cooki83

Hi everyone
I was hoping someone may be able to offer me some advice regarding my options for a family move to canada from scotland. It would be myself, my partner, our 3 year old daughter, my mum and my step-dad!

I have been doing some research and went to a working abroad fare but i still have no idea where to begin the whole process! I am a biomedical scientist with an MSc degree, my partner is a social worker with a BSc in social care and Diploma in Social work, my mum and step-dad are both unskilled but have tons of work experience in their field of work.

So my question is would it be possible for all of us to get a visa and if so which type of visa should we apply for? I understand that applications for skilled workers are on hold at the moment, is this right? Another option i have been looking at is PNP visa but im not sure if we would need to be working in canada first to get this? If it helps we are thinking of moving to either Calgary or new brunswick, could anyone also offer any advice on whether these are good places to raise a family and find jobs etc...

Any help would be really appreciated, thank you x

christmasoompa

Hi, and welcome to BE.

Your best bet is to start reading the Wiki (link in my signature) which will give you info on all the visa options.

From what you've said, you should be able to apply in January as Skilked Workers, or you could look at the PNPs, but as you say, most do require a job offer. Not all of them though, so have a Google and look at each PNP's website.

One thing to be aware of though, is that there is no way for your parents to accompany you on any visa application. They would have to apply for their own separately, which could be tricky if you say they have no skills at all.

HTH, good luck.

cooki83

Thanks for your info, i will have a look at the wiki page just now! I had a look at Alberta's criteria for pnp and seems you do need to have a job offer first, this is what confuses me, how do you move over and get a job without having a visa first? do you apply for a 12 month working visa and if you find a job then apply for pnp?

I did think my parents would need to apply on their own, my step dad is a HGV long distance driver, does that class as skilled? To be honest it will be all of us moving or none so i really hope they get a visa! If my partner and i got a visa would we be able to sponsor them? i read somehting about grandparent visa that allows them to visit for 2 years at a time but not sure if this is true! sorry for the million questions!

christmasoompa

If you qualify for the 12 month working holiday visa, then yes, that's one way. But most people don't 'move over and get a job', they get the job first (either from the UK or, more commonly, during a visit) and then return to the UK whilst their visa is sorted. Then they go over on a Temp Work Permit and apply for PR once there.

At the moment, parental sponsorship is on hold due to the huge backlog that had built up (approx 7 yrs for an application to be processed). If it opens again then you may be able to sponsor them, although do note you'd need to be a PR to do so (so for instance, if you moved over on a Temp Work Permit, you'd have to wait the year or so to get PR before you could apply, so you'd be looking at a few years wait before they could join you).

The supervisa is another option, but yes, that's only for them to visit for up to 2 years, and they couldn't work on it. Again, you'd need to be a PR for that.

If your step-father is a HGV driver that could be an option, although do be careful as because the job isn't classed as 'skilled' there would only be a few provinces he would be able to apply for PR in.

HTH.

cooki83

thanks again for all your info

I will look into my step-dads options more tommorrow and see which areas he could get PR as an HGV driver as that seems like our best option at the moment if we all want to go together.

Would you say that canadian employers are less likely to hire someone who doesnt have a visa, doesnt that take a long time to complete? or is that the norm for people moving over from the UK to come over get a job and then have an employer apply for their visa?

Novocastrian

I'd say there's no norm. Many risk averse people like myself wouldn't dream of switching countries without pre-arranged employment. Others risk it and many succeed (usually but not always having to take a "survival mode" jobbette for a couple of years). Others fail and go home perhaps wiser for the experience, perhaps not.

Many others take the route described by christmasoompa: they come over for a job hunting visit and if successful return to wait for an LMO/TWP (a few months in many cases).

Up to you.

helcat12

You cannot just "come over and get a job" as a foreigner. To be eligible to work you must first get some legal clearance to work, such as a work permit or PR.
In our experience, on most Canadian job applications one of the first questions is something like, "Are you legally entitled to work in Canada?".

Unless you can say yes to that, often it is the end of the road for you in that application, so getting a job offer is very hard.

If you have specific and specialised skills which the employer has found it impossible to find among the Canadian workforce, you may be able to persuade an employer to offer you a job but you still have to get government approval to work in Canada.

farjojo71

Your step dad & mum could maybe come over via the truck drivers route as my family did....it depends what province you were looking to move to.

cooki83

thank u guys for ur help, really appreciate it

the areas im thinking of are calgary or new brunswick, do you know if these would be areas my step-dad could get pr via truck drivers route?

Could someone just point me in the general direction of what my next step should be, for example should i complete the paperwork for a 12 month working visa or come to canada for a short holiday and hopefully find work? I just cant decide which route to take and its driving me nuts lol

cooki x

mandymoochops

How old are you guys cooki? Do you qualify for the 12 month working holiday visa?

ps Farjojo is in Alberta (about 2 hours south of Calgary so the truck drivers route should work for your parents ) First off lets get your head around YOUR visa options ...........

james.mc

If you want to stay together, as a family, it's looking like area you will land might be dictated by where your father can obtain PR via the truck drivers route. In general terms once you are all PR's if you wish to move to another province you will be able to do so.

So, for now, I would focus on where your father can 'land' as a PR, then formulate the rest of your collective family plan from that.