Bridges01

hi, i was wondering if anyone could help us out/ give us some advice on the immigration process for canada. i am a floorlayer from england and would like to move myself and my family (wife, 2 kids) to calgary/edmonton area via the skilled workers visa. i have done a few online surveys and a few forms on different websites and am pretty confident i qualify for this visa and have came out of the points system pretty well. i have also looked about employment online and can see quite a few openings in my trade in the area wed like to live. the problem lies in what to do next? do i apply for the visa now? if so how and where? we were concidering talking to a company that specialise in this sort of thing is that a good idea? or do i look for employment before the visa so that it all helps the process? were pretty confused at the minute and would love to hear from people in the know or peoples experiences would be great. many thanks lee

ehl250

[QUOTE=Bridges01;11466002]hi, i was wondering if anyone could help us out/ give us some advice on the immigration process for canada. i am a floorlayer from england and would like to move myself and my family (wife, 2 kids) to calgary/edmonton area via the skilled workers visa. i have done a few online surveys and a few forms on different websites and am pretty confident i qualify for this visa and have came out of the points system pretty well. i have also looked about employment online and can see quite a few openings in my trade in the area wed like to live. the problem lies in what to do next? do i apply for the visa now? if so how and where? we were concidering talking to a company that specialise in this sort of thing is that a good idea? or do i look for employment before the visa so that it all helps the process? were pretty confused at the minute and would love to hear from people in the know or peoples experiences would be great. many thanks lee[/QUOTE

Have you looked at the Government of Canada site - application to work in Canada - work permits? Personally. I wouldn't go with a company - there's bound to be all kinds of fees, also you'd have to give them all kinds of personal info., & you don't know what they might do with that.
The gov't site should be able to advise you as to whether you need the work visa prior to accepting a job.
Best Wishes.

Bridges01

yeah weve been on the high consulate site on imigration and i have downloaded and printed off a lot and i mean alot of forms and paperwork but to be honest most of it doesnt make sense to us. i cant even find a telephone number to call to get some advice direct from the high consulate london. as i say ive seen all the things i need to do kinda but not sure as to what order to put them in if that makes sense. to be honest we really want to steer clear of a company too as its a big cost for what it is and ive read alot of stories about they are more hinderance than help sometimes.

Zoe Bell

You won't get advice from London
Grab a cuppa
Read our wiki
Read it again
Figure out what route you might qualify for
Ask questions
People will be happy to help

christmasoompa

^^^ what she said. Once you've read the Wiki and figured out your likely visa route (hint: a floor layer wouldn't qualify for the Federal Skilked Worker visa as it's not on the list of eligible occupations, so you'll need to look at other options), then you can ask the guys folks of the forum any questions.

And welcome.

Novocastrian

I'm not quite sure what a floor layer is, but I somehow doubt it's even FST.

christmasoompa

It is actually '(flooring installer'), just not an eligible occupation for the Skilled Worker program which the OP mentioned - perhaps he's getting the two visas confused.

Novocastrian

I don't want to appear elitist here, but why would a floor installer be a rarity in Canada?

I've installed floors myself (without a nipple/paint roller incident).

Siouxie

Actually, flooring installer is on the Federal Skilled Worker Trades list of occupations.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigra...plications.asp

7295 Floor covering installers

christmasoompa

Erm......is my post above (no 7) invisible somehow, or shall I send some coffee?

Bridges01

thanks for the advice guys (at least some of you) yeah i got the skilled trades visa and skilled workers visa mixed up. will check out the wiki tonight and hopefully get some idea of where the next step is ill keep you posted. thanks

christmasoompa

If you do want to apply under the FST program, then you'll need to get cracking with it asap!

In case you're not aware, the whole system is changing on 1st January to an Expression of Interest system, which is expected to make it much harder for most to qualify, so you may want to think about making sure you get an app in in good time before the changes.

It'll take at least a month or so to get everything together, first step would be to book your IELTS exam and start gathering paperwork.

Best of luck.