We are looking at moving to CANADA, we have visited the country 5 times in the last 3 years and have really enjoyed these visits.

There sounds like there is a lot involved in moving to Canada, but where does one start?

Any suggestions, how about time scales and costs?

Wayne
& Nicola

www.cic.gc.ca
Initially I guess what you are looking for if you have no relatives here is the skilled worker self assesment to see if you have sufficient qualifications, skills and experience to be considered for a skilled worker visa. Otherwise there are investor and business classes too, but for the vast majority Skilled worker is the way in.

Timescale...typically two years plus at the moment!!!

Application Costs...Fees for the application are listed somewhere on the governement site. Also you need medicals done, so it adds up, depending how many there are of you. From memory its about $500 per person to apply, then about $1000 once accepted. Medicals in the UK seem to be a couple of hundred quid?
If you use an immigration consultant...several hundred £ and up on top of that, but really its not necessary unless you have a complicated history, or no patience to figure it out yourself.

Hidden cost....Hmm, thats a can of worms. If you like it here and can get a job then the cost of living is less, and any capital you can bring will make life easier at first. If you dont like it, it will probably be an expensive mistake by the time you sell everything up twoce and move both ways.