help with things
 

Hi eveyone I'm new to this site.

I'll introduce myself I'm Sarah, I'm 38 and myself and my hubby (45) are hoping to emigrate to Canada. My hubby's Dad lives in Ontario and his Brother is in Vancouver, we have visited 6 times, we have a 7 yr old daughter and a 2 yr old son and we got married in Ontario 2 weeks ago. Anyway we have now decided after much thought that emigrating to Canada would give us a better life and more opportunities for our kids.

We will be hopefully coming into the country under the federal skilled worker route, I have recently printed off the application, and it says that a test needs to be taken to prove that we can read, write and speak the English language, so I guess my first question is, do we need to take this test even though we were born in the UK? Secondly is it just my husband who will need to take the test or do I need to as well even though I don't plan to work straight away in Canada as I am a SAHM?

Thank you for your help

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Hi and welcome - Only the Principal applicant has to take the test and yes, this is regardless of where you come from (mad I know!)

good luck :thumbsup:

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What she said. ^^^^

What occupation is your hubby applying under?

And welcome to the forum.

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LOL, and I had a lovely comprehensive welcome and reply typed out and the two of you beat me to it:(

Wiki link anyone?

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Category:Canada

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Wow thank you for your quick replies, hubby is a gas engineer

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So assuming that would come under the Plumber NOC code (sorry, not really sure what a gas engineer does :o), then that's one of the ones that isn't even close to filling up yet - phew! So you've got time to get it all sorted, do get the IELTS booked soon though as you often have to wait 2 or 3 months for a test slot, and then another two weeks or so for the results.

Good luck with it all.

:)

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Yes gas engineer comes under plumber, wow thats good to know, thanks again for your help on that. Is is just the one test he needs to take?

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Dont forget the lovely 6 week wait for the police certificates to arrive in the mail from the UK ;)

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Yes it is unless he's also claiming points for French? Then it's just the small matter of gathering employment references, proof of him doing the duties listed under the NOC code, educational certs, identity documents, police certificates, proof of funds, your Canadian relatives identity docs and utility bills, etc, etc!

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I presume that the OP is in the UK though? So only a 2 week turnaround, and they can pay extra to have them back in 3 days if they really want!

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If the OP's husband has close relatives in Canada, maybe he could go over and secure a job offer and LMO and then they could go over sooner using the LMO/TWP?

They could then apply through PNP (Provincial Nomination Program), which gets out of having to renew the LMO if the processing takes a while.

Having relatives there would make this a very easy and maybe a more desirable option and probably quicker than waiting for FSW Cat 1 processing.

It also requires fewer documents, I believe, so it is a bit easier all round.:thumbup:

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Riskier though, not sure I'd do it with two kids. But definitely an option the OP could consider.

:)

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I enclosed a letter in our skilled worker application explaining that we were born and had lived all our lives in the UK. We only spoke English, it was our "native language."
We did not sit any test nor were we asked to. It was not an issue.

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How long ago was that?

Since June 2010 it has been a mandatory item on the checklist that you include the General IELTS as proof of language proficiency.

Your points allocation is directly calculated from the score you get on this test.

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That was Nov 2004. Got max points for English as it was set up at the time. I just ticked the appropriate box. Although it did refer to the test no test score was asked for.

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That explains it then.

In June 2010 they decided to make it mandatory for IELTS for all applicants for FSW.

I think it was because you used to be able to say that anyone who was born in the UK or educated there could speak English well, but in recent years that just hasn't been true.

They also used to accept a statement from a lawyer or somesuch that you could speak English well, but applicants short of points in other countries just paid someone to give false statement on their behalf.
More fraud!!

It's a pain and just another expense for those of us who clearly can communicate in English by virtue of being English:D, but I suppose they have to do it to make sure that immigrants do not become ghettoised (if that is a real word....) by their inability to communicate in the official languages of the country.

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Thanks again for all your replies. We will be applying under AEO not LMO. Researching within an inch of my life and had never heard of the IELTS before yesterday so grateful for all your help.

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FSW Cat 2 with AEO is going to take probably 18 months or more to process from when you get your application in, taking in current processing times.

You do need to make sure your employer understands this, as it is a long time to wait for an employee to turn up:)

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Lest this seem an awful imposition specific to Canada, my daughter, who was born in Toronto and emigrated to England, had to take the same test to go that way (in order to work, she had the right of residency due to being British).

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You don't need to wait for police certs - they can be sent in to London once you are approved by CIO Sydney.

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Wow its not as easy as we first thought and its taken a while to even get my head around emigrating and now I have decided to go for it I want it to happen now, I guess we'll have to just keep visiting in the meantime x

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If your hubby is on the list of eligible occupations for FSW, then actually you've got the second easiest route to PR (after marrying a Canadian!). There are many people on this forum who have been trying for years to get in to Canada, with no visa route available to them without a job offer, so at least you've got it easier than them.

I presume you know that you don't need an AEO to apply as a FSW (assuming your hubby has enough points of course?). As Helcat said above, it would mean an employer waiting 18 months for him to start work, and most just aren't prepared to do that, so you'd probably be better off applying under FSW category 1 instead assuming he's eligible.

Good luck. :)

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Thanks for you reply unfortunately without the job offer we don't have enough points, so the AEO is essential.

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Not wanting to state the obvious (and I'll be honest I don't know how Canadian citizenship works esp. if your hubby is 45), but you say your father in law and brother in law live in Canada? Is there any chance your hubby has claim to Canadian citizenship through his father? I know you say hubby was born in UK, but is his father Canadian?

I'm sure this probably isn't an option hence why you are wanting to go down the FSW route, but I thought I'd mention it.

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Ok, Hubbys father has lived in Canada I think for 40 yrs and has canadian citizenship, his Brother has lived there for 30 years and has permanent residency but not Canadian Citizenship.

As myself and my 2 kids will be going with hubby, I didn't think we were able to apply this way?

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Ah, I see. I'd still forget the AEO though if I were you. Do you really think an employer will wait 18 months or so for your husband to be able to start work for them? It would be unusual particularly in this economic climate.

Better to consider going over on a TWP with LMO so you can get over there quicker, and then using that to apply for PR once you he is there working maybe?

And just checking, but where was your husband's father born? Any other family in other provinces by any chance?

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Hubbys Dad is British born and moved to Canada when he was 28 he is now 71, his Brother lives in BC and is a PR.

Hubby already has a job offer from when we were there 3 weeks ago and they are aware of how long it is going to take for us to get PR, so I don't think the AEO route is going to be a problem for us.

I'm happier with the AEO route, because we have 2 kids I would rather make sure we have PR before we move.

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Sounds sensible to me, and if he has a potential employer already that is prepared to wait for him, then that's fab. Are they going to apply for the AEO soon?

:)

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Just a thought - have you looked at the Ontario PNP Foreign Worker Stream? Once approved by Ontario PNP (which I forget how long that is but can check once I get to work) you would be eligible to get an open work permit (if you wanted it) to start working ASAP. Your pack would then go to CHC London for the final stage and you would be done and dusted in a MUCH faster time.

http://www.ontarioimmigration.ca/en/...NPWORKERS.html

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Oh my goodness, something else to look at lol!! Thank you for that.

yes we are just waiting on the job application to get signed off and the AEO will be applied for, although I need to research Ontario PNP Foreign Worker Stream now:thumbup:

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didnt know that! Ah well ;)

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Just checked and the last one we did took 4 months to be approved by Ontario PNP. You would then be looking at 6-8 months to be finalised at London.

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I'm in the middle of my PR process, based on Ontario PNP.

It is employer driven, so the employer has to do the initial leg work to get the job (which must be managerial, professional or a skilled trades occupation (see the NOC 0, A or B categories) ) approved.

Once the job is approved, YOU apply to Ontario for them to nominate you based on the approved job offer.

Once you have your nomination, you apply for PR.

Much less riskier going this way (compared to LMO), as you get a work permit for as long as is needed to process your PR app.

Good luck. If you want further info on this stream, give me a shout.

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Ok sorry if I seem a bit dumb here I have tried to do a bit of research on this tonight but still have a way to go.

If you have your nomination does that mean we would be able to arrive in Canada before gaining PR and our PR application can be done from Canada?

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What the…… Seriously!?

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That should not have read open work permit - but work permit for the husband - though if he was in the right A, O, B level occupation - his OH would be eligible for an open work permit as well.

But yes - if you can find an employer willing to go down the PNP Route - you could be there on a WP within 4 ish months.

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Wow including the whole family?

Why don't more people go down this route?

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Lots of people do PNP applications, it is fairly common. It's often more onerous on employers, so not all are prepared to do it for their employees (whereas a FSW application for instance, is done by the applicant so no need to get the employer involved).

Just checking though, but you said above you didn't want to move until you got PR - you are aware that you'd be going over on a TWP with PNP and wouldn't have PR until you'd been in Canada for a while?

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Yeah I suppose this is what worries me. There are obviously a few things that need to be done this end, including selling our house, so a PNP could be a it too quick if you know what I mean. Can you not get PNP, then apply for PR from Britain or do you need to be in the country straight away.

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I don't know if you can for Ontario, you'd need to look at the website. I know that for some PNP streams, you actually have to be working in the province to be eligible, but I'm not sure about Ontario off the top of my head.

:)