paulalexdij

Hello everyone.

Just got my UK citizenship and am moving to Glasgow in two months. Have never actually been in Britain for more than a week, but was raised British -- to the point where I've never felt at home in either Transvaal/South Africa or in Quebec/Canada (spent half my life in each.)

So since they changed the rules in 2003 -- discovered this only two years ago -- because my Mum (and all her family) were born in Edinburgh, I have managed to get my citizenship. So now is my big move.

Looking forward to reading all the great tips and ideas on the threads in this forum.

JAJ

Where are you living at the moment? South Africa or Quebec?

paulalexdij

I've been living in Canada since 1993. Have not been back to SA since then. Actually the first time I came to Montreal in 1987 I realised almost immediately that it was a mistake and went back to SA after only 6 months. But changing situations and family ties led me to come back to Canada again after 4.5 years (I had wanted to go to the UK both times back then but couldnt get the right papers).

So since then I have spent 4.5 years in Montreal, 6 months in Nova Scotia / New Scotland (though I really wanted Old Scotland), 2 years in Ottawa, 3.5 years in Toronto, and now another 5 years back in Montreal mainly because both my parents were still here. Now that I don't have that responsibility anymore there is no reason for me to stay here. Things are never going to get any better than subsistence for me here in Montreal, and so it is time to make tracks.

I actually don't like movng per se but think I've learned enough from past mistakes to do a better job of it this time.

If I weren't moving across the Atlantic I would have to be moving inside Canada. I was in Calgary once and it looked like a liveable city. Maybe Vancouver is as well but I have never been there. Frankly I would advise potential immigrants to Canada to stay away from Eastern Canada and focus on Western Canada. If I do ever come back to Canada it will be to start a new life out West. But Calgary is just as far away from Montreal as Glasgow is and it would be just as difficult for me to move there, so I'm going to be heading East instead

I'm going to be looking for work, hopefully involving QA for IT or else Natural Language Processing of some kind, but frankly pretty much any work of any kind will be a step up from the prospects here in Montreal. Hopefully in Glasgow but maybe Edinburgh or London or Europe. Will have to see. Despite that uncertainty however, I am really looking forward to escaping from Canada and being in a place where I really understand the language and where other people can understand mine as well. Here in Montreal people speak mainly French but at least one knows that it's a different language. The problem with Canadian English is much more subtle -- one assumes it is the same language until it is too late and only then does one discover that, while the words are almost the same, the meanings can be very different. Anyway I have to move in any case and so I may as well move to where I've always wanted to live now that I have the opportunity to do so. So I am busy packing!

JAJ

Do you have your Canadian citizenship? If not, it would be best to get that before moving.

paulalexdij

Yes indeed. I swore allegiance to the Queen of Canada back in 1998. (And I just swore allegiance to the Queen of Great Britain a few months ago - I believe they are in fact the same person

Of couse you are absolutely right that it would be foolish to move without securing citizenship here first. Back in 1987 I left after only 6 months and it took 4 years of bureaucracy to get back. (But I do not regret the decision to go back and spend another six years in Johannesburg as I had a lot of opportunities back there at that time. I would not consider ever going back there now however, since although much has changed for the better, even more has changed for the worse imho.)

I might come back to Canada in say ten years time, but I fully intend to profit from my finally-acquired UK/EU citizenship while I am in the prime of life, instead of languishing forlornly in an unloved forgotten frozen has-been backwater. So I am off to Scotland (and Britain (and Europe)). As I mentioned before I have always had to leave Montreal to get any worthwhile employment (although I do speak French, I will never actually be French -- and there isn't that much going on here in any case).

There is very little reason for me to stay here now that my old man has passed on and all my best laid plans here have 'gan aglay' (gone astray).

I do have some other family members still living in fairly good health here but there are for me no prospects for any kind of advancement whatsoever here. There may be a few possibilities in western Canada, or with my language skills some options in Europe, but honestly I'm not really totally completely fluent in any other languages and the feeling of being 'at home' is so invaluable that I would have to be feeling pretty desparate or tempted or adventurous to take on a job in Europe. Actually I think my French, Scots and Dutch language skills are about on a par, but I do so very much like the English language above all.

In any case it will be Glasgow first and then maybe Edinburgh or London (and then maybe some forays onto the Continent). I hope with my IT skills to land something in London but I would not just go there without a job-in-hand (too big and expensive), and I need to set up a base somewhere first.

It now appears that I have been waffling endlessly, so although I think there are a lot of possibilities (and no doubt many difficulties too), right now I must return to my packing.

JAJ

Same person, different offices.

Other than that, good luck in the United Kingdom. As you have your Canadian citizenship, the option to return is always open.

Do you intend to have children in future? If so, you might want to read and understand the consequences of being British "by descent" if your children are born outside the United Kingdom.

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Britis...hip_by_Descent

paulalexdij

Thank you for your kind words

I am leaving in six weeks so I am now terribly busy just getting ready, packing, and ... mainly throwing out a lot of stuff. I am taking 35kg on the plane and will have 70kg shipped later. My brothers think that is too much but I can't get rid of more than 99% of my stuff. I am only taking irreplaceables.

Anyway, there is an outside chance that I might yet start a family, but certainly not before I am more settled. Such things don't always go according to plan, but if there are to be bairns I shall definitely try to organise my affairs in such a way that they are not left in the same predicament that I was.

My brothers are both married to Canadians and are more or less entrenched here, but my eldest nephew is toying with the idea of maybe one day going to live and work in the UK. His father (my brother) has not yet acquired British citizenship but he should be getting a positive response (same as I did) within the next six months at the most.

For my nephew, I imagine that he might be able to acquire an ancestry visa and then apply for citizenship after staying there for five years, but probably he would just like to live and work there for a year or two, which I believe he could do as a Commonwealth citizen under the age of 25.

In any case, he is not certain about it yet (he has only just turned 17) but it is better to know what one's options are ahead of time.