Immigration to Canada - Application category question?

Leon

Sidwell is wrong. If your occupation is not on the list, you can not apply as a federal skilled worker unless you have an arranged employment offer or if you are already in Canada for a year on a student or work visa.

You can see this at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/apply-who.asp and at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/skilled.asp or at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/EG72.asp under Application category.

Other options to apply for immigration to Canada include trying to get the sought after arranged employment. To do that, you would need to get a job offer and your prospective employer apply for the arranged employment opinion for you, see http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/workplaceskills/foreign_workers/poarremp.shtml

If you don't have luck with that, it's unlikely that you will have luck either to find a job with a temporary work permit since they are harder to get than an arranged employment opinion but that would be an option too.

There would also be an option for you or your wife to consider going back to school temporarily, one of you would apply for a student visa and the other for an open work permit as the spouse of a student. After being in Canada for a year, you would qualify to apply for immigration as a federal skilled worker under category 3.

You might also want to look at http://www.workdestinations.org/view_occupation.jsp?occupationUserDatumId=12996&lang=en to find out if you have to get licensed to work as engineers in Canada.

Good luck! :)

Sidwell

Since electrical engineering is NOT on the list of jobs in demand, you can still apply, BUT the processing will NOT be fast-tracked.

You both need to apply under the NOC category 2133

http://www5.hrsdc.gc.ca/NOC/English/NOC/2006/QuickSearch.aspx?val65=2133

You can also apply under the provincial nominee program - which is faster than the skilled worker category.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/provincial/index.asp

If you get accepted for PNP, then you must choose a province and live there for 3 years after you immigrate - before you can move to another province.

You will still need to have skills, education, qualification and the required funds - $10,000 Minimum

Ginmeister

The Federal Skilled Worker program has gone through a recent change. The change and notice was sent out because there were too many people applying through this category, creating a huge backlog.
Please refer to the following to look at the current choices available to you:

Choice 1. Federal Skilled Worker Program
Applying under the Federal Skilled Worker Program is still possible, but the current waiting time to have your case reviewed is up to 6 years depending on where you apply. You would still need to go through the National Occupation List (NOC) and check what your classification would be.

Choice 2. POL (Priority Occupation List)
You would still apply through the Federal Skilled Worker Program, but check and see if you qualify in any of the Priority Occupation List category. If you do, then although the application process is a bit more complicated, applicants that are in the POL are given a priority and your case should be reviewed within 6 ~ 12 months.

Choice 3. AEO
Still part of the Federal Skilled Worker Program, an AEO (Arranged Employment Opinion) is a document stating that a company in Canada is looking for someone with your qualification and would potential hire you if you were given a Permanent Residency in Canada. If you successfully receive an AEO, your application will be reviewed with 6 ~ 12 months.

Suggestion:
If you are looking to apply through the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the suggested course of action would be to go for an AEO. It is the easiest and quickest way to ensure that your case is processed within a year. In terms of finding a potential company in Canada to help you in getting an AEO, I would suggest getting in touch with an immigration consulting agency that specifically offers to assist in getting an AEO.

FYI:
Just did a search on the internet and found that Canadian Gateway Immigration Consultant is a company that has a service that helps in AEO applications. Use them or someone similar. Not sure how much then charge for the service.

Are you consulting an immigration attorney?

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