levyo1

Hi All I am looking for advice to get out of the UK and start a new life elsewhere.
I have my class 2 licence and am looking for Canada/ New Zealand . Fist to go out by myself then later bring the family. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

bakedbean

Hi there and welcome to the forum . I guess your best bet is to first check if you qualify for a visa. So best check out the NZ and Canada forums. They both have immigration sections and helpful posters to assist you. All the best....hope something works out

christmasoompa

Hi, and welcome to BE.

As said above, you need to see if you can get a visa, so start with the Wiki in the Canadian section (and the NZ section, I assume it's as good as the Canadian one, although I'm not sure!). Don't know what a Class 2 licence is, I know to be a truck driver in Canada you need a few years of Class 1 experience, but I assume a Class 2 licence is driving something else?

Anyway, hope to see you in the Canada section, best of luck.

levyo1

thanks for your help

Persephone

Hello and welcome to BE!

First thing is to find out the visa situation in each country.
This is the link to the NZ immigration site http://http://www.immigration.govt.nz/

I do know that lorry drivers find it difficult to get permanent visas for NZ. I haven't actually looked at the NZ wiki mentioned above so cannot account for its accuracy- shameful really as I do hang out in the NZ immi section a lot

Also have a look round the forums at the pros and cons of each country. NZ suits some people but not others. Why would you choose NZ rather than anywhere else? Also look at the financial side as well, your possible earnings vs cost of living. NZ isn't cheap. I'm not trying to put you off but do lots of research and then do some more! And ask any questions in the nz forum, I'll see you there!
P

levyo1

Hi the way I am feeling at the minute I would go to the south pole to work,I am looking at NZ and Canada as they are popular destinations and speak English!

christmasoompa

Trouble is, the South Pole would cost even more to move to than Canada/NZ!

If Canada/NZ aren't an option, then the EU would be much easier as no visa is required, although you'd probably have to invest a bit of time in language lessons.

Good luck with wherever you decide.

Persephone

Truck drivers are on the NZ Immediate Skills Shortage List. This means an employer is free to offer you a job without having to prove anything to NZIS.

You would only be able to get a temporary work visa on the back of this. You can renew work visas when they expire but if the job goes off the ISSL then this could be a problem and you may have no way of staying in NZ.

Getting residency to stay permanently is difficult for truck drivers unfortunately. It can be done but the job, employer and visa must all fit some very exacting criteria. I think there was one person on the NZ forum once who managed it though that was not recent.

The quote below is what you need to have to be considered under the ISSL.

levyo1

This isn't going to be as easy as I thought is it!

MrsFychan

how about a move within the UK? would be much cheaper

ozzieeagle

The absoulte first thing you need to be sure of is that any perceived problems, hassles, annoyances, predujices you may have, aren't migrating with you.

Because if there is a particular issue you are wanting to get away from, sure as eggs it will follow.....especially if it's to do with migrants.

Jerseygirl

Sometimes it takes a move away from the UK to appreciate just how great Great Britain is. I have lived in the US for over 17 years...a country that many people would love to live in...hell some give their lives to live here. We are lucky financially...we have a great quality of life but it doesn't begin to compare to the UK. As many expats describe their lives...same sh*t...different bucket. The other side of the fence isn't greener...but you have to find that out for yourself. Good luck.

Wossnext

Hi Mate, I am a Brit from Letchworth in Herts, been living and working in several countries overseas for many years now with a brief return to UK for 18 months. I was a NZ Immigration Officer In Wellington and Bangkok Thailand for 3 yrs left 18 months ago to try out Australia, it was very very hard to find work and did not succeed after 5 months of trying! came back to Auckland NZ which was not 1st choice having lived in NZ for 7 yrs previously, but could not afford to go back to UK. I miss the UK so bad! honestly I do, the violence and aggro, the council tax and TV licences all suck but boy do I miss the supermarkets and shopping on Amazon and the pubs and so much more. NZ is alright but it is expensive to live, it is very very far away from anywhere, the flights home cost a mint! so please research plenty and think long and hard about everything before you move here.

levyo1

Hi All your answers are really helpful, my situation is that I am 43, married, 2 kids, 1 aged 15 and 1 aged 10, house been on the market for 6 months in a very nice Northamptonshire village, I commute into London every day doing a very stressful job having to face lots of lets say (not very nice people). My first concern is that my 15 yr old is in their last year at school, so I cant really do much at the min as this is a very important year for them. My job is just not the same as 10 yrs ago so I am looking to change that, so I did my HGV class 2 recently, and I am saving to do my HGV class 1, as I believe it would be easier than "going back to school" as I couldn't do that anyway as I have a mortgage to pay. I hate the British system and how certain people get a shed load of benefits and I am working like a bloody idiot paying for it all. I understand that there are a lot of people out there saying " well at least you have a job,house etc" but I bloody worked hard to get that job and what I have. I just want a new start...... I am sure there must be people like me on here.

Sally Redux

I don't think you'll find it's that different anywhere else.

There is a section on here for truckers: http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=118