ARRANGED EMPLOYMENT IN CANADA

First, note there are two markedly different ways to obtain the 10 points available for this factor: either you must have a Confirmed Offer of Employment for a permanent position and not be intending to work in Canada on a temporary work permit OR you must working in Canada on a temporary work permit.

Next, note that an additional 5 points are available for having Arranged Employment under the sixth factor, Adaptability (see below). Therefore, having Arranged Employment can in many cases result in a total award of 15 points! This factor can therefore make a weak application extremely strong.

Confirmed Offer of Employment (COE)

The Minister surprised virtually everyone in Canada, including his CIC officials, when he announced the COE on June 11, 2002. Previously, a permanent offer of employment would only be approved by Canada’s labour department, Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) if the employer could prove that no Canadian residents were available to perform the job being offered. This was known as the Canadians First policy. But now, 10 points for a COE are awarded if the employer is prepared to offer permanent employment to a foreign person that satisfies the following criteria: the offer is genuine, the offer is “indeterminate” (which means the employer is willing to wait as long as it takes for the foreign worker to become a permanent resident), the salary offered is sufficient to attract Canadian workers (prevailing wage) and the position is a high skill occupation (Skill Level B or above in the NOC).

The key to the COE is the genuineness of the offer, and that depends to a large extent on the nature of the relationship between the offeror and the offeree. No employer would offer indeterminate (open ended) employment to someone who may or may not ever arrive in Canada, and who may not arrive for many months or years, unless the employer has a very close connection or relationship to the foreign worker.

Many consultants offer to purchase so-called Guaranteed Genuine Arranged Employment for their clients. Do not be misled by such scams.

If an Employer is being paid money to offer employment, it is obviously not a genuine offer. Anyone participating in such a scheme is involved in a fraudulent practice.

Moreover, HRDC is now starting to question employers closely about the relationship between the employer and the employee and the motivation for offering the job on an indeterminate basis. Similarly, at the visa interview, the visa officer will closely question the applicant in similar terms. The applicant must also satisfy the officer that he or she is capable of performing the job and likely to accept the job upon arrival in Canada.