Working and Moving to canada? help please

Hi Mark

Welcome to the Expat Arrivals Forum!

Your first step is to have a good read of the Canadian government website which is very comprehensive and informative in terms of all the different options for emigrating to Canada - http://www.cic.gc.ca/. A good option for you, depending on your qualifications and experience, would be to look at the Express Entry system, which is for skilled foreign workers, and once granted you'd have permanent residence status in Canada. You would not need a job offer to qualify for this visa, but if you had a valid job offer, then you could add more points to your application. However, it's not easy to get a job offer as a foreigner in Canada without a valid visa or relevant Canadian experience. Should you be granted a PR visa via the express entry system, you are not required to work in your specific field of expertise - although when applying for the visa, you have to prove that your work experience falls under one of the skills/national occupations listed on the government website.

I'm currently going through the Express Entry process myself, and would be happy to answer any questions you may have, but the Canadian government website is likely to have most of the answers you're seeking. There are also some great forums and groups on Facebook for prospective immigrants to Canada, so I suggest doing a quick search for these. For some more general info about Canada, have a read of the Expat Arrivals Canada guides.

Hi Catherine,

Thanks for such a quick response!

That's interesting! So its all about taking the risk and going for it? Its been my dream to move to Canada but I'm also very apprehensive as I've been in my current job from boy to man so walking away from a stable secure job in the UK to be unemployed in another causes me a slight concern. I thought if I could secure a job while I'm here that would make everything that little bit easier to take the plunge. The information you have just shared with me is very useful to know.

I have read a lot, if not all the articles on this website and on other websites about immigrating and where in Canada to start up our new life. Do you have any information/advice that would help us decide where in Canada would best suit us? a family of 4 with 2 young children under the age of 3.

Thanks for your time

Mark

Hi Mark, it's certainly a scary prospect to relocate to another country without a job and starting over. While it's difficult to secure a job before going, it's not impossible and it may be worth looking at some job portals such as indeed.ca - the difficulty is that companies have to prove with an LMIA (local market impact assessment) that they can't find a Canadian permanent resident or citizen to do the job, which is a time-consuming and expensive exercise. If you have very specific, scarce or highly sought-after skills, it's worth pursuing job vacancies.

In terms of where to live in Canada, it all comes down to your own lifestyle and family. Each Canadian city is quite different in terms of the lifestyle and cost of living so it all comes down to what you're specifically looking for, and also where you're able to find work. I'd say the most important factors to consider would include: job prospects within your industry, the cost of living (Canada can be very expensive), schooling options (as permanent residents, you'd be entitled to free education for your children, but the age at which this begins varies between the different provinces and child care before school begins is very expensive), your lifestyle (do you want to be near a lake or the mountains, or closer to the ocean? or do you prefer city living or want to be more rural?), transport options in the city (most cities have a great public transport system, but most Canadians also own their own vehicles, which is also definitely important if you have children), accommodation/housing (this varies from city to city, but in general housing is expensive).

If you're able to, it's worth visiting the country before making this huge life-changing decision and consider visiting the main cities of Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary to get a feel for these areas and then it would make it much easier to make any decisions on where you'd like to settle.

Good luck with all your decisions!