New to this and very confused!
 

My husband and I have talked about moving to Canada for years and have finally made the decision to go with it....5 kids later!! Probably not the ideal scenario but we feel that although we have a good life in Northern Ireland, we would love to move somewhere that would allow our kids more opportunities!

We would like to move to Nova Scotia as we feel we could avail of jobs for my husband there. He is awk employed and teaches the fiddle in schools and community groups here and I am a housewife. We have looked at different methods of entering into Canada But are totally confused by it all and have no idea which is best for us. I am a housewife but I have a degree in early childhood studies. My husband has a diploma in music.

Could anyone help us figure out where we need to start this journey? I literally need it in basic form as I have no idea what I’m doing🙈. I’d also like to know if it’s a possibility for me to not work initially and just for my husband to go out to work as we’d need to settle the kids in to a new school and I’d like to be available for them if they need me.

Many thanks in advance!

Re: New to this and very confused!
 

Hi, and welcome to BE.

Best thing to do is take the eligibility test on the official Canadian immigration website, which will assess you for all of the 50+ visa routes and tell you which you may be eligible for - https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration...nada-tool.html So take that (do it for both of you), then let us know what it says and we can help you work out your next steps.

One other thing, and sorry for taking this thread off track a bit, but I'd have a search of the forum to see posts from those in NS. Some people love it, but lots of forum members have left and gone elsewhere due to lack of opportunities/employment. It's a beautiful place, but if you want somewhere with more opportunities for your kids than NI, in all honesty it wouldn't be the first place that springs to mind! Again, sorry for the non visa related paragraph, but just thought I'd mention it so you could do a bit of research and read others threads about life in NS in the main forum.

HTH a bit, best of luck.

Re: New to this and very confused!
 

Thanks so much for your reply. I went to do this and I realised that we’ll need to take a language test. Can this be done online?

Sorry, I know I’m a complete novice!!

Re: New to this and very confused!
 

No, you can’t do it online, you’d have to go to a test centre. But just answer the questions as if you’ve taken the test for now (assume max points as native speakers), it’s only to give you an idea of what you may be eligible for.

and no need to apologise, that’s what we’re here for!

Re: New to this and very confused!
 

Come to Newfoundland (East and North a bit from NS). More Oirish than Ireland itself with ceaseless fiddle music everywhere. :-)

Not sure what: "He is awk employed and teaches the fiddle in schools" means? To teach music in schools here you need to be a music teacher (with a degree or two) and essentially chances of getting a job are slim to none. If it's extra curricular then I don't think that would provide a living. You might be best served by you being the lead applicant as an ECE. Always a shortage of ECEs.

Re: New to this and very confused!
 

No doubt it's also a nice part of Canada but I'm surprised why you would think Nova Scotia would allow kids more opportunities? I'm in the Republic of Ireland myself and while many younger ones left and went to Canada several years ago (mainly the larger cities for high paid jobs), these days it's very different. Apart from the cost and visa situation, it would surely be easier to move further South. A place like Co. Cork for example would probably offer better opportunities.

Re: New to this and very confused!
 

Ok so I took the test on behalf of my husband and our in that spouse (myself) would be going too along with our children. It said

Express Entry

You might be eligible for Express Entry, which includes the following federal economic immigration programs:

• the Federal Skilled Worker Program
• the Federal Skilled Trades Program
• the Canadian Experience Class

It took me through to the next stage and provided a reference number. What would the next stage be after this?

Re: New to this and very confused!
 

The reason we wouldn’t move south is because we don’t want to. We have always wanted to move away from here and Canada has always been top of the list! When we say opportunities for kids, I mean generally in Canada, not necessarily just Nova Scotia. When they have their education they can move wherever they choose within Canada. Everyone has there choices and this is one we have considered for years. It’s only now that we’ve decided to go through with it and look back and wish we had done it sooner!

Re: New to this and very confused!
 

Sorry, that was a typo. It was supposed to say he is self employed. He doesn’t teach music as a subject, just the fiddle (violin) instrument. There’s an organisation here who funds the schools to have him go in and teach the kids fiddle (usually 20mins per lesson with 3-4 kids per lesson). I’m not sure that would be an option for him over there and he would consider any job to get us started. Once we’re over there, we can work on finding him a job in teaching fiddle.

Tell me more about Newfoundland...it had never crossed our minds!

Re: New to this and very confused!
 

So the question is what, if anything, is your husband qualified to do in Canada? What does he have a license, certificate, or registration to do to support a visa application as a skilled worker?

Re: New to this and very confused!
 

He has a diploma in music which he did at a university here and as I said, I have a degree in early childhood studies but the idea would be for my husband to work and for me to be at home with the kids at least for the first year. My husband also has experience in car sales.

I don’t know if it’s a possibility for me to not work though. We really are at the very beginning of the journey so I don’t know very much about the process yet!

Re: New to this and very confused!
 

So go back to the link that Christmasoompa supplied in post #2 above, and let us know what you were able to work out, or if you have any questions.

Re: New to this and very confused!
 

took the test and responded above to Christmasoompa

Re: New to this and very confused!
 

:thumbsup:

Re: New to this and very confused!
 

If you want to move over permanently, then you would need to calculate how many points you get for Express Entry - https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigr...d/crs-tool.asp . As said above, fill in as if you get full marks for English test. Note that to move permanently you need to show savings of at least $34299, fees for EE for your family this would be $2650 for yourself and spouse and $1125 for 5 kids (this excludes the costs of English tests, medicals and education assesment).

If your spouse can find an employer to sponsor him and you want to live in NS, then the AIPP is good option https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration...ion-pilot.html this allows you to move over on a temporary work permit and then apply for permanent residency while in Canada.