3:2 THE APPLICATION FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE

As mentioned in Chapter 1, the forms to be included in an application for permanent residence can be downloaded, together with the instructions accompanying them, from the site of CIC at www.cic.gc.ca. In the case of skilled worker permanent residence applications, there are also visa office specific instructions which you must ensure you obtain from the relevant visa office, as highlighted in Chapter 1. The Appendix at the end of the book provides you with a sample of such visa office specific instructions (the London office).

3:2.1 Inclusion of a resumé

In addition to the basic documents as noted in the relevant checklist (contained in the visa office Specific Instructions booklet), one useful, often pivotal document is a resumé, which puts it all into perspective. In Chapter 2 we briefly discussed the issue of the resumé to be used for job searching purposes. Though the information may be generally the same, a resume to be included in an application for permanent residence may be slightly different from a resumé you submit to an employer, there may be different points to stress.

The resumé for immigration authorities should be longer than two pages. Your focus in drafting should be on providing good descriptions of the duties you have had in the past. It is important to remember the following:

• organise the duties in a logical way;
• use clear language and keep the use of technical terms to a minimum;
• do not present the same duty in different ways; decide what the substance of the duty was and use the simplest description of it;
• do not list everything that you did at a particular job; include mostly the tasks that were specific and central to your position.

You can use as a reference the NOC job titles and descriptions. However, you should ensure that your resume does not just reproduce the NOC descriptions. If it does, you will lose credibility with the immigration officer assessing your application and you may receive fewer points for your work experience than you may be entitled to. For a sample resume to be included in your application, see Figure 4.

3:3 CONCLUSION

An application for permanent residence may be the pivotal part in your life; it is about more than just filling in forms. Make sure you understand what CIC is looking for and give it to them through the application proccess. Knowledge is power and the power to know what a visa office must/ cannot/might consider should be behind your application. Don’t leave anything to chance.