KWH00

hi, i am 21years old, i live in england and would like to work in canada for a year as an industrial electrician.

what type of visa should i get? i have tried to ring people but no help.
will i need a working holiday visa or a skilled worker visa? and roughly the time scale it will take to obtain the visa.

many thanks, karl

Bob

Welcome to BE

No idea about your question though, probably better off asking in the Canadian immigration forums, but also worth having a look through the wiki.

KWH00

thanks for the welcome, i have been to canada house in london, and they just said everything i need to do is online. which is a pain in the ass. i just want to talk to some one

meauxna

Try reading in here first: http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=33
Then ask your specific question.

You may want to hire an immigration agent to guide you through.

christmasoompa

Hi Karl, and welcome to BE.

You can certainly get a working holiday visa (assuming you are a UK citizen of course), just Google 'Bunac' for more info. The program has closed for this year, but reopens in December and only takes approx 8 weeks before you get your visa so you could be in Canada in Feb 2011. That gives you a years open work permit for Canada, so is only temporary, but a great way to experience life in Canada for a year for those young enough (jealous, moi?!?).

Or you could apply as a Skilled Worker if you meet the points score and have at least one years experience as an electrician. The advantage of this is that it gives you Permanent Residency, so is a better option than Bunac if you think you will want to stay for longer than a year.

But for both visas, if you want to work in Canada as an electrician you'll need something called your 'Red Seal' (which is basically a credential which allows you to work in the industry there). Do a search of the Canada forum for more info, but to get it you'll need to prove you've done a certain number of hours as an electrician (off the top of my head I think it's 7000 or more), and that cannot include any apprenticeships - so I don't know if at 21 you'd meet that criteria.

Of course, if you go on Bunac or Permanent Residency, you don't have to work as an electrician if want to do something else or you can't get your Red Seal.

Good luck, hope that's helped a bit and head on over to the Canada forums if you need any other questions answered. They're (mostly!) a friendly bunch who will be happy to help.

Jerseygirl

Hello Karl...welcome to BE.

If you click here it will take you directly to the main page of our Canada forums. At the top of the page you will see a list of the Canada sub forums...the first one being Immigration. I see Christmasoopma has given you very good advice but if you have any further questions reqarding immigration to Canada please post in that forum. There are many knowledgeable people posting in there who will be able to advise you. For general information about Canada...take a look at the main Canada forum...the Maple Leaf is for general banter.

If you have any problems please contact a mod or admin...we will be pleased to help you.