Hello to all..!

I thought i'd post an update (not sure if this is correct place?).

Joined this forum after Hubby & I made the decision to 'go-for-it'...found LOTs of Good advice thankyou.

Hubby a UK Electrician...i'm currentley an at-home mum.
Started job hunting in 2010-2011 via the internet & visited the London Expo.

Had 3 positive responses...companies were reluctant to do the paperwork involved for LMO (or had no experience with CIC).

So kept working hard to save up and searching job sites everyday.
In Aug 2013 had a company reply with interest, had a Skype chat...invited to 'meet the boss'...2nd Skype chat with an invite for an interview.

So Hubby flew to Alberta, had a few days to look around, got chatting to some local guys in the hotel restaurant and get a feel for the area.

Once home he was offered the job, 1st round of paperwork started...sent as much as possible to the Alberta training & Industry body to prove his Electrical experience...we went for 'over-kill' and sent every piece of evidence as we could get our hands on (i say we, whilst hubby was at work i had to do the paper-pushing)!

Company applied for the LMO, which was refused.
On grounds that the advertised job had not been advertised long enough! (rules had just changed!!)

So January 2014, 2nd LMO application went in...with a letter from the company lawyer to request expediting the app
(job vacancies had been advertised for over 2yrs so they could prove all efforts had been made to recruit a Canadian)
2nd app was approved within approx 10days!

When the confirmation email came, shock was our first response, took a week to get our backsides in gear.

We didn't have a house to sell so jumped straight to the furniture debate..take all or nothing??
We priced up part load, full container, paying someone to do it for us etc...
We went for Upakweship as hubby had a man-cave FULL of tools he wanted to ship.
Over 5-6 weeks i (that is me with the help of an interfering 3yr old) packed everything ready for a 20ft container. Definatley ask all your friends for help loading...! We bought 2 big rolls of bubble wrap & every cardboard box we could get for free.

We had a lot of luck with the flights...Heathrow to Iceland, then onto Edmonton.
With paperwork in hand we joined the Immigration queue...40 mins later we entered Canada April 2014!

So thought i'd say a few things..

It appears that a lot of companies could be missing out on great workers due to the CIC/LMO paperwork, i understand it's a pain & cost a fair amount of money...so we got lucky.

The Immigration officer was very professional & not too scary BUT due to hubby having to sit a challenge exam to gain Journeyman status, would only issue a ONE year work permit for him and a visitor visa with permission for our children to be educated..then he has to apply for an extension.

Also the officer did not look at our goods accompanying or to follow...so when we had the message that our container had arrived, hubby had to get back to Edmonton to clear it with customs.
Customs officer again was quite helpfull...but DID read our goods to follow list and ask a few questions due to hubby's tools.
After 15-ish minutes he was cleared!!

We chose to pack ourselves to save on cost (approx half of most others) so we could buy a car in Canada.

We have been REALLY lucky that the company found us a place to rent instead of being in a hotel/motel for a month.

We have been here 7-ish weeks and so far everyone has been welcoming and generally nice!
Eldest daughter went straight into school with no problems & enjoys small class sizes.

So far, no regrets...
Biggest shock was family back home, most were Very supportive but one in particular tried to make life hell..!


Sorry it's a bit disjointed but now turned 4yr old is trying(!) to help!!

Congratulations! Welcome to Canada.

Welcome your OH was lucky getting a year twp, mine got three months

Congratulations and a warm welcome to Alberta.

We'll done you, nice to hear another successful story, currently awaiting LMO myself so interesting to see the differing LMO results. We are coming with a 4 year old ourselves, keep posting your experiences! and enjoy!

Congratulations & welcome to AB