Work Canada 2011

Marky · 19 Feb 2011 at 14:58

Tim said:
fao: the guys that have actually done this. What job did you get?

I am interested in this also

Pete.Dakota · 19 Feb 2011 at 15:00

Definitely thinking about this for the '11/12 ski season. I've holidayed in Banff about 6 or 7 times and my sister lived and worked there for 6 months - I was insanely jealous. The Bow Valley is a wonderful place to be.

I'd happily work for minimum wage if it meant I could live in Banff for a season.

What are the guarantees of getting a place though? It seems to imply that you pay the £294 pounds first, and then wait to see if you're accepted? Do you get that money back if they can't place you?

Or do they only take any money if they can assure you a place.

Nexus · 19 Feb 2011 at 15:26

You can easily live out of a suitcase for an extended period of time, especially on a Ski Season.

I was out there nearly two years and although I did buy more clothes while I was there, in general I had the same clothes I'd taken out with me. I think I'd certainly need more if I was doing some kind of office job, but I wasn't.

I can't remember how it works personally, but I'm sure you only pay once you've got an offer of a visa.

Gas Panic! · 19 Feb 2011 at 20:11

I did this in 2008 with two friends. We decided upon Toronto and had an amazing time. We were there for 9 months in total, but it was long enough for me to realise that Canada is where I want to live.

I'm working towards emigration in about 15months time, which is when I'll have enough points to apply.

jrwagh333 · 19 Feb 2011 at 20:28

Can I ask why you don't have enough points now & what will be changing in the next 15 months?

OriginalJonty · 19 Feb 2011 at 20:46

Don't have the funds to do this at the moment. Will save as much as possible this year to apply next year though.

Gas Panic! · 19 Feb 2011 at 21:36

jrwagh333 said:
Can I ask why you don't have enough points now & what will be changing in the next 15 months?

It works on a points system, with points given for everything from fluency in English and French to what level of education you have. I am just below the point barrier. I need between one and two years full-time work (with no breaks) in order to apply, and I started my grad job back in November. I think I'll apply around October this year, but if not it'll be some time in 2012.

I'll need a job offer from a Canadian company first, though, and that's always the difficult bit

Sone · 19 Feb 2011 at 21:36

my story is probably different to most, but i went in April 09 and had an amazing time.

Was going to work for my uncle, he recommend doing this then apply for PR when i got there. In the end in a moment of madness decided to do it alone. Went to Vancouver and had the time of my life, got a good job ($50,000 a year for 36hrs pw) a nice flat. PR never came through through though and i regret not working for uncle

Had my own place on Haro and Cardero, job was at Nokia in Burnaby (skytrain from burrard to metrotown then one bus, took about an hr). Could walk to downtown, the skytrain, beach or stanley park in 10mins.

loltim · 21 Feb 2011 at 21:11

Pete.Dakota said:
What are the guarantees of getting a place though? It seems to imply that you pay the £294 pounds first, and then wait to see if you're accepted? Do you get that money back if they can't place you?

Or do they only take any money if they can assure you a place.

I was wondering this?

OG · 21 Feb 2011 at 21:17

My job was working in an ice cream shop called Cow's. Not the best paying, but lots of opportunity for extra hours and was always busy and most of all the people were great

the_r_sole · 21 Feb 2011 at 21:28

i did the bunac thing in vancouver a couple of years ago, if you're going completely alone it's pretty good to go with them, you get to meet loads of folk through it, they have seasonal jobs boards in the office and more importantly, they sometimes get hockey tickets for face value!!!

Pinkribbonscars · 21 Feb 2011 at 22:12

Hi everyone, I've just applied for a visa through bunac

. Hoping to go out to whistler for the ski season. I'd be interested to know how well people did with money out there? Is the pay/rent reasonable if doing a casual job?

the_r_sole · 21 Feb 2011 at 22:21

haha, whistler rent is reasonable if you're happy to cram into a flat with about 6 others! the pay isn't that great either, but you do get a free ski pass if you work for the big company up there - know a few folk that did it, didn't do it myself

Jambo · 22 Feb 2011 at 01:58

Has anyone here had a self employed visa for Canada?

Pinkribbonscars · 22 Feb 2011 at 17:48

Tim said:
I was wondering this?

I think they have their own allocation of visas, I have just got confirmation that they have reserved a place for me after applying last night, so they still have some left. Presumably after they have reserved a place for you the only thing that would stop you getting the visa is if there was some thing about your application that the Canadian authorities didn't like.

Thanks, the_r_sole, free ski pass and house share sounds ideal to be honest! My other option might be to get a job in a lab or something in Vancouver, but I have no idea how easy/hard that would be, does anyone know if there is a good Canadian jobs website that I could look at to get a feel for the jobs market?

loltim · 22 Feb 2011 at 18:03

Pinkribbonscars said:
I think they have their own allocation of visas, I have just got confirmation that they have reserved a place for me after applying last night, so they still have some left. Presumably after they have reserved a place for you the only thing that would stop you getting the visa is if there was some thing about your application that the Canadian authorities didn't like.

Thanks, the_r_sole, free ski pass and house share sounds ideal to be honest! My other option might be to get a job in a lab or something in Vancouver, but I have no idea how easy/hard that would be, does anyone know if there is a good Canadian jobs website that I could look at to get a feel for the jobs market?

How long did it take for you to get a place reserved, and how long do you have to take that place and start booking flights etc, before the place is lost? thanks

edit: application form bit is down at the minute, hope that doesn't mean it's full

Pinkribbonscars · 22 Feb 2011 at 18:48

Well I applied yesterday evening at 8ish and got the 'One of our allocated visas has been reserved for you' email at 10 this morning, so fairly quickly. I think you get until the beginning of next year maximum to actually start the visa, so there is plenty of time to book flights.

I did find that the next page buttons gave the impression they weren't responding, if that is the issue you're having, so persevere. I too was really worried about not getting a place, so this whole idea has been very impulsive, can't beleive I'm actually doing it! Good luck

OG · 22 Feb 2011 at 20:05

Pinkribbonscars said:
Hi everyone, I've just applied for a visa through bunac . Hoping to go out to whistler for the ski season. I'd be interested to know how well people did with money out there? Is the pay/rent reasonable if doing a casual job?

Just wondering, I hope you are not planning to go for this ski season? I lived in whistler over summer last year so any questions ask away. Although I hear the village is completely different over winter and be prepared to pay a lot for a room to sleep in and other living costs. Remember at the end of the day it is a ski resort so places can charge pretty much what they want for items.

Pinkribbonscars · 22 Feb 2011 at 20:38

Owen256 said:
Just wondering, I hope you are not planning to go for this ski season? I lived in whistler over summer last year so any questions ask away. Although I hear the village is completely different over winter and be prepared to pay a lot for a room to sleep in and other living costs. Remember at the end of the day it is a ski resort so places can charge pretty much what they want for items.

By this season do you mean the season we are currently in? I am planning on going late this year ie the 2011/12 season. I am prepared for high living costs, just need to get through a painful summer of saving! I have read people referring to a tax rebate through SWAP, could you shed any light on that? Are the big houses like the one you found rare or easy to find as something like that sounds ideal provided I can find enough people to stay with? Thanks

OG · 22 Feb 2011 at 20:49

Yeah I thought you meant you were trying to catch the end of this ski season.. but I see what you meant now so just ignore me! Ok good as long as you are prepared, just take as much money as you possibly can, little things will always come up that you need to buy and it all adds up over time.

The tax rebate is possible, I can't remember the exact details now but it basically means whoever you work for will not charge you tax. You are able to claim it back though when you get your end of year tax form and you have to file for taxes. The maojority of houses in Whistler are pretty huge, but it depends entirely what you want. There are 3 and 4 bedroom houses but I stayed in a 6 bedroom last year with 10 of us all together in the house. You want to get out there before the season starts too as so you can line up some work, and you can also pick up dirt cheap snow gear before the season kicks off officially.