Hi everyone, thought i'd introduce us! My names Tasha and me, my hubby Matt, 3 boys and 2 dogs (shar-pei and a Samoyed) are in the process of the long ordeal of emigrating to Canada. My hubby plays Ice hockey for the local rec team and my 9 year old son plays for the under 10's and 12's team we have here. Hockey mad in this house, puk marks up my newly painted ceilings and walls Im 31, hubby is 38 and my boys are 13, 9 and 6. Im a cake maker (which gets me no points haha) and my husband is an electrical engineer. My oldest son isnt overly keen on this huge step we want to take but my other two want to go now, my 9 year old says he's going to play for the Calgary flames so wants to be there as soon as!
We have been looking at Alberta, i love winter and the harsh weather doesnt bother me.....yet!

We are looking at getting in a consultant, just for peace of mind but im wary incase we get ripped off. After lurking and having a good read on here i went to the CSIC website and found a lady from there from Migrate Nu-Life. She seems genuine enough but then im very gullible! Does anyone have any personal experience with this company?

Anyway sorry for the long ramble, you will find out in time i talk alot....sorry haha! Fantastic website by the way!!

Tasha x

You must be cautious when hiring consultants. Some charge exhorbitant amounts of money just to check that you've completed the application forms properly. What type of visa are you applying for?

Hi, am i right in saying a permanant residence?

Hi, probably, but there are several routes to that goal that you are probably familiar with from the wiki here and the CIC website.

For example do you qualify under any of the job types on "The List", or do you have family here thats sponsoring you, etc etc.

Opinion on the benefits of consultants is split, often people decide against after assessing the forms and the pros and cons, other times if a case is complicated by criminal or medical issues or a history of living in many countries then its money well spent to avoid something that could cause you to miss out.

Teach him some ambition please.

The hubby qualifies under an industrial electrician, unfortunately the only relatives out there are second cousins which as i understand is no good.

You'd be better off doing it yourself, consultants can't guarantee you anything. When we applied we did all the wrk ourselves. we had been to an emigrate2 show and spoke to a few people from the provincial governments and they advised us to do the paperwork ourselves and not waste the money. Keep that for later when you get to the relocation stage.

Yes the paperwork looks daunting, but it is nothing to onerous. The hardest bit for us was trying to remember all the places we lived.

The first step is to download the paperwork, depending on what class you are going to use, then try filling it in. If you have any questions, just ask on here and someone will hel you out.

Good Luck!

Tasha,

Do it all yourself, consultants have no care for you, they just want your money. I have just completed my application and whilst I have turned the house upside down looking for the odd certificate, the application is straight forward.

G

Hi, we've had a long discussion and have decided to do the forms ourselves, save our money, if we fluff it up then get the consultants in haha, so thanks guys.

A lot of consultants will do a 'form checking service' which usually costs a fraction of the full service. They will literally just check your forms for mistakes, rather than the full service which will be everything i.e. doing your forms for you, booking the IELTS and medical, ordering your police checks, advising on what evidence you need etc. But that may be worth considering, especially if you're worried about mistakes being made.

Don't forget that the list of eligible occupations is likely to change on 1st July (as is the points system), so make sure you get your application in before that in case electricians are taken off it. It may also be another reason to use a form checking service, as you may not get a second chance if you 'fluff if up'! And first step if you haven't done it already is get your IELTS booked as places are filling up fast and you'll need your results back before you can send your application.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

Crikey didnt know anything about that so thankyou, whats the reason behind this test do you know? Think my husband could fail this as his spelling and grammar is terrible! Mine is passable i think (ignore my writing on these posts haha) we are both britsh born and bred but my husband is terrible!

Edited to add, i have just re-read all the criteria, i must have totally skipped the part about the IELTS, hopefully wont be as dumb doing the forms....oops!

We also applied in 2009 for permanent residency under Industrial electrician (marine electrician) and we didn't do the IELTS examination, we had enough proof to show that our level of english was at the highest level and we didn't include any french (eventhough I would have the basics) - it just depends if you have enough points without including a second language.

We did the forms ourselves and it was straightforward, once you sit down and read the guide step by step. The harest part is pulling all of the information together and you would still have to do that if you hired an immigration consultant.

Feel free to PM if you need any specifics.

Moira.

Since June 26th last year, every single FSW applicant has been required to include an IELTS exam result, regardless of where they were born, or what their English skills are like.

Unfortunately, things change so frequently in Canadian immigration that it is usually best not to advise based on past experiences as the requirements may be very different now.

Apologies, should have checked that out.