Neil1968

Hi,
My wife and I have been planning to move to Canada for about 4 years now. We were going down the Skilled worker route until they changed the rules and we are no longer eligible. We are now looking to use the Community Identified Stream. We have savings of about £30k and own a property here in the UK.
We did a recce a couple of years ago and also went last year. We decided we wanted to live in the Digby area for cost/tourism reasons as we hope to run 2 or 3 holiday rental cabins. We currently own 17 acres and a cottage near Digby.
We spoke with the Annapolis/Digby development agency last year and they were very positive but I would value anyone's advice as to the processes of how we go about obtaining letters of recommendation etc. and anything else we need to do as it is very confusing.
We are going back to Nova Scotia in June for two weeks and then again in August for a month.
Being a biker, we have volunteered to help out with the wharf rat rally while we are over there.
We are also now very friendly with our neighbours who we keep in touch with via email and skype.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Neil and Marianne.

The Scotts

Hi

We went the through the community stream and 'landed' on 10th March 2011. We had purchased our property in 2007 on the North Shore and went through CORDA in Colchester County.

We visited regularly and built up relationships with local residents, businesses and other ex-pats over time until we decided that we wanted to settle there.

The most important document was our 'Letter of Intent' which basically explained why we wanted to re-locate to NS and how we would be an asset to the area. We didn't need any letters of recommendation, but gave the names of local people who would vouch for us in our LOI if required.

Filling the paperwork in was time-consuming (most forms can now be filled in online and printed off). We then put together a comprehensive list of our assets and provided proof of these (Bank statements and House valuations - both UK and NS) and sent them off. Our biggest issue was finding up our Education Certificates which you have to provide, I had mine, but my husband had 'lost' his. Luckily we were able to get confirmation of his qualifications through the Examining Board - at a price.

The immigration officer in Halifax was amazing - any issues we had, she was happy to call us in the Uk and couldn't have been more helpful. In all, the actual Provincial Nomination approval took only six weeks! The UK side of things took longer as unfortunately the communication with the Embassy in London is pretty non-existant, but it all came together in the end (that's another story)!!

Hope this helps, if you need any further information, please ask.

canada22

Hi to everyone , I' m new in this forum and it' s amazing how many informations I have found in one afternoon reading the posts . Thanks for that .
I' m looking for every way to immigrate to Canada in the last years and I' m running out of options but I absolutely don' t want to give up .
I just saw some days ago the Nova Scotia Community identified stream and I really hope it could be my way in .
I' m 48 years old , my education is post secondary ( 13 years of school ) , then I went to university and gave 15 exams but I didn' t finish . The only work experience I can prouve is working on projects in the last years , there was no time setting , only that I finished my projects . I got paid the equivalent of 5350 Canadian Dollars a year . My boss can write a letter that I was good at my job . I have some property and money and no problem to sustain myself even for a long time if I can' t find a job .
I' m more the willing to visit more times Nova Scotia to build relations and do anything that can help me to get into Canada .
About the Nova Scotia Community identified stream I know only what they write on their website and what I saw on this forum .
Is there anyone who can give me more informations and advice ?
Thanks for any help you can give me

Ps I wanted to create a new thread with this message , sorry if I'm in the wrong place . For the next time how can I start a new thread ?

christmasoompa

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

Really sorry, but from what you've said you don't qualify for the CIS - the minimum education requirement is at least one year's post-secondary education which you don't seem to have. Unless you actually completed the degree, it won't count.

The top left, just click on 'new thread'. If you're still not sure, go to the Frequently Asked Questions section and it tells you in there.

canada22

Thanks for answering me so quickly ,
the last hour I was thinking I could use the exams I made to have a short degree ( I was at an Italian University and I think it is possible ) .
So , if I had at last one more year instruction , would it be possible for me to try this stream ?

christmasoompa

You'd need to provide educational certificates though, so must have actually completed the course you are using for your post-secondary study.

Yes, it certainly would. It must be a one year (full-time) course or longer, but maybe something like a NVQ if you don't want to do a full degree? Then you should be eligible, assuming of course that you meet the other criteria. Maybe you could use the next year to get the qualification, and also travel a couple of times to NS to start building those all important 'community ties'?

Good luck.

canada22

You' re really kind and giving me lot' s of informations . I will surely take informations about how I can have this one more year of study , it' s a great idea .
If I can ask another question , wich are the other criteria I have to meet ? How does this all work ?
Thanks a lot for all

christmasoompa

You can check it all out on the NS PNP website, but basically the upper age limit is 55, you'll need at least $10k in your bank account, no criminal record etc, to qualify. Plus have the 'community connections' that they require, and to be employable.

rach_woz99

Just a quick proviso to that info - NVQ's are not accepted as post secondary.

My friend was interviewed by Francis Woolf for CIS, the head of immigration in Halifax, and that is what she was told, so it came straight from the horses mouth, so to speak

HTH,
R

christmasoompa

When was that? We had a client with an NVQ that they wouldn't initially accept as post-secondary, but they did change their mind after we gave them info about it. I'm assuming that's now set a precedent (can't see how they'd say no to others having said yes in the past). Think they just had it confused and didn't realise it's not part of secondary schooling in the UK.

montpro

The level of NVQ makes a difference, level 3 or above is acceptable as post secondary although I'm not 100% sure all categories would be covered - NVQ Level 3 in dog grooming may not cut it! (but I may be wrong)

Best to get them assessed in Canada first by someone like ICAS.

rach_woz99

Sasha was interviewed early last year by Frances. She had been working in healthcare, and had three or four NVQ's. which were not accepted. I don't know what level they were.

Frances did try to move her onto arranged employment as she had a job offer, they didn't just leave her high and dry, but it didn't work out and she moved back to England last summer.

canada22

Hi to everyone , I' m reading with great interest all the posts .
I wanted to know , if I get this one year post secundary instruction , what are the timelines ? I can visit Nova Scotia in every moment and even for a longer period of time and go there twice .
Has there to be a long time between the two visits ?
From the moment I made the second visit ( hoping all goes well ) how long does it take to get a PR nomination and then to get a PR ?
Thanks for reading

254

I'd recommend contacting the mandated organisation for the region of NS you hope you settle in, and asking them your questions - the expectations within the first stage of the CI stream application vary between the different RDAs so the first step is to decide where you want to settle, then contact someone to have a chat about the specifics.

Most expect at least a couple of visits to the area, some more, and you need to show you're seriously and genuinely committed to settling in that particular area of NS permanently, and that you are employable within that area.

You can find the mandated organisation list at the end of this document.

You'll need to apply for the support of the mandated organisation (some do this process in person, some expect you to visit in person, collect letters of support to submit with your letter of intent, then the board make a decision) and after that you apply to NS immigration - as far as I know they tend to making a decision on your nomination within 3 months. After that you submit your PR application to CIC, and you can check the processing time for provincial nominee applications at your local visa office on their website. For London, if I remember correctly, it's currently quoted as being around 11 months.

Best of luck.

Arty

Well that stuffs me