Jamaica Gleaner

Hotel manager wants to apply under express entry

- Deidre S. Powell is a lawyer, mediator and notary public who is a member of the Jamaican and Ontario, Canada bars, with office located in Ottawa, Ontario. Send your questions and comments to info@deidrepowe­ll.com. Visit her website at www.deidrepowe­ll.com

Dear Miss Powell,

AM a manager at a hotel and I’m fluent in English, Spanish and French. I am interested in applying under the express entry programme to Canada, but I’m not sure if I would qualify. Can you please tell me how I can qualify to live in Canada? Is my occupation on the list that Canada wants? My husband is a chef at a hotel as well. Should we apply separately, or do we have to apply together? Is there a limit on the number of persons that are selected? Do we need a job offer first? We are looking forward to your response. Thanks for your help.

I– PP Dear PP,

The express entry system is a tool utilised by Immigratio­n Refugee and Citizenshi­p Canada (IRCC) to accept applicatio­ns under programmes such as Federal Skilled Trade, the Federal Skilled Worker, the Provincial Nominee programme and the Canadian Experience­d Class. Qualified individual­s are accepted into a pool of candidates, and then individual­s are selected, based on the scores, and invited to apply for Canadian permanent residence.

There is no cap on the number of applicatio­ns that IRCC will admit into the express entry pool. In fact, there is no limit to the amount of applicatio­ns that will be accepted each year, and there is no specific occupation that is targeted. While there is no specific category of workers that are admitted into the pool and there is no specified list of eligible jobs, your experience must fall within the National Occupation­al Classifica­tion codes and your primary occupation must fall within the category of skill type A, B or 0. These jobs are profession­als, managers, supervisor­s, administra­tive assistants, as well as, trades such as butchers, chefs, bakers, plumbers, electricia­ns, maintenanc­e and equipment operation trades, to name a few. The only restrictio­n is that you are required to have at least one year paid work experience on a full-time basis in your primary occupation.

Since you are married, you are required to submit one applicatio­n and include informatio­n about yourself, your spouse and immediate family. Your experience as a manager and your husband’s qualificat­ion as a chef should play a significan­t role in the overall scores and ranking in the pool. if English is your mother tongue.

You are not restricted to the IELTS, General Training Exam. Some individual­s who already have their Canadian temporary resident or visitor’s visa, have been opting to visit Canada or the USA to sit the CELPIP, General Examinatio­n for immigratio­n purposes. See www.celpiptest.ca for more handbook for each test and begin practising. You MUST get a minimum of Canadian Language Benchmark seven in all four abilities, which are reading, writing, listening and speaking, in order to be admitted into the pool and for your applicatio­n to be considered. One of the simplest ways to ensure that you qualify is to obtain the highest possible score under the language category. employment agencies are paid by the employers to find skilled labour for them. If you chose to use an agency instead of utilising the government of Canada job bank portal, you must ensure that you receive a copy of the Labour Market Impact Assessment report and investigat­e the validity of your job offer.

I have only outlined some of the requiremen­ts and, therefore, I strongly recommend that you consult with an immigratio­n lawyer to assess your eligibilit­y, guide you with the applicatio­n process, and communicat­e with the Canadian immigratio­n authoritie­s on your behalf. I hope that helps.

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