deise1980

This is going to be long winded so my apologies .I am 32 years old, Irish and living in Ireland ,married with 3 children 2 of school age and one toddler and looking to migrate to canada which ever way i can .The only education i have completed was secondary school .I do have many years of work experience behind me though i.e butcher in slaughter house 7 years ,the last 7 years I have worked for one of the leading UK telecoms company which were in Ireland but outsourced everything end of 2011 to india .I worked as sales agent in the call centre and also as a trainer ,trained agents in india ,south africa for the company also .So I reckon i might have good chance of work in call centre in pref toronto canada .
After making many calls to visa consultant companys recently i was told i wont get a skilled visa and the only 2 options i have are as follows

1. Let the agency arrange employment interviews via skype which i know is illegal for them to do that .They sort everthing out i.e work ,LMO ,work permit and also schools and housing etc all for a nom fee of around 3000 euros ,after reading lots of reviews about them i am relcutant to take this option

2.Both my wife and I can apply for IEC (irish citizens between 18 - 35 can participate 2 times so potentially 2 years) ,I source work in canada from ireland or alt head over for few months find a job house and sample the life with view of bringing the family over .I assume i need to apply for study permit for kids ?What would happen after the end of year 2 under the IEC with regards to us staying on in Canada if we like it there and if the employer are happy to keep me ? I know i have to then apply for PR ,is this normally a formallity ,the norm ? Are employers normally open to this ? Does it cost them alot and cause much stress for them to do it ? Alot of questions here guys but i just dont want to uproot my family for a better life in Canada and have to return home here in 2 years ?Am I right in saying i need to flagpole at the end of year one to USA for daytrip and return with prev applied for IEC ?

I would very much appreciate if I could any answers to any of the above questions .
Kind Rgds
Deise1980

Aviator

1. It is illegal to charge for finding a job. No reason why you could not do your own searches and try and find employment. Finding employment for low skilled jobs is not at all easy from overseas (or in Canada for that matter), you may have to come and hope to find a job. Risky with a family. Look at minimum wage in your destination province and figure out if you can live off that. You do not need a LMO for a job on IEC. Not sure how a firm can give you a 'package deal' all you have to do is turn up and start work? 50 euros is a nominal fee, 3000 is a lot, for no surety you will get anything for it.

2. Obtaining PR from an IEC is not a formality. You cannot go from IEC to PR. You should always be prepared you may have to return to Ireland. Any temporary permit is temporary. Until you have PR there is no certainty of being able to stay permanently.

From the IEC website:
'You cannot extend your work permit for a second year. In order to take part in the IEC initiative you will need to apply again, ensuring that you meet the new criteria. If you are accepted, you will have to leave Canada and re-enter with your new Letter of Introduction in order to be issued your new work permit.'

You could have a few years of uncertainty.

Siouxie

It's a 2 year visa now.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/departm...2012-10-05.asp

Beginning in 2013, Irish youth will be eligible to participate in the IEC only once but for a period of up to two years. The change will eliminate the need for people, who are already residing and working in Canada, to disrupt their employment and leave the country in order to apply again.

missieleah

I've sent you a private message

deise1980

Hi Missieleah ,I have tried to view my pm and the board displays this message

"The administrator has restricted use of the private message system to members with more than 3 posts."

I hope i can get into it to view your message after 3 posts maybe

deise1980

Novocastrian

Sorry, I missed that (bit deaf). Could you post it again?

deise1980

I have looked at the wages for the industry i will be looking for work in over in canada and iv researched rent for 3 bedroom house would approx be 1200 in and around toronto area ,i have also looked at how much groceries would accum to and household bills etc and taking all that in consideration i will be better off living in canada then been below the breadline here in Ireland so I have put alot of thought into it and have no doubt its a huge risk especially not knowing whats going to happen after the 2 years have ended expired .If were all happy I wouldnt want to come home .
rgds
Deise1980

Aviator

$1200 seems on the low side, but guess it depends on the part of town. I would imagine Ireland cost of living is way lower than Toronto. I have family in Ireland and their cost of living is really cheap. Also make sure you have enough to survive a few months without work, plenty on this board have taken that long to find work. If you can afford to live on minimum wage (around $10 an hour), at least that widens your options. You may not have the luxury of working in your chosen field initially.

You may want to come out to Canada for a couple of weeks or more and do some research on the ground rather than relying on the internet before dragging the kids out here.

manitobain

maybe widen your horizon a bit? or are you set on call centre jobs? Life in the big city is expensive.

Look also into how you can go from IEC to PR before you settle on a province. In some provinces there are better options than in others through the Provincial Nominee Program to go over IEC to PNP to PR. The new revised Canadian Experience Program might not work if you don't have the education to show off. ..

christmasoompa

I agree that you really need to look into if you would qualify for PR before you come here, as most routes do require you to have post-secondary education unfortunately (plus of course, you seem to need a degree in Canada to do anything, so do also look in to how employable you'll be!).

I'm not sure you'd qualify for the Skilled Worker program, even with a job offer, as I don't think you'd score enough points without many for education. And I can't see how you'd qualify under the Ontario PNP either, so Toronto may not be a good option for you. The last thing you want to do is move you and your family over there, and then find you can't actually stay. So you may want to look at other provinces, where they have a semiskilled stream under their PNP.

Good luck.

deise1980

That's all good advice guys and much appreciated ,and yes my huge concern is going over on a IEC for 2 years and haven't to move back to Ireland with family . But haven said that i also here that Canadian employers treat there workers better there and most not all will bend over backwards to hang onto you . I had originally wanted to go to Toronto or somewhere in ontario but I'm now open to anywhere apart from British Columbia which i know is very beautiful but weather equally if not worse than Ireland .I have heard the PnP programs are a little easier to get onto alright . Wit regards to finding out how difficult and what the implications and impacts on employer it would have going from IEC to PR and or going from IEC to PnP and then onto PR I wouldn't even know where to start !
Rgds
Deise1980

deise1980

I know you need to get a LMO done in order to get PR or some other type of visa to stay in Canada . I assume obtaining a LMO for a job in a call centre or a job in a meat factory as a knife hand / butcher would be next to impossible because there not really recognised as a skilled job am I correct in saying that ? If that's the case i may have little or no hope staying beyond the 2 years through the IEC ??
It was pointed out. to me that call centre work is listed on the Human Resource Development Canada website what ever that means ??
Rgds
Deise1980

christmasoompa

Don't know where you've heard that from, but that's absolutely not true. As a worker in Canada you will have far less rights than you do in Ireland, and if you search you the forums you'll find lots of threads from people who have been let go whilst on a TWP and had to return to their home country.

Depends what you count as worse than Ireland. Coastal BC does get a lot of rain (note not all of BC) but the majority of people consider that much better weather than the six months of winter some other provinces get. BC also has a semiskilled program under their PNP so is worth looking at.

IEC to PNP is PR - that's what the PNP gets you. But you really need to look at all of the PNP in depth to see which one you might be able to get PR through, as you will be fairly limited due to your lack of skills and education.

You don't need a LMO if you apply for PR via a PNP, that's one of the advantages of them.

And the fact that call centre work is listed on the HRDSC website means nothing I'm afraid. It has literally every job listed on there!

I guess the bottom line is that if you can afford six months out of work in Canada whilst you find a job, plus the tens of thousands it'll cost you to move over there, then it could be worth taking a risk and going for it. But do you make sure you have a plan to get PR and aim for a province where that will be possible.

Best of luck.

Siouxie

If you came over on an IEC visa, worked at as a butcher for 9 months in BC you could apply for the Entry Level / Semi-skilled PNP, provided that class is still in effect by that time. You would come under 'food handlers' - 9462 Industrial Butchers and Meat Cutters, Poultry Preparers and Related Workers

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigra.../apply-who.asp

If you came over on an IEC visa and did the same work in Alberta, you could apply for the same scheme in Alberta.

http://www.albertacanada.com/immigra...-criteria.aspx

phat-dave

i think the biggest hurdle for IEC is that you cannot have any dependents ie: kids