The long wait to be able to work

[CMLR]

Hi everyone,

I just thought I would start a thread, unless there is one I missed, about how hard it is to keep waiting until we can work when we are in the PR process. I have now been in BC for 8 months and know that I have about another 9 to go to get a work permit. I get so bored sitting around. Yes I have made friends, since we attend a small church in our area. I go walking with a group of other ladies 3 times a week which helps. But I am a person who has done so much volunteer work in my past as well as paid employment helping people in many ways, my expertise is in helping people with disabilities. I am a giving and compassionate person who has almost no way of giving at this time and it is starting to be a big issue. One of my adult children whom I talk to through texts and skype is now saying they feel bad because I am sad, though I don't find I feel sad this son sees it in who I have become. what do others do who have moved to be with their spouse but have no way of working, volunteering and just passing the time. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[Ponga]

It certainly doesn't help that it rains sooooooo much in BC (but NOT today...or the rest of the week either! Woohoo!!!!).

You might look into ways to work remotely (via the Internet), since that doesn't require a work permit as long as you do NOT work for a company in Canada.

If you are computer savvy, you might find opportunities on sites like:

www.guru.com

www.elance.com

www.freelancer.com

or even...good ol' craigslist (just not any of the Canadian Craigslists, of course).

Good luck!

 

[JessNess]

I've been in Alberta (Calgary) now for about 3 months so far (I sent my outland application on April 5th, 2014) I have probably about 4-6 months more to WAIT for PR approval.

I am a very "type A" personality, always the breadwinner, extremely independent my whole life. But now, I have to literally just sit and wait to be able to work! My husband says it's a good thing because it is teaching me to relax and take time to calm down for once However, not working is killing me! Technically I can go home whenever I want to work, but I have had too much border trouble to keep going back and forth. It causes me too much anxiety! Right now we have the Calgary Stampede going on, which is a fun distraction, but when it's over it's back to long walks on the river and training my pet bunny, lol.

To pass the time, we go hiking a lot in Banff and Revelstoke. My husband and I found a baby rabbit, so I spend a lot of time training it to do tricks. I try to Skype my friends back home to keep from getting lonely because it's hard to make friends. Most people make friends via work so you can imagine how much tougher it is when you have to just chill at home all day. I have devoured about 18 non-fiction books since being here, lol. I try to make art. My husband is a carpenter for high-end homes so he brings home wood scraps and we build furniture out of them, which is fun.

Still losing my mind though! I have a bachelors of science degree in environmental engineering and I browse THOUSANDS of job openings that I qualify for but can't take! Those are the days when self-torture happens lol. Soon enough it'll be over!

 

[CMLR]

Ponga, Unfortunately most of the kind of work I have done is in direct support of people, some in an office setting some not. I am not all that computer savvy though not totally ignorant either. I do look on Craigslist but do not think I can do a remote job. :

JessNEss, I feel your pain. My husband does not like to go on walks or hikes to him it is a waste of time. I have made some friends but it is not the same. I lived in the same community for over 30 years. Raised my 4 kids there. Had lots of friends and was an elected School Board Member for 8 years Ect.... so very very connected to my community. Now I am a nobody and have limited things I can do to pass the time. We have considered buying a puppy, which I really want, but have not done so yet. The breed we want is expensive here and cheaper in the USA so we have not decided what to do. I want to train it to be a therapy dog so I can at a later time take it into places like hospitals, assisted living places to encourage people and help them smile. I have read at least 30 books since I have been here and watched complete series of TV shows using Nexflix. My husband works whatever shift he is given so it always changes, though we do know a few weeks at a time which does help some.

sigh..... the wait is so long

 

[JessNess]

You know what, I am not one to ever throw money around, but buy the dog

The animal helped me VERY much. Animals can help people in hospitals and they can help us too when we are in emotional pain! I know the dog may be expensive but your happiness is very much worth it and you can treat it like a hobby. If you drove down to pick up a dog in the USA it would cost you the same as if you bought it in Canada (driving gas plus hotel, etc). Trust me, you need a loveable pet to cheer you up and you can pay it forward by using it to do good

Don't put a price on your happiness during this long wait!

 

[Ponga]

Better yet...ADOPT a dog!

There's no shortage of dogs (and other animals) already in Canada that need a loving home like yours.

 

[JessNess]

Totally agree, adoption is BEST
Usually those adopted pets are sweeter and more thankful than purebreds for their homes
I had a friend who adopted a retired German Shepherd police dog that was going to be euthanized (it was only 3 years old!) and it is the most well-trained and obedient/smart dog I have ever met!

Lots of options

 

[CMLR]

Well we are still considering the dog. But we live in a very small place, really not big enough for a pet and we have a cat, my husband had it before I met him it is his baby for sure. The dog we want is a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel they have great dispositions and are small in size..... We are considering it. I have a son who lives in Iowa, Middle of the USA, and there it is half the price of here, sometimes even less. My son may come to see his dad and siblings at Christmas time in Washington State if so he would come by car so he could bring the puppy then and we could pick it up... Yes I need something to do and it would be good for my mental health.

 

[CMLR]

Ponga, we have looked into adopting a dog as well but it has to be a small dog, neither of us like Chihuahuas and that breed or a mix with that breed is all we see for small dogs in shelters around us. We live on Vancouver island. Also the price of adopting a dog and buying the puppy we want if bought from where my son lives is about the same. Small dogs under a year old here in a shelter cost about 400.00 Crazy price to us for a mixed breed dog that you probably don't know how they were treated and because of that they might not be a good fit. Some dogs are not treated well when young and it affects how they act the rest of their lives which is why we looked into a younger dog.

 

[srfheat]

I thought you were allowed to volunteer. As far as I understood it, as long as you weren't receiving compensation of any kind it was okay. Hadn't realised you were allowed to work remotely either.

I have recently (regretfully) come back to the UK for a short while to work whilst our PR application is processing. I had to stop working for 8 months also and found it very difficult. Luckily we have a dog, so taking care of him and taking him out for walks helped pass the time and kept me company while my spouse was at work.

The only other thing I could suggest is perhaps getting good at poker and playing online

 

[JessNess]

List of ideas:

-Cooking classes
-Workout classes
-Soup kitchen volunteering
-Boys and Girls club mentoring
-Writing, Reading
-Learn a language
-Hiking, walking, camping
-Make art (ink, watercolor, paint, etc)
-Join some kind of "club" (you can find meet-up groups online and they meet up with similar interests at cafes, libraries, etc)
-Learn a musical instrument

Basically my husband told me to take this special time where I have literally no obligations than to wait for this PR card and do things I wished I had time to do when I was working! Aka try everything in the universe, lol.

 

[CMLR]

So we can take classes as long as they are not at a school? I was told if we volunteer at anything that could be something someone would get paid to do that would not be looked upon very well. I was told it would/could look like that place was getting free work instead of hiring someone to do it. So does that mean things like mentoring is ok? We live in a pretty small community there is not a lot around us to choose from. But I will have to look into it more. Still I worry that if it is not just the right kind of volunteering it could mess up our application for my PR

 

[canuck_in_uk]

So we can take classes as long as they are not at a school? I was told if we volunteer at anything that could be something someone would get paid to do that would not be looked upon very well. I was told it would/could look like that place was getting free work instead of hiring someone to do it. So does that mean things like mentoring is ok? We live in a pretty small community there is not a lot around us to choose from. But I will have to look into it more. Still I worry that if it is not just the right kind of volunteering it could mess up our application for my PR

You can take classes at a school if you want, provided the course is shorter than 6 months.

When it comes to volunteering, CIC states that they allow: Volunteer work for which a person would not normally be remunerated, such as a foreign student being a ‘big brother’, or ‘big sister’ to a child; being on the line at a rape crisis centre. Normally this activity would be part time and incidental to the main reason that the person is in Canada (in this case, to study).

The key things are that you are doing something for which a person isn't normally paid and you aren't taking away a position that a Canadian citizen/PR would otherwise be paid for. For example, if someone is advertising an actual job and you offer to do it for free, that's taking away a job from a Canadian citizen/PR.

My partner volunteered with our local hospice while waiting for PR. It is a 100% volunteer organization, no risk of taking a job away, so it was perfectly fine for him to help them out.

One of the local vets took in a lot of rescues at once (bad puppy mill) and was struggling. They couldn't afford to hire extra staff and their existing staff was already working many hours for free to help out, so they advertised for volunteers to help with feeding, socializing, walking the dogs, cleaning cages etc. That is also the sort of thing that a visitor can do without risk.