Thread: Stuck! I arrived here 2 weeks ago

Hi
Stuck! I arrived here 2 weeks ago after meeting someone special (a Canadian) whist travelling in Asia.
This person was seriously ill (ICU for 19 day etc) in Asia, once stable I flew here with him and intend taking care of him whist he is undergoing treatment- but I have a visa for 6mths and cannot work – what can I do??? I wanted to start my own online company. Any advice gratefully revived.

Hi Ladybird and welcome to the Brisabroad message boards.

Exactly what did you intend to do once you were there anyway?
I don't live in Canada and don't know what to suggest as regards applying for a work visa once youi're there.

Is your special friend able to support you, or pay you for looking after him, what was the arrangement to start with? There must have been one, right?

If anyone has any ideas, then please jump in and shout them out.

All the best

purps

Thanks for your help. He can't work and has applied for CPP, currently we are staying with his family (I guess you could say they are supporting me). In Asia I had my own income and feel slightly trapped by my situation now, moving here wasn't planned, I didn't realise I would be on a 6mths visa and would not be allowed to work.


When is the earliest I can apply for residency? (and start working) can I start my own company? Thanks again

one usually registers a business (sole propretorship or partnership) with the province your in & there is not usually a request for a social insurance number, if it's a corporation that's far more expen$ive & requires a lawyer.
Check under business registrations under your province & see the details
with an on-line business you will need a registration for the bank to collect $$$ via Paypal or in order to use Mastercard or Visa or you could just set it up in your partners name ?

Thank you 9sheets. So can I not even open a bank account yet?

I found this online:
Application to change conditions or extend your stay in Canada as a worker
LINK: Application to Change Conditions or Extend Your Stay in Canada as a Worker
I wanted to know if this would help me, before I spend $150 (!)

Originally Posted by 9sheets

one usually registers a business (sole propretorship or partnership) with the province your in & there is not usually a request for a social insurance number, if it's a corporation that's far more expen$ive & requires a lawyer.
Check under business registrations under your province & see the details
with an on-line business you will need a registration for the bank to collect $$$ via Paypal or in order to use Mastercard or Visa or you could just set it up in your partners name ?

well you'll just have to go in a bank and find out but usually they ask for it although privacy laws of late don't necessarily make it mandatory...

Hi Ladybird,

I moved to Canada approximately two months ago, my partner has both Canadian and British citizenship however I came to Canada as a temporary resident, enabling me to stay in Canada for 6 months before having to return to the UK. I have recently applied to extend my stay in Canada by completing the Application to Change Conditions or Extend Your Stay. The current processing time for this application is approximately 90 days so it'll be better to get it sent sooner rather than later. The good thing is that as long as you apply to extend your stay 30 days prior to the date on which you are due to leave, you will be granted implied resident status whilst your application is being processed which means you can remain in the country until a decision is made.

If you intend to apply for permanent residency rather than an extension of your temporary residency and you intend to apply for this whilst remaining in Canada (which you can do if your common-law partner or spouse is a Canadian citizen) then the application is very in depth!! I decided it would be easier to extend my temporary residency initially and then apply for permanent residency further down the line as the application to extend your stay as a visitor was far more straight forward!!

In terms of working whilst you're here, I recently enquired at a government building (I can't remember the name) and was told that if you get a job offer the company will apply for a work permit on your behalf and you'll then be able to work but you can't work until then!

Anyway, I hope this helps!

Welcome to Britsabroad, Katie, and thanks for posting that helpful information.


All the best

purps :)

Katie,

I don't think the link you posted works in the way that you want. If I'm following you correctly you want to switch from a visitor visa to a work permit, definitely a process not achievable by filling in a form and paying the fee, you need to jump through a lot more hoops. You can apply to extend your visitor status with it, but you will have to show that you are capable of supporting yourself as part of it.

You need to get a job offer from a Canadian employer. The employer will then have to get a positive labour market opinion (LMO) from the Govt.. The LMO shows that the employer has advertised the vacancy and that they can't employ a Canadian of equal or more experience than you in the position. It also shows that they are paying the going rate for the job.

Normally, +ve LMOs are only issued for skilled in-demand occupations. Then, armed with the job offer and LMO you can apply for a work permit.

Thanks JGK for the reply to the thread.

According to what you have written, the guidelines there in Canada seem to be similar to here in the US.

I would strongly suggest that anyone that is in doubt about what they need to do refers to the following link to the official site Welcome to Citizenship and Immigration Canada
and contact a decent immigration lawyer if they think they need professional help.

purps