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11/18/2022
Topic:
Make posting instructions easier to find

Moderator
Moderator
Nishat wrote:
Hello
I need to enrol my child in an elementary school, can anyone guide me the procedure? I liev in Scarborough, my child came last week here. She is 6 and half yers old.

Hello There,


Thank you for sharing your situation and question with us.

You may find some helpful information regarding enrolling children in school here: How do I enrol my child in school?

School administration offices are typically open all year, and the deadlines typically vary between local district school boards. These deadlines are not strict, it is also possible for your children to start school in the middle of the school year or semester should you return to Canada after September.

Ontario has 4 free public schooling systems, and attendance in public school will be determined by home address. Once you determine the school district you will live in, it is best that you call the administration office for information about registration dates.

We hope this information is helpful. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to post them here.

Sincerely,

Your Settlement.Org Team
11/18/2022
Topic:
Make posting instructions easier to find

Moderator
Moderator
tariq2030 wrote:
Dear All folk.
I have two questions.

(1)is Exercise Physiologist TEER 31204 eligible for the self-employed category?
(2) I need your service for My IMM 0008 Schedule 6A Application I need a cover letter, about my intent & ability as an Exercise Physiologist TEER 31204 significant contribution to the athletic life of Canada.



Hi there,


Thank you for sharing your question and situation with us. It is best that you contact Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Call Centre directly for information specific to your situation in this case. You may also wish to contact a Lawyer or a reputable, registered Immigration Consultant who is familiar with Canadian immigration issues for some advice and assistance with this process.

You can contact IRCC at:

1-888-242-2100 (In Canada Only)

You can also submit an enquiry through their web form.

If you have any additional questions, please feel free to post them here. We hope this information is helpful.


Sincerely,

Your Settlement.Org Team

11/18/2022
Topic:
Looking for Support

Moderator
Moderator
Hi there,

Thank you for sharing your question and situation with us. I’m sorry to hear that your son isn't receiving support in the way he needs and deserves.

Depending on where you live, you may find helpful information in this article, "Make a Complaint about Employment & Social Services". He may wish to make a complaint to management in your local office, and here is an excerpt on next steps:

If you are not satisfied with how your complaint has been handled, you can contact staff at the Client Services & Information Unit for further assistance. All complaints received are formally recorded and reviewed by management staff. The information you provide will be used to investigate the complaint. You may be contacted by phone for more information.

What happens if I disagree with the outcome of my complaint?
If you are not satisfied with the response to your complaint, you may contact the General Manager’s Office, at 416-397-9682, for a further review.

If you are not satisfied after contacting the General Manager’s Office, you may contact the Office of the Ombudsman, City of Toronto at 416-392-7062, or by email at [email protected]. For more information, visit the website for the Toronto Ombudsman.


Similarly, you may also find some helpful information in the discussion forum thread: Ontario Works Caseworker ignoring my emails.

Here is an excerpt:
You can contact your local office for more information or escalate your complaint above your caseworker and their direct supervisor.

If you’d like to file a complaint about your worker and the way they have conducted themselves professionally you can submit a complaint to the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers.

If you wish to make a complaint about the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services itself, you can do so through the Ombudsman of Ontario.


Settlement.Org also has a Financial Assistance section, where you can find information on various government programs and financial supports your son may be eligible for.

You may want to connect with a settlement agency that provides employment services using our Services Near Me section. It may help to connect with a community resource navigator at 211 to narrow your search. 211 Ontario is a free, confidential service. Their phone service is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Here is a link to their live chat if you prefer to communicate online. Their live chat service is available Monday to Friday from 7am-9pm ET.

We hope this information is helpful. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to post them here.

Sincerely,

Your Settlement.Org Team
11/21/2022
Topic:
Work permit expiring soon, what do I do?

Moderator
Moderator
ForumUser wrote:
My work permit is expiring in January and I haven't recieved an invite from the express entry pool I applied for. My score is high and I feel like it will come, but if I still don't recieve confirmation by the time my permit expires will I have to leave the country? If I leave with an unconfirmed decisiion, can I apply again from my home country? I dont want to leave, but I dont have another job lined up for after my permit expires. What are my options?



Hello there,

Thank you for sharing your question and situation with us. The Express Entry Process works as follows: foreign nationals who wish to apply for permanent residence status in Canada, and who meet the criteria of one of the federal immigration programs managed through the Express Entry system, enter their profile into the “Express Entry pool”. From there, top-ranked candidates who meet the minimum points set by Immigration Canada during a draw are issued an invitation to apply for permanent residency.

In terms of your particular question, there are a few options on the table:

Option 1: If you are not issued an invitation to apply for permanent residency before your permit expires, you should leave the country. If you do receive an invitation to apply before the permit expires but are unable to submit the application and have it be received by Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) before the work permit expires, you should also leave.

Option 2: Another option is to apply to change your status in Canada to a visitor before your current status expires. Doing this allows you to stay in the country as a visitor while you await an invitation to apply for permanent residency. Please note that as a visitor, you are not authorized to work or study. You must apply to change your status to that of a visitor at least 30 days before your work permit expires. The application questions will be centered around your initial status in Canada, what you would like to change it to, the amount of funds you have available for your stay, employment history, education, criminal history, etc.

If you found a job, you would need to apply immediately for a work permit as soon as possible.

If, under this option where you are in Canada as a visitor, an invitation to apply is issued, you can apply for permanent residency, as well as for a bridging open work permit (BOWP).

A BOWP allows you to keep working while waiting for the results of your express entry application. To be eligible, you must:

1. Live in Canada (but not Quebec) at the time you apply for your BOWP.
  • You can leave Canada while the application is processed.
  • However, if you leave Canada after your work permit expires, you cannot work until your new application is approved.
2. Either
  • Have a valid work permit;
  • Have an expired work permit but maintain your status as a worker;
    • This allows temporary residents to stay in Canada while their application is processed.
    • The way to maintain your status as a worker is to apply to extend the status at least 30 days before the current permit expires. If the work permit expires before you apply to extend your status, you will lose your status.
  • Be eligible to restore your status and get a work permit
    • You can restore your status if you apply within 90 days of losing it. However, if it has been more than 90 days, you will need to leave Canada, and reapply from outside of Canada if you want to work here again.
      • What this would mean for your express entry application is unclear.
3. Be the principal applicant on your permanent residence application


4. Have submitted a complete application for permanent residence and passed the completeness check
  • Please note that submitting a profile to the pool is not the same as applying for permanent residence.
5. Have your acknowledgement of receipt letter
  • This letter is sent to your account after your permanent residence application is received.


Option 3: You can try to secure another employment opportunity. If successful, you can apply for a new work permit before the original one expires. Applying for a new work permit before your work permit expires allows you to stay in Canada while your application is processed–providing you with more time to know if you will receive an invitation to apply for permanent residency. It should be noted that, in the case that you do receive an invitation to apply, but possess an expired work permit, it may cause your score to drop (potentially causing you to no longer be eligible). Thus, trying to find another job, if possible, and applying for a new work permit could go a long way.

Option 4: If you do end up leaving Canada after you submitted your application for permanent residency, the application will continue processing. If you leave Canada while your profile is still in the Express Entry pool, if you are issued an invitation to apply, you can submit your application for permanent residence from outside of Canada.


We hope that the information we provided was helpful to you. Please let us know if you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Your Settlement.Org team

Disclaimer:
This document does not contain legal advice. This document was prepared with the assistance of PBSC law student volunteers. PBSC volunteers are not lawyers and they are not authorized to provide legal advice. This document contains general discussion of certain legal and related issues only. If you require legal advice, please consult with a lawyer.
12/1/2022
Topic:
Canada PR 730 days obligation - Re-enter Canada

Moderator
Moderator
Hi there,

Thank you for sharing your question and situation with us.

To maintain permanent residency status in Canada, you must have spent two years (730 days) of the last five years in Canada from the date of examination.


When is the date of examination?
It is either when:



1. A permanent resident of Canada is entering Canada. The border officer will conduct an “examination” to determine whether the person should keep their PR status or not; and/or
2. The date of signature on a PR Card renewal application.


If you plan to enter Canada on January 30, 2023, that will be your date of examination. Upon entry, there are two ways a Canadian border officer is required to calculate your days of physical presence in Canada based on your circumstances:
1. You have been a Permanent Resident for 5 years or less. In that case, a border officer will look backwards from your date of examination to calculate if you already have 730 days of physical presence in Canada. If you do not, the border officer is then allowed to look forward to the end of your first 5-year period to see if you will be able to meet your 730-day physical presence requirement.
2. If you have been a permanent resident for five years or longer, a Canadian border officer is only allowed to look backwards on your date of examination to see if you meet the physical presence test. From the day you enter Canada, the border officer will determine if you have spent 730 days physically present in Canada over the past five years.



In this situation, a border officer cannot look forward to calculate if you will meet the requirement. They are only able to look backwards to determine if you already have enough days of physical presence or not.


It is important to note that the five-year period of your PR card’s validity is purely incidental and has nothing to do with the physical presence requirement. It is a travel document. What is calculated upon arrival is not whether two of five years of your PR card’s validity have been spent in Canada, but whether you have been physically present in Canada for at least two of the past five years from the date of entry to Canada (which is the date of examination).

Some people mistakenly believe that they must spend 2 years of physical presence in Canada for the validity of the PR Card and this is not correct - and a person could lose their status if they interpret it this way.


In addition to the above, the 730 days of physical presence do not have to be continuous. A few exemptions to this requirement are set out below that may or may not apply to your situation. Time abroad can count towards your permanent residency status in the following cases:

1. You work outside Canada full-time for
a) A Canadian business or organization, or
b) The Canadian federal, provincial, or territorial government.
2. You travel with a spouse or common-law partner who is either

a) A Canadian citizen, or
b) A permanent resident working outside Canada full-time for a Canadian business or the Canadian federal, provincial, or territorial government.
3. You are a dependent child and travel with your parent, who is either

a) A Canadian citizen, or
b) A permanent resident who works outside Canada full-time for a Canadian business or organization or the Canadian federal,
provincial, or territorial government.


Generally speaking, a Canadian company cannot be created for the purpose of maintaining status. A Canadian company for these purposes should be a company that operates a payroll, has full-time employees who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents, and has been in business for at least 1-2 years. Canadian companies should not be created for the purposes of maintaining a permanent residency status as they are unlikely to fulfill the requirement in the exemption.

If the border officer determines that you have not met or will not be able to meet your physical presence requirement, your PR status will be taken away and a section 44 IRPR report will be written against you. You will have 30 days to appeal the decision.


You may wish to speak with a qualified immigration lawyer to assist you with any necessary application or provide more detailed information. Steps to Justice offers more information about permanent residency obligations that may be useful to you here; “Do permanent residents lose their status if they spend time outside Canada?”.

We hope that the information we provided was helpful to you. Please let us know if you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Your Settlement.Org team

Disclaimer:
This document does not contain legal advice. This document was prepared with the assistance of PBSC University of Toronto law student volunteers. PBSC volunteers are not lawyers and they are not authorized to provide legal advice. This document contains general discussion of certain legal and related issues only. If you require legal advice, please consult with a lawyer.

12/5/2022
Topic:
Australian Veteran

Moderator
Moderator
Hi Michael,

Thank you for sharing your question and situation with us.

You can find helpful information about Immigrating to Ontario in our Immigration and Sponsorship section. The article, How can I apply to immigrate to Ontario? provides information on different Immigration pathways/programs that lead to permanent (or temporary) residence in Canada. You may also wish to consult a reputable and registered immigration consultant or an immigration lawyer for advice regarding your situation.


We hope this information is helpful. Please let us know if you have further questions and if there is any follow up to your question/situation.

Sincerely,

Your Settlement.Org team
12/6/2022
Topic:
About Question 13 on the citizenship application

Moderator
Moderator
Hi there,

Thank you for sharing your question on the discussion forum.

IRCC has a travel journal resource to help you keep track and record your trips outside of Canada. In this travel journal, the date of departure from Canada as “from” and date of return to Canada as “to”.

According to IRCC’s Physical Presence Calculator, the date of arrival and date of departure are both considered days you are present in Canada and may be excluded from your calculation for the number of days outside Canada. Please note, the intended use of this calculator is to calculate physical presence for citizenship applications. The residency requirement for citizenship requires physical presence in Canada for 1,095 days.

You may want to contact IRCC using their web form to make a case-specific inquiry. You may also wish to consult a reputable and registered immigration consultant or an immigration lawyer for advice regarding your situation and help with your application.

We hope this information is helpful. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to post them here.

Sincerely,

Your Settlement.Org Team
12/6/2022
Topic:
PR Extension after PR Card has expired

Moderator
Moderator
Hello There,

Thank you for sharing your situation and question with us.

You will still need to provide travel documentation to enter Canada at the U.S. Based on information on the IRCC website, if you leave Canada with an expired PR card, you will likely need to apply for a Permanent Resident Travel Document to return to Canada.

Starting this process will also start the process to determine whether or not you have lost your PR status. A valid Permanent Resident (PR) card or Permanent Resident Travel Document (PRTD), are the best proof of your PR status for re-entry into Canada.

In terms of the process when re-entering Canada, each time you enter Canada, Citizenship and Immigration may calculate 5 years back from the date you have entered or re-entered Canada to see if you have fulfilled your residency obligation.

The 5-year period is assessed on a rolling basis. This means that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will look back at your time in Canada over the previous 5 years from the date that they receive your application.

You can find information on the process that is followed when entering Canada in this Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) ENF 23 - Loss of Permanent Resident Status manual.

Here is an excerpt from the manual on what happens at the port of entry here:

"7.8 Examining Permanent Residents at a POE (Port of Entry)

When a permanent resident appears at a POE for examination, the officer must confirm that the person is a permanent resident. Officers must remain cognizant of the fact the Act gives permanent residents of Canada the right to enter Canada at a port of entry once it is established that a person is a Permanent Resident, regardless of non-compliance with the residency obligation in A28 or the presence of other grounds of inadmissability.

Port of entry officers (POE) can refuse entry to a Permanent Resident only when the person has already lost the status in accordance with the provisions of A46 (such as when a final determination has been made that they have failed to comply with the residency obligations or when a removal order comes into force).

In other words, once a permanent resident's status is established, the person may enter Canada by right and the immigration examination under IRPA concludes.

If an officer has concerns that a permanent resident has not complied with the residency obligation of A28, the officer should advise the permanent resident when the examination is concluded that they are authorized to enter Canada; however, the permanent resident may wish to answer additional questions so the officer may determine whether their concerns are well founded or not.

In cases where:
- permanent resident status is established;
- the permanent resident refuses to provide any further information and enters Canada;
and
- the officer believes, on a balance of probabilities that the person is in non-compliance with the residency obligation,

officers may report the person, pursuant to A44(1). if there is sufficient evidence to support an inadmissibility allegation. In the absence of sufficient evidence to support the writing of an inadmissibility report, officers may enter any available information into FOSS (date of entry, last country of embarkation, current address in Canada etc.).


It is also worth noting that not meeting your PR residency requirements doesn’t mean an automatic loss in PR status, you may want to speak to a reputable and registered immigration consultant or an immigration lawyer about travelling back to Canada without a valid PR card.

We hope this information is helpful. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to post them here. You may also want to contact the local visa office or IRCC via web form to get more details about your specific application and what kind of supporting documents you may require.

Sincerely,

Your Settlement.Org Team
12/8/2022
Topic:
Make posting instructions easier to find

Moderator
Moderator
Jasvinder Kaur Saini wrote:
It is more than 2 months now that my WES status was updated as reverification request sent to my university . I am continuously in touch with my university since than but no email from WES for reverification is shared to them. The last email received from WES was regarding receipt of documents sent by my University. I have raised so many queries to WES to at least share the email id on which the email is sent to my university but I am not getting any support from WES on this. I entire process is on hold because my WES evaluation is not available.
I am stuck here from last 2 months now, don't know what to do in this situation.
How will reverification happen when no email is shared to the University.



Hello There,

Thank you for sharing your situation and question with us.

We appreciate that you would be interested in this type of information. We understand that the outcome of your report may cause concern.

It is best that you contact WES directly for information specific to your case. Be prepared with your WES reference number and call the (+1) 800-361-6106 or use their contact form.

For information about contacting WES, you may find the Settlement.Org discussion thread Problem With My WES Evaluation Report useful.

Here is an excerpt:
Submitting Application for Evaluations

For more information, visit Settlement.Org for articles on credential evaluation. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to post them here.

We hope this information is helpful. Please let us know if you have further questions and if there is any follow up to your question/situation.

Sincerely,

Your Settlement.Org Team
12/8/2022
Topic:
OHIP eligibilty

Moderator
Moderator
Hi there,

Thank you for sharing your question and situation with us.

You may find helpful information in the Settlement.Org article, Who is eligible for OHIP? Here is an excerpt about some of the eligibility requirements:
You must be able to answer "yes" to each of these statements:
  • Your principal home is in Ontario.
  • You were not away from Ontario for more than 30 days during the first 6 months that you lived here. That means you must be in Ontario for 153 days of the first 183 days that you live in Ontario.
  • You are in Ontario for at least 153 days in any 12-month period.

It is best to contact the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care for some information specific to your situation.

You can find some contact information here:


http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/common/

Call ServiceOntario, INFOline at:
1-866-532-3161 (Toll-free)
In Toronto, (416) 314-5518
TTY 1-800-387-5559.
In Toronto, TTY 416-327-4282
Hours of operation: Monday to Friday, 8:30am - 5:00pm



We hope this information is helpful. Please follow up with us if you have any further questions.


Sincerely,


Your Settlement.Org team
12/8/2022
Topic:
PR Card Photo Resubmission

Moderator
Moderator
Hi there,

Thank you for sharing your question and situation with us.

You may find it helpful to check processing times using the calculator on the IRCC website, but it is best that you contact the IRCC Client Support Centre directly for an update and information specific to your application, you may also wish to contact them via webform if you prefer to communicate online.

We hope this information is helpful, please follow up with us if you have any additional questions.

Sincerely,

Your Settlement.Org team
12/12/2022
Topic:
First health card

Moderator
Moderator
Hi there,

Thank you for sharing your question and situation with us.

You may find helpful information in the Settlement.Org articles, Who is eligible for OHIP? and What documents do I need to apply for a health card? Here is an excerpt:
Permanent Residents ("landed immigrants")
  • Valid Permanent Resident Card or a Permanent Resident Card that has been expired for less than 5 years
  • Confirmation of Permanent Residence (IMM5292 or IMM5688)
  • Record of Landing (IMM1000)



If you do not have your PR card, you can use your Confirmation of PR as proof that you meet the eligibility requirement there. It is best to also contact the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care for some information specific to your situation.


You can find some contact information here: http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/common/

or Call ServiceOntario, INFOline at:
1-866-532-3161 (Toll-free)
In Toronto, (416) 314-5518
TTY 1-800-387-5559.
In Toronto, TTY 416-327-4282
Hours of operation: Monday to Friday, 8:30am - 5:00pm

We hope this information is helpful. Please follow up with us if you have any further questions.


Sincerely,


Your Settlement.Org team
12/12/2022
Topic:
Extreme delay receiving renewed PR card

Moderator
Moderator
Hello there,

Thank you for reaching out to Settlement.Org, we understand that this can be a difficult situation. It sounds like you have made all the right steps in contacting IRCC for an update regarding your application. It may also be useful to note that processing time does not include the wait time before they receive the application, and starts once they receive a completed application. You may find it helpful to check processing times using the calculator on the IRCC website.


It may also be helpful to seek the advice of a reputable and registered immigration consultant or an immigration lawyer about your situation. To find a community legal clinic in your area, visit Services Near Me.


In the meantime, if you find yourself in a position where you need to travel and do not yet have your PR card, you may also find helpful information in the Settlement.Org article, I need to leave Canada but do not have my PR card yet. What should I do?


We hope this information is helpful. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to post them here.


Sincerely,


Your Settlement.Org Team
12/12/2022
Topic:
PRTD application applied via PR PORTAL

Moderator
Moderator
Hi there,

Thank you for sharing your question and situation with us.

It is best that you contact IRCC directly for information regarding your application. The IRCC Client Support Centre can provide information specific to your case file, you can reach them by phone (1-888-242-2100) or use their web form. If you require any further assistance with your application, it may also be helpful to seek the advice of a reputable and registered immigration consultant or an immigration lawyer about your situation. To find a community legal clinic in your area, visit Services Near Me.

We hope this information is helpful.

Sincerely,

Your Settlement.Org team
12/12/2022
Topic:
Fee of renewing permanent residency card

Moderator
Moderator
Hi there,

Thank you for sharing your question and situation with us. You may find helpful information regarding where to submit payment in the PR card renewal application guide. IRCC also has a form where you can fill out the details of your application and receive information about where to pay. It is important to note that, according to this guide, you must pay your fees online. IRCC will return your application if you send any other type of payment. We hope this information is helpful. For information specific to your application, the IRCC Client Support Centre can provide information specific to your case file, you can reach them by phone (1-888-242-2100) or use their web form.


We hope this information is helpful. Please follow up with us if you have any further questions.


Sincerely,


Your Settlement.Org team