Question [Holthe Tilleman LLP website]:
Can Food Service Supervisors qualify for Express Entry?
I am a food service supervisor working in Alberta for a fast food franchise. I have applied for nomination under the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program but have not yet received my nomination. Can I apply through Express Entry if my nomination does not come before I reach the 4 year cap on April 1, 2015?
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You can download a complete, word-for-word transcript of this episode, [spoiler]Welcome to the Canadian Immigration Answers podcast. My name is Mark Holthe and I practice with the law firm of Holthe Tilleman in the beautiful province of Alberta, Canada. In this podcast we will be addressing the following question. “I’m a food service supervisor currently working with a fast food franchise in the province of Alberta. I’ve submitted my Alberta immigrant nominee program application. However, I have not yet received a nomination. I am concerned that the nomination will not come through in time for me to extend my work permit as I would be reaching the four year cap on April the 1st 2015. With the launch of the express entry in January of 2015, can I qualify?”
Now I get this question a lot. And in speaking with the head officials of the Alberta Immigration Nominee Program, it is clear that there are over or close to 2000 individuals currently in the queue waiting for their AINP to be adjudicated, and for them to receive their nomination. With the timing of work permits that are going to be expiring in April of next year, many people are really caught in limbo. And so the question becomes, can we apply through the new express entry program for permanent residence.
Now if we think back to the existing programs because nothing has changed theoretically with the Canada experience class, the federal skilled worker program or the federal skilled trade programs, which are all affected by this new express entry scheme, the question becomes can you qualify independently through one of those categories? So it may be possible for a food service supervisor who is a skill level B or a skilled worker in Canada, that they could qualify under one of those programs. Now usually the route that was followed was the Canada experience class, because all you would need is one year of experience and a corresponding minimum level of at least five on the Canadian language benchmark at least for skill level B, which are our food service supervisors.
But there’s a problem. And the problem was that the federal government created a list of ineligible occupations, and that was included on it or cooks and food service supervisors among others. Well the reality, come January that list will no longer exist. So it is absolutely possible for you to apply through express entry. Provided you have the necessary level of English language ability and that you have a minimum of one year skilled work experience in Canada, then it is possible for you to apply.
Now one advantage that food service supervisors have is that generally speaking you are working on a labor market impact based work permit. Well, under the new express entry system that gives you a definite step up over any other applicant that does not necessarily have an LMIA supporting their work permit. So you could have a CEO of a publically traded company that came into Canada through one of the senior managerial level intra-company transfer permissions that didn’t require an LMIA. And if you as a food service supervisor have an LMIA, you will be selected before that CEO.
Now that’s sound like a pretty interesting distinction, but the reality is there are a total of 1200 points available for individuals who submit profiles to the express entry pool. Of those 1200, 600 are given a radar-off-the-butt for holding a Labor Market Impact Assessment. So our food service supervisor is automatically going to be ahead of that CEO given the fact the LMIA gives them 600 points. So if you are in that situation, my recommendation is that you start the process immediately to prepare to file your express entry profile at the earliest possible opportunity come January the 1st.
And the reason is because you have to be drawn early if you are capping out on April the 1st. And when you submit your application, the first draw will come at the end of January of 2015. If you are fortunate enough to have your profile complete and be drawn and given an invitation to apply, then you also need to be prepared to file your permanent residence application immediately without any delay, so that you can have that application received, assessed and reach the first stage of approval, where the government accepts it as being a complete application under one of those three permanent residence categories.
Ultimately we are not exactly sure how they are going to be selecting individuals, because they can choose generally the applicants that rank the highest in terms of points. So whichever ones have the highest point level based on the 1200 points that they have established. But they also have the ability to select specific industry or to use different methods for ranking individuals. But at this stage, if you are running out of time, then this is an option for you.
So if you reach first stage of approval and your current work permit has not expired, in other words it hasn’t reached April 1st 2015, then you can apply for a bridging work permit to essentially save your work status, and continue working on that open permit until permanent residence is ultimately received. And we know through express entry that they have indicated that will be some point, but less than six months processing.
So I hope that answer clarifies that question which I get a lot. Ultimately there’s no guarantees because it’s up to the government to decide who they wish to draw. But if you act quickly, we know that there are not going to be a lot of individuals with Labor Market Impact Assessments who will be submitting applications into express entry, and so it’s very possible that you could be drawn.
This concludes this portion of our Canadian Immigration Answers and if you have any question, feel free to go to my website www.ht-llp.com. And you can leave a text message for us through our written interface, or alternatively you can click on the side bar, ask an immigration question, and leave a digital voice mail for me.
We will continue to group the question that are similar and answer in as much detail as possible going forward here. So leave those questions and if you have something of a more specific nature that you would like to book a consult, please feel free to do that. Our fee is $100 for a thirty minute consult, and you will have the opportunity to speak with me. Take care and signing off.[/spoiler]
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