Your gateway to Canada

Immigration Newsweek

By Atty. Henry Moyal

1. I’ve been working at a farm in Canada and I want to become an immigrant. I do not have high education and I do not have any relatives in Canada. My occupation is not a trade. I seem to be stuck and ineligible for all current programs. How can I become a permanent resident?
2. You are correct. Qualified agricultural workers who cannot fit into the current express entry programs ( federal skilled, registered trade for example) seem to have been forgotten and fallen through the cracks.

It seems Canada Immigration has been listening to the needs of the industry and this month will help address the labour needs of the Canadian agri-food sector, particularly in year–round mushroom and greenhouse crop production, meat processing and livestock raising industries. The new program is for applicants who have at least one year of work experience in Canada in one of the following nine occupations:

• NOC B 6331 – Retail butchers
• NOC C 9462 – Industrial butchers
• NOC B 8252 – Farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers
• NOC D 9617 – Food processing labourers

• NOC B 8252 – Farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers
• NOC C 8431 – General farm workers
• NOC D 8611 – Harvesting labourers

• NOC B 8252 – Farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers
• NOC C 8431 – General farm workers

Applicants do not need a college diploma or university degree. Applicants only require high school education, a job offer and a modest level of English proficiency.

1. I have applied for permanent residence under express entry. My score is over 400 but still not high enough to be selected. My sister lives in Vancouver and just had a baby and needs help as she has three boys. Can she sponsor me under the new caregiver program? Do I need to cancel my express entry application to do that? Can I apply for the caregiver application while I am in Canada?

1. There are several issues here. First, can you apply for both the express entry application and caregiver pilot at the same time? Yes.

Can your sister provide the requisite job offer? Yes but there are other factors. Canada Immigration cannot refuse the application on the sole basis that she is your sister. That is not valid. However, if Canada Immigration feels that your sister is offering the job solely to assist you with your immigration application it will be refused as Canada Immigration will determine that the job offer was not genuine. You have stated that your sister has three children? The ages may matter. As well, how was she handling caregiver needs up to now? Does she have sufficient income to pay the wages for a caregiver? Is your sister married or a single mom? All these factors will play part in determining if the job offer will be considered to be valid.

If it is , the you will be issued an open work permit for 36 months. However, the next issue is where will the work permit be issued?

Only the following persons can obtain a work permit in Canada and file in-Canada application while currently in Canada:

• have a valid study or work permit, are on implied status or eligible for restoration
• your spouse, common-law partner or parents have a valid study or work permit
• you’ve graduated from a program at a:
  • Canadian university
  • community college
  • publicly funded trade/technical school
• you have a temporary resident permit that is valid for 6 months or more
• you’re allowed to work in Canada without a work permit but you need a work permit to work in a different job

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