Canada 2010-2011?

fanzhiyidan

somedeed wrote: »

I booked a one-way flight, perfectly acceptable but you have to have $3500 Canadian on you when arrive at immigration to prove you can provide for yourself and the Canadian government won't have to pay to send you home.

Do you need it in cold hard cash money? or proof of a bank account or travellers cheques (do they still exist?)

fanzhiyidan

Naked Lepper wrote: »

how much was ur one way flight?

one way flights for €150 with BA in january.

timetogo

fanzhiyidan wrote: »

one way flights for €150 with BA in january.

Would you be able to post up your criteria
(dates / from / to etc.)

I'm pricing around that time too so €150 would be great. But when I'm looking on britishairways.com I'm getting nothing like €150.
Actually every one way flight for me from Dub - Montreal in Jan is €1082. Every one way from London - Montreal is €717

RATM

For anyone looking for a cheap way into Canada you can get a bus from Buffalo in the US to Toronto for around $12-15. I think Niagara Falls is along the way too.

from Megabus.com

Departs 3:05 AM Buffalo, Downtown Terminal
Arrives 5:20 AM Toronto, Toronto Coach Terminal
2hrs 15mins

1 seat = $11.00
View

Departs 5:00 AM Buffalo, Downtown Terminal
Arrives 7:15 AM Toronto, Toronto Coach Terminal
2hrs 15mins

1 seat = $14.00
View

Departs 5:30 AM Buffalo, Downtown Terminal
Arrives 7:45 AM Toronto, Toronto Coach Terminal
2hrs 15mins

1 seat = $20.00
View

Captain Pillowcase

Hey all,
I have been in Vancouver for a month now and I am not going to lie it's expensive here. Chicken costs a bomb! Eat up on the white meat before you get here, coz you may not be eating it too often here =]
Rent is a lot and just day to day money will just go. Don't get me wrong Vancouver is awesome but I wish I had taken more time to save more money before getting here but I am glad I came.
I have just managed to find work and somewhere to live. Rent is high but I am lucky we managed to find somewhere that has util inc and is fully furnished but i love Vancouver, the place is amazing. But forewarned and all.
There are fireworks shows going on for the next 2 weeks in the English Bay area, free movies in Stanley Park and Hastings Golf Course (not the dodge end!) lots to do lots to see and it's such a mix of lots of people from different places. The weather here has been great the past 2 weeks, lovely blue skies, very warm, high 20's and humid the snow has just started to disappear off the mountains.
If you like coffee you are in for a real treat, coffee galore!:)

L31mr0d

Been in Southern BC for a few months now. It is expensive here but I always reason; "you get what you pay for"... there's a reason BC's slogan is "The best place on earth"

I'm currently in Squamish. It's close to the city of Vancover (45 minutes) and also close to Whistler without having to pay the ridiculous prices to live there.

Your euro won't go as far as it used to due to the exchange, which really hasn't been strong since the middle of last year.

I'm getting into hiking and scrambling here in a big way and hope to start bagging some of the summits in the region soon. If you are in and around Vancouver and want to meet up with people to get out and hike into the mountains then join the forum at clubtread.com. They arrange meetups and give trail conditions so you can know if you'll be fighting off the black flies or wading through feet of snow.

This is me out at the upper Joffre lake last week to camp for 2 nights.

Mirthx

After trying for days to call the Canadian High Commission office in London and never getting through, I sent this email on Monday, July 12:

To: LDN (IMMIGRATION)
London-im-enquiry@international.gc.ca
Subject: Question about Ireland USIT's requirement to book flight to Canada before receiving work visa?


** Can USIT force a Working Holiday Visa applicant to book his flight to Canada and travel medical insurance BEFORE his visa is approved by the Canadian High Commission? **

I am a Canadian citizen. My boyfriend [Mr. X] applied through Ireland's USIT office for an Under 35 Working Holiday Visa to Canada. His application was approved by USIT and forwarded to the Canadian High Commission in London on July 2, 2010. He was told it would be 6-8 weeks before he'd receive his work visa.

In the meantime, USIT is pressuring [Mr. X] to book his flight and buy travel medical insurance. One email from USIT says that "owing to recent changes in requirements regarding flight arrival information, you must reserve your flight to Canada by the 23rd July 2010. USIT are required to provide the arrival information of each participant to our Canadian Sponsors of the Programme, which must be done by the above date." Another says "You will need to provide us with evidence of your [travel medical insurance] policy by the 23rd July."

** Can USIT force [Mr. X] to book his flight to Canada and travel medical insurance before his visa is approved by the Canadian High Commission? **

In addition, we understand that USIT intends to charge [Mr. X] 40 Euro if he doesn't book his flight and travel insurance through them.

** Must [Mr. X] pay USIT a fee if he books his flight elsewhere? **

Thank you for your prompt reply,
XXX

Here's the reply I got two days later, on Wed July 14:

Sir/Madam,

Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. We will forward your
complaint on to the relevant service provider for a response. Once a
response has been received we will inform you of the outcome.

Sincerely,
JHW
Youth Mobility Programme Assistant, UK & Ireland
Political Affairs and Public Diplomacy
High Commission of Canada
38 Grosvenor Street
London W1K 4AA
United Kingdom

Government of Canada
Fax No: 0207 258-6549
Web site: www.unitedkingdom.gc.ca

---

Later that same day, my boyfriend got a phone call from Elaine (?), the head of USIT's office in Dublin, to let him know that he *didn't* have to book by July 23rd after all, there would be no 40 Euro fee if he booked elsewhere because "the rules have recently changed," and he can wait until he gets his work visa approved before booking anything with anyone. (Her excuse was that the Canadian High Commission needs to know if there are 4 or 40 people coming in a given month.)

So I suggest everyone email the Canadian High Commission to complain about USIT's unethical business practices. It'll get USIT off your back, and more importantly, it'll get them in trouble for pulling this kind of crap!

Just to repeat: USIT's arbitrary flight booking/travel insurance deadline is BOGUS, they can't pressure you to book through them, and they can't make you pay a fee if you book elsewhere.

The Canadian High Commission's email address is:
London-im-enquiry@international.gc.ca

Good luck!

timetogo

Mirthx wrote: »

Just to repeat: USIT's arbitrary flight booking/travel insurance deadline is BOGUS, they can't pressure you to book through them, and they can't make you pay a fee if you book elsewhere. luck!

I'm in the process of getting my visa sorted through USIT. I've had little hassle. They told me I could buy my flights and insurance anywhere.

The lady I was talking to said she could quote me for the stuff but that I could buy them elsewhere. She just said they needed the details of the flights & insurance. No mention of fees. I'll post the costs when I get them. I'll be researching that next week. That'll be a fun day.

alcon1984

L31mr0d wrote: »

Been in Southern BC for a few months now. It is expensive here but I always reason; "you get what you pay for"... there's a reason BC's slogan is "The best place on earth"

I'm currently in Squamish. It's close to the city of Vancover (45 minutes) and also close to Whistler without having to pay the ridiculous prices to live there.


Sweet, thanks for that info, im making the big move next week and Squamish was one of the places I was looking at, would you recomend it as a nice place to live??

fire_man

I am hoping to go to toronto in october,How much would i need with me to keep me going as i look for work,i know u can never have enough,im just worried my money will b gone in a short while.

littledarkone

I emailed the Canadian Embassy in Dublin to bitch and moan about USIT here is their response

"Both the Student Working Holiday Programme and the General Working Holiday Programme for Canada are both operated independently by USIT. The Embassy is not involved in the administration of either Programme."

So they don't want to know.

So let me get this straight..... USIT do NOT now charge a fee to look at flights and insurance? I've found some return flights with Aer Lingus for under 600 but they are low fare prices so any changes will cost me extra.

I'm considering paying go4less.ie to sot out a ski resort job for me but it's over e500, has anyone any tips as to how I can get a ski job without paying this fee (by ski job I mean any menial seasonal job in a ski resort) they all seem to outsource their foreign recruitment to 3rd-party companies but I'd rather pay the fee than arrive in Canada with no job lined up.

Interviews for these jobs are held in August yet USIT want my flights booked by July 23rd.... how am I supposed to know when I want to fly if I haven't got my job sorted!!?

Insurance.... does anyone have the criteria that USIT have set for acceptable insurance? I'm looking at blue insurance for e230. Medical expenses up to 3,000,000... personal liability up to 2,000,000.

I'd be much obliged if someone could advise me which insurance USIT have approved for them.

achbons

Hi littledarkone, I haven't checked in on this thread in a while but I thought I'd try answer some of your questions. My boyfriend and I travelled to Canada on the U35 visa at the start of June.

We had initially applied for the U35 programme in January and our work authorisation docs were approved at the end of March. At that stage, USIT didn't seem too pushy about booking flights before a certain date, but because we happened to find cheap flights (BA, 500 EUR return, Dublin - Calgary) we booked the flights ourselves at the start of March. So before actually getting the visas approved. We originally got charged a 50 EUR fee each for getting our flights 'checked' by USIT, but we later received a refund for this when USIT told us that they were no longer charging the administration fee. So I can confirm that USIT are no longer charging a fee for booking your own flights and insurance.

USIT did try to upsell their own insurance to us, but we decided to go with Backpacker Insurance (backpackertravelinsurance.ie) which is actually owned by Blue Insurance. The package we picked - and which was approved by USIT - was the Premier Plus plan. It worked out as cheaper than what Blue themselves were offering on their own website, and gives more cover too (6,000,000 medical, 3,000,000 personal liability). I'm guessing this is because it's marketed more towards the backpacker crowd, who are more likely to do adventure sports or hazardous activities. I'm almost sure that USIT also accept the standard Premier package though.

To be honest, we first thought finding jobs would be pretty difficult because we couldn't find much advertised online, but when we arrived in Canada we realised this was because the Canadians tend to advertise locally. As in, a sign in their shop/office window saying 'Help Wanted', or in the local free newspapers, as opposed to listing the job on a website. We ended up finding jobs within a week of getting here (we're now based in Banff, Alberta). I would definitely be wary of paying anyone 500 EUR just for the luxury of sorting you out with a ski job - much better to check with the hostel that you're booking into whether they offer a 'jobseeker package'. A lot of hostels here do this - often guaranteeing you at least one interview and helping you with voicemail, photocopying, computer use etc., and your accommodation at a discounted rate. And the ski resorts will advertise locally.

Hope that helps a little.

Also, someone else in the thread was asking about the proof of funds to show immigration when entering Canada. I think this depends very much where you are flying into. We flew into Calgary and not a question was asked about how much money we had. Immigration was painless and took less than 20 minutes. I'd say Vancouver or Toronto might be a little more hectic, but honestly a recent bank statement showing that you have funds should do, and maybe have about 1000 dollars cash in hand too (that's what we had).

littledarkone

Excellent reply achbons, much appreciated!

I'm going to book flights and insurance today and will have a think about the jobfinder sevice.

Thanks a million!

fanzhiyidan

Thanks for the info Archbons.

a couple more questions for the boardies.

My girlfriend and I are thinking of going to toronto in the middle of January.
Will we freeze our asses off trying to find work and accommodation?
Can anyone recommend decent areas to live in Toronto or a decent hostel to shack up in for a week or so while hunting for someplace to stay.
Also, whats the best means of apartment hunting?

JONJO THE MISER

Reney wrote: »

Hi, I'm planning on heading to Whistler Oct/Nov time to spend the ski season there for lots of skiing, partying and working to fund everything. Great if anyone could offer any advice on finding accommodation, work etc out there or if anyone was interested in teaming up to find a place please pm me.:D

Ski Towns in Canda are great, spent time in Banff myself. Im planning on moving out of Ireland for the winter myeself to north America but further south im thinking:cool:

Shine7

Hi all,

Myself and the missus are hoping to head to Canada next year and are getting loads of help from reading all your posts.

Quick question - has anyone that went over on the under 35's program extended their stay by applying for a new/different visa or do ye have any idea as to whether that is possible?

Cheers!

route66route66

jjbrien wrote: »

I tried myself to get cheaper insurance myself but found it impossible to find as they put one condtion in that makes it impossible to get insurace elsewhere.

can anyone tell me the exact travel insurance requirements for canada.i dont want to get one and have usit tell me its not right

burke103

I am in the same situation but i refuse to give usit anymore money,they are a rip off FYI insurance covers you fully for 321euro my friends have gone over already and this insurance covered them for everything,so happy days im booking my insurance with them and i also got flights for 548 with aer lingus so thats only 879 compared to usit who quoted me 1388 no way am i payin that....

hev

Same story as everyone here, fed up with Usit, got the emails forcing me to book by the 23rd but I refused to give them anymore money! Got totally ripped off with the American Intern visa last year.

I just booked my own flights, and got insurance through Multitrip.com for 176 euro! It's the same policy that they get you, it's through Blue Insurance, underwritten by Axa, and all exactly the same as the policy they charged me nearly 500 euro for last year.

I searched for flights on Kayak.com, got a return flight to NYC for 390 euro, going on the 29th December so I can spend New Years in the Big Apple, and then I can pop home in May if I like. Got a connecting flight to Toronto at the start of January for 100 euro.

Usit were seriously pushing me into booking with them, but I emailed them all these details, and I just got an email to say my visa will be issued today, no hassle. Hahaha!! I've beaten them!!

Lovely.

hev

USIT had quoted me 1140 for flights and insurance, and my "stopover" in NYC would have involved flying London-toronto-NYC-toronto... Hmm, no!

timetogo

Today I got quoted €992 in Usit for return flights to Vancouver including 1 years winter sports insurance.
That's heading out in Nov and I can change the return date if I want. Can anybody tell me where to get this cheaper. I like the option of having a changable date.

How did you guys above get a quote from Aer Lingus for a year? The website won't give me a quote for a return flight which is futher than 330 days from today which is a bit useless.

Chet Zar

_Kaz_ wrote: »

Hey just wondering if anyone is considering going on this Go4Less programme? Really keen on going, but finding it hard to find any info about it on Boards.
You get a guaranteed seasonal job in a ski resort (Alberta or BC) for Oct-May.

Hey Kaz,

It's pretty new - Go4Less only came out it with very recently. The main difference between it and what USIT offer is that the Go4Less programme offers a guaranteed job before you go! The only catch - the jobs are all based in ski resorts...not in the likes of Toronto or Vancouver. I would say they are ideal for students and those just out of college - you'd prob get the majority of people still going with USIT though.

fanzhiyidan

e-mailed the Canadian High Comission London-im-enquiry@international.gc.ca last friday saying that USIT were pressuring me into booking my flights by the 23rd. I said that USIT told me that I had to book a return flight.
Got an e-mail yesterday from the High Comission saying:
"Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. We will forward your complaint on to the relevant service provider for a response. Once a response has been received we will inform you of the outcome."

I got an e-mail today from USIT saying:
"We are aware that you have been in touch with the Canadian High Commission in relation to your issues with booking flights and insurance by the 23rd of July. In order for USIT to be able to provide arrival details to our Canadian partner organsation, SWAP (who require these in order ro facilitate those coming into their country), participants must provide their flight details within 7 days of being issued with their work authorisation. This is in the terms and conditions of the programme and your work authorisation has been issued since the xxxxxxx. We are also under obligation to ensure that you have adequate insurance cover for your trip. While we can appreciate your frustration, please note that we are endeavouring to ensure that all those who hold a place are going to take it up, as the longer people hold onto places and then cancel, the more places will go unused and with less Irish citizens being afforded the opportunity. Places are limited and it is our role to ensure that as many people as possible are given a fair opportunity to comply, within the parameters of a very limited allocation.
We are aware that you have been in touch with one of our agents in relation to your flights and insurance and if you do wish to book these, we would advise you to contact the relevant agent at your earliest convenience. If you wish to book your flights and insurance elsewhere, you will still need to provide us with the details of these by the 31st of August. <snip>

With regard to booking a return flight, it is not compulsory to book a return flight but if you are travelling on a one way ticket, you will be required to furnish proof of personal funds of CAD$3000, while if you book a return flight, you are only required to show CAD$1000.
Should you have any further queries on any of the above, please do not hesitate to contact us."

Thanks to the earlier poster who said to get in touch with the High Comission.

Just to clarify this, USIT do try to be as fair as possible to people once you tell them your circumstances and they are genuine. You do have to get in touch with them though, don't assume that they will contact you.

jules1979

I have been in contact with backpackerinsurance.ie and they have quoted me
€185.99 (excluding admin fee)
I sent them on the requirements sent to me from USIT and they said that this Premier Plus policy is sufficient. USIT have also confirmed this. Booked my flight with AirTransit. I only have a one way ticket and am a little concerned about providing evidence of funds. I was reading the FAQ on the USIT website and it said that you need to have the 3000CAD on you upon arrival in the form of cash or travellers cheques. There's no way I'm walking around with that kind of money on me. Is it ok to have a recent bank statement? The thread has been really helpful. As I'm travelling on my own, I'm trying to get as much help and advice before I go out next month:)

jb82

Sheebs wrote: »

I'm in the same situation as you!

I have another email from them asking about booking my flights and at the end it says i don't have to pay the full balance until a month before I go. Surely they can't just change all this so soon? What a pain in the arse!

what's the story if the application is still sent to sponsor? my stuff was sent around the middle of may and i would expect it to take another month (have to get medical sorted too).

may just cancel it as i have other options and offers at the moment. never seen any of this stuff on the terms and conditions when i applied. don't know if it is there now but i know usit have changed conditions on their website in the past.

Chet Zar

fire_man wrote: »

I am hoping to go to toronto in october,How much would i need with me to keep me going as i look for work,i know u can never have enough,im just worried my money will b gone in a short while.

Really depends on what kind of work you'll be looking for - if it's casual enough you may be get it fairly quick, and Toronto is a big city. You'd want at least approx 2500 eur starting off anyway to keep you going and to get you set up initially I would say.

L31mr0d

alcon1984 wrote: »

Sweet, thanks for that info, im making the big move next week and Squamish was one of the places I was looking at, would you recomend it as a nice place to live??

Ah, sorry, only seen this now. If you do decide to settle in Squamish give me a shout via PM.

It's a nice place but as the saying goes: "you can't eat scenery" meaning, I haven't started working here yet and I don't know what the job situation is like in Squamish. A lot of people bridge the gap between the mountains and city life by living further south in North or East Van.

I may move to North Van. myself if I can't find some work around here. I'm personally looking to get away from desk work, like I had in Ireland, and get into something more manual for a while, where I actually feel like my body is working. There is loads of development going on in Squamish atm thanks to the new Sea to Sky hwy and all the upgrades thanks to the Olympics.

fire_man

Ya i would take casual work,is it easy to get work in bars or construction in toronto?

dceire

Hey guys, I'm heading over to Vancouver next month and have a few questions for any of you folk over there.

I was just looking at the USIT pre-departure guide and the 'Packing Suggestions'. It suggests that you pack a sleeping bag and bring a bank reference letter. Are these two items really necessary? I'm just thinking of the space the sleeping bag will occupy in my backpack here more than anything. As for the reference letter, is it really required for starting a bank account over there?

My second question is regarding where I might be looking at renting over there as I hear its expensive. I'd like a nice area but one that is reasonably priced. Is there any discernable difference in cost of living between Vancouver, North Vancouver, Vancouver Island, or even Victoria and Whistler. I'm open to all suggestions.

I'm traveling solo and am wondering what the options accommodation wise are for us traveling alone? Would renting a room in a private house be the best way to go? Thanks.

Chet Zar

dceire wrote: »

Hey guys, I'm heading over to Vancouver next month and have a few questions for any of you folk over there.

I was just looking at the USIT pre-departure guide and the 'Packing Suggestions'. It suggests that you pack a sleeping bag and bring a bank reference letter. Are these two items really necessary? I'm just thinking of the space the sleeping bag will occupy in my backpack here more than anything. As for the reference letter, is it really required for starting a bank account over there?

My second question is regarding where I might be looking at renting over there as I hear its expensive. I'd like a nice area but one that is reasonably priced. Is there any discernable difference in cost of living between Vancouver, North Vancouver, Vancouver Island, or even Victoria and Whistler. I'm open to all suggestions.

I'm traveling solo and am wondering what the options accommodation wise are for us traveling alone? Would renting a room in a private house be the best way to go? Thanks.

Hey dceire,

On the reference letters - I would say that it's really just a good idea to bring as many different kinds of documents and references (including garda clearance certs, college certs etc) that you think you might need for a whole range of things you'll need to negotiate, e.g. opening bank accounts, getting a job, signing up for a phone contract, hiring/buying a car, signing lease agreements...the list goes on. You won't have any history over there and you will be a temporary visitor as far as they are concerned so it is pretty much the case that people you're dealing with are going to be more reassured once they see that you have all the documentation required to back up whatever you're applying for or whatever you might be doing.

That is why USIT say to bring these kind of things I would imagine!