Working in Canada?

dandm

yeah it looks like Usit are the only way, usit are great as I used them to come over here, really great help, its just u have to be in Ireland to apply for the Canada programme, and as far as I know there would be a bit of a wait as well. has anyone ever done it any other way?

kerchow

Hey, my friend and I are thinking about jacking in the fun life here and heading to Canada for a bit. What is the job situ like in Toronto at the moment? Anyone out there have any info on the Early Childhood Education sector over there??? Finance sector, anyone any idea what that's like over there? thanks for any help:)

Camone

I'm looking to go over to Vancouver asap but am only starting to look into Visas etc now. I know that you can apply in December for Visas next yr but I am looking to get over there much sooner than that. What are my options? I have a finance degree from college - would it be easier to get a visa if i got a job in financial services?

lcrcboy

ya bud im the same only looking into visas now is it possible to go at this stage before next year???

Mimikyu

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Pizzle79

Hey Folks

Just booked my flights and insurance today ,got em pretty cheap too,
780eur for both flights(Airtransat) to Van and insurance with FYI, so now just waiting on visa.Just wondering has anyone applied for many Finance jobs( fund accounting, asset management) Heading over in Sept , prob gonna stay longer than 1 year , gonna apply for legal status once im over cause i am in a long term relationship with a Canadian girl and if we can prove this , i am entitled to live and work there legally. Anyone else have any experience doing this , should the fact that i am staying in one spot longer make it easier to find employment.

Mimikyu

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lcrcboy

captian morgan just wondering did you have to get your garda certs before you applyed for the visa or after??

Mimikyu

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Mariemar***

It does depend where you are too I'd guess - I got mine in two days!

Shelly_gui

Hi
Myself and a friend are travelling to Vancouver Dec 28th. Can anyone one give me tips on finding accommodation? And what would you expect to pay for a decent apt. And what’s this about paying the first and last rent? Have you to pay the year up front, sign a contract etc?? I have a few acquaintances over there, so can crash with them for a bit, do you think I’d be able to organise work from here using their address??? I have bar work, waitressing, retail & accountancy experience,, so I’m hoping i won’t find it too hard to find a job. Also – last question – I know i need money going out there – I just don’t know how much! To cover me for a few months – how much would cover me in case i don’t find work:D:P:eek::cool:

Edit: Size.

RebelGirrrl

Would you be able to go there with a B.Comm degree? Has anyone done it?

Grainne101

Just wondering if the jobs situation has improved at all around Vancouver now? My friend and I have applied for our Garda certs but we won't book visas until they come through as the closing date to have all docs in for is Sept 30th. We'll be staying with relatives for a while so should be too tough for the first while. Hoping to find bar work as have lots of experience. Fingers crossed!!!!!

6 iron

paddycanada wrote: »

I am from Calgary and I just got back to Ireland from a trip there. There are still jobs going, although harder to find, but Alberta is the place to be. Construction and oil are two main drivers of the economy. Compared to hear, Canadians don't understand the definition of recession, and most over there seem to think that Canada is coming out of it. Anyone need any other help let me know.

Hey Paddy,

Going to canada in late dec 2009, been out of work in ireland for nearly most of the year, been doing small part time bits not full time that I was used to.

Have a degree in civil eng, and 4 years experience, but just in residential stuff really. Going to start in toronto and see can i pick up any sort of job not fussy, and stay till end of april perhaps, if that doesnt work will go to Alberta maybe.

U say construction is one of main drivers of economy, is calgary/edmonton good to find work in construction or any kind of work, and what is price of living like also?

mac123

Pizzle79 wrote: »

Hey Folks

Just booked my flights and insurance today ,got em pretty cheap too,
780eur for both flights(Airtransat) to Van and insurance with FYI, so now just waiting on visa.Just wondering has anyone applied for many Finance jobs( fund accounting, asset management) Heading over in Sept , prob gonna stay longer than 1 year , gonna apply for legal status once im over cause i am in a long term relationship with a Canadian girl and if we can prove this , i am entitled to live and work there legally. Anyone else have any experience doing this , should the fact that i am staying in one spot longer make it easier to find employment.

If your a qualified accountant you should get work fairly easily, im looking for work in finance too but i just qualified with my bcomm so im struggling a bit due to a lack of experience but i know accountants are in demand.
you will have to be living with your girlfriend for her to sponsor you, but its a fairly easy process as far as i know...i know someone who has done it and got permanent resident status.

colin29

Pizzle79 wrote: »

gonna apply for legal status once im over cause i am in a long term relationship with a Canadian girl and if we can prove this , i am entitled to live and work there legally. Anyone else have any experience doing this , should the fact that i am staying in one spot longer make it easier to find employment.

From what I gather you are going down the common law sponsorship route to get permanent residency status, first off you have to be living with your partner for at least a year and you will need to provide all documents pertaining to this, bills, rental agreements, photos, lots of photos from throughout your relationship, letters to each other, letters from friends and family stating that they believe you to be in a real long term relationship.
Also take note that unfortunately there is a very low success rate for common law sponsorships and it could take years to find out if you're approved or denied.
Getting married isn't even a guarantee, I married a Canadian whom I knew for two years previous, after we got married we moved back to Ireland where we lived for two years before applying for my permanent residency, the whole process took 4 months including sending off and receiving back my passport with visa.
Sorry if I sound pessimistic but I'm just telling you how it is.

Priapus

colin29 wrote: »

the whole process took 4 months including sending off and receiving back my passport with visa.
.

Hey Colin! This is interesting. I checked it out on the Canadian embassy website and I seem to be eligible for Permanent residency, based on the test of the criteria they have on their site - as in I scored over the required 67 points on the test. Whether I'd get it or not is another issue. You say the process only took 4 months. I actually envisaged it being longer. Wonder was it because your GF is from there.

How was the process anyway, from what I've heard they require quite a bit of information and paper work (which I can understand). Any idea if it's easier to get a job over there if you have perm visa?

Anyone else that done the perm visa route?

Thanks

colin29

Priapus wrote: »

Hey Colin! This is interesting. I checked it out on the Canadian embassy website and I seem to be eligible for Permanent residency, based on the test of the criteria they have on their site - as in I scored over the required 67 points on the test. Whether I'd get it or not is another issue. You say the process only took 4 months. I actually envisaged it being longer. Wonder was it because your GF is from there.

How was the process anyway, from what I've heard they require quite a bit of information and paper work (which I can understand). Any idea if it's easier to get a job over there if you have perm visa?

Anyone else that done the perm visa route?

Thanks

Hey Priapus,

If you get sponsored by a spouse while living outside of Canada the process can go quite fast, if you go through the skilled worker route then be prepared to wait, I think it can take up to 5 years and you won't know whether or not you've been approved until towards the end of the process, obviously if you get a job in Canada and the company sponsor you then you could get it even quicker.
Regarding the test they have on their website, don't assume that because you got 67 (it used to be alot higher and they can change it at any time) on that that you will be successful with your application, I don't think that test is very good, I heard from people who used that, got over the required points and still got declined, it's really up to an immigration officer and the officer might decide that for any reason you should not be successful. Also don't put French down as a language you can speak unless you can speak it, secondary school level of French is not good enough, also if you have close family living here it will help
There is a lot of paper work required for you application, criminal history checks from every country you've lived in for six months or more, if you have a criminal conviction from the last ten years it will pose a problem, work history, medical tests, x-rays, if you have any serious medical conditions you will have problems, some people use lawyers and immigration companies to help with all this but is a waste of money as you have to still do all the paper work and get all the info yourself, they just tell you if you included everything or not.
If you become a permanent resident then you have the same rights as a citizen and you can work here with no problems, when you have lived for three out of four years consecutively you can apply for citizenship, I was recently laid off my job as a cabinet maker and am still looking for a job but that's not to say that there are no jobs I'm just looking for something very specific.
Sorry for the long winded response but hope it helps.

Good luck

Colin

Priapus

colin29 wrote: »

Hey Priapus,

don't assume that because you got 67

Also don't put French down as a language you can speak unless you can speak it,

There is a lot of paper work required for you application, criminal history checks from every country you've lived in for six months or more,

Sorry for the long winded response but hope it helps.

Hey Colin.

Thanks for the details, I was hoping to get some insight like this. Yeah I was thinking, just cause I got over 67 on that online test...well it doesn't really mean much. And I was thinking if I did apply I'd probably put down basic French, without actually having any at all. Figured I'd learn about if I got called to an interview. Naiive idea I guess now.

That amount of paper work is scary. Criminal background checks for every country I lived in for over 6 months....that would be a pain as it would be relevant for 2 very bureaucratic countries.

I was speaking to a bloke recently who was going over. He got visas for him and his wife and two kids. I think he told me it took....either 2 or 3 years forget exactly. I have no family over there, so I wonder would that be a negative.

I am (was) however in the banking industry, so not sure how that industry is doing over there at the moment Chinese whispers around seems to indicate there is demand for banking staff over there in Canada. But having read up on this forum, I ain't so sure.

Anyways - cheers for the advice. Appreciate it.

colin29

Priapus wrote: »

Hey Colin.

And I was thinking if I did apply I'd probably put down basic French, without actually having any at all. Figured I'd learn about if I got called to an interview. Naiive idea I guess now.

That amount of paper work is scary. Criminal background checks for every country I lived in for over 6 months....that would be a pain as it would be relevant for 2 very bureaucratic countries.

I have no family over there, so I wonder would that be a negative.

I am (was) however in the banking industry, so not sure how that industry is doing over there at the moment Chinese whispers around seems to indicate there is demand for banking staff over there in Canada. But having read up on this forum, I ain't so sure.

Anyways - cheers for the advice. Appreciate it.

Hey Priapus,
Don't put French down, even basic, I think you may need to provide results from a test along with your initial application, basic French to them is still a fairly good level of French, they also request results form an English test to prove you can speak it but I just provided a letter stating that I come from a country that uses English as its working language,you may think this is strange but when I arrived in Canada I applied for a course at a local Institute of Technology (BCIT) and they made me take an English test to gain entry, my Leaving cert results where in Irish and they wouldn't believe that I spoke English even though I was speaking to them on the phone, what was funny was that the person I was dealing with was from India and didn't have a decent level of English herself.
Regarding the criminal history, if the countries won't provide them then provide a print out of your request and their response, I did that for one country and there was no problem.
Having no family in Canada will not hurt your application it just gets you more points if you do and they feel that you will be able to assimilate easier.
If you have in demand skills you should have no problem being accepted into Canada, also do come to Canada on the one year Usit work visa as that will also help your application, any work experience is better than none and it will also earn you points towards your application.

All the best

L31mr0d

Just nearing the end of this application process myself. colin29 is correct, the process is really complicated. I'm married to a Canadian and all it really amounts to is an additional few points on the form.

We had to provide letters, photos, contact details from friends and family...

There where so many forms, and with the risk of having the forms thrown out and our fee lost if we made a mistake that we went through this agency (that we met at one of the expos on working in Canada at the RDS)

http://www.willisbrazolot.com/

5 months after meeting with them in Dublin, and a few revisions of the forms we had filled in (they'd vet them and then send us them back with requested alterations) we are pretty much good to go. They also help you with job searching in the city you are moving to and will also sort out your full citizenship with you if you stay in the country for 3 years. Overall they took a huge weight of our shoulders. I doubt we'd of been anywhere near this close to being ready to go if it wasn't for them handling all the red tape.

What I find so funny though, is that literally all it takes for my wife to stay and work in Ireland is to go into the city, show our marriage cert and she gets a stamp in her passport :rolleyes:

davey boy

Hello. Not sure if I should have posted somewhere else, but looks like I will be getting a 1 year visa for Canada through usit. Hoping to go to Vancouver.

I will have to leave before the 31 Jan 2010 because it is a 09 cancellation. I would prefer to leave at the end of January but do people think this would be too late to find accomodation with the olympics about to start. Would I be better off leaving Ireland in early January to find a place to stay? Advice from people living in Vancouver at the moment would be appreciated.

Táck

im in vancouver at the moment

accomodation is a difficult one right now. im currently living in a place near main and fraser, and have to be out in January as the landlord is renting out the whole house to an olympic visitor for about 4 times the rent we pay. and a lot of places are doing the same.

it depends on your own situation really. i mean you could get a place which isnt really close to any of the main streets or downtown, but thats not really ideal but for a short period of time then it may suit you better.

some of the popular areas imo are kitsilano, main, commercial, broadway, 4th etc etc. when looking up places remember that downtown is like the starting point and then it goes 1st avenue, 2nd avenue, 3rd, 4th, all the way 64th i think. we're near 26th now, which is kind of, again only imo, the end of the line for anyhting going on. i mean there is more after 26th but it gets pretty grim and boring. 64th is no mans land. from 26th it still takes about 20mins on the bus to get downtown.

kits is really cool, but as someone said to me about it, too many yoga classes. in january we are moving to a place on main street i think. i've fallen in love with main street, its better then kits imo. more veggy stores, organic butchers, helens diner does a mean bowl of porridge and nylas African, North African, Ethiopian restraunt which is a reggae / beatboxing club by night.

get onto craigslist and have a good look around. then get onto google maps and look for yourself.

pm me if you need any other info at all or throw it up here

davey boy

Thanks for the quick reply.

I think I will try and get something further out for the short term. Will be looking for cheaper accomodation at the start anyway. There seems to be a lot on craigslist at the moment anyway so hopefully I will get something in January.

I think I may end up working in a factory in Burnaby. They have a few jobs on craigslist that I would have experience in, but pay would not be great. Any opinions on this area to live in or should I plan to commute from a better area?

Thanks

Táck

well burnaby is considered a different city to vancouver...so that might indicate there closeness!

dceire

Does anyone know when the USIT Under 35's visa's are out for 2010?

pk32

maggz wrote: »

all the 1 year visas are gone for 2009, and the waiting list has shut down. i would advise saving some money and applying for a 2010 visa - this year they opened in december, so snap one up quickly.

defo recommend canada - saying that things have slowed down work wise, so have some savings, as you might be waiting a month or 2 to find something

just wonderin ar u still there and is it busy,,vim headin to toronto and have you any idea on best places for share accomadation

sprinkles

dceire wrote: »

Does anyone know when the USIT Under 35's visa's are out for 2010?

next week I think. The Usit website is probably the best place to look

cibies

Hi everyone. I'm a relatively newbie here. I am thinking of heading to Canada in 2011. I am a Mechanical Engineer with over 3 years experience working in heavy plant engineering. Are there any other similiar engineers on here? Would ye be able to tell me what the job prospects are like? To be honest if I couldn't get a mechanical engineering job I would go for anything really. Any help much appreciated. Thanks

[Jackass]

L31mr0d wrote: »

Just nearing the end of this application process myself. colin29 is correct, the process is really complicated. I'm married to a Canadian and all it really amounts to is an additional few points on the form.

We had to provide letters, photos, contact details from friends and family...

There where so many forms, and with the risk of having the forms thrown out and our fee lost if we made a mistake that we went through this agency (that we met at one of the expos on working in Canada at the RDS)

http://www.willisbrazolot.com/

5 months after meeting with them in Dublin, and a few revisions of the forms we had filled in (they'd vet them and then send us them back with requested alterations) we are pretty much good to go. They also help you with job searching in the city you are moving to and will also sort out your full citizenship with you if you stay in the country for 3 years. Overall they took a huge weight of our shoulders. I doubt we'd of been anywhere near this close to being ready to go if it wasn't for them handling all the red tape.

What I find so funny though, is that literally all it takes for my wife to stay and work in Ireland is to go into the city, show our marriage cert and she gets a stamp in her passport :rolleyes:

Hi Leimrod,

Do you mind me asking how much they charged for this service? I hear immigration lawyers etc., can be very expensive, but it's something I've been thinking about myself...