Advice on Emigrating... to Canada!

[Tyranna]

After a long, hard examination of my current position in relation to prospects for employment, etc., I have had to come to the conclusion that the only way in which I might be able to work my way out of my current long-term unemployed situation, is to make a clean break of it and look at work prospects abroad, specifically Canada, or possibly Australia or the US.

 

I would prefer Canada to the US or Australia, as it has certain advantages that the other two may be lacking in, but I would be grateful if any of you will be able to advise me on where I should look for information, and how I should set about considering looking for work in Canada, etc.

[pinklady]

you do know you've got to fit a certain criteria for them to accept you dont you? ... are you a skilled tradesman (sparky, plumber)or hold a degree for your chosen profession (ie ... nurse), do you have family or friends out there who are willing to sponser you (sign a contract to say that if you are not working, they will pay for EVERYTHING for you and you will not cost their government a penny) ... and have you a large amount of capital to take with you ( i mean quite a few grand) unless you can answer yes to at least one of these things .... forget about emigrating anywhere ... you'll never get in.

[medusa]

If you're planning on going to Canada on a work visa, you'll need to be 100% certain of the job coming through, since the visa is based on a specific job, and you won't be allowed to change jobs without leaving Canada and reapplying and going through the whole process again (up to 6 months).

 

If you have the points and can get a job (which is by no means a certainty, since unions are very strong in certain parts of Canada, and therefore many parts of the jobs markets are closed shops for union members only) then one way around the not being able to change jobs is to go for landed immigrant status rather than just a work visa. This will give you everything except a vote when you get to Canada, but you need to have lots of points, some money and no dependants who are likely to cost the Canadian state lots of money (children can count in both the positive and negative columns).

 

It's not certain that you'll get the visa or status papers (and any money you send is non-refundable, whether you get the visa or not- and the fee's got three 0s on the end if you go for landed immigrant status), but if you do you then have a window in which to arrive in the country, and during the period of the visa you can enter and leave the country as often as you want.

[mikomi]

If you can get in you will love it.My brother and his family went there on a four year work contract that was 25 yrs ago his life style is without doubt far better than mine .I had the chance and turned it down " Oh" how i regret it . Go for it you can always come back to the UK.

[Rich]

Also if you're going to certain parts of Canada, especially Toronto, Calgary or Quebec, you have to "forget" how to pronounce the word about, they say aboot..

 

Also they tend to be very unforgiving of stuff that happened in wrestling 9 years ago, there was an incident in WWF at Survivor Series 1997, the then Champion Bret the Hitman Hart was "screwed" out of his title by the Heartbreak Kid Shaen Michaels and the owner of the WWF Vince McMahon, as McMahon made the referee call that he had submitted to a move even though he actually hadn't really... And the Canadian fans still whinge aboot it to this day.

[Tyranna]

Cheers, Folks, fot the comments so far;

 

I suppose I should fill you in with a few more details re. why I'm considering Canada rather than other Commonwealth countries or USA;

various pros/cons of the other countries stack up as follows, and many seem to be 'cons':

 

USA does not have a free health Service

 

Australia is more than twice as far away as East Coast Canada

 

Australia is close to areas of political instability (Indonesia) and has a more unpredictable climate (Drought in Canberra, etc.)

 

I have no relatives in Australia, NZ, or USA, but I have an uncle, aunt and cousins in Canada (Ottawa)

 

Quebec is French speaking, but i have basic conversational French

 

Canada is of course Commonwealth

 

I also have a BA and MA degree in archaeology and much industrial, warehouse and clerical work experience.

 

Hope this will give you more idea of what I might be able to get in the way of work!

[prioryx]

What waste of money those degrees were if you could only get warehouse work.

[Tyranna]

What waste of money those degrees were if you could only get warehouse work.

 

 

Exactly, Priory x.

 

but at least my degrees give me an overall life-experience, including much previous work experience abroad, which can help prepare me for looking at new avenues.

 

 

In case it might be of interest there are other countries I have also been condidering, but many of them have disadvantages:

 

Japan: I know many graduates have gone over there to do a year or so of TEFL teaching, but how easy is it nowadays? Many people I have heard also go to do TEFL in China, but the idea of getting by in a VERY strange country with a VERY strange language for longer then a few weeks does, not surprisingly, have only limited appeal for me.

 

Israel: Again, a strange country with a strange language, but half of my relatives live there. If I had been younger, and if the current politicians in power there weren't so intent on turning it into a war-zone for US-Palestinian/Syrian slanging matches, again I might consider working for a year or more on a Kibbutz, or a 'Moshav' (Similar to Kibbutz) there.

 

Germany: I've worked there before, it is a fellow EU country, fairly close to Britain, and I know the language, but as I have heard lately it is STILL an economic and employment basket-case...

 

Republic of Ireland: This has a lot going for it; my mother was born there (Therefore I am entitled to Irish Citizenship de facto), and I have shedloads of relatives and friends there, but believe you me, in the last few years, the house prices have escalated to a TRULY SHOCKING level..!

 

Other European Countries: Again, one of the main disadvantages may be that I will not know the local lingo, apart from those where French and German are spoken, but I might consider each case on an individual basis, if there are opportunities...

 

 

Back to Canada again, could anyone advise me which companies might be recruiting over here in England; as I seem to recall that companies with opportunities in other Commonwealth countries regularly hold recruitment drives at least in London, and possibly at the Commonwealth Institute?

 

Any more advice would be much appreciated..!

[D2J]

you have to "forget" how to pronounce the word about, they say aboot..

 

How long have the Canadians been Scottish Rich

[Tyranna]

Having spent a week away in Ireland with my parents over Christmas, and been busy with all sorts of things (Including yet again, more fruitless jobsearching) in the six weeks since getting back, I'm STILL very much fixated on the emigration thing as a solution to ALL my problems in finding work.

 

It's a big, wide world out there, and this coming year, is probably the LAST chance I will get, tomake this decision while I am still relatively fit and young.

 

 

It might also be of interest to those who can advise me, that I have a fledgling acting career -I've appeared in a number of pop videos shot around Sheffield and elsewhere, as well as some documentraies/short films; I am a live singer, do some stand-up comedy, and of course, the Drag Act.

I also have the two degrees in Archaeology, and I am thinking they may be of considerable use for certain careers in the Film industry, particularly that of an HISTORICAL RESEARCHER (e. g. for 'Ben-Hur/Sword/Sorcery-style epics).

 

What opportunities might anyone know of for relatively unknown actors/stand-up/singers abroad, especially in US/Canada/Australia (Yes, I know, thousands upon thousands follow the road paved by broken dreams every year to the hotspots of Las Vegas, Hollywood, New York, et. al. and end up in the gutter staring at the stars, but tell me, has anyone any of you know actually TRIED THIS, or actually SUCCEEDED in it, in the US or elsewhere).

 

I'd like to know, and keep the advice coming in re. how I should go about looking at emigrating in order TO MAKE A LIVING, rather than sitting unwanted on the unemployment scrapheap in Blair's Britain for the rest of my life!