buckers33

I'm just testing the water a little.

I have currently served 14 yrs in the British Army and I am a Sergeant. My job is IT Radio Communications. The systems we use are Canadian in origin.

By the time I leave the Army I would say I'd have £150,000+ to play with, I have been living in Germany for the last 5 yrs and my wife and I can't really see myself moving back to the UK when my time is up in 7-8 yrs.

I was wondering how feasible it would be to emigrate to Canada, I would be 40 when the time comes and would hold decent levels of NVQ's in Telecomunications and Management which I hear is being adopted by the Canadians.

I'd have money to buy a house and a regular pension coming in monthly.

I am starting my research early so I can plan for the future and ensure that moving to Canada could be a possibility.

Does this sound possible?

What should I start doing?

Thanks in advance for your valued advice.

Neil Buckley

christmasoompa

Hi Neil, and welcome to the forum.

From what you've said, you may well need a job offer to be able to get a visa, but there are over 50 routes to a visa, so I'd suggest you grab a cuppa and have a read of the Wiki - on blue bar at top of page. Also, do have a look at the CIC website if you haven't already.

Then once you've figured out your best visa route, you can come back and ask questions about it and hopefully somebody will try and assist.

HTH, good luck.

iaink

And then in 7 years time it will have all changed anyway....

Can I ask why Canada? Is there family here? Happy time spent on vacation?
Just seems an odd choice.

Id not heard that NVQs were well understood and adopted here either. Rather the opposite in fact.

christmasoompa

Yes, but given that some visas can take 4 years or so to get, and then they'd have time before they have to move, it is worth investigating now. At the very least, they'd know if Canada may not an option for them so they can look elsewhere.

buckers33

I've spent over 2 months on 2 different occasions on Exercise in the Med Hat area also I spent some down time in Calgary, Edmonton and Banff.

I'm a Sled Dog enthusiast ideally I'd like to get into some sort of Sled Dog expedition Holidays....... (like mad dogs and Englishmen) but thats a pipe dream.

I think using my skills which aren't that great would be more feasible, hey I already drive a Dodge RAM HEMI!

In all seriousness I've also started researching the US but that seems very difficult indeed, it seems if I come from a hole of a 3rd world country I'd have more chance hmm.

I also played football and rugby to semi pro standard would coaching quals in these fields help?

Thanks for the info anyway.

GC44

Not sure about the difficulty involved but would you consider joining the Canadian forces?

james.mc

Why is Canada an odd choice? As well as the OP, I'm also ex-military (RE's), I do have some family there but to me it seems no more (or less) odd than say Oz or NZ. The USA strikes me as odd though... but that's just me

There is someone around the forum (Ex-Sapper I think) that successfully transferred from the UK military to the Canadian Military, so maybe worth a look into as suggested above. I'm not sure what the commitment would be but I would guess after 4 years service you could probably apply for citizenship an leave if you wish. Unless there is a greater restriction in place by the Canadian forces themselves.

It might be a less painful/quicker route in though.

gvanleer

Great idea to start investigating now. That's what we did, before we had even been to Canada. It's easier to decide you don't want to go after you have applied than have to start the application process after you have made the decision.
Also investigate the Canadian Military. May be your best option if they have a requirement for your skillset.
Good Luck!

JB0591

The other thing to investigate is what trades you could train in during resettlement. That might help, should a transfer to the Canadian army not be possible.

On the IT Radio Communications front, whilst they were based on Canadian hardware, the system has British proprietary elements. Just trying to add some realism that you wont find a massive amount of jobs here on those systems. There are a few, if you look at the companies involved.

joepublic

Unfortunately, you can't 'transfer' from the British to Canadian Forces. You have to leave one before you can enrol in the other. There used to be a guide on the www.forces.ca website which explained the process, however, that seems to have been removed now. I kept a copy which you're welcome to read if you're interested. You have to be a Permanent Resident (PR) to enrol and you'd be mandated to become a Citizen within 4-years or they won't keep you on. Your trade doesn't seem to be accepting applications at the moment but that changes on a weekly basis so I wouldn't take too much notice.

iaink

Ah, so (if it still applies even) you'd need PR first, so its catch 22 again... No job, no PR; no PR, no job...

heading-west

definately consider your resettlement course options carefully, its one thing I wished I had done better when I left QARANC many moons ago....

Even consider taking courses now that will boost your options for when you are ready to make the leap

joepublic

Based on 2 year old info, the CF were looking at applications from former and serving British Forces and giving a provisional yay or nay, prior to the applicant gaining PR. If it was deemed that the applicant had a specific in-demand skill set then they'd issue a provisional job offer/waiver of citizenship letter and an AEO from HRSDC. The AEO could then be bolted on to the applicants PR application which added 10 points. Provided that the applicant successfully gained PR and passed the standard enrolment medical, interview, aptitude test and security clearance then they would be cleared to enrol.

Obviously, there is no guarantee that the process is still the same today.

iaink

I think (but could be wrong) that with the new process any job offer that would get you points has to be in a field on "The list", so the chances are slimmer now.

joepublic

Good point iaink, you're probably right on that one.