l.proct

Hi everyone, me and my husband and 2 children aged 9 and 11 are thinking about moving to Nanaimo. I have an uncle living there at the moment as a full Canadian resident. We both recently applied for a skilled worker permit but as both our jobs are not on the 'wanted' list of occupations we were told that we should secure jobs first (which we kind of knew anyway).We are giving ourselves 2-3 years before the move as we have so much to do (research the area well, finish renovating our home to rent out, look at schools and I also need to finish my primary PGCE-Teaching). My husband is a demolition foreman working in London, is there much work for this kind of skill? I am due to start my primary PGCE (I have a degree in psychology) and know that I need to have my qualification converted by certification from the ministry of education in BC. Anyone have any tips for my continued research? Or what is required to applying for residency?

ExKiwilass

Have you been to Nanaimo?

As for teaching, you would be up against local grads. Currently there is only 1 job for every 3 grads. Teaching is difficult to break into unless you are willing to go private (but then the pay etc is less).

No idea about demolition.

l.proct

Yes, I am hoping my experience working in a school environment for the last 4 years as a special needs teaching assistant and an EAL officer may work in my favour?

ExKiwilass

what's an EAL officer?

Special needs assistant is a different kettle of fish. Different union (CUPE). I"m not sure about the chances of getting on as one - the government seems to be expanding the use of SEAs so maybe your chances are better.

bananahammock

Hi, I had been an LSA (learning support) in the UK for 10yrs & when we moved here, Sd68 (Nanaimo/Ladysmith) accepted my qualifications & I was employed as a 'sub' ... It took about a year from arriving here to become a 'regular' employee & be eligible for benefits
(Our kids were teenagers when we came)

l.proct

An EAL officer works with pupils who learn English as an additional language. My role basically involves supporting them in lessons when needed, assessing them for their English abilities and working with their teachers to help differentiate their work.

fletcher m

So I suppose you were very busy with all the 2nd language students that have arrived in the UK of late. (thought I would lay myself open to a bit of flak, good for the soul you know)

christmasoompa

Hi, and welcome to BE.

Have you read this Wiki article? http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Teaching_in_Canada

Re: applying for PR, you'll probably need to forget that for a while. As you've said, you are currently not eligible as a Skilled Worker without a job offer approved by HRSDC, so you'll need to find a job first (unless you have another route to PR of course - FSW is only one route of over 50 don't forget - maybe you have a couple of million dollars you haven't mentioned?!). As most employer won't wait the 18 months or so for you to get PR and be able to start work, you'll probably have to go over on a Temp Work Permit and then apply for PR once there.

Good luck with it.

el_richo

You wait until you move to Vancouver / VI

fletcher m

Finding a 40 odd year old geezer in a disco is quite sad, at what age would you say is the age limit for a snow board?

el_richo

I'm not sure, Asian people tend to look younger than their actual age i find.

fletcher m

where? In the dark in a disco/club or with a snood on the piste?

el_richo

Both

ryancoffey

Hi there,

Am in Nanaimo, raised by a Londoner and brought my wife back from when I lived in Japan. I deal with a fair number of international clients (I'm an estate agent) who are hoping to move here.

Anyway, lots of good advice above. I've seen some people try for citizenship or PR before they move and it takes an awful long time if you're not doing the family sponsorship thing. (Spouse or what have you. Even that takes quite a while.) And then sometimes the answer is simply "no". Apparently having a fair bit of money in the bank gets you fasttracked though. I used a lawyer when I moved back from overseas and although I can't say there was no way I couldn't have filled out those forms and gotten through the process without them, I couldnt say that I wouldn't have been able to do it either. In my eyes, the guidance of a professional on the things that really matter is worth the money, even if it hurts a bit.

Save as much as you can before you come and don't be picky with what work you take. It takes a few years to get on your feet and it's a pretty mixed bag as to who will accept what experience and credentials. I think Canada underappreciates the knowledge and experience of our new arrivals and I say that to everyone who will listen. There seems to be a growing understanding of this in our governement but changes take time, doubly so in tough economic times.

Nanaimo is going through a lot of expansion along its main corridors due to new zoning bylaws that changed a few months ago. If you have skills that pertain to commercial construction (as opposed to demolition) I think you have a wider array of opportunities. New ship building activity is coming at seaspan too. We're all waiting on that. There is a steel company that is growing fast and we're waiting to see what sort of impact the new cruise ship terminal will have. (It opened last spring but it takes a while for the ships to come in numbers, partly because its new and also because of US economy since that's where they're coming from.)

If you have a psychology background... not sure. I know a handful of people who are in that in BC but most aren't in town. I would start with talking to VIHA to get a feel for things.

christmasoompa

Just to clarify a couple of things on the post above for the sake of anybody reading -

No way of applying for citizenship 'before they move' (need to have lived in Canada for 3 years out of the previous 4 for that), and PR doesn't really take much longer than a Temp Work Permit - certainly for Spousal Sponsorship, which takes around 6 months on average, so would usually be quicker than a TWP application unless the OP already has a job offer.

Given how long it takes most people to find an employer prepared to go through the paperwork/hassle/wait of hiring them, then the LMO application (around 3-4 months in BC at the mo), then getting the TWP, it can take a long time. So for many people, applying for PR (which takes around a year, less for Spousal Sponsorship) is a better, more secure option, and can even be quicker - that's if they are eligible for PR without a job offer of course, most aren't these days.

Nope. Investment visa route is in fact, probably the slowest immigration route out of the 50 or so available. Figure about 4 years - and the quota has been met for this year, so cannot be applied for until 1st July.

Don't forget though, that if the OP is in Canada on a TWP (which seems their only possible visa route from what they've said so far), they will be tied to their employer, and cannot work for anybody else. So being 'picky with what work you take' may be essential as if they worked for anybody else, they'd be breaking the law!