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lovelight1111

Newbie
May 26, 2018
2
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Hello guys, I hope this is the right place to post this. Me and my partner are in a Gay relationship. I am British, he is Filipino.

We currently have an apartment in the phillipines and I am there for a long (1 - 2 year) stay now i finally have the right permits to do remote business there (base of operations such as bank accounts, etc is still in the UK). Me and him have decided that we would like to pursue our lives elsewhere for the long term once we have increased our savings a bit.

We have considered a few locations. Ireland and Canada among them.

He has relatives (his grandma, and a couple of aunts) in Canada. He has not seen his granny in several years and she has early stage dementia.

We are both extremely spiritual and have been looking at Canada as it seems based on people we know who have been there as a positive place, and it's history is long marked with helping those in need and over all Canadians i have spoken to love their country and are one of the few people i have not heard speak negatively about their country. Yes, everywhere has difficulties of some kind or other, but general attitude means a lot. I am well versed in travelling abroad from Europe to Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Rural Nepal and the phillipines, and would take a visit to Canada before we return to the phillipines to then seek work there.

I am unsure how to pursue Canada further as visa laws give me a headache sifting through them. I have used calculators and we fall short of the 67 points required for the express entry visa.

The current state of affairs for us both is as follows:

1. Me - Self Employed - TEFL qualified English teacher and I also run a freelance writing business (sole trader, not ltd company). I am interested in seeking actual employment in Canada. I have about £8k in savings. I have a HNC in computing and systems development (higher national certificate). This is the equivalent of BTEC Level 4. I also have Level 2 in Travel & Tourism, and a Level 2 in Engineering. I am interested in job roles from IT roles to call centre and customer service roles, hospitality, farming, etc. Flexible. My mother passed away when i was 18 in 2013; i have supported myself since then. My English is fluent of course and I write professionally.

I do not speak much French, but know just enough to ask someone for left/right directions, can count and ask for one's name / how they are.

2. My partner, has 2 years college study in hotel and restaurant management. He did not complete the third year but has a certificate for the two years completed. He currently works in a Filipino Call Center. We have both paid the bills on the apartment in the phillipines. He has a couple of aunts and his grandma in Canada who are Canadian citizens (they told us this can give him extra points? does number of relatives count?).

He would really like to spend his grandma's last years living within reach of her as he was very close to her, and he would like to set up in the west due to better working conditions, pay and prospects. He has wanted to work either in a care home supporting the elderly, hotel and resource management, and call Center work and/or farming but is flexible. His English is fluent and is good enough to work in an English call centre. He only makes occasional mistakes with grammar but can talk about all aspects of life in great detail, i would say he is almost as good as a native at this point. He likes the idea of caregiving too, but not a live at home carer as we would want our own place.

Both of us are quite flexible with what we want to look for employment wise. The main thing is a stable life and the ability to be together if one of us finds work out there before the other.

We both feel we want to contribute in the world by helping those less well off and share positivity in the world. Both are in perfect physical health. I have a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum disorder although managed to overcome many difficulties and travel the world and now it seldom limits me, only loud noises (nightclubs, raves) and fabric sensory problems and my partner's cajoling to eat etc (he does all the cooking etc) are the only issues. Social issues are almost non-existent and I am honoured to have been able to travel around.

We have been together around a year, known each other for two. We are due to get married next year. As the marriage will be a non legally binding pagan hand fasting in the UK, we will get married officially before hand at the British Embassy. We have not chosen to the UK for a long term stay as the visa laws are proving difficult plus the UK situation with brexit is so volatile and we worry about the current government moving the goalposts. The phenomenon of families being separated by strict visa laws (Skype families, kids included in this) has been a concern, even a British national can find it very difficult to sponsor a non EU spouse in Britain.

It is not often you find someone who treats you like a king as he does, we are not rich or wealthy, but happy, contented and he pampers me, and I him and most importantly, we both can support ourselves in our current position. Our main problem though is our current location is not the most optimal for long term prospects.

Now onto the question of potential prospects of moving to Canada for long term. We are both unsure how to proceed or what type of visas we would be eligible for and what job fields are accepted, or if we should both do some further study or work experience to increase our chances and does having multiple relatives as PR help?. We were not looking for a working holiday visa, but long term prospects to be together. We looked into them sponsoring us, but they told us as they have multiple of them living there, they cannot sponsor us based on their understanding.

I have done 6 month travels abroad in a few places i have mentioned and have always followed the immigration rules in the countries i have visited and always took up the appropriate visa extensions, as/when needed. Neither of us have any criminal record in either of our countries or anywhere abroad and could easily get police certificates if this is needed as part of the process.

So the job fields we are most open to:

IT (hardware, admin), Call Center (in my case ,technical support is a good one, for my partner general customer support), Customer Service, Hospitality, Hotel and Restaurant Management, Farming, Writing/Journalism, care home worker, social worker, etc. I am not looking to run my own business out there, but be employed. We would most like a position that supports those most in need. Running your own business can become very tiring, i would rather just do my set job and get a salary!

My only worry is lack of 'employed' work experience as i have only ever run my own business, from 18 to my current age of 23. My partner is 21.

We aim to start the ball rolling in late 2019, wherever we ultimately decide to go, Canada though is the option we want most of all due to his family ties.

I hope this post has not been too long winded, and if anyone could chip in as to our best options, i would be very thankful. Thanks very much for reading this and I would be interested to know our options, or if not eligible at the moment, what we can do to improve our chances!

Thank you!
 
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Hello guys, I hope this is the right place to post this. Me and my partner are in a Gay relationship. I am British, he is Filipino.

We currently have an apartment in the phillipines and I am there for a long (1 - 2 year) stay now i finally have the right permits to do remote business there (base of operations such as bank accounts, etc is still in the UK). Me and him have decided that we would like to pursue our lives elsewhere for the long term once we have increased our savings a bit.

We have considered a few locations. Ireland and Canada among them.

He has relatives (his grandma, and a couple of aunts) in Canada. He has not seen his granny in several years and she has early stage dementia.

We are both extremely spiritual and have been looking at Canada as it seems based on people we know who have been there as a positive place, and it's history is long marked with helping those in need and over all Canadians i have spoken to love their country and are one of the few people i have not heard speak negatively about their country. Yes, everywhere has difficulties of some kind or other, but general attitude means a lot. I am well versed in travelling abroad from Europe to Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Rural Nepal and the phillipines, and would take a visit to Canada before we return to the phillipines to then seek work there.

I am unsure how to pursue Canada further as visa laws give me a headache sifting through them. I have used calculators and we fall short of the 67 points required for the express entry visa.

The current state of affairs for us both is as follows:

1. Me - Self Employed - TEFL qualified English teacher and I also run a freelance writing business (sole trader, not ltd company). I am interested in seeking actual employment in Canada. I have about £8k in savings. I have a HNC in computing and systems development (higher national certificate). This is the equivalent of BTEC Level 4. I also have Level 2 in Travel & Tourism, and a Level 2 in Engineering. I am interested in job roles from IT roles to call centre and customer service roles, hospitality, farming, etc. Flexible. My mother passed away when i was 18 in 2013; i have supported myself since then. My English is fluent of course and I write professionally.

I do not speak much French, but know just enough to ask someone for left/right directions, can count and ask for one's name / how they are.

2. My partner, has 2 years college study in hotel and restaurant management. He did not complete the third year but has a certificate for the two years completed. He currently works in a Filipino Call Center. We have both paid the bills on the apartment in the phillipines. He has a couple of aunts and his grandma in Canada who are Canadian citizens (they told us this can give him extra points? does number of relatives count?).

He would really like to spend his grandma's last years living within reach of her as he was very close to her, and he would like to set up in the west due to better working conditions, pay and prospects. He has wanted to work either in a care home supporting the elderly, hotel and resource management, and call Center work and/or farming but is flexible. His English is fluent and is good enough to work in an English call centre. He only makes occasional mistakes with grammar but can talk about all aspects of life in great detail, i would say he is almost as good as a native at this point. He likes the idea of caregiving too, but not a live at home carer as we would want our own place.

Both of us are quite flexible with what we want to look for employment wise. The main thing is a stable life and the ability to be together if one of us finds work out there before the other.

We both feel we want to contribute in the world by helping those less well off and share positivity in the world. Both are in perfect physical health. I have a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum disorder although managed to overcome many difficulties and travel the world and now it seldom limits me, only loud noises (nightclubs, raves) and fabric sensory problems and my partner's cajoling to eat etc (he does all the cooking etc) are the only issues. Social issues are almost non-existent and I am honoured to have been able to travel around.

We have been together around a year, known each other for two. We are due to get married next year. As the marriage will be a non legally binding pagan hand fasting in the UK, we will get married officially before hand at the British Embassy. We have not chosen to the UK for a long term stay as the visa laws are proving difficult plus the UK situation with brexit is so volatile and we worry about the current government moving the goalposts. The phenomenon of families being separated by strict visa laws (Skype families, kids included in this) has been a concern, even a British national can find it very difficult to sponsor a non EU spouse in Britain.

It is not often you find someone who treats you like a king as he does, we are not rich or wealthy, but happy, contented and he pampers me, and I him and most importantly, we both can support ourselves in our current position. Our main problem though is our current location is not the most optimal for long term prospects.

Now onto the question of potential prospects of moving to Canada for long term. We are both unsure how to proceed or what type of visas we would be eligible for and what job fields are accepted, or if we should both do some further study or work experience to increase our chances and does having multiple relatives as PR help?. We were not looking for a working holiday visa, but long term prospects to be together. We looked into them sponsoring us, but they told us as they have multiple of them living there, they cannot sponsor us based on their understanding.

I have done 6 month travels abroad in a few places i have mentioned and have always followed the immigration rules in the countries i have visited and always took up the appropriate visa extensions, as/when needed. Neither of us have any criminal record in either of our countries or anywhere abroad and could easily get police certificates if this is needed as part of the process.

So the job fields we are most open to:

IT (hardware, admin), Call Center (in my case ,technical support is a good one, for my partner general customer support), Customer Service, Hospitality, Hotel and Restaurant Management, Farming, Writing/Journalism, care home worker, social worker, etc. I am not looking to run my own business out there, but be employed. We would most like a position that supports those most in need. Running your own business can become very tiring, i would rather just do my set job and get a salary!

My only worry is lack of 'employed' work experience as i have only ever run my own business, from 18 to my current age of 23. My partner is 21.

We aim to start the ball rolling in late 2019, wherever we ultimately decide to go, Canada though is the option we want most of all due to his family ties.

I hope this post has not been too long winded, and if anyone could chip in as to our best options, i would be very thankful. Thanks very much for reading this and I would be interested to know our options, or if not eligible at the moment, what we can do to improve our chances!

Thank you!

Canada has a number of different economic immigration programs. You'll need to spend time researching what it takes to apply - recommend you start with the Express Entry program. Many of Canada's economic immigration programs are points based and give preference to those with the most education, work experience, language capabilities, etc. You'll need to have at least 1 year of full time paid work experience to qualify. Details below:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada.html
 
1. Me - Self Employed - TEFL qualified English teacher and I also run a freelance writing business (sole trader, not ltd company). I am interested in seeking actual employment in Canada. I have about £8k in savings. I have a HNC in computing and systems development (higher national certificate). This is the equivalent of BTEC Level 4. I also have Level 2 in Travel & Tourism, and a Level 2 in Engineering. I am interested in job roles from IT roles to call centre and customer service roles, hospitality, farming, etc. Flexible. My mother passed away when i was 18 in 2013; i have supported myself since then. My English is fluent of course and I write professionally.

I do not speak much French, but know just enough to ask someone for left/right directions, can count and ask for one's name / how they are.

2. My partner, has 2 years college study in hotel and restaurant management. He did not complete the third year but has a certificate for the two years completed. He currently works in a Filipino Call Center. We have both paid the bills on the apartment in the phillipines. He has a couple of aunts and his grandma in Canada who are Canadian citizens (they told us this can give him extra points? does number of relatives count?).


The way I see it, Canadian economic immigration through Express Entry/Federal Skilled Worker (this grants permanent residence status straight up) favors education and work experience, and sorry to say, not having a minimum bachelor degree equivalent makes your chances right now highly improbable in this program. You said yourself that you do not meet the 67 points to be eligible for FSW, so this is off the table right now.

Could you qualify for a working holiday visa? If so, you could probably get a work permit (you will be a temporary resident) through there first, and then hope you get a job offer in Canada through gaining work experience there. But as members here say, WHVs for UK citizens are very competitive.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/iec/eligibility.asp

Another possible avenue is to get a study permit and study in Canada. You can get post-graduate work permits out of this, plus extra points in Express Entry.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada.html

Canadian work experience may also qualify you for Canadian Experience Class through Express Entry, where I think education isn't as important as with FSW...also go through the link that scylla provided to get a better understanding.

Also look through the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program, but again, I think your education profiles hurt you a bit.

You are both still very young, so time is on your side for now.
 
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The way I see it, Canadian economic immigration through Express Entry/Federal Skilled Worker (this grants permanent residence status straight up) favors education and work experience, and sorry to say, not having a minimum bachelor degree equivalent makes your chances right now highly improbable in this program. You said yourself that you do not meet the 67 points to be eligible for FSW, so this is off the table right now.

Could you qualify for a working holiday visa? If so, you could probably get a work permit (you will be a temporary resident) through there first, and then hope you get a job offer in Canada through gaining work experience there. But as members here say, WHVs for UK citizens are very competitive.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/iec/eligibility.asp

Another possible avenue is to get a study permit and study in Canada. You can get post-graduate work permits out of this, plus extra points in Express Entry.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada.html

Canadian work experience may also qualify you for Canadian Experience Class through Express Entry, where I think education isn't as important as with FSW...also go through the link that scylla provided to get a better understanding.

Also look through the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program, but again, I think your education profiles hurt you a bit.

You are both still very young, so time is on your side for now.


Thank you very much for you reply. I understand we will need to devote some time into this. There is no rush :). I will look into the options you have stated more thoroughly. There seems to be quite a few options, but we need to dedicate the time and effort into building up our profile in the required areas. The other option is i can top up my education to a degree in the UK, my partner has the same ability with his. It seems though like you mentioned a working holiday visa and Canadian work experience would serve me well also. Study permit seems like a good idea, if we could work legally to help pay for expenses.

Thank you very much for you responses, i understand this will require work and dedication, but it is worth a try!