Help! Moving to Canada and have to ask!

[a_carreiro_2]

Hi everyone,

My husband and I have been married for over a year now and live in London, UK.
We would really love to move to Canada as we feel like we would be happier there.
We've both visited many times and adore it there.
We would love to live and raise a family there and don't feel like we would want to in the UK.

So we started to do a bit of research.
We know it would be beneficial to get a job offer in order to move, however it is really difficult trying to find one while living in the UK. We've saved quite a bit of money so we can afford to move there without work for a while until we can go on interviews and find work.

My question is, what do we need to just get there?
We know we need a work permit before we work but as we don't have a job offer yet, we just want to get there and start looking and go to interviews.
Do we need a special permit to just move all our stuff/life there (no furniture just books, pots, lots of clothes etc) without work?
Can we just get up and go or is there special paperwork we need?

We figured since we have enough money to live on for a while, we would move to Canada, rent a home and go to all the agencies we can find, go on as many interviews as possible and keep at it until we can find a job.

Is this possible?
Any help would be so much appreciated!
Any tips and pointers would be amazing!
Thanks so much!
Alex

 

[amikety]

You won't be allowed to "move" here without some type of job or study permit. As a UK citizen you could visit for 6 months, but if you are clearly moving - even if they suspect you're moving, they can deny you and ban you for a year. So it's best to have a furnished apartment or house share OR if you have a relative or friend to stay there.

Do you have an intended province? We may be able to give you more information based on that.

Have you taken the assessment on CIC's webpage to see what you qualify for?

Also, depending on several factors (age is one) you can looking a working holiday. I believe you must be under 30 to qualify.

Lastly, if you don't mind, give us an idea of your education and/or trade skills. We may be able to make better recommendations with that information.

 

[amikety]

Here's the link for Working Holiday:

http://www.international.gc.ca/experience/intro_incoming-intro_entrant.aspx?lang=eng&view=d

http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/united_kingdom-royaume_uni/experience_canada_experience/index.aspx?view=d

Assesment tool:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/app/ctcvac/english/index

Just a note on your plan to move here and find a job: A lot of people have that plan. More than there are jobs available to hire a temporary foreign worker (TFW).

In order to get a job as a TFW, you need a Labor Market Opinion from the employer (LMO). The LMO is required for you to obtain a work permit, which is valid ONLY for that employer. Even if you manage to find an employer willing to provide a LMO, they take 3-5 months to get, then you will need to your work permit. By that time, your 6 months visit will be up. You would either need to apply to extend your stay in Canada (at least 30 days in advance) or leave Canada and re-enter. (Being from the UK, I presume you're also eligible to enter the USA and you can cross the border to re-enter Canada.) You will have to provide proof you have finances to stay in Canada and satisfy them you will leave Canada when your visit is up to be allowed a second visitor term. (I. E. have enough money to buy flights back to the UK.)

Unless you're in a field where TFW are normally hired (Nannies, fast food workers, etc) finding a LMO can be difficult if not impossible. Hiring a TFW is a lot of extra leg work for the employer (and they must pay you a fair Canadian wage) - much more costly than hiring a citizen or landed immigrant (PR). A lot of companies will not do it, no exceptions. Some job markets, particularly in the large cities, are flooded with TFW and Visitors searching for a LMO job. One manager I spoke to told me he got over 1000 applications for 1 LMO job at Subway. Also, if you're going for a service/retail job as a TFW, being from the UK may actually hurt you more than help. There's a perception employees from less fortunate countries will work harder, longer, complain less, willingly skip breaks - whereas an employee from the UK (or the USA, which is my case) is knowledgable about labor laws and working standards. I don't know how this effects jobs that require a university education.

If either of you work for an employer with international offices in Canada, it might be wise to see if they will assign you to Canada.

If one or both of you is interested in furthering your education, that's an option too. The student can work up to 20 hours (conditions apply) while the spouse of a student can apply for an Open Work Permit - no LMO required, much easier to get a job.

The hardest part is getting your foot in the door. But I wouldn't hold my breathe and assume a job will fall into my lap. It takes either exceptionally good luck/connections or a lot of hard work to find a LMO job. The good news is if you secure the job, things get easier from there.

 

[a_carreiro_2]

Hi!
We're looking to move to Toronto, Ontario.

We're both 26 and my husband has a bachelor's in accounting and finance.
At the moment we are both working for a payroll company.
I have an associate's in art and design.
We both have been in admin work since we were 18 but I've been in payroll for the past 3 years and My husband has been in payroll for 1 year. Official titles are account managers as we deal directly with businesses and individual account holders.

I hope this info helps!
(by the way, i thought temporary work permits were only for specific roles like a nanny but a little more info on it would be nice if you think it would help)

 

[amikety]

You're going to find Toronto (GTA - Greater Toronto Area) has lots of people all looking for work. Business type degrees are also extremely common.

Since you're 26, you can both look into applying for the working holiday. I believe the website said they will begin taking applications again in May 2013. (I originally typed 3012, that would've been awesome....) You can't extend a working holiday, however, so about halfway through you'll either need to have your employer apply for a LMO for you (if they agree) or apply for a new working holiday visa. I hope that makes sense.... you can't extend it, but you can re-apply. It means there's no "implied status" so you can't continue to work between them if there's a delay.

Any and all work you get until you're landed in Canada is temporary. Most LMOs I've seen are good for 1 year, I have seen two years offered to nannies. (I know more about nannies than I care to because my sister-in-law was one.)

Your associates degree is refered to as a 'diploma' here. Just a hint so you can market it correctly when you make your resume.

Here's the nice part. If your husband lands a job, gets the LMO and work permit, you can accompany him to Canada and apply for a spousal work permit. That would be an open work permit, meaning no LMO is needed and you can work basically anywhere. Much easier to find work. (I don't know if that qualifies with the holiday visa as that's something I'm in the process of learning about too.)

That being said, I wouldn't get your hopes up if you come to Toronto as a Visitor and hope to find work, especially in your fields. Toronto has been railed and cursed on this forum by immigrants many times for too many people and not enough good jobs. I would really investigate the working holiday visa as a first option.

There are 3 other programs you will need to know about to settle permanently in Canada- CEC, FSW, and Ontario Skilled worker.

CEC - Canadian Experience class - you earn experience towards PR by working or going to school in Canada

FSW - Federal Skilled Worker - currently closed, expected to re-open in 2013. Historically, this has been a slow way to get into Canada, but the Immigration Minister is promising improvements and faster times.

Ontario Skilled worker - much like the Federal program, but specific to Ontario.

 

[a_carreiro_2]

Thanks everyone, its been really helpful and we appreciate the tips!
Now the only thing worrying us is finding a job that would be willing to help with a permit

Also, I have family there, an aunt and 2 uncles (all married with families) and a grandma who will live with us if we are ever able to move. We would prefer to do it on our own rather than getting sponsored by family but would that at least help with the application?

Whats the easiest way to find opportunities?
Should we visit for a 2 week holiday and try to go on interviews?
Would it help? Or is it a long shot?

Sorry for all the questions and thanks again!!