Atlantic Xpat

The spousal sponsor signs a declaration that you will provide for 3 years to avoid the sponsoree being a burden on the state. So that means no welfare, but you can get EI - once you've done the appropriate number of hours. IIRC the sponsor does have to show income through T4's or similar from their country of residence although quite why escapes me. Perhaps to prove that you are capable of being employed.

To the OP. Emigrating anywhere to Canada to live on minimum wage is going to be tough.

glparker4

Just a suggestion to the OP, but why not consider other cities in Canada besides Toronto? Other cities such as Saskatoon and Edmonton have lower unemployment and a lower cost of living than Toronto. There is an inherent risk with moving to another country and essentially starting over. That risk increases significantly given that Toronto has high unemployment, high cost of living, and your unique situation. I'm not bashing Toronto at all. It's a great city and I wanted to locate there when I applied for immigration (and still do). While you must be able to enjoy the city where you live, it's important not to allow emotion to drive the decision process and to explore other options if Toronto isn't practical at this time. You can always arrive somewhere else in Canada first and move to Toronto in the future when you encounter better opportunities.

pgtips

Oceanblue, 25,000 CAD is not a lot of money to be starting again in a new country at 35 with a spouse. If your husband is Canadian by birth he has to up his expectations. Aim to fly with the eagles but do not go with such a small amount in reserve and start scraping with the chickens.

If you had 100-200,000 CAD then you could think of taking minimum paid jobs to tide you over and have enough in the bank to fall on in lean times.

With 10 years experience as a computer tech behind him surely he should be able to land something better. Can you do a couple of years in London first to beef up your reserve ? thats what quite a few people do, especially as he is from a background in IT.

At least you have some different opinions now, but ultimately you may just have to go for it and hope it works out.

oceanblue

Thankyou all for your feedback - I really appreciate it. My husband is going over in September to stay with a relative for a month or two until he secures a job. That is when I'll follow. I'm hoping he can find something better than $10 an hour - with a lot of determination and luck, who knows. Time will tell, right.. I just can't help worrying in the meantime.

Here in Cyprus the average wage, not minimum, is 700 euro (1088 CAD)
Just to give you an idea of the cost of basics here... for a small cup of ordinary coffee, it would cost you over $6 CAD. Beer (which we do not drink) is about $4 for a 250 ml bottle of the local stuff. 1 litre of super unleaded petrol costs $1.55 CAD. Our electricity bill is $466 CAD every two months. After we've paid our bills, we're left with very little, if not nothing. Canada is a Western society, Cyprus is more Middle Eastern. It is not up to par with other European countries. We've been to Toronto several times and loved the general outlook of life there. We loved the fact that it's a pet friendly country - here we can't walk our dogs because the locals like to lay down poison for the strays. I've lost 2 cats to poisoning this year. 100,000 stray animals are poisoned each year and it's heart breaking to witness the animal cruelty that goes on this country. I don't want to have to explain to my children one day why there are domesticated animals (cats and dogs) squashed on the side of the highway. It's a very racist country, and foreigners are not treated fairly. For example, my Greek cousin has to accompany my British father to the mechanic if our cars need fixing - otherwise they'll charge us double. Anyway - these are just a couple of reasons why we're not happy here. How many Brits have I seen come to Cyprus for the sun and sea only to return to the UK a year later after realising the harsh realities of living on a sunny island. My god parents recently moved back to London because they found the cost of living in Cyprus a lot higher than the UK. I'm sure there are harsh realities in Canada too.

We were looking at some property to buy last year (the cheapest house you can find goes for 240,000 Euro - $375,000 CAD) and it's impossible for newlyweds to afford a mortgage like that with our low wages. The monthly mortage payment for the cheapest home in the suburbs would be 1452 Euro, and with our total wages combined 1486 Euro, we'd need to use candles instead of lamps, and eat fruit off the trees in order to survive. So really, we don't have big prospects here, and we don't have much to lose if we move to Canada. At least we could say we tried for a better life!

el_richo

Go for it and enjoy the ride.

pgtips

Wow, you never hear this side of the story !!!

Just go for it, Canada has got to be much better than what you have already.
Good luck, I hope it all works out in the end.

fledermaus

No you can't live on minimum wage in Toronto, and not many other places too.

You can apply for some benefits if your household income is less than $41,000, this should give a clear indication of how much you need to earn.

oceanblue

Thankyou, we hope so too.

wizzard

Minimum wage in Ontario is $9.50. Less if you worked as a waitress as the minimum wage is lower based on the theory you make lots of tips...

However, whether you can do it all depends on your expectations, where you want to live, your lifestyle choices and what sacrafices you are willing to make to move to Canada with your spouse.

When I moved to Canada it was similar; my wife, who already lived in Canada, sponsored me and the first job I got was $9 an hour and my wife also earned $9 an hour. We lived in Newmarket which is an hour or so north of Toronto so rent was a little cheaper but not much and I worked downtown so lots of commuting expense on the train etc.

It's not exactly glamorous; cheap apartment, basic food etc. no car or anythign like that but we could afford the internet and basic cable, DVDs and going out for dinner etc. if you budget well.

About a year later I had moved it up from $9 to $15 and my wife got a job with the bank and we moved downtown. 6 years later we probably earn just under double again, nothing fancy but enough for a small house in the city, no car still but that's mostly because of buying the house instead.

So basically if you can make sacrafices for the shorterm then you can start with a basic job when you move and if you work hard you can make it something more. Nothing comes for free, you have to work at it, but it isn't impossible.

katie1962

I agree with Purple80. I live in Brampton and I get mimimum wage for a 40 hour week. if my OH was not so well paid then we certainly not be able to afford car/Internet. We do have 2 children who are failry costly (!) but even so earning under $10 an hour does not go far these days. Good luck what ever you decide.

oceanblue

Here is a quick outline of what our living expenses would be living in the GTA, based on my husband earning $12 per hour, and myself $9. I made this a while back, not knowing that the minimum wage is $9.50.

$9 per hour 40 hour week)

Salary Gross Per Annum = $18720

Federal/Provincial Taxes = $3940.56

Monthly (Average) Net Income $1231.62

($12 per hour 40 hour week)

Salary Gross Per Annum = $24960

Federal/Provincial Taxes = $5254.08

Monthly (Average) Net Income = $1642.16


Total combined Income = $2873.78


Here is a list of the living expenses:

$1000 rent (1 bedroom apartment)
$250 car insurance (for one person)
$200 petrol
$700 groceries, toiletries, house items
$150 hydro-electricity
$200 Gas heating - hot water
$100 cell phone x 2
$50 Internet
$50 House phone
____
$2700


How accurate is the above list? As I said, my husband is going over first to secure a minimum $12 job. (fingers crossed) We've spoken to our cousin in Toronto who knows the manager of a computer firm, and he seems to think that my husband can find something within the range of $15 per hour, given his experience. He's also willing to help my husband secure employment, so there's some hope there.

We will be more than happy if our wages can cover our living expenses and put food on the table. That's basically what we have here - only we won't be able to purchase property of our own in the future. We would like to buy a 2 bedroom apartment a couple years down the line.

el_richo

You'll also need to add the other running costs of a car (aircare, Servicing, tyres, any other additions to that).

You'll need to buy a car in the first place that will dig into your minimal savings.

Rent - you'll need to put down a month or so in advance that will be deducted from your savings.

Internet - You'll need to buy the computer / laptop with will also dig into savings unless you're bringing your own laptop over.

You'll also need to buy a bed, bedding, cutlery, etc etc unless you're shipping it over. Either way this will also dig into your savings.

I'd also say you'll have to pay medical cover (dental etc) monthly.

Another thing would be initial clothing purchases as Winter in TO isn't exactly Cyprus. Yet more savings depletion.

I'm sure it's not as clean cut as you write above and even if it is, it really doesn't give you any room for additions at any point of the year. Plus with some of the things i've written, your savings will certainly be less than 25k CAD

I hope your hubby grabs a decent paying job for you guys

JamesM

It's a fairly well though out statement.

You would have to use your $25k to help take care of apartment deposit, car repairs and good winter clothes. But you would still have a cushion left.

You are both young with no childern so god knows why people are quoting that you need $100 to $200k in the bank as a cushion- I don't know. I lived a year in Toronto and ran a car fine with a $9k reserve when I went out and earning $40k I also pretty much ate out everynight and drank plenty of beer.

You should definately both set your sights higher on employment. I waltzed into a waiter job in Toronto at $11 per hour and was able to do 50 hours per week which tied me over for a couple of months whilst I found something else. Annoyingly where I worked there was no tips or I would've earned double that with out tax on the second half.

pgtips

James, I quoted 100-200k CAD, 50-100k uk, taking into account their ages and what they want to acheive in the next couple of years. The husband is 35, 5 years off 40, not a recent uni graduate looking to rough a couple of years in Canada.

1) They want to settle in a new country in a new continent.
2) They want to have a child in a couple of years.
3) They want to buy a house in the near future too.

Yes they can do it on what they have, but the reality is it is going to be a struggle. A decent smallish house in Brampton for example will set them back the best part of 300k CAD. I would forget buying a two bed apartment and just get a decent house from the start to start raising the family and setting roots. This will avoid repeating all of the moving cost when you outgrow the apartment, which you will sooner than you think especially with a child.
On such low salaries and with not much for a deposit how do you think they will be able to finance their dreams ?

Maybe I was a financial advisor for too long, maybe I have been in their situation before, now with two kids in tow, but I gave an honest assesment of the facts presented by oceanblue. It will be tough, but with determination they will make it in the long run.

Please do not under estimate the initial moving cost associated with emigrating. I always advise people to have a minimum 6-12 months living expenses tucked away in the bank, and that is aside from money for property, car etc.

el_richo

I have to agree with most of what Tetley has said ^^^