Help please wanted on visa/citizenship options

[Ladyhef]

Hi all,

I am a 29 year old female with a 30 year old brother. Our parents divorced when we were babies and our father emigrated to Canada. After 10 years he acquired canadian citizenship but we had lost touch for years. We have been in touch now the last 3 years, due to modern social networks!

I have tried to apply for the iec (working holiday visa) 2 years running and due to the limited places and overwhelming numbers of uk residents applying, I have not even been able to get my application in (there are 3 dates online at which the 'gates' open, once the quota is full it closes. A bit like buying Glastonbury tickets!) I am about to turn 30 so this would be my last year to try, and although they say 3rd time lucky, I am not hopeful.

I have emailed the embassy to ask advice on other options for Canadian visas or even citizenship. My father is now remarried and I have two sisters aged 7&9 who I would love to get to know. The embassy sent me a rather generic email back, which advised nothing. My father drove to the embassy in Victoria to try to obtain some advice and came away empty handed also. I then went to nanaimo to stay with my family for a month last year, whilst I was there we went into some government offices and were given a telephone number to call, and that again was a deadend.

Is it possible for my brother and I to obtain citizenship through our father? I am an accountant and my brother is a quantity surveyor . We both have outr dad's surname still and we both would like to emigrate to Canada.

Please offer some advice if you can, any suggestions would be grateful!

Thank you for taking the time to read this

 

[scylla]

Unfortunately it's not possible for you to obtain citizenship through your father since he acquired citizenship after you were born. Unfortunately you're also too old to be sponsored by him for permanent residency through family class.

If you wish to immigrate to Canada, you'll have to qualify independently through one of the immigration programs such as skilled worker, skilled trades, or a provincial nominee program. Details can be found here:

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

Good luck.

 

[Sammi_Mc]

Hiya

I'm very much a noob with the whole application and now I'm so confused I'm lost. I would like move to Edmonton, Alberta to be with my partner. I've looked at the various options and don't know which would apply to me. I have no skilled trade but have 12 years experience in retail management. I also have a two year old child. I am a 30 year old British citizen. I have looked at the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program, but I don't know which option applies to me.

Any help regarding this would be greatly appreciated, a step forward to which route would apply to me and the process going forward.

Thank you in advance

 

[scylla]

If your relationship with your partner is serious, then the easiest way to immigrate would be for you to get married and be sponsored as a spouse. If you and your partner have lived together for a minimum of one full year (and can prove it) - you can also be sponsored as a common law partner.

To apply through AINP you would need a full time / permanent job offer in Canada. Have you secured a job offer?

The Federal Skilled Worker program isn't an option for you without a job offer in Canada (unfortunately your occupation doesn't qualify you to apply without a job offer).

Provided you don't turn 31 until later next year, you could also try applying for a working holiday visa (IEC) which would allow you to work in Canada and live in Canada temporarily for a year. The downside of this option is that IEC visas are snapped up extremely quickly (i.e. within 15 minutes of becoming available) and a limited number are available each year. So there's no guarantee you would get one.

 

[Sammi_Mc]

I'm 31 in December. So that's no longer an option unless I applied now?

We are not serious enough to think about marriage. No other way? And I can't apply for a year long working visa?

Thank you for your reply

 

[Sammi_Mc]

I haven't secured a job offer and honestly? Wouldnt know where to start. However I have been applying for jobs

 

[scylla]

I'm 31 in December. So that's no longer an option unless I applied now?

We are not serious enough to think about marriage. No other way? And I can't apply for a year long working visa?

Thank you for your reply

There are no working holiday visas available at this time. They were all taken a long time ago. If the cap reopens before December 31st then you may have a chance - otherwise no

You can apply for a regular work permit. But in order to do so, you will first need to secure a full time job offer in Canada (from a Canadian employer). That employer will also need to obtain an approved LMIA (approval to hire you). The LMIA process involves advertising the job for at least a month to prove no Canadian could be found for the role, paying a $1K processing fee, and then waiting 6-16 weeks for the application to be processed. So it's possible but certainly difficult to find employers willing to go through the process.

 

[Sammi_Mc]

Wow okay thank you for your help

Kinda stuck now.

But thank you for taking the time

 

[scylla]

FYI - here's where you go to find out when CIC is going to release spots in the IEC program:

http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/united_kingdom-royaume_uni/experience_canada_experience/index.aspx?view=d&lang=eng

None of us can tell you when the program will open this year. You just have to keep watching the site. However as you can see from this past year, there were visas offered in December. Again, spots go extremely quickly. I believe all of the visas were gone within 1/2 hour of each cap opening. In at least one instance (maybe two?) all visas were gone within 15 minutes. So if you want to try to grab one, you literally need to be sitting at your computer when the program opens (assuming it does so in December).

Failing that, I think you really need to secure a job offer in Canada if you want to move forward with either living here temporarily or immigrating here. Otherwise you can certainly visit as a tourist (which won't allow you to live here or work here).

 

[Sammi_Mc]

In which case, I wouldn't know where to start. What job applications would allow me to do what I need too etc.

Thank you though, your advice has been great.