Oh Dear!

Well we're almost at the stage of giving everything a final check, so application wise things are going okay, BUT I just read this news article that seems to suggest the applications won't be opened on July 1st as we thought, and they will stay closed until the end of the year whilst they draft a totally new set of rules.

Pants!

We will have to wait and see.

Friday's are Important

My police certificate arrived in the post yesterday which is good (still waiting for Lydia's - may arrive today), but that's not why I'm posting.

Today is Friday, and Fridays are important as that is the day of the week that new rules will be announced. To be implemented, things like this must be published in a Canadian Government publication called the Canada Gazette (see here), and as this is published every Friday, that is when we'll find out.

Including today there are two Friday's left before July 1st, so if they are going to announce something I really hope it's today. I'll be keeping my eyes glued to that web site tonight waiting for the latest edition to be published.

To be truthful I'd prefer they do announce something (with the caveat that it doesn't rule our application out), as if July 1st ticks over with out news I'll be very unsure on what to do. Do I send the application only to find new rules published the next day whilst it's in transit, or do I wait for something that may never happen.

Stressful times.

Getting Ready

With 10 calendar days to go until the immigration quota is reset, we are getting there with our application.

All forms are at least partially complete, and the only documents that are outstanding are new police certificates. The people who produce these have an SLA of 10 days, so they should be with us by Tuesday next week. I noted that the cheques for those were cashed today, so all seems in hand there.

Things are even looking organised with everything collated into a ring binder with one of those plastic pocket things for each section. It is now just a case of finishing off the forms, and ordering all the supporting documentation.

Then check the application against the instructions and check list, re-check, re-check again, book the courier, re-check some more, package up the application, unpack, re-check again and then repackage the application.

On the morning the courier will collect the package I'm sure we'll give it another check as well.

BUT WAIT!

There is one fly that may land in the ointment. Any day now we are expecting the Canadian government to publish the rules for the 2012/2013 application year. Hopefully they will stay the same, but there may be new rules introduced and the list of eligible occupations may change.

Whatever happens I just hope it doesn't delay or rule out our application (everyone should not cross their fingers for us and hope that this is not the case).

June Already!

Eeek!

So after many promises to post frequently, I have proved I am the worlds most fickle blogger.

... however June is upon us, so that means 30 days to get everything in order.

We are pressing ahead despite suspicions that there will be a new set of MIs, or Ministerial Instructions (essentially rules governing the application process) that will state all qualifications must be assessed for suitability in the relevant field.

What does that mean for us? Well, if that comes into force and we assume Nursing is still on the list of required occupations, we will have to get Lydia’s nursing qualifications assessed by CARNA (the nursing body in Alberta). The downside is that it will cost us $525 and take up to 12 months! Fingers crossed we don’t have to do this.

So what have we been up to? Our house has been valued by 3 estate agents, and today I rang the mortgage company requesting an up to date balance. We need this to prove we have equity in our house, so we can take those funds to support ourselves if we move to Canada. The minimum requirement for a family of 5 is roughly $22,000 CAD (plus change). Actually that figure is nowhere near enough, but thankfully we have more than that.

I’m guessing, but I think we’re about ½ way through our checklists now. University and collage transcripts are in hand, missing birth certificate replaced (how on earth we lost it I don’t know), and we have work references (but need more).

Right now I’m going through the painful task of filling in the forms, and I mean painful. They need details of everywhere we have lived since the age of 18. Do they have any idea how much I moved around as a student. Hints and tips; Google street view is fantastic for helping you remember :)

Okay, June is going to be a busy month, so hopefully there will be more posts to follow.

Lists

A lot of spare time has been spent over the last week or so trying to think of everything we will need to do for our application.

This is the result:

Three sheets of flip chart paper, two containing PR application to-do items and one containing miscellaneous to-do items loosely connected to the application (e.g. decorate bedrooms before house valuation etc...).

We've split them up and put a time frame against them for completion - End of March, mid April, end of April etc...

Today is the last day of February and there are four to complete:

• Order Lydia's university transcripts
• Order employment history report from HMRC
• Download list of duties from the Canadian National Occupation Classification (NOC) list - Employment references must state that your job included these duties as part of the application.
• Get details of brothers and sisters (names, addresses, DOB, place of birth) including step brothers and sisters.

How many have we done....... one (the NOC duty list)! Oh dear. Well, that's not technically true. It's more like 3.5 as the HMRC report and the transcripts have been ordered, but we can't tick them off until we have the paperwork in hand. The remaining part is the details of brothers and sisters. Lydia has her side, but I still have to sort out my side, so it's me that's slacking, but I still have this evening to meet the deadline :)

Currently the lists hold 38 items, and there will be more to add (eeek!). Looks like we have a busy few months ahead :)

Progress updates will follow, so at least I'll have something to post about.

Start your engines

July 2012 seems to be fast approaching, so it’s time to get going with the application.

Fresh copies of all the forms have been downloaded in case they have changed, and I have a piece of A4 paper with more ‘to-do’ items than you can shake a stick at. The next few days will see the items on that list formalised and categorised with each category given a deadline.

To-do, to-do, to-do. So much to do.

Watch this space for updates.

Happy New Year!

We wish you all you desire in 2012.

That is all. Carry on :)