042: Self Employed Permanent Resident Program with Peter Rekai

http://www.canadianimmigrationpodcast.com

Welcome Peter Rekai - Canadian Immigration Lawyer

Introduction to the Self Employed Category

How did you get into immigration?

Intro: Today we are going to be covering one of the most often neglected areas of PR in Canada… the Self Employed Category

Who is covered by the self employed category? I think the first issue under the self-employed category is to dispel the thought that self employed means any business of which you are the sole proprietor. It is limited to the three categories of cultural, athletic and farm manager.

The programme is designed for people  that live off contract to contract engagements not one for those who expect to work a 40 Hour Week for a single employer

Let’s start with athletes -  One issue with the athletic category is that you don't actually have to be the athlete. You can be a coach, trainer or even in athletic management. The same is true in the cultural Industries. You don't have to be the singing star; you can be involved in set design etc.

What constitutes suitable experience - We can discuss what constitutes suitable experience in order to be eligible in this category. We can also discuss what constitutes evidence of a likelihood  to be self-sufficient in your occupation. 

What about significant contribution to the Canadian scene - There is also the question of what constitutes a significant contribution to the Canadian scene. This may actually vary if you are a self-employed high-end music teacher in Toronto versus one who is providing this service in a small town in Atlantic Canada which has no music teachers at this level.

There is a point system. How difficult is it to meet this standard? There is actually a point system which I kind of ignore when it comes to self employed people. If someone is deemed to meet all the criteria they actually get 35 out of 100 points which is all they need. So proof of  education and English are actually  not necessary... although a lack of any English would certainly be a hindrance in any of these fields.

Let’s talk about Farm Managers - As for Farm managers, apparently there are lots of those applications that come into Visa offices in Pakistan Bangladesh and India. We can talk about how running a small Bangladeshi farm would likely not be considered as suitable experience to run a hundred+ acre modern farm in Saskatchewan