Hi there, I'm Corinne, I'm 28 and the one thing that I'm sure of in my life is that I want to emigrate. Me and the OH have talked about it for years, first we considered Australia but me being a huge Christmas fan I think that after two Christmas Days on the beach the novelty would wear off and I'd long for snow and scarves. The two places on my 'maybe/possibly/almost definatley' list are New Zealand and Canada. Canada having my vote, New Zealand having my fella's (of course I will win in the end, us women always do! )

I have trawled the internet for months and understand a lot, but at the same time understand very little, if that makes any sense at all?! I'm not thick, far from it, it's just that when some politician/brainbox/halfwit writes the instructions, why is it that 'normal' people can't understand them?! (I hope I'm normal and that you've all felt this way at one point or another, otherwise.....) So here goes, I thought I'd lay it out for you lot who having gone through/going through the process probably can spell it out to me in Leymans terms.

As I said I'm 28, I have worked for the same company since leaving school and have gone from office gopher to Human Resources and Purchase Account (manual book-keeping and computerised systems - Sage Line 50 Accounts and Sage Payroll) My OH is a plasterer and has a NVQ (I think) qualification amongst certificates etc in hand tools, working at height, yada yada, and god knows how many years experience. He didn't leave school with any qualifications, could that be a problem? I have GCSE's, they're not A* but they are all pases. I also have NVQ Level II & III Business Services and Modern Apprenticehip and Key Skills in Customer Services. How do you think we would fare with job prospects and possible pay?

Also we have 3 dogs; Billy is a 10 year old Greyhound cross breed/grumpy old sod, Tai is a 8 year old Staffordshire Bull Terrier/absolute pussy cat and Mavis, yes Mavis is a 2 year old Mastiff Cross breed/nutter/the most loving dog you'll ever meet. As you can probably tell, we have no children yet although we do want them in the not too distant future. Would the dogs or maybe me being pregnant (if I am at the time) have any bearing on our hopes to emigrate to Canada?

Couple more things before I leave you good people in peace; how long from start to finish could it take for us to be living and working in Canada? How much money would we need behind us realistically to cover each eventuality?

I'm pretty sure that along the way I will have loads more questions but that's it for now. Any answers and advice would be greatly appreciated then I can begin my 'nagging' campaign to the OH

Many Thanks
Corinne x X x

Hi Corinne and welcome to the forum.

Your best bet by far is to grab a cuppa and start reading the Wiki (on blue bar at top of page). It has loads of info in it, from the practical stuff about visas (written by layman so no scary legal speak!), to transporting pets, equivalency of qualifications etc, all of which will be useful to you.

Put simply, from what you've said above, you'll need a job offer to get a visa for Canada. So make sure you read the Wiki section on Job Hunting.

Alternatively, there is something called Bunac (just Google it) which is a working holiday visa for people under 30 - so assuming your OH is also 30 or under, you could both do that for a year and then try and upgrade it to Permanent Residency if you like it there.

The dogs and children will have no bearing on any visa application - although the dogs will cost you a small fortune in costs to get them there!

As for timescale, it depends on the visa route you take really. Once you've read the Wiki (this is a good page to start with http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Quick_...an_Immigration) and figured out which visa you will try and go for, then we can give you an idea. Figure between 1 and 2 years before you're living there as a rough guide though.

Costs will vary, if it helps at all, we're a family of 4 with one dog and one cat, and it's costing us in the region of £20-25k to get over there. That doesn't include things to set up our life there such as buying cars and insuring them (v expensive in Canada) etc. The cost of living in Canada is about the same as in the UK so that may give you an idea - but again there's info in the Wiki about it. We're not taking much in the way of contingency money, but we've got full repatriation and compensation as part of hubby's contract, so if something goes wrong we don't have to pay for it.

Another thing to mention is that your OH will probably have to get his Red Seal - again, details in the Wiki! It's basically an exam he'll need to sit (along with proving he's got a certain number of hours in the trade, no idea what it is for plasterers but as an example for electricians it's 7000 hours not including any apprenticeships), it applies to most trades in Canada so I guess it will for him too.

Hope that helps a bit, get reading and then you can ask any specific questions you think of!

Best of luck.

Hi there and welcome...my OH is a drywaller and I know that your OH will have no trouble finding work - plasterers are very much in demand more or less across the whole of canada! Plasterers do not need to take a Red Seal exam.

I am sure others will be along soon to help answer your other questions :0)

A x

Have they changed the rules for a BUNAC VISA lately then CO

New Zealand is summer at xmas too so that just leaves canada right

Thankyou all for your comments. Best start with the Wiki then, info overload here I come

Fish: Like I said Canada is my choice, NZ OH's, so haven't bothered to look into NZ much. Really bad of me I know, but he's not the one trawling the internet looking for info!!

3 dogs will definitely have no bearing on application, we fetched 3 dogs with us and cost us just over £3000 but we did use an agency cos we wanted the dogs to come out a few days after we did and didn't want to be a bother to my dad, money well spent as far as we was concerned

Good luck on your journey and you may find a few bumps on the way but I am sure with determination you can make it.

Just to let you know that in Ontario Breed Specific Legislation will prevent your staffie from been allowed into the province I'm afraid. My wife and I have had to have a major rethink on possible destinations because of our own Staffie, sad but true I'm afraid. Good Luck

Thanks for the post about Staffys (I really should have taken note of your name before starting to type this ) That's Ontario out then.

Printed loads of info from Wiki this afternoon, no-where near everything I need but it's a start

I've discovered that my OH wouldn't be referred to as a Plasterer or Dry Liner like he is here, apparentley they are called; Lather or Interior Systems Mechanic or Drywall Acoustic & Lathing Applicator or Wall and Ceiling Installer! He will be pleased I've printed some Red Seal information off that I will give him to read but not until he is smiling from the important sounding job title

Thanks again all for the help and advice. Right, back to the Wiki I think

Hi, as mentioned before - he won't need to undertake the Red Seal here :0)

Yep, been here in NZ for 11 years and Xmas day is definetly not coats and scarves, more like shorts, flip flops and barbies! We still make sure we have our proper Xmas dinner though Still doesn't feel particularly Christmassy in 20+ degrees though