nikkiandlee

Hi all,

Thanks to some very helpful advise we are going to attempt to gain a working visa so we are working on (hopefully) a Canadian friendly reseme!
My question is Should we begin the application process for a PR visa? I also read somewhere that they are not accepting any more applications for a PR Visa at the moment, is this true?

Our train of thought is even if we were fortunate enough to gain employment we would still need to gain PR, also if there is no joy on the job front we would need a back up! In an on line assessment we have 78 points and skills are on the in demand lists.

So should we still go ahead with the application? Should we use an agent?

Thanks

Nikki

Judy in Calgary

No, no, no, no and no.

They're accepting them and then dumping them in a big in basket and doing nothing with them.

No. That is not true. You could enter Canada on a temporary work permit (TWP) initially. That is what many, many, many members of this forum have done, are doing, and will continue to do.

If you have no job offer, there is no back up.

Maybe, when the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration publishes her lists of occupations in red hot demand, your occupation will be on that list, and your permanent residence (PR) application would be approved even if you did not have pre-arranged employment. But, until we see her list, we won't know.

Unfortunately that means diddly squat. It would matter if you failed to meet the 67 point threshhold (or it would matter later, if you were in Canada on a TWP and wanted to upgrade to a PR visa). But having enough points does not, on its own, accomplish anything for you.

This is promising if you're applying for a TWP.

No. First do a recce trip to Canada, get a job offer, and apply for a TWP.

Another way of getting PR is to apply via one of the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs). But, in the vast majority of cases, this also involves getting a job offer first.

In my personal opinion, no.

What you should be doing, if no one has pointed you to it yet, is reading the Canada section of the BE Wiki.

Hope that helps.
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nikkiandlee

Hi thanks for the help,

One other question, is the only way to secure employment to go on a recci and look for work? We are planning on going in about April!

Also would you know if NVQ's are recognised? I have looked on the Wiki and can't find that sort of info, should I be looking else where?

Thanks

Nikki

Judy in Calgary

You're welcome.

No, a recce trip is not necessarily the only way of finding employment in Canada. There are people who manage to secure jobs without recce trips.

But I highly recommend a recce trip. First of all, it's extremely helpful when it comes to job hunting. Secondly, it helps you to have a better idea of whether or not you'd like to live in a place. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, I'd say a recce is worth a billion words. While a recce is not a guarantee that you'll like a place when you're actually living there, a recce can instantly tell you stuff that no amount of remote research can reveal.

You should not delay your job hunting efforts until your recce trip. You should start phoning and picking people's brains well before your recce trip. In fact, it would be a good idea to start now.

I suggest you read the articles in the Job Hunting-Canada section of the Wiki.

Many NVQs are not recognized in Canada. On the other hand, I do know that some members of this forum have had their NVQs recognized. It depends on the occupation and the province. It varies a lot.

There may be a Wiki article about your specific occupation. Also, the Working Abroad by Profession forum may have information on your occupation.

Failing that, the Equivalency of Qualifications-Canada Wiki has a link to the Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials website. There you can find links to provincial bodies that assess equivalency of qualifications for those provinces.

But this brings me back to phoning and picking people's brains. A few phone calls should tell you the kinds of qualifications that Canadian organizations look for when they're hiring people in your field.

Please read the Wiki stuff about job hunting in Canada.

Hope that helps.
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Getting There

Hi Nikki,

I've been searching around trying to find info on Hairstylist accreditation and/or industry association information for Alberta for you, my thinking being that you might be able to contact such folk and ask them about recognition of NVQs. Has proved difficult to find anything remotely useful (maybe that's a good thing in a way - perhaps suggests slightly less rigorous licensing regime perhaps???) but I did find this...
http://www.tradesecrets.gov.ab.ca/tr...asp?trade=0421
Maybe some of these "schools" might be able to help answer your question.

I also have this half notion that Jan said the last hairdresser she used here in Okotoks was a Brit. If that's correct, she might be able to give her a call and see if there are any tips that can be offered re getting into hairdressing here.

As for your comment about still needing PR, I think I read your comment differently to Judy In Calgary. I think you were saying that, to be sure of staying permanently, you would need PR status at some point and so were asking whether you should get a crack on with it now. Maybe Judy read that slightly differently, I'm not sure. Anyway, Judy herself did a fantastic post some time back outlining how one might go about starting out with a Temporary Work Permit...

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showp...82&postcount=6

Which you can then read in conjunction with this useful WIKI article on how to tackle upgrading, in time, your temporary status to permanent...

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Fast_T...ication-Canada

I also forgot to direct Lee to this long running the link when responding the other day...worth keeping a track of.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=514167

Hope this helps.

Eamonn.

Judy in Calgary

Eamonn (and nikkiandlee), here is the Alberta Government's website on Trades and Occupations. They are listed alphabetically, so click on H to reach Hairstylist.

There is a fair bit of material to wade through. The long and the short of it is that a foreign-trained hairstylist has to do a challenge exam in Alberta. This is not true in many of the other provinces, where there are fewer requirements for working as a hairstylist. I can recall at least a couple of members of this forum who have done the challenge exam for hairstylists in Alberta, and they reported it was easy.

Hope that helps.
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Getting There

Cheers Judy...excellent link...have got that one bookmarked for future reference.

Kind regards,

Eamonn.

Judy in Calgary

Eamonn,

FYI, since this topic seems to come up with a certain degree of regularity, I have created a Wiki article called Work Permit Steps-Canada.

Hope that helps.
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Getting There

Absolutely it does...tho' in a way, I will rather miss referring people to the "work of art" that was your post! Thanks Judy.

E.

nikkiandlee

Me too,

Thanks Loads

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