Drthorne

Hi

I am currently investigating weather it would be possible for myself and my partner to emigrate to Canada from the UK

My Partner is a trained probation officer in the UK and has worked in this role for the last 6 years - She has 2 Degrees and has counselling qualifications.

Would she still be able to apply on the skilled migrant visa and do you have to have a job offer in order to get your visa ?

Also - is anyone aware of any Job agencies that deal with employing foreign workers ?

Thanks for your help.

christmasoompa

Hi and welcome to the forum.

You are quite correct that you/your partner would need a job offer to qualify as a Skilled Worker, as her job is not on 'the list' of occupations in demand - but what is your job? If you have a job on the 'the list' then you don't need a job offer first.

So you or she would probably need to find a job (as well as making sure you meet the other criteria i.e. minimum points, pass the medical, no criminal record etc) to qualify as a Skilled Worker. But there are other visa routes, so have a read of this for more info................. http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Quick_...an_Immigration The Wiki (on blue bar at top of page) has loads of useful info to get you started.

It also has a Job Hunting section which is essential reading - an agency won't be much use (although it can be worth registering with them just in case, but none that specialise in hiring foreign workers to my knowledge), but if you read the Wiki you'll understand why. Put simply, Canadians like personal contact, so you need to get out there or at least pick up the phone. One thing to bear in mind is that I'm not sure if she'd be able to continue in her chosen career - most government workers need to be Canadian citizens.

Also, just to check as you refer to your girlfriend as 'partner', but do you live together? You'd need to if you wanted to accompany her on a visa or vice versa.

And by any chance are you both 30 or under? Just that if you are you could go on a working holiday visa for a year.

Anyway, have a read of the Wiki and then once you've figured out your visa route, you can shout with any questions.

Good luck.

Drthorne

Hi

Thanks very much for this, So it appears that a job offer is going to be route we will need to look into.

I work in IT doing statically analysis so not sure if this is going to be much more help.

How open are Canadian employers when it comes to taking on the foreign workers and going through the application process.

AmyDavid

Have a look on here - http://www5.hrsdc.gc.ca/NOC/English/...6/Welcome.aspx - and see if you can find your job. Then look on here - http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigra...tions.asp#list - and see if the NOC code relevant to YOUR job is listed. If it is, then you should be eligible to apply under the skilled worker route.

Drthorne

Thanks for this..

I have just had a look at this and sadly it appears my Job is not listed on there...

christmasoompa

Ok, so you need a job offer. It's not a problem, that's how most on here get to Canada, although it's not as easy as it once was with the current economy in Canada.

But if you read the Job Hunting section then you'll get an idea of how to go about getting that all important job offer - and the AEO or LMO you'll need to get to prove the job offer has been approvedy by HRSDC.

One thing to be aware of is that you will probably have to go via a Temp Work Permit first (so read up on them and LMO's in the Wiki) as most employers won't want to wait the 6-12 months it will take for you to get over there as a Skilled Worker. So you may have to go on a TWP and then upgrade to PR once there.

Drthorne

Hi

Thanks for this; I will have a look through the Job info section.
I realise that Face to Face contact appears to best with regards to job hunting but would it just be a case of searching for jobs like we do here in the UK - Via the companies website ect and then applying in the normal way.

I would have no issues phone/contacting the company directly and I guess at that point i would make them aware of our situation.
We are due to head out to Canada next year for a few weeks but other than that we need to remain in the UK until work has been found.

We were hoping that my partner could work within a government institution because of their background but i guess this might cause a few problems because she is from the UK.

I currently work for a university so would look at working within another one within Canada, no idea if this helps at all..

Again thanks for everyone's help.

christmasoompa

You can try that - just don't ever expect a response! It's just unlikely to get a result using the UK approach as it's a very different hiring culture over there. Phoning would be better if you really can't get over there, but there is a step by step guide in the Wiki which will give you the info.

Also, it might be worth doing a search of the forums to see if any other probation officers have posted relevant info re: working for government - as I mentioned, most government jobs are citizens only but not sure about probation officers etc.

Aviator

To work for the govt. (or be hired by) you have to already have PR or be a Canadian.

Drthorne

Hi

Thanks, I guess we might need to look down another route then.

Paul

Drthorne

Has anyone else got a similer background (Probation, Council) and gone out to canada ?

T-Pot

Hi
Have looked at this myself and found that the Dept of Corrections will only consider someone already resident in Canada, you can apply for probation/parole officer as PR but preference will be given to citizens over PR's.