Hi,

We are thinking seriously about moving to Canada but are a little confused as to which way to go about it, ie can we just fly over, look around, buy somewhere, decide to get work etc or go down the Skilled worker or go another way.We would be grateful for any ideas and advice especially from people living in either of the areas mentioned.

Our brief scenario is that we are both English with UK passports in our forties, have around 30 yrs experience working as Civil Servants and will be looking to possibly semi retire with a small B&B or have part time jobs (I am currently a self employed Gardener) in any line of work probably somewhere in either Nova Scotia or New Brunswick.We have also lived for 3 yrs in France and therefore know a little French. We will be buying a property and after taking this away will have around 90k Canadian dollars in the bank as back up.
Thanks and we look forward to hearing from other members.

Can't help with all questions but the quickest way is to get job over there and go on temp work permit and then gain permanent residency when you are over there, can be less than a year if you have a 'job under pressure' that they are unable to fill within Canada
Terese

I have already said this before but...

It sounds like step 1 for you (like many other people) seems to be to buy property here and worry about everything else later. I realise everyone has different priorities and motives but personally I don't think buying a property should be the top priority. What use is a house that you are not legally allowed to live in? (Unless it is a holiday home which is a different scenario). If you are thinking of it as a permanent move I would have said the first thing to do is to secure Permanent Residency (giving you the right to stay legally). The waiting list through the skilled worker program is about 3-4 years and apparently getting longer all the time and of course there is no guarantee you would be accepted at the end of it. Getting a job offer can help speed up the process (either by submitting an Accepted Employment Offer with your skilled worker app or applying under one of the Provincial Nominee Programs. The PNP can get you Permanent Residency in months rather than years).

You will find getting a job offer and then getting permanenet residency will be the hard parts (especially in NS or NB rather than somewhere like Alberta) so if you want my honest advice I would concentrate on that first. I personally would want the comfort of knowing that a) i was allowed to stay and b) I had some sort of income before making a big committment like buying a house. I say that not least because selling a house (e.g. if you had to go back) is expensive here - the agents take 6% or more of the sale price. Depending on the area you live in it can also take several years to sell your house. The real estate market is not like it has been in the UK. On top of this the cost of living in Canada (even NB and NS) is a lot higher than everyone tends to think and you will find that you will go through your $90k backup fund quite quickly if you are unable to find jobs. There will still be plenty of houses for sale when you do get your visas on the other hand. Please don't take this as being unhelpful - I'm just trying to inject a little realism into the picture.

Thanks. What about buying a house to start a B&B as these areas look good for tourism or a few rundown houses to rent out for income? We are looking to be very self sufficient living off the land (for most of the year anyway!) , have the experience to be so and also live very frugally until we become established.

It will depend on the immigration category or class you choose to follow. Different provinces have different requirements especially regarding business investor. At the moment the government of BC is not encouraging the type of enterprise you are considering in certain areas however the provinces you are considering maybe very positive about your kind of enterprise.

All the best
Ruby

NS Paul's right. It truly isn't as easy as you think. Especially to undertake a tourism enterprise if you haven't done it before (apologies if you have).

Atlantic Canada has a very short tourist season compared to Europe. Some places stay open into mid-October but out of Halifax in NS it does appear that you can be relying upon approx. 12 weeks max peak season rates as opposed to the 25 weeks we have here in the UK.

I'm sure, and someone will correct me if I'm wrong, that you will pay a higher property tax on your property/ies if you aren't resident and even higher if they are to be used as a business.

Look at the Tourism Strategies for the regions you are considering, see what their main markets are and the length of season. You will have to put together a spanking business plan too, even if you aren't looking for financing, to enable you to fully picture your goals for the business and lay out your financial forecasts for the next 2 - 3 years.

Be prepared to take a job, which may be under your expectations. Canadian companies like Canadian experience, regardless of who it is with. They have to build up a confidence in your ability to stay the distance.

Good luck with everything. There are a lot of us with the same goals!!

Not wishing to be unkind, but you chose your username well.

Do some research here or elsewhere.