Landing Question
 

Hi,

We are travelling to Vancouver this week to activate our PR visas. We are staying in Canada for two weeks before returning to England.

We don't know when and even if we will be returing as although we were so happy to get our PR we have been unable to find work in our professional areas. We want to activate the visas though so we have hew option of returning.

Are we then likely to be asked for 'goods to follow' list - at this point we have no idea what this would be????
:unsure:
thanks

Re: Landing Question
 

You must provide your goods to follow list when you land, even if you're not staying.

Have a read of the following for more info............http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Goods_To_Follow

Re: Landing Question
 

Keep in mind that if you are out of Canada for three years in a five year period, you will lose your PR (yes, its not that permanent).

You may also want to consider making arrangements to get your PR card. You may have the card mailed to a Canadian address and then have that posted to you abroad. Without the PR card, you may require Travel permit to re-enter Canada (unless you hold a visa-free passport).

Ray

Re: Landing Question
 

Also keep in mind that its much easier to find a job when you are physically here. Not finding a job in Canada during a recession while being based in the UK should not be totally unexpected.

Giving an address for the PR card is optional, you have 6 months to update them with a permanent address via the website. After that you would have to reapply (and pay for the replacement card). If you are a UK passport holder its in some respects a technicality anyway.

Re: Landing Question
 

What are your professional areas?

As iaink says above, in many occupations you have little to no chance of getting jobs from overseas unless you have very specialist and in demand skills. It is not completely impossible - just highly unlikely. This may change in the future but I don't see it happening for a few years yet.

Sometimes you just have to take a leap in the dark.

Re: Landing Question
 

Thanks all! List is done and we're off tommorrow, can't wait to get there, hopefully next time on a one way ticket!

Re: Landing Question
 

Im a Speech and Language Pathologist which was one of the 32 occupations in demand and is how we got the PR in the first place. However since applying the job market has changed and at the moment I am not having any luck in getting work. I have a few contacts in the profession over in Canada and it is apparently a problem for canadians in the profession as well. We will keep looking but at the same time, we don't want to continually put our life on hold over here for something that may never happen.......:(

Re: Landing Question
 

It is not an area I know anything about.

If your employer will be a public health service they have slightly more transparent recruiting procedures than many private businesses but the general rule still holds. That is that you are much more likely to get a job if you are here than if you are overseas. Health service budgets are under pressure everywhere and a lot of recruiting is on hold. When positions do become vacant there will likely be candidates ready and able to start tomorrow, who may have experience in the particular health service (or if not, in another Canadian health service), and who may have crossed paths with the recruiters in professional associations and similar.

As an overseas outsider you don't stand much of a chance unless there are no local candidates. To maximize your chances you need to:

a) be here - be able to start tomorrow. This also shows some commitment to making a new life in Canada which never goes down badly with Canadians.
b) think of a way of selling the value of your UK experience over a similarly experienced local. However, don't be disparaging about current Canadian practice.
c) get yourself out and about, at professional meetings, conferences, volunteering and so on. You have to try and make up for a lack of a lifetime of professional contacts.

I can't tell you how long it will take to find a job that satisfies you. Even if you ever will. I am also not trying to tell you what you have to do - you can make your own risk assessment. However, if you are certain that you want to live in Canada then you are much more likely to make a success of it if you up sticks and get out here. If you only want to move if you have good jobs lined up I suspect you will be in the UK for the long haul.

I hope I am wrong.