EU citizen settlement in Canada

[alshandrin]

Hi there !

I am an Indian national (Goa) expecting my Portuguese passport early next year, which will automatically make me a EU citizen. Thereafter, I plan to migrate to Canada. I would like to get some info pertaining to the same:

1- Being a Portuguese passport holder, what kind of a visa would i need to apply for?
2- What must i do when i first land in Canada? (registering with official agencies etc.)
3- Some advise on economical accomodation and part time jobs to make ends meet while i apply for my heavy driving license and get a proper job.
4- What would the procedure/ formalities be for me to obtain a commercial heavy drivers license in Canada? (i have a valid Indian car drivers license and an expired UAE car drivers license)
5- Roughly how long would it take and how much would i have to spend for the heavy drivers license?
6- Would i be extended any assistance to settle down by the Canadian government? if yes what kind?
7- once i settle down with a permanent job, i wish to bring my wife and two boys (20 yrs and 9 years old) to join me who will also be having a Portuguese passport so what would the visa formalities be for them?

Thanks for your time and God bless for any responses.

Aslam & Jocelyn

 

[Leon]

1- Being a Portuguese passport holder, what kind of a visa would i need to apply for?

You would not need a visa to visit but you would need a work permit if you want to work. If you qualify to apply for your PR (permanent residency) directly under some immigration program, you can do that but the processing time is longer, several months or a year. However, once you have your PR, you have no restrictions moving to Canada, working any job, studying if you want to etc.

2- What must i do when i first land in Canada? (registering with official agencies etc.)

If you come as a tourist, nothing. If you get a work permit or enter as a PR, you would need to apply for a SIN (social insurance number) at a Service Canada office and you would need to apply for health care in your province.

3- Some advise on economical accomodation and part time jobs to make ends meet while i apply for my heavy driving license and get a proper job.

As said, unless you get your PR, you can not work without a work permit. In order to get a work permit, the employer needs to apply for an LMO (labour market opinion) and prove that he advertised the job for so-so long and that he could find no Canadians who wanted or were qualified for the job. The process of applying for an LMO is cumbersome for the employer so many will not bother, especially if they can get Canadian workers because then they will not be granted an LMO anyway. Even if they do get it, the process of getting an LMO takes a couple of months. After that, you'd need a work permit to go with the LMO but as you are visa exempt, you can get a work permit by taking the LMO to the US border and then re-entering Canada and asking for the work permit on entry. If you manage to find an employer who gets an LMO for you where you are now, you can also get him to send you the LMO and apply for the work permit as you enter Canada at an airport. This would make it very hard for you to get part time jobs while you do your driving school.

4- What would the procedure/ formalities be for me to obtain a commercial heavy drivers license in Canada? (i have a valid Indian car drivers license and an expired UAE car drivers license)

In order to get a Canadian drivers license, you would have to be either a PR, student or on a work permit. Tourists are not granted drivers licenses. In Canada, new drivers are first issued with a probationary license. You can not get a truck license if you have a probationary license so to bypass that, you would have to prove your driving history in India. If you manage to do that, you would be allowed to take the advanced road test and get a full Canadian license right away. In order to get a truck license, you'd then need driving school.

5- Roughly how long would it take and how much would i have to spend for the heavy drivers license?

I don't know that. Google driving schools truck Canada or something like that and you will find some schools you can ask.

6- Would i be extended any assistance to settle down by the Canadian government? if yes what kind?

No. In Canada, either you come with a job (PR with job offer or foreign worker with LMO and work permit) and then you are expect to support yourself or if you don't come with a job, you'd be asked to prove funds (PR without a job offer or foreign student).

7- once i settle down with a permanent job, i wish to bring my wife and two boys (20 yrs and 9 years old) to join me who will also be having a Portuguese passport so what would the visa formalities be for them?

If you manage to get a work permit in a skilled position (which a truck driver is not), you could apply for a visa for your wife and minor children. Otherwise, your wife would have to get her own work permit and you could apply for your minor son to come with you but you may have to pay for his tuition if neither of you are skilled workers. If you apply for PR, it would be best to apply for them too at the same time. Your older son is however an adult and would have to qualify on his own. Current immigration rules state that children are dependent until the age of 22. However, this is changing on January 1st to the age of 19.

I'd like to add that the best way would be if you qualify to apply for PR now, you could apply for your whole family at the same time. Check the different immigration classes at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/apply.asp but you'd have to really get a move on if you want to have a hope of completing your application to mail in before January 1st so that your older son would be eligible.

If you do not qualify to apply for PR now, the best way would be that either you or your wife look for a skilled job offer to get an LMO and work permit. If one of you manages to do that, you can apply for an open work permit for the other spouse and a visa for the younger son to join you.

If you are unable to find a skilled job offer, try to find any other job offer (unskilled) and work full time while you do your driving school. Once you complete your driving school, you'd need a new LMO and a new work permit to work as a truck driver and your employer could sponsor you for PR through PNP (provincial nominee program) if you are working in Alberta, Saskatchewan or BC at least as a long haul driver. After you get your PNP nomination, you could apply for a visa for your family. However, this is a long term program and you could face being separated from your family for a long time. First to finish the driving school, then to find a truck driver job and get an LMO and work permit for it, then to convince your employer to sponsor through PNP, then to wait for the PNP nomination. Could easily take 2 years before you can apply for your family in that case.

 

[alshandrin]

Hey Leon,

Thanks a ton for the valuable info.

Lets see what we can do best.

Aslam & Jocelyn

 

[Jaxx]

how did it turned out for you?