Toph86

Hello all,

I'm Chris, and I've been giving a lot of thought to moving out to Canada for a while now. I'm reading through as much of this forum and various websites as possible to work through the sometimes complex programmes, and ways of emigrating, but thought I'd introduce myself here.

I'm not sure if or how I could qualify on a points system - I'm 31, so miss out on IEC, but have a BA degree, and 10 years work experience in communications, marketing and design (mostly in the charitable sector), so it's not exactly a super skilled job like a doctor etc. I'm learning French as I figured that can't do any harm to any future applications (a good excuse to learn regardless!)

I'm at the beginning of the process so trying not to get down about potentially not being skilled enough to qualify, but saw that some people have entered Canada on a 6 month visitor's visa, then applied for a temporary work visa whilst out there.

Has anyone here done this? If so, is it something you'd recommend trying?

I imagine looking for work in this way would need to be a relentless, determined process, but I'm really hoping to be able to make Canada work - specifically Vancouver or Victoria.

Thanks guys, looking forward to using the forum!

Chris

R I C H

I did that 12+yrs ago (funnily enough from Gloucestershire too, with a career in digital media/marketing/comms): visitor, 3yr TWP, then permanent residence. The key difference was I gained my work permit to be self employed, so wasn't reliant on finding an employer.

I moved lock stock and barrel as a visitor, sold up in England and purchased property here. The big risk was potentially not being able to secure a TWP, then having assets here and no place to call home/earn a living.

christmasoompa

Hi, and welcome to BE.

You don't need to be in a 'super skilled' job - any skilled job counts, whether that's a doctor or a shop manager. CIC don't differentiate depending on the job you do. So first thing to do is check and see if you'd qualify as a Skilled Worker, you'll need to score over 67 points here - Six selection factors – Federal skilled workers

If so, then check your CRS score as you might be pleasantly surprised from what you've said, and score enough to get PR without a job offer. Ideally you'll want over about 420 as a rough guide, but over 400 might just do it if the points level drops a bit more than it has previously. Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) tool - Skilled immigrants (Express Entry)

Just guesstimate your scores for your English results for now to give you an idea, and bear in mind that for both of the above tests, 'basic' French is roughly A Level standard, so depending on how far you've got with it, you might not get any points if you're not at a conversational A Level standard yet.

If you're a UK citizen, you don't need a visitor visa, you are visa exempt and can visit for up to 6 months without one.

You can certainly try it if you do need a job offer. But tbh, it's much more common for people to just go for 2 or 3 weeks and then return to the UK whilst the LMIA/visa application goes through. The LMIA can take several months, so I don't really see the point in staying in Canada and waiting for it, but if you've got the funds to support yourself then you could do it that way.

HTH a bit, let us know the results of your points above and we can hopefully help you figure out if you do need a job offer to get a visa or not.

Toph86

Thanks both for the replies - lot's of helpful info! I'll have a look at the CRS tool and see what comes up.

Cheers,

Chris