Advise needed to Immigrate to Canada

Hello Lizelles,

Your concern is valid. In the context of worldwide economic slowdown, there is an increase in unemployment - Canada is not immune to this. It does not mean that this is flet by all sectors of the economy, however we are feeling the pinch, especially considering our biggest trading partner (USA) is in a recession (i.e. so is Canada).

It seems that the "safest" option is make the move with a an offer of employment. This alone is not easy and the experience of many immigrants is that unless you have Canadian work experience you are at a disadvantage.

The comment about retrenching immigrants vs "people from the country" is (in my opinion) incorrect. Just look at the % of immigrants in Toronto alone.

Failing this, I would recommend that you have sufficient assets to fund your lifestyle for 12 months. This should give you enough time to aggressively seek employment.

Immigration is complex and by no means easy. Better to have a game plan and ensure you plan for the worst. Be sure to commit to it 100% - anything less may lead to dissapointment down the line.

Cheers,

Lee

Hello Annie

Hi

Hi Guys

Brilliant forum! My wife and myself also decided to go the Canadian immigration route recently. She is a Chartered Accountant and  I own a industrial supply business. My wife qualifies for the skilled worker permit with her occupation being on the shortage list. She has been applying for jobs via the internet for a couple of weeks now without success. (maybe we expect results to soon)

If anyone from a finance/accounting background can give us some advice about oppertunities in Canada for CA's it will be much appreciated. We havent started the process with immigration laywers or consultants yet since we first want to get as much information as possible.

My thanks to everyone who submitted all the previous posts!

Regards
Johan

Hi Stiguy

Hi Guys My wife and I have decided we are definitely coming to Canada. It's just the matter of gettign there as soon as we can legally do.

Andy,

Edited by immigrationVIP - 05 Apr 2010 at 2:51pm

hi Andy,

Get your plumbing qualification and take a serious look at the solar panel industry (as a whole) in Canada. I know the Canadian government has provided huge incentives to the solar panel industry and it is a "green" initiative which is very, very topical at the moment. Apart from this, Canada offers some incredible incentives to R&D initiatives - tax rebates. Seems as if your skills may be in need...

I am not sure if this was one of the resons you considered Canada (versus another), but if not, you should make haste while the sun shines....

Cheers,

Lee

Hi Johan,

There is no doubt that you can go at it alone - NO DOUBT.

Max's point(s) is valid. You would not want the application to be delayed on account of a technicality or missing information. Seconldy, have you ever spoken to any South African who "did not" get feedback from the Canadian High Commission in Pretoria, only to find out that it was actualy mailed, yet the problem was the SA postal service - that is a sad relaity. Perhaps Lizelles can comment on online tracking - I am sure this can be done.

If using a representative, I would earmark between $5,000 to $10,000 for processing fees.
Immigration is a HUGE decision and once your mind is made up, committ to it and make it happen. If this amount is going to "break the bank" then I would honestly suggest any "would be immigrant" reconsider whether they are ready (financially) for this move at all.

Just food for thought, not advocating one versus the other....

Cheers,

L

Hi all,

I just found this forum today and it's fantastic. A great wealth of information to be read.

I've been pondering whether to immigrate to Canada since last year September, as I don't think South Africa is going in the right direction. I certainly do not want to raise a family here. I'm also tired of living in fear and always looking behind my shoulder.

Just a bit of background on myself: I'm 25 years old and single and I don't mind where I live in Canada, so I have nothing really holding me back here.

OK, now for my situation:-

I'm a Pilot. I hold an Airline Transport Pilots Licence (ATPL) with an Instructors Rating. I currently work as a Flight Instructor in Cape Town.
Now, I've tried the free online assessments for a skilled worker and always fall short of the required 67 points (I get between 55 and 57). This is because of my education. As a Pilot, we don't go to a University to study. Instead we go on a six month Ground School and from there it's all self study. It's taken me ten years of study and flying to get from my first flight to an ATP. (The highest licence in flying)
It's a little frustrating to know that all my studying doesn't count for anything. A crane operator is considered more qualified than me!

My options now (I guess?) is to try get the Work Visa? Do you need a job offer before I can get that? I have read up on it, but I can't recall right now.
The main thing that I can't quite make up my mind on is whether I should come to Canada for a month or so this year and convert my South African Licence to a Canadian Licence (Not too bad a procedure, but still costs money) and then look for a job once I have the Canadian ATPL, OR;

First try land a job as a Pilot while still in South Africa and once I have the offer, do the licence conversion and relative visa paperwork. I've read that some people have done their interviews over the Internet, which is quite encouraging. I would prefer this option, of course. However, Aviation companies generally require you to start work relatively quickly, so I'm worried they may not even look at my CV as I don't have a Canadian Pilots Licence. On the other hand, it's a huge risk doing the conversion and then being unable to find work because I'm a foreigner.

The main thing is...I definitely want to immigrate! Sooner rather than later.

Maybe someone has an angle that I've missed? I also understand if you guys are unable to help. I just thought I'd give it a go and see what happens.

Thanks in advance for your time and help.

Cheers,

Hallo Arkadin,

Edited by immigrationVIP - 05 Apr 2010 at 6:09pm

Hello everyone

Hi

Morning people.

Just to let everyone know the idee of getting a job in Canada while you are still in South Africa is not a myth. Extremely difficult and you need a huge amout of luck but not impossible.
My wife received a official offer of employment this morning from a large global company's Toronto office after being on their shortlist for a while.
Although this did not happen without applying for about 800 jobs.

Lee thanks for all the help from your side. I cant tell you how much we appreciated the call and emails and all the valuable advice. Will keep you posted about how thing develop!


Regards
Johan

I'm already a qualified CA and currently working towards a few international qualifications, CIMA UK and possibly CFA. I've began the immigration process as a skilled worker and hopefully move to Canada by end of next year. I'm starting see improvement in employment opportunities here and abroad. Based on my research my biggest concern is the "Canadian experience". Without it, it's near impossible to find employment in your field regardless of your education. Another conern i have is that I just paid off my debt (education loan) and have zero transferable funds. I probably still need to work for another year or 2 in SA. I'm beginning to feel immigration to Canada is like throwing a brick against a brick wall. Sure they accept one of the highest immigrants in the world (around 250k) but they also lose the same amount of skills to their southern neighbour, aka brain drain as we have here.  

Honestly, getting all the original university transcripts and documents is a huge mission. Btw, how do I get my documents notorized?