2 more years

OK, so the bad news is that in just 3 days, my International Experience Canada work permit expires. No longer can I declare that I am a working HOLIDAY visa when getting the next round in, impulsively escaping from the city, or requesting all that time off work. Nope, will have to find another excuse for that.

However fortunately for me, I do not have to leave the country in 3 days time. The good news is that I just received through the post a brand spanking new work permit, valid until June 26, 2015. That folks, is 2 MORE YEARS that I can potentially stay in Canada for. I say potentially, because my family and friends back home are not exactly happy about this, so it’s just a reminder that I can choose to come home at any time. My options are now wide open. And my Canadian boyfriend is extremely happy!

The much anticipated document

I submitted my application online on May 28 through the CIC website, receiving a notice through my online account that my application had been approved on June 26th. At time of writing, processing times were estimated at 30 days. However when I applied, I think it was nearer 40, which meant I was looking at being on “implied status” for a few days until I heard a response, which wasn’t ideal.

“If a visitor, student or temporary worker applies to extend their status, prior to the expiry of that status, they may legally remain in Canada until a decision is made on the application. In this situation, the person has implied status.”

Not ideal. Yet I know of course that I am extremely lucky, especially as I was never 100% convinced that this was going to work out. I have spoken of my permanent residency application in a previous post, but the whole process was so confusing, and when the majority of people I knew were consulting immigration lawyers, I had an underlying feeling that I was just making the whole thing up, and that it was all going to go inevitably wrong. But so far, so good. Some of my friends however, have not been so fortunate and are now sadly facing the possibility of going home, at least for a short while.

So for now, I just need to look into getting my MSP (Medical Services Plan) and SIN card renewed and i’m pretty much good to go for another gorgeous Vancouver summer. Perfect timing, i’d say…