Dispatches from the sunburned wastelands

I'm off to Fredericton tomorrow, to start a new job - Yes, it's the famous "On-again, Off-again" job...I'll be working there till Canada kicks me out (sometime in June, if I don't get my work permit renewed). Hannelie will stay on in Halifax, where she'll be teaching until Spring. Just to sketch the situation to unsuspecting Canadians, who still naively believe that their borders are the most open to would-be immigrants in the world: I've been offered a full-time position, after winning an open competition. I have an "open" work permit valid until the end of May, meaning I can work wherever I want in Canada, so I have to apply for a renewal of the work permit, based on the job offer. However, before I can even start to apply for a job-specific work permit, I have to convince Human Resources & Skills Development Canada (HRSDC - those guys who sort out your EI for you), that a) I'm not taking the food out of a poor Canadian's mouth, b) I'll be an asset to the job market, and c) I'm bringing some new and unique job skills to New Brunswick. The HRSDC approval is called a Job Marker Skills Assessment, and if I don't get that approval, I can't apply for a work permit. End of story. So, to speed things along, I've contacted a work visa consultant who is wise in the ways of Canadian immigration law, and hopefully he'll be able to steer me through the morass of red tape now directly in front of me. At the same time, we'll also be applying for Permanent Residency through the Provincial Nominee programme - that's where the province where' you'll be working nominates you for immigration to Canada. This speeds the process up considerably - the normal immigration timeline can be more than three years, whereas (presumably) through the Provincial Nominee programme, it may take less than a year. It's still all up in the air for us, I'm afraid - New Brunswick 's Nominee Programme administrators may still decide that they don't need the likes of me in their province, after all, and refuse to nominate us. HRSDC may also decide that they can't allow me to work in Canada, on account of taking away a job from a Canadian, etc. It's their prerogative, I'm sure. Will all the frustrations, disappointment and disillusionment be worth it in the end? I honestly don't know anymore...Stay tuned.

Posted by HannesB at 7:22 AM Comments