Moving to Canada for 12 months - IEC Working Holiday Visa

Marky said:
I'm keeping watch, so keep up the updates coming ;) :p

So you're only going for 12 months? Does that mean the 12 months starts whenever you leave for Canada? I'm currently saving and then I was going to apply - but if it starts when you leave, should I be getting the ball rolling now?
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Yeah you can only do 12 months, although you can apply for a second visa and do another 12 months, but after that you can't do any more so you'd have to apply for permanent residency.

I have a 'Letter of Introduction', which is valid for 12 months. This means I have to leave for Canada in the next 12 months and then use this LOI to be given my Visa, which would then be valid for 12 months at the time of entry to Canada.

Megahurtz400 said:
On the Family Information Form, at the top there is 4 tick boxes saying "Visitor. Worker. Student. Other"

Which box should I be ticking for the IEC working holiday visa, hope to working over there :)
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Put 'Worker'.

Let me know if you have any other questions.
 
ScarySquirrel said:
Yeah you can only do 12 months, although you can apply for a second visa and do another 12 months, but after that you can't do any more so you'd have to apply for permanent residency.

I have a 'Letter of Introduction', which is valid for 12 months. This means I have to leave for Canada in the next 12 months and then use this LOI to be given my Visa, which would then be valid for 12 months at the time of entry to Canada.



Put 'Worker'.

Let me know if you have any other questions.
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Lovely stuff :)

Would you mind scanning over my forms quickly if i emailed them to you pretty please? :)
 
ScarySquirrel said:
Yeah you can only do 12 months, although you can apply for a second visa and do another 12 months, but after that you can't do any more so you'd have to apply for permanent residency.

I have a 'Letter of Introduction', which is valid for 12 months. This means I have to leave for Canada in the next 12 months and then use this LOI to be given my Visa, which would then be valid for 12 months at the time of entry to Canada.
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Ahh that's interesting! Perhaps I should start doing my paperwork now and applying... :)
 
ScarySquirrel said:
You've probably missed out, there's only 144 places (out of 5,350) for this years allocation, so you might have to wait until Nov/Dec time when it starts again.

More info here - http://www.canadainternational.gc.c...xperience_canada_experience/index.aspx?view=d
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Yeah I actually thought about that just as I hit submit... I remember hearing about a week ago it was at around 500. I'll wait until the next allocation. That way I have more time to save up :) How long has the whole process taken? I.e. From starting the forms to getting the Letter of Introduction
 
Marky said:
Yeah I actually thought about that just as I hit submit... I remember hearing about a week ago it was at around 500. I'll wait until the next allocation. That way I have more time to save up :) How long has the whole process taken? I.e. From starting the forms to getting the Letter of Introduction
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Well my girlfriend and I decided just before New Year that we were going to do it.

The first step was getting Police Certificate, which took around a week or two I think. It took us a good few weeks before that though reading everything and trying to make sense of it all.

Once we got the Police Certificate and had sent our main application off it probably took about 3 months in total. I got receipt of my application on 9th March (this takes around 2-4 weeks to receive), and it was all completed by 3rd May.

If you do eventually do it feel free to message me with any questions :)
 
ScarySquirrel said:
Well my girlfriend and I decided just before New Year that we were going to do it.

The first step was getting Police Certificate, which took around a week or two I think. It took us a good few weeks before that though reading everything and trying to make sense of it all.

Once we got the Police Certificate and had sent our main application off it probably took about 3 months in total. I got receipt of my application on 9th March (this takes around 2-4 weeks to receive), and it was all completed by 3rd May.

If you do eventually do it feel free to message me with any questions :)
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Brilliant :) That sounds like it'd be perfect timing for me if I start the process around December this year :)

I will definitely be doing it as soon as the new allocations are up - If you have absolutely any links or documentation that you would recommend reading, please throw it my way (In this thread or through Trust). I'm going at it alone, so need all the help I can get :p
 
Well the actual IEC Canada site has a lot of useful information, some of it is tucked away in the form of PDFs but have a dig around and you should find all you need.
This is the main page which explains how to apply, although it could change for next year - http://www.canadainternational.gc.c...e/application_guide-guide_demande.aspx?view=d

Here is a FB group for people chatting about this years thing, which you might find some useful info on. There's a fair bit on inane banter, but there is some useful information as well:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/iec2012/

Another:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2213183700/

This is a long thread, but if you're bored at work one day it could be worth a read for general info:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=734838

And this is to convince you that Vancouver is the place to go (make sure you use the dropdown at the top to try different views) :D

http://pretravel.vancouver.com/
 
Another update from me, we booked our flights last night.

Our 9 hour 45 minute flight (or thereabouts) will begin at 8.50am on Tuesday 19th March 2013.

To say I'm excited would be an understatement. Only 5 months and 8 days to go!!
 
I know I keep bumping this every now and again but I thought I'd post a couple of links to help out anyone else thinking of doing the same thing.

Well, one link really, the site was only launched recently I believe and it's awesome in terms of the information it provided:

http://www.moving2canada.com/

Also, my girlfriend and I have started a blog :)

www.ourcanadianadventure.co.uk
 
Looking long term, and considering the fact that nobody would want to move back to the UK after living in the awesomeness that is Vancouver, what are the prospects for when you realise that you really want to stay in Canada? Is residency a long and difficult affair? Is it a case of forget about it unless you have a company lined up to sponsor you?
 
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Good question, and one I'd like to know the answer too. I used up a visa back when you were only allowed one and now you can get two fresh ones I'd love to go back with the intention of trying to stay for good.

Vancouver kicks all kinds of rear. :D
 
Hey SS, haven't seen a mention of what age you are? Myself and the missus are considering it ourselves but with no career clues myself i'm not sure its the best idea..
 
After my couple of years in Canada, I've got a few British friends that managed to remain out there, but a number who also failed. I'll give some summaries.

Succeeded

Nurse - Very easy for her as medical professions are on the allowed list. I don't think she actually has citizenship, but she has been permitted to work for seven years now, has a child with a Canadian and I believe they will be married in future anyways.

Freelance Photographer - I'm not 100% sure on the details of this one. He is there working most of the year for going on six years now and I believe his taxes have always gone to the Canadian government. I think he then applied for Citizenship and was accepted. As I said, I don't know all the details on this one, as a freelance job is not really something that is just going to allow you to stay. It might have been because he had a very highly regarded degree from a top british university.

Journalist - A girl who works for a magazine in Vancouver. I think she was more than just good friends with somebody there and they then engineered her sponsorship to make it appear nobody else could do it. She wasn't even a journalist before this I would add.

Electrician/Builder - Not sure of his exact qualifications, but he met the requirements on the accepted trades list for immigration. He was granted a work permit and eventually married a Canadian girl.



Failed

Married Family - A married couple who ran a property rental business in a Ski resort, their daughter was even born there, giving her dual citizenship. Despite owning a home and numerous rental properties and trying their very hardest, they were not granted work permits or citizenship. They packed it and left as they would have to leave the country for so many months each year, this was a problem for their daughters education, plus you can't get health cover as a non-citizen and most UK insurance companies won't want to know when effectively moved abroad or already out there.

Unemployed Guy - Not really sure what to categorise this as. A friend of mine was dating a Canadian and he would spend six months (tourist visa) out there, then return home and go back out for another six months again not long after. He wasn't working out there, or even trying to do anything cash in hand, however he was warned at immigration that he was spending too much time in Canada and so would be deported next time he tried to enter so soon.

My Brother - Through some networking, he was offered a job from a very large corporation and they were very keen to have him in the job. However, they said that there was no way they could sponsor him, as proving to immigration that nobody Canadian could do the role was impossible.


In summary....
If you have a trade that is on the needed list then it shouldn't be too hard. However, trying to get a company to sponsor you is difficult, I think they especially come under scrutiny with big businesses and any non-specalised role.

I think its the expats forum that has really good advice and you can see how long waits are for permits and residency. I believe its kind of a case by case thing as some people certainly have had to wait a long time.

Certainly is some luck involved too.
 
Nexus said:
After my couple of years in Canada, I've got a few British friends that managed to remain out there, but a number who also failed. I'll give some summaries.

Succeeded

Freelance Photographer - I'm not 100% sure on the details of this one. He is there working most of the year for going on six years now and I believe his taxes have always gone to the Canadian government. I think he then applied for Citizenship and was accepted. As I said, I don't know all the details on this one, as a freelance job is not really something that is just going to allow you to stay. It might have been because he had a very highly regarded degree from a top british university.
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Not Dan Carr by any chance?
 
Blimey, just realised it's a year since I started this thread! Only a few months to go now :D

Robbie G said:
Looking long term, and considering the fact that nobody would want to move back to the UK after living in the awesomeness that is Vancouver, what are the prospects for when you realise that you really want to stay in Canada? Is residency a long and difficult affair? Is it a case of forget about it unless you have a company lined up to sponsor you?
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I think our best hope of staying past the initial 2 years allowed via IEC will be via sponsorship from an employer. I don't know where I'll be working or what I'll be doing yet but it's certainly a possibility.

There's the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) route, although I don't know if this is the same as what I've mentioned above or not - http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/cec/index.asp

I've always struggled with what is and isn't considered skilled work or not. I've ran my own photography business for 3 years so perhaps that could be something I look into.

Zero5 said:
Good question, and one I'd like to know the answer too. I used up a visa back when you were only allowed one and now you can get two fresh ones I'd love to go back with the intention of trying to stay for good.

Vancouver kicks all kinds of rear. :D
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Glad you had a good time. When were you there and what were you doing during your stay?

Shicky said:
Hey SS, haven't seen a mention of what age you are? Myself and the missus are considering it ourselves but with no career clues myself i'm not sure its the best idea..
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I'm 27 and my girlfriend is 28. I've been in a career focused job for nearly 6 years now, it's time to move on and we knew that if we didn't do something like this now then we never would. Go for it!

We're going out there with no idea what work we will be doing. We'll be open minded and open to pretty much anything to begin with. Fortunately we'll have enough cash to get by without working for a few weeks at least.
 
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Just read through this thread, looks like a fantastic opportunity!

I hadn't considered doing anything like this before, but am now very tempted follow in your footsteps. Keep this thread updated!
 
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