By Atty. Henry Moyal
NO JOB OFFER REQUIRED TO PASS EXPRESS ENTRY
Q. I’m a mechanical engineer with several years of work experience abroad. I have no work experience in Canada. I tried to apply under the old Federal Skilled Worker program but my application was returned because of the quota. Everyone is encouraging me to apply under the new Express Entry program but when I do the math, I will never be selected because I do not have a job offer. How can I obtain a job offer if I am not allowed in Canada to at least look for an employer? It seems hopeless. Is it?
A. No, it is not. There is light at the end of your dark tunnel and I will explain why. Under the express entry program an applicant can score up to 1200 points maximum. Six hundred of those points are strictly for those who have a job offer in Canada. The other six hundred points are allotted based on someone’s age, education, language and work (ie. personal attributes). So a person can potentially obtain 1200 points (600 for a job offer + 600 personal criteria). The express entry program only started on January 2, 2015 – which makes it only three months old. So nine long months are left this year. If we look at the statistics, Canada Immigration has made five draws already (meaning they selected people based on ranking). The first two draws were over 800. That means these selected applicants MUST have at least obtained a job offer of some sort. The next draws were in the 700 range. Again, the numbers have fallen which translates that less and less people in the pool have job offers. Also, it means that these applicants only scored about 100 or 200 on the person attributes side (which is not very high). The last draw, which was only days ago, had a selection of 1620 applicants at a score of only 481. Again, that tells us that none of these 1620 applicants had job offers. The numbers are falling and it will be interesting to see how low it will go. If there are nine months left in the year and immigration must allocate thousands of visas according to their mandate, it seems to me that the numbers make fall in the 300 wage. To score 300 a person must have work experience, education and strong language skills but certainly it seems that currently no job offer is required.
This is especially good news for foreign students or those already in Canada who have work experience and were unsuccessful in filing an application under the old Canada Experience Class. Under the old CEC class, no job offer was required and only 12 months of work was required. Now, under express entry these new applicants would never be able to pass the express entry system as mathematically they would never score over 600 unless a rare job offer was issued. With the numbers falling, these applicants will certainly be more qualified and selected as they deserve to be.
Q. I’m writing to you from Singapore. I have never been to Canada. I have never been married but I was in a relationship with a Canadian born businessman who was in Singapore. We have a baby together. He no longer lives in Singapore and I have lost touch with him. Am I entitled to enter Canada because of the child? Can my child obtain a Canadian passport? What can I do for the future of my child?
A. If the father of your baby was a Canadian Citizen at the time of the baby’s birth then your child is a Canadian Citizen – which is the case. However, this does not give you any rights. Your cannot immigrate to Canada just because you have a Canadian baby. You can apply for the child’s Canadian passport as long as you have proof of the father’s Canadian status. You can file this application at the Canadian High Commission but expect processing times to be at least a year or more.
Q. I was successful in obtaining my immigrant visa recently as I am an accountant. I have not yet entered Canada. I just learned that I am pregnant. I do not know if I will have the child in Canada or not. How does it affect my immigrant visa?
A. While it might seem like a minor issue – your situation can be complicated and quite dangerous if you do not comply with the laws carefully. I say dangerous as it may result in revocation of your permanent residence. You must decide if you will give birth before entering Canada or if you will enter Canada as an immigrant and then give birth in Canada. The difference is crucial. Once you determine that seek professional assistance on how to add
child.
Attorney Henry Moyal is a certified and licensed immigration lawyer in Toronto, Ontario.The above article is general advice only and is not intended to act as a legal document.Send questions to Attorney Moyal by email canada@moyal.com or call 416 733 3193
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