familyof006

Hi,

Thanks in advance for any help / suggestions, I'm going round in circles!

We are a family of 6 (4 children aged 15 months - 11 years) and my husband has a sabbatical coming up at the start of next year and we would love to spend 6 months in Canada as a family.

But there are a few things I'm struggling with ... ideally we'd like to be near both the ocean and mountains but near to a town / city (not in the middle of a city, but happily live in a village) does such a place exist? It seems places are either really remote or in a city, hoping I'm wrong!

I also wondered if anyone had experience of school aged children being able to go to school if we were only there on a 'holiday visa'? It's just 6 months is an awful lot of school to miss!

Thanks again in advance.

Former Lancastrian

There is no guarantee that you would get 6 months on entry. You would need proof that you have sufficient money for 6 months and have return tickets. As for going to school then normally those visiting cannot attend school. Canadian schools usually finish end of June and go back beginning of September. I would also be bringing proof of jobs for returning to the UK and ownership of property to show you would be going back to the UK. Not as straight forward as some seem to think it is.

rivingtonpike

HGerchikov

I agree with the home schooling idea - even if they could attend I don't think it would really help them as the 6 months schooling they got in Canada would be very unlikely to align with the 6 months they missed in the UK. It would be much better for them if you get hold of their curriculum for the time you are gone and teach it to them yourselves. Ocean, mountains and civilization has to be Vancouver area I would think. The other coast isn't over run with mountains or indeed large cities.

dbd33

How much money would one have to have to support a family of four in Vancouver for six months? The first six months so no starting infrastructure. $150,000 maybe?

Siouxie

Plus a contingency fund for emergencies, healthcare..etc., plus finding a rental for 6 months could be problematical unless the OP intends to tour around staying a few weeks here and there.. an executive type rental with all that expense or a holiday let I suppose, because you wouldn't want to have to furnish a place for 6 months, lol. First though to prove ties to the UK, reasons they will be returning... showing proof of finances to support themselves for the 6 months a well as return flights, finding travel insurance and convincing an Immigration Officer that they are not going to attempt to work under the table.. and intend to leave at the end of 6 months... and hope they give you a 6 month entry (it's up to 6 months so they could decide to give 4 weeks). http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcen...um=1016&top=16


Transport could also be an issue.. renting a vehicle for up to 6 months could get expensive!

dbd33

I now realise it's a family of six, not four, though I suppose that doesn't make a huge difference to the feasibility of the plan.

rivingtonpike

dbd33

pre-Airbnb. Likely have to pay weekly rates now. I don't imagine there's much of a seasonal difference in Vancouver anyway.

rivingtonpike

Pammymoore

dbd33

It's not near a town or city.

Pammymoore

Halifax is less than an hour away, and there are small towns all along the length of the Valley, from Windsor, Wolfville, Berwick, Middleton etc.

Lovely countryside and always close to the ocean.

dbd33

Yes, it's picturesque. I suppose one might liken it to moving to moving to North Devon with Bristol equivalent to Halifax.

rivingtonpike

We certainly had a great experience. We had already applied for permanent residency, so this was really a way to try out the lifestyle for ourselves before fully committing. It was still rather artificial compared to the turmoil and uncertainly of the real thing when we moved here permanently a few months later. it took another 2 - 4 years (can't say precisely when) to feel like this was home. Not sure what the experience added to our preparedness for the real move, but it was overall an enjoyable time - if a little surreal.