Separated, no sponsorship, need to be here with my kids

[pleasehelpmestay]

I am from Thailand and my husband is Canadian. Before marriage, I had one daughter from a previous relationship. I married my husband in Canada in 2004. After marriage, I stayed in Canada with him for just over a year when he was offered a job in Shanghai in 2005. We left at the end of August 2005 to live in Shanghai. In Shanghai, our daughter was born and we lived together until 2011. While in Shanghai I was a housewife taking care of our daughters and the house. I could not work as I didn't have a working visa; I was a dependent. We separated in 2011 and I was forced to move back to Thailand for 3 years. I could not take the kids with me because I needed money to support even myself. I could not stay in Shanghai with them because I had no working permit. In Thailand I worked small jobs to be able to afford to fly to Shanghai to visit my daughters 6-7 times a year. On September 2014 my husband moved to Vancouver with the kids. I could no longer afford to visit them with the little money I made in Thailand. I saved enough money and flew over to Vancouver now and I have found some part time work willing to employ me as a cook. There are other odd jobs I have found that can help support me as well. But I need permanent residency and a work permit to work legally. I cannot and will not do any work until I can get a permit. My husband is willing to let me see the kids but he is totally unwilling to sponsor my stay here (PR or otherwise). I know I can support myself but I just need help in figuring out how I can stay and live here near my kids. I feel helpless in my current situation. The only thing I want is to be able to see my kids grow up and to help raise them. How can I go about getting a work permit? Is there anyone I can talk to who can help me in my current situation? Thank you so much for taking the time to read.

 

[scylla]

Unfortunately your husband is right not to sponsor you for PR if you are no longer in a relationship. If he sponsored you, he would be committing fraud.

It sounds like you are working illegally right now (without a work permit). This is not a good idea since it makes you deportable from Canada and if you are deported (or found to be working illegally) it will be very difficult for you to return.

It sounds like your best option would be to find a full time job in Canada and an employer who is willing to go through the LMIA process to hire you. Once you have a full time job offer and approved LMIA - you can apply for a work permit. Once the work permit is approved, you can start working (make sure you don't start working until you have an approved work permit). There is really no secret to finding an employer willing to go through the LMIA process. You just have to keep applying and hope you get lucky.

If you want to apply to immigrate, then you will have to qualify on your own (your husband cannot sponsor you). You can find detailed information about Canada's immigration programs here:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/apply.asp

 

[Ponga]

I'm very sorry to hear about your situation. I wish that I could offer you a solution, but I'm afraid that I don't know how/if you will be able to [legally] remain in Canada without your husband sponsoring you.

Your problem is compounded by the fact that you have also been working without authorization. While I can certainly understand `why' you had to work, I don't know how you can justify that to Citizenship and Immigration Canada and/or CBSA.


I sincerely hope that other members here can offer you the hope that you desperately need right now, but...I have to say that I don't see how.


Good luck to you.

 

[pleasehelpmestay]

To be clear, I have not been working yet. I have been offered employment on the condition I can get a work permit. My employer is willing to work with me on this but they need to know how to properly apply for me to work here. I will point them to the LMIA but is it possible my employer can get this for a chef?

 

[scylla]

Yes - if the job is full time - it's possible to get an LMIA for a chef. Note that the employer will have to advertise the job for at least a month first to prove that no Canadian could be found for the role. They will also have to pay a $1,000 processing fee.

 

[pleasehelpmestay]

Thank you Scylla .. I will talk with them about this tomorrow. Thank you so much.

 

[pleasehelpmestay]

Do you know what exactly qualifies as advertising the job? Is there a job board or can they just put an ad in the newspaper? Do they need to list the salary?

 

[scylla]

Do you know what exactly qualifies as advertising the job? Is there a job board or can they just put an ad in the newspaper? Do they need to list the salary?

Yes - they certainly need to list the salary.

There are very specific rules your employer has to follow to meet the advertising requirements. They can read about these requirements in detail here:

http://www.esdc.gc.ca/eng/jobs/foreign_workers/higher_skilled/general//index.shtml

 

[pleasehelpmestay]

This is a really helpful article .. thank you so much.