TheNewberys

Hi all!

Me and my husband have decided that Canada is where we will be trying to set up our lives and start our family so now we're focused on getting things done!

He is a HGV mechanic so falls under the skilled worker category so this is what we're going for. I just wanted to know about the fees, the application is £660 for the two of us and I wondered, if unsuccessful does this have to be repaid to apply or does your application stay under consideration for the following years availability?

Also (sorry another quick one!) should we be successful would I be able to live and work in the country despite my career not coming under the skilled worker category?

Thanks very much!

V.

Siouxie

Welcome to BE!

I've moved your thread to the Immigration forum as you are more likely to receive replies.

So you are hoping to apply under the FSW (Trades) stream?

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigra...plications.asp 7312 Heavy-duty equipment mechanics

Does he have an offer of a permanent job or has he had his qualifications recognised and got certified by the Province you are hoping to live in? He must have one or the other to apply.

"... have an offer of full-time employment for a total period of at least one year** or a certificate of qualification in that skilled trade issued by a provincial or territorial body..."

As to your questions:

Once your application has started processing there are no refunds of fees.

No, your application is not carried over, it's a one-off shot (you would need to apply and pay the fees again, if you wished to be reconsidered at another time).

Once you got Permanent Residence, you could do any job you wanted to.

TheNewberys

Thanks for the help Siouxie, I appreciate the time you've taken to help me out.

Whilst looking at the CIC website it stated one of the following criteria must be met:

They have at least one year of continuous work experience in one of the 24 eligible occupations;
They have a qualifying offer of arranged employment (*note changes to the arranged employment process were previously published in this web notice); or
They are eligible to apply through the PhD stream.

My husband has been in mechanics for 7 years and previously spent a year working in Calgary at BATUS with the British army doing mechanics so I'm not sure if his previous experience of living and working in Canada would help us. Has the criteria now changed to requiring a solid job offer?

We're a little worried at how difficult it'll be securing work when you can't even attend an interview. It sucks about the fees as its far from inexpensive to apply. I guess we've just got to hope that we're first time lucky!

Thanks again!

christmasoompa

It would appear that you're looking at the Skilled Worker visa (which he's not eligible for without a job offer as his job isn't on the list of 24 eligible occupations).

As Siouxie mentioned, you need to look at the Skilled Trades program, which is a different thing entirely - his job is on that list, but he couldn't apply until he's either got a job offer or certified in his trade.

You say he couldn't attend an interview, why is that? He'll probably need to go to Canada before applying, either to get certified, or to get a job offer, so is there a reason he couldn't go? It could be tricky if so.

Re: the fees, if the quota is full you'd get them back - it's only if they've started processing the app that you wouldn't get them back, and they won't do that unless he's eligible for a visa. In the grand scheme of things the visa fees are a small drop in the ocean of costs, but it's unlikely you'll lose them anyway.

HTH clarify it a bit, good luck.

Smudger75

I. Can put you in contact with my mate if you like. He is a mechanic and left the army from BATUS to live the dream. PM me if you like