Hello all,

Its been a while since I posted on here, but thought I'd share my experience and hopefully get some answers to some questions at the same time.

Myself and my partner (not married but common law) recently completed a move to Calgary from the midlands area of the UK. The move was prompted by me receiving an IEC visa and hitting the eligibility gap in terms of age, so I had to use it now.

We chose Calgary as we felt there were more work oppurtunities here.

We arrived on the 26th July and were in a hotel for 4 days whilst we sorted a furnished apartment for August (our stuff arrives in September). We managed to do this and get one in the SW area and also have secured a unfurnished apartment for September onwards by 17th Ave. This involved alot of pavement pounding in the heat but we got there in the end! If anyone's looking for places to rent in Calgary feel free to message me and I can share my experience of what worked and what didnt.

Then the next order of business was bank accounts, cell phones, drivers license and and a Car. The former was easy, the latter a bit of a nightmare. But after a week of looking we found a (hopefully reliable) cheap car to get us through winter. P.s. insurance was a breeze even with UK No Claims Discount.

Again if anyone wants info on any of the above please just let me know.

Then this took us to the end of week 2. Now we had to find jobs. This brings me to why I'm posting in this forum.

I came over on an IEC visa but my partner had already missed the age cutoff so couldnt get one and accompanied me on a tourist visa.

I started looking on Thursday of week 2 and had secured a job the following Tuesday which I start work next week (I work as a business analyst/project manager on HR information system's). We were both glad I was able to secure a job quickly with comparable pay to the UK.

Before moving to Calgary we knew that we had visa issues for my partner. We actually applied in September 2011 under the FSW program but the cap had been reached by the time our paper work was submitted. She is actually 32 and a lawyer in the UK but had 2 years restaurant manager experiance whilst she was studying. As we missed the 2011 FSWP we were due to apply again this year. But as everyone here probably knows this has been frozen until January next year.

THis brings me to my question. My partner has been trying to apply for jobs with an open LMO but they are few and far between.

Has anyone tried to apply for an open LMO position whilst here in Calgary and can anyone offer any advice on where to look or what avenues to explore or could share there experiance.

Any assistance would be much appreciated.

Many thanks.

The employer has to apply for the LMO not the employee. Your partner needs to find a company willing to go through the process of applying for one
as they cant apply themselves.
http://employment.alberta.ca/documen...w-employee.pdf

Hi tsbasran,

Congrats on your move. Im moving to Calgary in October.

I was on a work permit in Calgary from 08-11 in a Hotel. This is pretty much how it works.
The employer must advertise the job for minimum of two weeks (newspapers, online etc). If not a suitable candidate is found then the employer can apply for a LMO (Labour Market Opinion) if they can employ a foreigner. The employer should send the advertisements alongside the LMO. If the LMO is positive then your partner can pursue applying for a workpermit.

As for finding a job. Get networking. No joke. Get talking to restaurant owners etc. I know people who have come over and done just that. Employers have applied for LMO and workpermits on their behalf.

BTW who was your insurance with? I used a broker that my family knew that helped me out. Mine was with ING.

Hi guys,

Thanks for the replies, appreciate your advise. We will keep trying to look for employers who are willing to do the lmo. We havnt had much luck over the past few weeks but will keep trying!

Thanks again.

P.s my insurance was through a broker- bow valley insurance.

Will also get on the networking side! Thanks for the advice!