Here's what I know so far.
The easier way into Canada for people like us is through the Atlantic Pilot Program and select the intermediate skilled option (which trucking comes under). The requirements for this is 1,560 work experience in the last 3 years, in the field you're applying for. So in your case you would need 1,560 hours of truck driving experience within the last 3 years which for most people is about 8 months - 1 year of experience.
Then you need to get a job offer (this is the hardest part of any immigration process). You can search on the job bank but as we've seen most employers simply don't reply, much less offer to hire you. By some miracle if you can get a job offer then you're virtually guaranteed to get into the program assuming you have no criminal record or anything. Then while your work permit application is going through the system, you can start your PR application.
Then you'll get your work permit back, move to Canada and start your MELT training, complete it and start work then a few months later your PR application will have finished being processed and you'll have PR residence. The process is incredible simple on the face of it but in reality it's complete luck, you just need to find 1 employer willing to give you a job and you're all set.
Hello,
Scenario 1 ( In General -In order of events)
-Come to Canada (on best possible visa which vary person to person)
-Get your G driving license ( It has certain steps pls refer
https://www.ontario.ca/document/official-mto-drivers-handbook/getting-your-drivers-licence )
- Be clear about Driving Abstract requirements.
-Get your AZ license (Please refer to MELT training program
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/driver/truck-driver-licence.shtml )
-Contact Logistics company for Job offer / LMIA (ever thing has cost keep in mind) (make sure your company is LMIA eligible you can refer following list
https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/90fed587-1364-4f33-a9ee-208181dc0b97 or you can do google search as well)
-Get back to your home country and apply for Work Permit
Note:-
-You need to have a valid AZ license to get any job offer from any logistics company in Canada
- How can a company give you job offer if you don't have required skills to perform in job (In our case driving a 75ft-45000 lbs weight Vehicle)
-Depending on your home country license class, It takes around 2-3 months to get AZ from Class G
-You need to have at least 1 year (2years will be perfect) of Commercial Driving Experience ( with Left Hand driving 45-75ft truck-trailer combination-best scenario, or other CDE depending on your home country)
-I am not discouraging you here but its only 1% chances out of 100, that a company will hire you without experience, its not about companies its about INSURANCE (see below links)
-
https://www.trucknews.com/transportation/ontario-mpp-questions-truck-insurance-costs/1003145080/
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https://www.trucknews.com/transportation/hard-market-continues-to-drive-truck-insurance-costs-higher/1003145228/
Even Your 1% luck work to grab a job, then you will find very very hard to explain VO why you want to work as truck driver in Canada without any prior experience, which ultimately leads to visa refusal. Its not always happens but no one wants to take risk after spending good amount of savings of your life...Right!!!
-All your driving abstract should be clean (subject of consideration company to company)
-You need a experience immigration lawyer (I will not prefer consultants) who can make full proof (100%) SOP for your Work Visa Application explaining why you want to come Canada as a truck driver and assure the VO that you will go back to your home country in the end of your work visa (home country ties)
- If you are coming on Visitor Visa to Canada then ONLY Ontario province allows to get AZ license (Keep this in mind before planning your trip)
-Expenses of whole process (upto get your AZ license only) may vary person to person but I will say it easily goes upto 10-15k CAD (this excludes LMIA process (
https://www.trucknews.com/transportation/ottawa-warns-against-lmia-abuse/1003145517/) :::some time its not applicable as you considering you have 1-2 years of truck driving experience with clean abstract:::: , But it worth spending as you can recover in first six months of your employment (
https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/wagereport/occupation/10553)
Scenario 2 (Your case, best I can suggests)
1. Get two year Commercial Driving Experience in your home country then refer (Scenario 1) guidelines of that time.
2. If not 1 then, Come on study visa (believe me bro its cost same as explained in Scenario 1) and start your career as truck driver.
- Depending on your current education any one year course is good, even you can go for logistics courses.
Hope I helped you in any manner.
