DigitalGhost

In any case it does sound like a permanent or internally hired fixed-term role to me. Have you been doing it on a self-employed basis in the UK?

hh619

Not entirely sure. B, perhaps? I always struggle to find a NOC code to cover what i do.

Cloud / Azure Architect, Infrastructure Cloud Consultant.

• Cloud Platform and Infrastructure
• Azure IaaS Configuration and deployment.
• Configuring Highly Available infrastructure
• Customer facing, project delivery, etc.

Nope, always permanent. Probably should do it self employed. Very good day rates!

DigitalGhost

The day rates may be good but public health cover would be more of an issue in Canada so that's something to consider.

I mostly worked on a fixed-term employee basis there and while I qualified for an OHIP card and a Christmas bonus, I didn't receive sick pay or paid annual leave apart from statutory holidays.

For permanent employees, dental cover, eye care and personal insurance were provided by the company as well but I didn't receive any of those either and all the while I was paying the same rates of income tax as everyone else. Different companies may offer different things but it's something to keep in mind.

Your job probably is NOC level B. Most non-Managerial IT roles are. The NOC category system is a bit up the wall tbh but as long as you're in B or above you generally don't need to worry.

hh619

Thanks DG

I wouldn't go self-employed in Canada. The jobs i've gone for are permanent/full time with extended health, eye and dental benefits.

DigitalGhost

Then you're laughing honestly and unless there's a huge shake up in the near future, I personally don't think you'll need to worry about getting PR off the back that kind of work experience in Canada. At the moment Canada is looking to recruit more immigrants not chuck out the skilled foreigners it already has.

hh619

Thanks, that's reassuring

DigitalGhost

Tbh I'd be more concerned about whether or not you'll actually like it there. Canada isn't always what people expect. I know my own expectations were completely different from what I found when I actually arrived. For one thing on my first evening there I couldn't believe that people would build and populate cities in a place with that unholy climate.

hh619

We'll never know until we try! We don't mind the cold.. but we've never experienced Canada cold.

DigitalGhost

You'll get used to it. Some winters are much worse than others though even in Southern Ontario.

dbd33

If it doesn't kill you.

On Monday morning I climbed on to the open tractor and blew the driveway. It was snowing at a rate such that I was scared it would fill in again before we were ready to leave. The driveway slopes so we were able to get out into the street which hadn't been ploughed, the depth of snow there eliminated the options for stopping or turning so I slithered on through the stop sign and out on to the country road. It had been ploughed but snow had blown in so that only one side of the road was viable, I took it hoping that no one would come the other way.

Visibility was minimal. We passed several cars and a school bus that had driven off the road. That's bad news as you can easily die of hypothermia and, if you don't, you'll get a ticket for "leave road not in safety" and likely one for no insurance (unless you have insurance but the cost is such that a third of drivers do not). Half way to work we realized that, because the car had been stuck in a drift the previous week, the parking pass was in the truck at home. Another $20 cost related to winter.

Sometime later my desk mate walked into the office. His head swung on to the desk. It didn't move as he muttered "two and a half hours". "And $800/month in tolls" I cheerfully reminded him.

DigitalGhost

Not to mention that if you park anywhere near the lake or by the side of the road then your car will suffer as a result.

I don't drive and before I went to Canada I was expecting to learn. Well fortunately although far, far, far from perfect, the TTC did the job because I was soon convinced that driving and a car were not in my near future.

Aviator

It comes down to if the activity is determined as work, as something a person would normally expect to pay for. Taking care of/supervising grand kids on an occasional basis is likley OK and maybe not noticed.
Supervising and taking care of grand kids on a regular basis, especially to allow the parents to go out to work, would be determined as work. This is something that the parents would ordinary pay a child minder to day care to do. If the grand parents are PR or Canadian, it is not an issue. If they are visitors, it is an issue.

dbd33

The circumstances leading to a prosecution aren't obvious, you'd need to have an informed and mean spirited person shop you and then find a particularly officious government person to take action. Perhaps if you fired a babysitter in favour of the grandparents or were having a divorce, otherwise the risk seems a bit hypothetical to me.

Aviator

It may be, but none the less a risk. For someone wanting to regularly visit Canada, or apply to immigrate, getting caught working illegally is not going to help their case.

CRA get most of their tips anonymously, no doubt CIC has a similar system in place. As with anything, down to each individuals risk threshold and what they have to lose.

Shakyuk

Wow, I didn't realise, seems quiet excessive to be honest.