I am totally new to this and wondered if anyone could give me advice on nursing in Ontario.I have already bought a hobby farm near Sudbury Ontario with my husband and 3 kids.We are still waiting on news of our visas.We have been waiting for 2 years and are getting very frustrated with the length of time it takes.My husband is a builder and roofing contractor and has been self employed for 22 years,can anyone give any info on work opportunities for him? Any info on higher education for my 2 older children.My daughter is nearly 17 yrs and just sat her GCSE exams.

Thanks

You can only work as a nurse in Ontario if you have a nursing degree, they no longer accept any other qualifications. You then need to contact the college of nurses of Ontario and they send you a package with all the info you need. There are various forms to fill in and they will then decide if you are eligible to sit the exam - I think this took about 3 months.

You can come over on a work permit and have temporary registration until you pass the Canadian exam. You could work for up to a year when I came but I'm not sure if it has changed since then - the info will be on the CNO website.

Work permits are only issued for nurses in certain areas, when I came it was ICU, A&E, theatres, obstetrics and psyche - so if you don't have experience in these areas you won't be able to get a job.

Your husband shouldn't have any problem getting a job once he is over here as there is so much building going on. It is usually a case of "who you know", most people I know got their jobs through networking and being in the right place at the right time. He could contact all the building companies and see if any would be prepared to go through the rigmarole of getting him a work permit.

I don't really know much about higher education yet as my oldest daughter is just about to start high school. They stay at school here until 18 and graduate with their high school diploma. They start getting credits towards it as soon as they start high school at 14 so I don't know if her GCSE's would be recognised towards it. Some schools do the international baccalaureate which at least is recognised worldwide. Others on this site will be able to give you more info on higher education.

What sort of visa are you waiting for if you have bought a farm? I thought the business route was quicker for getting PR. Have you contacted CHC and asked how much longer it is likely to take? If you applied 2 years ago you should be hearing soon so it may not be worth the hassle of going the work permit route as that takes time and money to be assessed for the nursing eligibility.

Thanks Gail for your e-mail.I was over in june 04 and sat my Canadian nursing exam and recieved a pass result.I have been in touch since then and do not need a degree as I applied before the system changed.Unfortunately the main delay is the visas.As we are planning on bringing 3 horses with us we can't come over on a work permit.We were told by immigration that we would be refused entry into Canada if we were to arrive with furniture and horses on a work permit as we would be classed as illegal immigrants.Hence the long wait for our immigration visas.Any other info you can provide would be appreciated.


Eleanor

It may be worth pursuing the provincial nomination program (PNP) as nurses are in short supply across most if not all of Canada - check out PNP on the CIC website as it gives links to individual provinces' PN programs and requirements. The process generally works along the lines of getting an offer of a permanent position and then applying for PNP. Try Medhunters.com for ideas of which health authorities are looking for nurses and check out their websites. I got my job (as an OT) by just e-mailing my CV/resume and waiting for replies. You'll be snapped up quickly!

Hi Eleanor
Have you already looked into bringing the horses over? I wanted to bring my 5 year old clydesdale mare over but after weighing up the pros and cons I decided against it, even though it broke my heart to let her go. You've already bought your hobby farm so you're over the biggest hurdle. I looked into the boarding costs here in Calgary and it was crazy. What horses do you have?
Rachel

Hi Rachel,

We have 6 horses,3 pure bred arabians,2 welsh cobs and 1welsh cross arabian.We are looking in to flying over 2 pure bred arabians and the welsh cob.We plan to put both mares in foal to get some return back on our great expense.It costs £2,000 per horse to travel over.Having the hobby farm is a great saving for us as we can quarentine them on our land here and our land in canada.How do you find life in Canada?I wish they would hurry with our visas,2 years today since recieving file no. and no news of medicals or word from the canadian embassy other than to inform us of a 6 month delay in processing times.Was it the same for you?


Eleanor

The poster on this board, Tiaribbon, brought her horses while she was on a work permit. You might want to ask her about that.

Also, I'm not sure where you're thinking of selling the foals, but there's something of a glut in Ontario and people are not likely to go up to Sudbury to look at them. There was a thread on www.equiman.com recently about the difficulty of selling horses as far up as North Bay. That and www.chronicleforums.com are likely useful sites for you.