How to plan life/move while you wait?

[cBert]

Hi all,

Curious for your experiences planning your lives around the spousal sponsorship application process. My husband and I live and work in London (I am Canadian) and aim to submit our application by the end of this year.

My employer has a Toronto office but there are no guarantees of a transfer - I am going to start talking to them about it when I return from mat leave in September.

My husband has started networking in his industry but without a work visa, the conversations are casual.

We both have 3 month notice periods at our current jobs and have a lease on a flat.

We also have an 11 month old baby and a cat...

How do you "get ready" to go without knowing when or even IF the go ahead will be given? I feel completely overwhelmed with the logistics of it all! Nevermind the cost!!

Any experience or advice shared would be appreciated!

 

[blacknirvana]

We applied end of last year and hope to get PR very soon. I think what your'e doing now is exactly what you need to do. Spend time putting together your application, and once it's done and sent to CIC you can start planning the move slowly. We startede by letting friend and family know our plans, it takes some time for them to get used to the idea of you leaving.

As you get closer start thinking about the logistics of moving, (where are you going to live, how much stuff will you bring, are you going to do one move or several trips?). We have a tip planned next month to visit family, but also to start moving some items.

Like you I find it hard to get any good conversations going with Canadian companies without being able to tell them when I'm moving, I try to network and create contacts for when I get my PR and can actually apply for jobs.

 

[zardoz]

Hi all,

Curious for your experiences planning your lives around the spousal sponsorship application process. My husband and I live and work in London (I am Canadian) and aim to submit our application by the end of this year.

My employer has a Toronto office but there are no guarantees of a transfer - I am going to start talking to them about it when I return from mat leave in September.

My husband has started networking in his industry but without a work visa, the conversations are casual.

We both have 3 month notice periods at our current jobs and have a lease on a flat.

We also have an 11 month old baby and a cat...

How do you "get ready" to go without knowing when or even IF the go ahead will be given? I feel completely overwhelmed with the logistics of it all! Nevermind the cost!!

Any experience or advice shared would be appreciated!

We have been through an almost identical scenario. The truth is that you can only do so much to prepare. After that, it's really just a waiting game. Assume that you will get through the process and that it's likely to be, for London, about 6 months or more. It's not easy or free from stress however and you will be taking a leap of faith... We were incredibly fortunate and everything came together for us but we have a very strong support base here of family and friends.

I can tell you more info about our experience in PM if you want.