I have a piece of paper...

[thecesspit]

That lets me work in Canada for the next two years (for one particular company, but it's good enough for me).

I also have sleep deprivation, and a pot of Comfort Inn's best 'I can't Believe they Call that Coffee' by my side. And a view of a scrap yard. Ahhhhh, Canada.

Comments

[thecesspit]

I'd suggest a read of the Canadian Immigration Pages (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index.html) on the various options. I've got a temporary work permit to work for a particular company in a particular role, filling a need they couldn't find elsewhere.

Found the job via craigslist and a fair amount of footwork around various IT companies. Most were not interested if I didn't already have permission to work in Canada. And no-one ever replied when I was out of the country. But that's IT, and other trades will differ. I also have a reasonable marketable skill set in Test/QA that helped, but no hard development skills, so it might be different.

There's also the BUNAC option to get you a one year work experience visa (http://www.bunac.org/uk/workcanada/), and I know once you've got a job out there you can apply from that role to get residency or a visa.

There's also a Yahoogroups called brits2vancouver that's worth keeping an eye on for tales. A lot of folk there are going through the 45 month application programme for residency.

[vertigoranger]

I was already there under the Bunac programme as it happens, but had to come back to finish university. I know now that it was a significant mistake to take the programme up at a time when it was going to be interrupted. And when i didn't even need the money. There's a lot riding on this for me.

Thanks so much. By the way, it's the Victoria area specifically that i'm looking to move to. I was living on Landsend Rd. for 4 months the last time i was there.

[thecesspit]

You can get BUNAC after studying as well as a student.

Whats yer skill set, what sort of work are you after?

[vertigoranger]

That's part of the problem. I'm a media student with no experience- one imagines my kind are neither desired nor rare. It'll probably be a few years before i've stumbled into enough work to be useful.