A story from practice:
Recently, a client who applied for the Express Entry program as a Francophone from Ontario contacted me. She had two years of experience working as a hairdresser in Canada, and her French was at a good level. All together, she got an excellent score, successfully entered the Express Entry pool and received an invitation for permanent residence.
It all seems just great. BUT! She received a request from an immigration officer:
confirm that your Canadian work experience is legal.
What did the client do?
• Sent a work permit
• Attached pay stubs (paychecks with tax deductions)
• Confirmed that she really worked
And... she got a refusal. Why?????
So she was refused because in Ontario, hairdressers are not allowed to work without a license. This means that even with a work permit, this experience is not considered legal. It's like treating people without a medical license: yes, they paid for the services, but this is an illegal practice.
Which provinces require licenses for hairdressers:
• Ontario
• Alberta
• Manitoba
• Saskatchewan
• Nova Scotia
‼The consequences of such experience are catastrophic:
If you apply for permanent residence and declare experience as a hairdresser in one of the provinces listed above, without a license it’s an illegal experience.
This may result in:
• working experience cancellation
• permanent residence denial
• In some cases — Work Permit cancellation
Please be EXTREMELY careful.
If you work in such a profession, make sure to check the provincial requirements. Without a license THE EXPERIENCE STATED AUTOMATICALLY BECOMES ILLEGAL
If you have already applied and declared this specific profession, you need to act AHEAD!
Oleksandra Melnykova, Immigration and Refugee Consultant in Canada
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