saraho1976

Just wondering what the kind of cost is to move over to Canada from the UK, just looking for a rough estimate so know how much we need to save. We do have a house to sell but the proerty market is that rubbish at the moment i dont think we would even have any equity in it.
I read that the average kind of price for shipping personal items is around 5k but is this something you need to do straight away if you would be renting or is it better to place in storage in uk until we buy a house over there and are 100% sure of staying
thanks

sarah

christmasoompa

Hi Sarah,

I wouldn't bother storing furniture and then shipping it at a later date personally, as you'll struggle to find a furnished rental anyway, and it will cost a lot in storage so you may as well just take it all with you to start with.

Costs will vary, how many kids, whereabouts are you going and do you have any pets to take?

If it helps, our moving budget was £15k-20k but that was for a family of four going to Vancouver and taking pets as well.

Don't forget to add your proof of funds amount on top as well as you'll need that when you land in Canada as well as when you apply.

saraho1976

thanks for the info
We are a family of four but the boys are very young and we have no pets, we are thinking of calgary.
I think my husband may fly out earlier when the time comes to try and rent a house etc so me and the kids can follow on with all our stuff at the same time.
The proof of funds can that include the money that is outlayed at before you get to canada or must it all be in the bank when you arrive?And also do you need proof of funds if you have a job offer as Im sure ive read that on here somewhere?
cheers

sarah

snowshoveller

so unless you have loads of precious antiques, you could flog everything that you have.

just ship irreplaceable things as airfreight - maybe cost £1000. Then budget for replacing furniture - using the cash liberated in UK from selling oid stuff

no one ever asked up to see proof of funds, but we had a recent uk bank statement to show. We were on TWP so had job, maybe this is why.

We moved about £25k into our canadian account, it lasted about 6 months - the job didnt work out so good and we only had a small income($2k month) for the first few months

saraho1976

To be honest we will be looking at the cheapest option all round I think as we wont have that much capital tomplay around with due to housing market etc. I think I may send OH over first to try and get set up with job,house,car etc so I can keep an income coming in from my job over here. Once hes all set me and the kids will move over along with stuff at least this I hope wont mean we dont have a decent income coming in at any time

snowshoveller

Not sure where you are in the process, but If you are expecting to move within the next 12-18 months I would sell the house asap - it might take a while to go. If it sells quickly you can rent somewhere. the forecast for the UK house market is not good and so if you hang on before selling you may be loosing out on price.

If you place yourself smartly in canada (ie near the things you need to do, and not in one of the soulless 'burbs or out in the boonies) you may not need a car - we didnt have one for over a year - the rental companies often do long weekend deals which is pretty cheap and avoids you having to bend over for insurance premiums.

We sold all our stuff in the UK and shipped about half a transit van load by air - this gets there quickly and was reasonable cost wise. So long as you know that you will be starting over (with cheap furniture, etc) its ok. We just didnt fancy the hassle of packing up and shipping plus then being without the stuff shipped for weeks on end.

Theres loads of info on here about living expenses, canada is more expensive than many people think, so in my opinion you need to have a cash reserve which you can afford to chuck at the project and not expect to see ever again. You will be amazed at the amount of cheques you find yourself writing

christmasoompa

OK, so if it's just your husband going on a TWP then I'd guess he'd need something like £10k for flights, insurance, visa fees, rental deposits, utility deposits, etc. Plus extra if he'll want a car.

Proof of funds wouldn't be required if he's going on a TWP, although it may be required for a PR application at a later date depending on the route you go down.

HTH.

helcat12

$10K seems somewhat excessive.
My OH went on a TWP to Langley, Greater Vancouver in August.
He rents a small, unfurnished apartment for $600 a month (one bedroom, bathroom and an open plan living/dining room/kitchen but that's all he needs for just himself) including utilities, which is quite common. He paid £600 for the flight in August and took $3000 with him. Out of this he paid for the TWP and the subsequent PR application for us both of us (about $1000), paid his first month rent and deposit ($900), bought furniture (at the thrift shop, but it is serviceable), cheap mobile phone, household stuff like cutlery, mugs, pots and pans etc in IKEA and Sears and the rest of the money saw him through until he got paid his first wage two weeks later with some to spare.
He didn't need a car as he got an apartment close to his work and he bought a cheap bike on craigslist that cost $45. craigslist has lots of free stuff that you can just pick up. Yard sales also have cheap things - OH got a bedside table for $10. He also got a double-height airbed from Canada Tire, which is just a comfortable as a normal bed but was $60 rather than several hundred dollars for a new bed and mattress.
If you are worried about money or just trying to save as much as possible, one person going over can set up home quite cheaply. If you are prepared to live like a student for a little while until your pay cheques start rolling in, you could do it for less than $5K all told - if you want to be more extravagant you might need $10K

christmasoompa

Seems to be a very different set of cirumstances from the OP though - your OH is in a 1 bed place and going to be living on his own for the year or so until you get PR? Whereas the OP's husband is going out ahead to set up the family home for all four of them from what I understand, so his costs will be quite a bit more. Plus the OP mentions a car, so that'll add extra on too.

helcat12

Ah, I see what u mean. I was assuming the partner would stag it until he had a job and only then get a family home ready for them all. Would be cheaper that way, especially if they are not sure how long it will be before he gets a job. No point 1 person living in a huge place all alone for ages.

christmasoompa

From my understanding, the OP's husband has already got a job offer (although not the LMO which is obviously the tricky bit atm!) and would be going out on a TWP. She would then be following him out there with the kids once he's got the family home set up etc.