Working abroad - Canada, specifically.
Discussion
Feeling very restless currently and fancy a change.
It may seem a little drastic, but I've got a few friends in Canada who've said it'd be good to come over and enjoy the country while I'm young.
Any experience/input? I know I'd need to get a Work Permit sorted out, which is fine, just wondered if it's a difficult process and if it's ultimately worth it... I'm no stranger to hard work and love experiencing anything that's out of the ordinary.
It may seem a little drastic, but I've got a few friends in Canada who've said it'd be good to come over and enjoy the country while I'm young.
Any experience/input? I know I'd need to get a Work Permit sorted out, which is fine, just wondered if it's a difficult process and if it's ultimately worth it... I'm no stranger to hard work and love experiencing anything that's out of the ordinary.
Working holiday visa does not take too long to apply for and process. Life out there is quite nice, the Canadians are a bit quirkey but their alright guys. I found beer and 'Liquor' expensive when out and about for some reason whilst I was living there. But if you have the oppertunite to go then I would say give it a shot a freind of mine immergrated out there just a couple of year ago and is now reaping the rewards of the hard work he put in when he first arrived, and now has his own buisness with blokes doing the hard work for him now.
Good Luck
Good Luck
Need to be realistic here - the type of visa you are likely to get is a working holiday visa and that allows you to be there for up to a year, because of that you aren't likely to get a job that is anything but seasonal, so working in a ski resort, for example, is quite possible for a few months but doing any sort of permanent job isn't really going to happen.
You alternative is to apply for an immigrant visa, that may be possible but it takes a long time and depends on your skills and whether they are in demand in Canada.
Either way your starting point is to research and understand that visas available and what they will allow you to do.
You alternative is to apply for an immigrant visa, that may be possible but it takes a long time and depends on your skills and whether they are in demand in Canada.
Either way your starting point is to research and understand that visas available and what they will allow you to do.
I worked in Canada on a holiday visa many years ago. Ended up working in a logging plant in British Columbia. Mind-numbing work and being English, my knowledge of the logging industry was poor and I hated the job but had a great time there nonetheless.
Canada is a great country, and the Canadians are more similar to us Brits than the Yanks in outlook I think. Fantastic place to work and lots of opportunity, I'd strongly recommend you go if you get the chance.
Just be mindful that until you have been on the prairies in the winter, "snow" and "cold" are mere words that you cannot fully grasp the meaning of until you've been there.
Canada is a great country, and the Canadians are more similar to us Brits than the Yanks in outlook I think. Fantastic place to work and lots of opportunity, I'd strongly recommend you go if you get the chance.
Just be mindful that until you have been on the prairies in the winter, "snow" and "cold" are mere words that you cannot fully grasp the meaning of until you've been there.
I am weighing up the visas very carefully, my potential shoe in the door is a friend who's referred me to his company. I've been in touch with one of the recruitment guys personally, and they're interested enough to ask for a CV and potential start date. My vague understanding is that a written job offer really helps in scoring any visa, as I found out when scouring the Canadian equivalent of Direct.gov the other night.
I'm fully prepared for the cold weather, I work outdoors anyway... and have been known to work in minus temperatures whilst wearing shorts and a T-shirt!
I'm fully prepared for the cold weather, I work outdoors anyway... and have been known to work in minus temperatures whilst wearing shorts and a T-shirt!
Having a job offer certainly helps but there is a lot more to it than that. To start with the job needs to be one that is managerial, professional, technical or skilled in which Canada has a shortage of people. Then you need to qualify with enough points - you get points for education, experience etc. Then they need to be currently taking new applications which, I believe, currently they are not.
Be very wary who you talk to on visas, there is an industry of people who take your money to help you through the process and they will not always be scrupulous in telling you when you have no chance.
Essentially if you want to go for a long working holiday then you should be fine. If you are highly educated in a skilled profession or trade you stand a decent chance, if you are an ordinary bloke doing an ordinary sort of job then your chances are pretty limited.
Be very wary who you talk to on visas, there is an industry of people who take your money to help you through the process and they will not always be scrupulous in telling you when you have no chance.
Essentially if you want to go for a long working holiday then you should be fine. If you are highly educated in a skilled profession or trade you stand a decent chance, if you are an ordinary bloke doing an ordinary sort of job then your chances are pretty limited.
I'm a civil engineer with decent experience applying as a pipe layer... apparently not a very sought-after job due to being outdoors 24/7 and needing a lot of physical input!
The only thing that stands in the way is my qualifications not being in my field of work.
I'm really only after being there a year or so, so don't need something heavy-duty. I'll see how things go. Thanks for the input- further visa advice would be appreciated. Long shot- would it be worth getting in touch with an embassy in the region I want to go to?
The only thing that stands in the way is my qualifications not being in my field of work.
I'm really only after being there a year or so, so don't need something heavy-duty. I'll see how things go. Thanks for the input- further visa advice would be appreciated. Long shot- would it be worth getting in touch with an embassy in the region I want to go to?
sc4589 said:
I
The only thing that stands in the way is my qualifications not being in my field of work.
I think you might suffer from the fact that they aren't accepting new applications under the skilled workers route, even if you qualify, and the federal skilled trades program is both capped at 3,000 applications and is only for certain trades that doesn't obviously include pipe layers.The only thing that stands in the way is my qualifications not being in my field of work.
To be honest if you aren't looking to move there for ever focus on the working holiday route, it's a whole lot easier.
WhereamI said:
sc4589 said:
I
The only thing that stands in the way is my qualifications not being in my field of work.
I think you might suffer from the fact that they aren't accepting new applications under the skilled workers route, even if you qualify, and the federal skilled trades program is both capped at 3,000 applications and is only for certain trades that doesn't obviously include pipe layers.The only thing that stands in the way is my qualifications not being in my field of work.
To be honest if you aren't looking to move there for ever focus on the working holiday route, it's a whole lot easier.
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