I'm graduating in May and I'm looking for jobs as a network engineer. I've submitted my resume to just about every company I can think of in the US. I'm not too worried about not finding a job, but I definitely want to keep my options open, so I was thinking about expanding my job search to Canada. I just want to know if this would even be worth my time. Let's say theoretically I got an offer in Canada and wanted to accept it, what would it actually take to move there and get the necessary visas or other authorizations (and perhaps eventual citizenship) to move and work there? Thanks
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What does it take to move to Canada?
- Thread starter yg17
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I went through this in 2006, so here's what I know:
You can apply for either a temporary work permit (this is what I'm here on right now), which allows you to legally live in Canada and work, but only for a specific company in a specific job. You need to have been given an offer (you were), have a specific time documented in writing (i.e. you'll be starting on day such and such and your offer is good for x number of years). You can always re-apply, so this is more of a formality than anything. The biggest downsides to this are you can't change jobs without re-applying and you'll have a hard time getting loans and even some credit cards from banks, because you are viewed as a temporary resident who might rack up $30,000 in debt and then flee back to your home country (these are the exact words spoken to me by a bank official).
The other option is to apply for permanent residency under what they call the "skilled worker class" This is a little harder to get, especially if you aren't already living in Canada. My advice would be to get the work permit, work for a year or so, and then apply for permanent residency. Especially if you aren't sure if you'll be staying long-term, because it costs $150 or so for the work permit, and over $1000 to get permanent residence (I'm going through this right now).
Amazingly, the Canadian Government's Immigration website is actually pretty good about giving out necessary info. If you have any other questions, PM me...I'm happy to help.
Wow, times sure have changed. When my dad came over to Canada from Ireland in the '60's he told me all he had to do was swear on the Bible and pay $10 and he was a Canadian citizen! I'm sure there was a bit more to it than that but that's the story he likes to tell.
Yeah, the fees are quite ridiculous when it comes to permanent residency. The positive side is that it takes about 6 months to be processed, as opposed to the just this side of forever it takes in the US.
I've heard that they let you in if you are able to identify a handful of duck species by their silhouette alone.