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).
Thursday, 21 June 2012
Friday, 1 June 2012
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.
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.
Wednesday, 29 February 2012
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:
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.
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.
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.
Tuesday, 21 February 2012
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.
Sunday, 1 January 2012
Tuesday, 27 December 2011
Doesn't time fly!
Well, it's been roughly 4 months since we put our PR application on hold to wait until the new year to prepare for the next quota run of PR occupations.
Well it's almost the new year! Eeek!
As we ramp things up through January, I'll post details of what we're doing, but in the mean time I thought I'd make a long overdue post containing some photos from our reccie trip earlier in 2011 (lots of photos to follow. If it creates a page that takes ages to load, pop a comment on the post and I'll see if I can improve things).
So.....
Photos from Okotoks, Alberta where some very kind friends put up with us for two weeks (we are in your debt - you know who you are):
Okotoks Easter egg hunt. Hundreds of kids turned out to collect little plastic eggs to exchange for a massive bar of chocolate (and I mean massive - a pound in weight). Our kids loved it - obviously!
The Okotoks mascot.
Our eldest daughter got to try out school for a day.
A walk along Sheep River.
The footbridge over Sheep River - Strike a pose!
The "Okotoks Glacial Erratic", or Big Rock to you and I. Actually big rock translates to Okotoks in the native language. Apparently Native Americans (or whatever their official name is) used it as a navigation aid when moving through the area.
Okotoks residents share the town with more deer than you can shake a stick at.
Off to the Rocky Mountains
No photo or description of the Rocky Mountains could ever do them justice. Take a look at the bus in the bottom right of this photo to get an idea of the scale, but also know that this was taken in what could be described as the foothills. The scale gets much grander as you go on.
As you drive further into the Rocky's, you see these wildlife bridges that allow the animals to move around without having to physically cross the highway.
Walking on a frozen Lake Louise.
On the back road between Lake Louise and Banff without a care in the world, oblivious to the dozen or so cars that had stopped to take his photo.
Downtown Banff. We had a delicious dinner at Tony Roma's...... until our youngest threw up all over the place.......... twice. The poor Australian waitress was so understanding and kind, and insisted on cleaning everything up. I'm sure our photos are on the wall in case we ever try to go back :)
On top of Sulphur Mountain with Banff behind me, and a frozen Lake Minnewanka (tee-hee) in the top right hand corner.
Looking back at the cable car station and cafe on the top of Sulphur Mountain.
Calgary
The Rocky Mountains as seen from the top of Calgary Tower. To be honest we didn't think Calgary Tower was worth it. $48 (if memory serves me correctly) for 2 adults and 2 kids (daughter number three was free), plus about $8 for parking. Nothing but the view and the gift shop up there (plus a restaurant, but we didn't eat there), and it's not even the tallest building in Calgary any more - I think there are four or five taller buildings.
The Calgary Olympic park (or whatever it's official name is), from when the Winter Olympics were held in I think 1988. I remember watching Eddie the Eagle soar (ahem) from the end of those ski jumps on TV when I was younger. I think it's pretty cool being able to go skiing in the city.
The Alberta flag.
Fort Calgary. There was a full scale replica of the old wooden RCMP fort from 1870 ('ish - I think). Sadly it burned down and all that is left is a wall, a gate and a shed. But what I did learn from a very helpful employee on reception there was that this........
...... didn't exist until 1968. Before that Canada had the Union Jack as it's flag.
Heritage Park in Calgary. We only got to visit the transport museum, but there is also a historic town there (a bit like Beamish in the UK so I'm led to believe), but it was closed for restoration. That was the main problem with our trip really. We were in Canada when just about every attraction was transitioning from winter to summer mode so most were only partially open or closed all together (the Calgary Olympic park was deserted).
This felt a bit surreal. Having a picnic outside Heritage Park in weather easily warm enough for just a t-shirt (15 or 16 degrees Celsius).... next to a frozen lake.
And then......
Our ride home. Booooooooooo!
Okay, that's enough photos. I think you can get a feel for what we saw. In addition to all of the above, we also tried to live as realistically as possible, shopping at supermarkets, using local amenities, checked out the local school (or at least Lydia and our eldest daughter did), and I think we got a pretty good feel for what life would be like.
We experienced snow, but it was only really cold for the first two or three days we were there. We should plan another reccie for the deepest depths of winter, but I'm not sure how practical that would be as we'd probably be stuck indoors most of the time (but perhaps that's a Canadian winter experience we should take in). Something to think about I suppose.
Anyway, I'm starting to ramble on so I'll leave it there and I hope you enjoyed the photos.
Well it's almost the new year! Eeek!
As we ramp things up through January, I'll post details of what we're doing, but in the mean time I thought I'd make a long overdue post containing some photos from our reccie trip earlier in 2011 (lots of photos to follow. If it creates a page that takes ages to load, pop a comment on the post and I'll see if I can improve things).
So.....
Photos from Okotoks, Alberta where some very kind friends put up with us for two weeks (we are in your debt - you know who you are):
Okotoks Easter egg hunt. Hundreds of kids turned out to collect little plastic eggs to exchange for a massive bar of chocolate (and I mean massive - a pound in weight). Our kids loved it - obviously!
The Okotoks mascot.
Our eldest daughter got to try out school for a day.
A walk along Sheep River.
The footbridge over Sheep River - Strike a pose!
The "Okotoks Glacial Erratic", or Big Rock to you and I. Actually big rock translates to Okotoks in the native language. Apparently Native Americans (or whatever their official name is) used it as a navigation aid when moving through the area.
Okotoks residents share the town with more deer than you can shake a stick at.
Off to the Rocky Mountains
No photo or description of the Rocky Mountains could ever do them justice. Take a look at the bus in the bottom right of this photo to get an idea of the scale, but also know that this was taken in what could be described as the foothills. The scale gets much grander as you go on.
As you drive further into the Rocky's, you see these wildlife bridges that allow the animals to move around without having to physically cross the highway.
Walking on a frozen Lake Louise.
On the back road between Lake Louise and Banff without a care in the world, oblivious to the dozen or so cars that had stopped to take his photo.
Downtown Banff. We had a delicious dinner at Tony Roma's...... until our youngest threw up all over the place.......... twice. The poor Australian waitress was so understanding and kind, and insisted on cleaning everything up. I'm sure our photos are on the wall in case we ever try to go back :)
On top of Sulphur Mountain with Banff behind me, and a frozen Lake Minnewanka (tee-hee) in the top right hand corner.
Looking back at the cable car station and cafe on the top of Sulphur Mountain.
Calgary
The Rocky Mountains as seen from the top of Calgary Tower. To be honest we didn't think Calgary Tower was worth it. $48 (if memory serves me correctly) for 2 adults and 2 kids (daughter number three was free), plus about $8 for parking. Nothing but the view and the gift shop up there (plus a restaurant, but we didn't eat there), and it's not even the tallest building in Calgary any more - I think there are four or five taller buildings.
The Calgary Olympic park (or whatever it's official name is), from when the Winter Olympics were held in I think 1988. I remember watching Eddie the Eagle soar (ahem) from the end of those ski jumps on TV when I was younger. I think it's pretty cool being able to go skiing in the city.
The Alberta flag.
Fort Calgary. There was a full scale replica of the old wooden RCMP fort from 1870 ('ish - I think). Sadly it burned down and all that is left is a wall, a gate and a shed. But what I did learn from a very helpful employee on reception there was that this........
...... didn't exist until 1968. Before that Canada had the Union Jack as it's flag.
Heritage Park in Calgary. We only got to visit the transport museum, but there is also a historic town there (a bit like Beamish in the UK so I'm led to believe), but it was closed for restoration. That was the main problem with our trip really. We were in Canada when just about every attraction was transitioning from winter to summer mode so most were only partially open or closed all together (the Calgary Olympic park was deserted).
This felt a bit surreal. Having a picnic outside Heritage Park in weather easily warm enough for just a t-shirt (15 or 16 degrees Celsius).... next to a frozen lake.
And then......
Our ride home. Booooooooooo!
Okay, that's enough photos. I think you can get a feel for what we saw. In addition to all of the above, we also tried to live as realistically as possible, shopping at supermarkets, using local amenities, checked out the local school (or at least Lydia and our eldest daughter did), and I think we got a pretty good feel for what life would be like.
We experienced snow, but it was only really cold for the first two or three days we were there. We should plan another reccie for the deepest depths of winter, but I'm not sure how practical that would be as we'd probably be stuck indoors most of the time (but perhaps that's a Canadian winter experience we should take in). Something to think about I suppose.
Anyway, I'm starting to ramble on so I'll leave it there and I hope you enjoyed the photos.
Wednesday, 16 November 2011
Resources
One place we've found a fantastic source of information is the British Expats Canada forum:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=56
If you are considering a move to Canada, you will find lots of people there in the same or similar situation. There are plenty of people there who can offer advice and point out relevant information.
Before you post read the sticky threads on the front page, and also take a look at the wiki as that will give you a good deal of information and answer the most common questions.
http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=56
If you are considering a move to Canada, you will find lots of people there in the same or similar situation. There are plenty of people there who can offer advice and point out relevant information.
Before you post read the sticky threads on the front page, and also take a look at the wiki as that will give you a good deal of information and answer the most common questions.
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