Get new dreams? Or carry on as planned and hope for the best?
Yesterday I got an email from the Canadian Immigration Consultant I have been speaking too. The CIC (Canadian Immigration authorities) are undergoing a consultation on the skilled workers visa program. Due to the global recession it seems that certain occupations are no longer deemed to be in shortage in Canada!
It would also appear that education and trades are likely to be axed! Oh greatness! So after a year of pure hard slog and hellish teaching practises I will be no longer eligible to apply under the NOC code for College Lecturers as apparantly it is felt that this occupation has too many loopholes, which allow prospective visa applicants to "twist" their job specs (i.e not college lecturers) to suit the visa requirements. Which means that genunie people who will actually work in this profession upon landing are stuffed! If I could get an application in before the consultation period ends on 16th April, My application would stand as is and wouldn't be affected by any changes that are made. But as at the moment I don't meet the requirements - I don't have 12 months full time experience I can't make the submission. There is one other possibility, but it's a long shot and would mean getting in through another visa scheme that is run seperately from the rest of the visa schemes, but it would mean moving to Nova Scotia, and settling there for a good 5 years before moving on. It means forging contacts and relationships in a community in NS. I am unsure of this, as I don't want to be one of the people who get in "any way they can" which messes things up for people like myself and tim who then have the rules changed on them.
Also Tim is currently under going two years worth of training to work as a plumber, this seems unlikely to secure us a visa too. So, the question is do we still hold out for Canada and start applying for jobs and hope that the labour market testing is approved and we can get visas that way, or do we start looking towards Australia or New Zealand?
We originally deemed these countries too far from home. Canada is at best 5 hours from home (Nova Scotia - a possible on our list of places to settle), New Zealand is a good day and half away! We love the Canadian way of life - the outdoor opportunities etc, etc, and having visited there (albeit on holiday) it felt good, friendly, welcoming, and looks a great place to raise a family. Could we achieve that Down Under?
Australia, well granted it has an undeniable sunshine record, and a house with a pool sounds amazing, but we wanted the winter lifestyle - the mountains, snow and skiing/boarding. Not possible everywhere in Australia, plus from speaking to actual aussies, not as good as Europe:( This would mean flights to Japan or NZ to get decent conditions for the winter season, and would be the same as being here and off to Europe for a week, rather than the "on the dooorstep" opportunities you can get in British Columbia or Alberta.
New Zealand, yes it has mountains and good snow records, and Auckland also has Ed Leigh:) but the rest of the year the weather is like here, and it does seem very remote. Can either of those places provide Noah a decent education, and a future that is worth something, unlike the one we feel can be achieved here?
More research is obviously needed, but for now, my heart feels heavy and our future is once again uncertain.
Don't give up, but broaden your horizons. We tried, without success for a long time to get into Canada, but eventually realised it wasn't likely to happen, and started to look elsewhere, within 3 months I had been offered the job I am currently in and 5 months after that we moved here to the falklands. We still long for Canada, and hope to get there eventually, but in the meantime we're having a lot of fun and will see a bit more of the world. Chin up chuck!
ReplyDeleteThanks hun. Where did you look for your job - TES? I seem to be going round in circles at the mo and not actually finding anything useful out!This emmigration thing sure is a rollercoaster!
ReplyDeleteWas TES. It's a nightmare, and when you get the job and start making the move it all seems like it's too much and there were times when we felt like giving up and staying put, but it's worth the stress and upheaval. I doubt we'll be heading back to the UK anytime soon, even if we don't stay on longer once the first 2 year contract is up.
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