db5ced

Hi,

I apologise in advance as I am sure many people will have posted similar questions to what I am about to ask but I had a quick scan through and couldn't find what I wanted to know.

I have been looking at various websites on immigration to Canada but have been unable to find the information I require.

Firstly, my situation is that I am 34 years old, have a degree BA(Hons) IT Education and having worked as a teacher and college lecturer for 7 years am now working in the IT industry as a Technical Author. I have a wife, 33 years old, no degree and two children aged 11 and 10.

I have looked into working abroad in the past and had interviews in Germany and Singapore but for various reasons didn't end up moving.

Circumstances have changed, wife was very close to her granddad who passed away a year ago, and like many British citizens are disappointed with the recent vote to leave the EU.

Canada is a country that interests me and my family for reasons I will not bore you with but I have the following questions.

1. Is it better to apply for jobs and then sort out the immigration stuff or go through the immigration procedure first and then try and find a job. I wouldn't want to move until I had a job lined up as I have my family to support. My wife currently works in a Post Office, would she be able to pick up similar over the counter work in Canada?

2. I am unable to check if I am eligible through the points system as it asks about a language test that I have not had. Is this free and can it be done online and does it have to be done before I can work out if I am eligible?

3. I am not set on any particular place although the East coast is probably more appealing at this time as it is less time to travel if we or family want to visit each other back in the UK. I have looked at Nova Scotia and like what I have seen but I am not set on anywhere. Again on the immigration questions it asks for a preferred province, does it matter if I put Nova Scotia down but am not committed to this idea?

4. Finally, is there anything else I should be taking into account at this stage that perhaps I am missing?

Thanks for any help offered.

christmasoompa

Hi, and welcome to BE.

It's sort of up to you really - most people don't qualify for a visa without a job offer anyway, but if you're one of the lucky ones that does, then it would usually be much better to get Permanent Residency now, and then try applying for jobs. That way you're not tied to one employer (like you would be on a work permit), you're free to retire, set up your own business, study etc, and you are work authorised so will usually find it much easier to find employer than if you needed sponsorship. As you've got a family, and PR would be much more secure, that's the route I would go down if I were you (and if you do definitely qualify for PR without a job offer).

You should just guess your points score. As a native English speaker, you would be pretty safe guessing the maximum points, although you'd still need to study the test just to make sure you're familiar with the format etc.

It costs around £180-200. Your wife might need to do it as well if you need her points, so figure about £360-400 for both of you. You can't do it online, you can find your nearest test centre on the IELTS website though.

No, it doesn't matter. Do be aware though that although NS is quicker to get to from the UK, flights are often far more due to lack of competition, and don't fly as often as to the major cities.

There's a lot to take in to consideration, but without knowing all that you've done it's hard to say. Have you visited Canada before? That would be essential before spending tens of thousand on moving your family there I'd say. If you have, then check your points and make sure you're (a) scoring enough as a FSW to be eligible to enter the pool of applicants under Express Entry; and (b) score at least 450-480 on the CRS so that you're in with a chance of being invited to apply for PR once in that pool.

There's loads of good info in the Wiki about all sorts of stuff, so whether it's schooling in Canada, banking, lack of annual leave, healthcare etc you can find info there.

HTH a bit, best of luck.