Canada without having to get sponsored for Canadian jobs, as we are doing just fine under my income alone. And really, the only jobs we'd possibly get sponsored for would be in the trucking industry, as we are both professional CDL-A license holders who otherwise only have 2-year college degrees (Associate's Degree in the US). I am even willing to go so far as to enroll as students to get our Bachelor's degrees somewhere near Calgary if that's a better path for us to take. Now that we can finally afford to immigrate out of the US, I'd like to work toward that goal. (neither of us has any known health issues or criminal backgrounds that would hurt our chances, but we don't have enough points under Express Entry to go that route)
There's no way for you to legally "live" in Canada until you have PR (or a work permit or study permit). Until you have PR (or a work permit or study permit), all you can do is visit and you can't move your personal belongings here. As visitors, you would want to make sure it doesn't look like you're moving when you arrive (i.e. don't bring everything with you - bring what a normal tourist would bring - like 1-2 suitcases). You would also want to make sure you are spending more time outside of Canada than inside of Canada in any given year. In terms of timing for visiting. right now you wouldn't even be allowed to enter Canada as tourists since the border is closed to non-essential travel. You will need to wait until the travel bans are relaxed in a few months.

If you want to go the study permit route, one of you will need to be a full time student and you'll want to make sure the studies you opt to take in Canada make sense in light of your previous education and work experience (i.e. show a logical progression).

And yes, if Express Entry is a no go due to insufficient points, then you'll need to look at the self employment immigration route.

Good luck.
 

khall059

Newbie
Jun 3, 2020
3
0
There's no way for you to legally "live" in Canada until you have PR (or a work permit or study permit). Until you have PR (or a work permit or study permit), all you can do is visit and you can't move your personal belongings here. As visitors, you would want to make sure it doesn't look like you're moving when you arrive (i.e. don't bring everything with you - bring what a normal tourist would bring - like 1-2 suitcases). You would also want to make sure you are spending more time outside of Canada than inside of Canada in any given year. In terms of timing for visiting. right now you wouldn't even be allowed to enter Canada as tourists since the border is closed to non-essential travel. You will need to wait until the travel bans are relaxed in a few months.

If you want to go the study permit route, one of you will need to be a full time student and you'll want to make sure the studies you opt to take in Canada make sense in light of your previous education and work experience (i.e. show a logical progression).

And yes, if Express Entry is a no go due to insufficient points, then you'll need to look at the self employment immigration route.

Good luck.
Yes, my husband has a two-year graphic design degree but wants to go into computer sciences. Would he be able to bring me on a study visa? And then I suppose we can apply for permanent residency after he graduates?
 

scylla

VIP Member
Jun 8, 2010
92,538
20,357
Toronto
Category........
Visa Office......
Buffalo
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
28-05-2010
AOR Received.
19-08-2010
File Transfer...
28-06-2010
Passport Req..
01-10-2010
VISA ISSUED...
05-10-2010
LANDED..........
05-10-2010
Yes, my husband has a two-year graphic design degree but wants to go into computer sciences. Would he be able to bring me on a study visa? And then I suppose we can apply for permanent residency after he graduates?
If he is studying full time at a recognized school, then yes, you would be able to accompany him.

It terms of applying for PR after he graduates, if you means applying through Express Entry vs. Self Employed, that will still depend on how many points you have and if you have enough to be selected. Studying in Canada by no means guarantees PR. Alternatively you can apply through the self employed stream while he is studying. The self employed stream is always a bit of a dice roll so I would apply early and make sure you have a plan B.

You would want to start applying to schools very soon if you're hoping to grab a spot for the September intake and be able to move here August / September.
 

khall059

Newbie
Jun 3, 2020
3
0
If he is studying full time at a recognized school, then yes, you would be able to accompany him.

It terms of applying for PR after he graduates, if you means applying through Express Entry vs. Self Employed, that will still depend on how many points you have and if you have enough to be selected. Studying in Canada by no means guarantees PR. Alternatively you can apply through the self employed stream while he is studying. The self employed stream is always a bit of a dice roll so I would apply early and make sure you have a plan B.

You would want to start applying to schools very soon if you're hoping to grab a spot for the September intake and be able to move here August / September.
Alright cool. Thanks for the info! He's been wanting to get his bachelor's degree for a while so we may as well go that route. He's applying today.
 

Duakkie

Full Member
Jan 10, 2020
20
1
I arrived on a study visa , I am about rounding up my level one .can I apply for self employed route as a fashion designer , they are kids shows I can feature which can give me a world class feature which is a requirement.
Please advice