littletwinkle46

Hi

Sorry if im just asking a question thats been asked a thousand times.
i have been looking into emigrating to Canada for a number of years. I am now finished uni etc and gained work experience. I am hopefully sitting an exam in May 08 to gain registration in ontario as an MRT.
I had previously looked down the skilled worker immigrant route but now im wondering if it would be easier to gain a temp work visa following a job offer. Then apply for immigration once im there. My job is listed on the occupation under pressure group so im hoping this will be relatively easy. Also i read somewhere when you apply for a work permit you automatically apply for a TRV at the same time. is this the case?

Finally what is the current waiting time for work visa's. I cant imagine many employers would keep a job offer open for months, do they?

kind regards

Karen

Judy in Calgary

I had to do a Google search to find out what an MRT was (medical radiation technologist?).

If the employer is desperate enough, which is the case when it comes to occupations under pressure, the employer will wait the few months that it takes for a work permit to come through.

If you're a British citizen, you don't need a temporary residence visa.

If you come over to Canada on a temporary work permit, it should be fairly easy for you to secure a permanent job offer on which Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) would issue a favourable opinion. This is called an Arranged Employment Opinion (AEO).

If you submit an application for permanent residence as a skilled worker with AEO, you get priority over regular PR applicants. Reports on this forum suggest that PR applications with AEO are being processed in under a year, versus the 5+ years that it's taking for standard PR applications.

littletwinkle46

Thanks very much for your reply, sounds like a good option for me to go for the work visa then and then apply once im there. Sorry for the abbreviations, think it sounds much nicer than radiographer!!

caththecanuck

Hi there,
we applied for permanent residence via the skilled worker route in July '06 ( i am a nurse) I had a job secured with a hospital, they got all the HRDSC requirements and I got LMO, therefore it should have made my skilled worker PR come quicker....
We then got a letter from High comission in London asking me to apply for a work visa and get over here asap (this was in the sept '06) so I did - got my work visa within 6 weeks after medicals etc. and we arrived in Canada in december '06.
We have just received our lovely PR visas this am so we are off to Buffalo to land soon. All in all around a year... not bad.. and we have been living here for 8 months too, enjoyed the summer etc!!!! (no floods here)

I guess it depends on what your time frame is don't know about processing times in Canada as opposed to London but ours seemed to work out pretty well, well we are very pleased. and it made no odds about getting paperwork etc to them, my OH had medical here and was just as quick here (in fact quicker!!!)

It may go in your favour to apply for a job and get the LMO then you will be in the posession of a work visa within 8 weeks I would guess.

Best of luck to you.... where are you headed?
And hopefully welcome to the canadian health service, which is just as good as Britain's if not slightly better...

littletwinkle46

Hi Cath,

thanks for the reply, my sisters a nurse, did you have to sit exams too? I m trying to get her and her fiance to come too!
looking at GTA fancy a big hospital to start, whereabouts are you?
got lots of family spread out from gueplh to Brooklin so somewhere in the middle. Ill be staying with them initially anyway in scarborough.
just booked flights to come visit in Oct, a bargain at £200! cant wait.
are the wages comparable to here, what ive seen so far they are if not slightly better

Karen

caththecanuck

Hi Karen,
I am in Oakville which is a little hospital so I would advise you to go bigger if that is what you know - I came here and have found it slightly backward because it is so small, the larger downtown hospitals are more like the british ones
We live in Oakville so it is very easy to get to etc. it is a bit of a commute into T.O from here but still might pursue it in the future....
I got a relocation bonus from the hospital though so it is always worth asking for some sort of incentive don't be shy they all negotiate except unionised hospitals here, I was put on the same pay as I was on and they honoured my 9 years of experience which was pretty cool.
The pay is roughly the same except you get paid evey two weeks (bonus)and the cost of living we find is lower than the U.K. so it seems like you earn more.... Nurses (iam not sure about radiographers) are well paid in comparison to other jobs here so there isn't loads of moaning going on....

However if you fancy a nice community hospital I can't recommend Oakville high enough.... small and friendly and good money without all the stress - great!!!!

Any other questions about the health service or moving in general feel free to contact me no problems.... or your sis if she has any nursing questions....
Come on over it is great!!!!
Yep I had to sit the exam but it was fine and it is the exam they sit to qualify.... piece of cake!!!!

Hope it all goes well.....
cath x

P.s there are loads of scots where I work.......it is great!!!

littletwinkle46

Hi Cath again,

Its great to talk to someone who has a similar job type. I was just wondering how you actually applied for jobs, did you wait till youd passed the exam then reply to adverts? I was thinking i would wait for registration then basically write to as many departments as i can, see who wants me I have seen job adverts aswell though, would feel a bit cheeky asking for relocation bonus, how do you put that a nice way?

thanks
Karen

caththecanuck

Hi Karen,
I got job first then started the whole HRDSC thing going then got my exam passed, registration didn't happen til i got here as you have to have a police check in Canada - crazy as I had only been here for 3 weeks....still you have to do these things once you are here as you need to show your valid work permit to gain registration too... you obviously only get that on entry to Canada not before...
Sounds complicated and was slightly frustrating but all worked out in the end ... eventually after some stress!!!!!
I would go ahead and look for jobs just tell them the situation chances are they have already helped someone through the immigration process already..
as far as negotiating goes you can only really do that at a non-union hospital but just go in and say are there any relocation bonus available just ask they won't mind.... and they need you!!!
Best of luck any other queries just ask!!!!!!
Cath

littletwinkle46

oh i see i was planning on sending off my registration application tomorrow, way before applying for work permit?
Alot of the job adverts state i must b registered to apply.

maybe its worth emailing the scoiety of radiographers equivalent and ask before i send.

eek, its confusing!!

caththecanuck

The whole process is confusing, immigration states you must have a job to get HRDSC approval and a work permit, but you need registration to gain job!!!

I must have gone mental about 50,000 times and screamed so loudly, but they both need to be done, if you get a job it will be based on the fact that you GET your registration, so go ahead apply and tell them you have applied for your registration but you need a job offer, they then made me a job offer in writing based on the fact that I gained registration and then they applied to the HRDSC which took about 3 weeks to come back, as that is what you will get your work permit on (based on the need for radiographers in Canada) that is what I did, as I say you won't be the first!!!
Don't worry too much about which to do first, do both and it will all work out.

Once we got here (we had already applied for our skilled worker visas prior to this, ) the CIC contacted me and I had to get a letter saying that my job would be a permanent one from my employer then we got our visas after my OH medicals a few months later....

littletwinkle46

sorry hrsdc? so many abbrevations! going to make a list.
Think your right, ill just keep going with the exam stuff and hopefully a job will be offered based on getting a work permit.

ill keep you posted
supposed to be working right now hehe keep looking up jobs and houses

caththecanuck

Work schmork!!!

HRSDC or something like that is the human resources department of canada or some such thing.... basically your job goes to them and they say that they can't fill the job with a canadian (i.e you aren't taking a canadian's job basically) and that they need you to come into the country based on need. Something like that in my simple terms, someone is bound to put it in better terms, but you get the gist!!!

Have you finished all your training etc.? Where are you working now?

littletwinkle46

yeah finished two years,
just got my iv training and promoted to senior so think its a good time to go.
Im at a quite comunity hospital today, hence the skiving.
Studied in Aberdeen, now live in Ayr, Scotland.
I looked up all the job stuff and read somewhere caus my jobs on the shortage list they dont have to advertise for a year before me taking it, just 7 days or something. Always a bonus. my aunt works in ct in cambridge, is that near you?

caththecanuck

Little way away from us we are about 30 mins from toronto... nice .... close enough to go out at night if we want... but far enough away to have a nice garden and quiet evenings too.... we love it... best of both worlds!!!!

Oakville hospital soundslike the one you work at sleepy at times but very busy for the rest!!! all or nothing!!!!

You sound as if you have researched it well and having family here I think would be more helpful,(we have some very distant rellies in hubby's side) but we have been fine, sometimes homesick but mostly ok and loving it!!!!