Hi Everyone

This might be a long post so i apologise beforehand!

My husband and myself want to make the move to canada for a better life for ourselves and our children, My husband currently serves in the army has done for the past 10 years, He works with tanks and can repair them etc i was wondering if that could get classed under a skill? such as heavy machinery mechanic or something similar? He also has his class 1 drivers license so could we go with him being a truck driver under a skilled visa? If not when he leaves the army and does his resettlement he could pick a trade such as plumbing as i know that is on the skilled worker list but im not sure how long he would have to have been in that trade for, i have and uncle and auntie that live in guelph as well so again i dont know if that will have any relevance, we ideally want to get a job offer from a canadian employer and go the sponsored work visa route, but i just dont really know where to start looking for employment is there a job website that caters to either ex army british or canadian? or one that caters to to people looking for employment with a visa a long shot i know! We will have a £15,000 lump sum as well.

Any Help would be soo appreciated!

We just feel that the uk is never going to be the same again and that as the weeks go past i find this country is going further downhill, and a place i would rather not raise my children in.

Hi there, and welcome to the forum.

It may do. These are the 29 eligible occupations for the Skilled Worker program, and as you can see Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics are among them. If he can prove that he does the duties listed (http://www5.hrsdc.gc.ca/NOC/English/...spx?val65=7312) plus meets the other criteria (gets 67 points or more, passes the medical, has proof of funds, no criminal record etc) then he would qualify as a Skilled Worker and you'd all get Canadian Permanent Residency.

No, as truck drivers are not on the above list of occupations in demand.


He's have to have done it for at least one year full-time, so that's probably no good.


Unfortunately not, an auntie/uncle cannot sponsor you, although you would get an extra 5 points for having Canadian relatives if you apply as a Skilled Worker.


It's far, far better to go as a Skilled Worker if you can. That way, you get PR straight away rather than having to go on a temporary work permit (never ideal with kids, and you're tied to that one employer so scuppered if made redundant or similar). Having PR means you have much more security and can work pretty much anywhere.


I've not heard of either, if you want to get an idea of jobs then just look at the usual website i.e. Monster. There is a Wiki section in Job Hunting too (on blue bar at top of page), plus info on all visa routes and other stuff in there.


That's a good start, although won't be enough unfortunately so you'll have to raid your savings. For a SW visa, you have to show a certain amount of proof of funds, which for a family of four is currently around $22k (approx £16k), and is due to increase next January as it goes up each year. That amount must be in your bank account when you enter Canada, so you must have that in liquid funds to get PR. So you'll also need your move costs on top of that (i.e. visa fees/medical fees/shipping/insurances/flights etc).


Out of interest, what do you think Canada will give you that a different part of the UK can't? It's always better to move for a genuine love of a country rather than because of perceived negatives of the country you are leaving, as you'll soon find that Canada has just the same problems as the UK. As some of our more eloquent members put it - 'same s***, different bucket'!

Good luck.

In addition to Christmasoompa’s excellent response:

If he’s a REME VM then he could apply as a FSW Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanic without a job offer. This is the route which I went down. It would take around a year from start to finish provided there’s no hiccups along the way. If he’s a tankie then he wouldn’t have the trade qualifications to substantiate being a Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanic (in my opinion).

Thanks for your quick response, have been lookin at his qualifications and one of them i dont know if this amounts to anything is an nvq in engineering installation and maintenence?

Sorry, I'm not understanding your question. What do you mean does it 'amount to anything' - in relation to points for SW visa or job hunting or......????

nvq what level? if you search this site there are some real issues with getting nvqs recognised as equivalent qualifications in education terms...

i'd listen to joepublic though is he a reme or a tankie?

<psst, hey pete, you made your trip yet? can't remember if was last month or next week?>

Hi Deb, yarp, I was in the CFRC Toronto at the end of last month. The CF medical, aptitude test and interview are all done and dusted and I'm now waiting for my security checks to clear, which is the last hurdle. We're doing our landing trip from 3 - 13 Jan. Hopefully the biggest hurdles are behind us now .

I see you guys had snow this week.....brrrrr

Fab - just a(nother) wait then, shouldn't be any bother. Where are you landing? Loving your fb photo

Tis only about -15, but roads ridiculous - the worst I've seen. Normally they've cleared them really fast it's no bother, but we had to slither our way up to Calgary to see the BigYin. My adrenalin levels might drop by thursday if I'm lucky - good job the medicals are long gone!