First Steps - Feeling VERY Lost & Need Help/Guidance

[dhedrick]

My family and I are just in the very beginning stages of trying to immigrate to Canada, and we are finding the process very daunting and confusing.  We do not actually intend to relocate for 2-3 years, but would like to figure out as much of the process as early as possible so that we can begin to get funds and paperwork inline and hopefully have this be as smooth a process as possible.

We life in the USA (Midwest), and intend to relocate to Prince Edward Island.  My wife is a registered nurse (associates degree), and will be the primary applicant, as I have no completed education after high school.  I have been a national accounts manager for a large company for 10 years, but I don't believe that puts me in the “skilled worker” category.  We have 2 children, both of whom will still be under 17 years old when we hope to move.  While we are not well off financially, we are financially stable, and are generally healthy.  I have type 1 diabetes (well controlled on an insulin pump), as well as thyroid, cholesterol & blood pressure (all very well controlled on oral medication).  Only other family health issues are very well controlled asthma for wife & son.  Will these health issues be a significant barrier for us?

Can anyone offer any insight, suggestions, etc. on how to proceed, what we should be doing at this time, etc. that will be of assistance as time goes on?  We are seeking permanent resident status, and would ideally like to proceed through the provincial nominee program, but really don't know the ins and outs of any of this.

We are very excited about this move, as it is a fulfillment of many of our dreams and offers a much better life for our children as well, but are currently VERY overwhelmed by the process and completely unsure of how/what we need to do in order to make our dream of permanent residence (and hopefully eventually citizenship) in Canada on PEI a reality.

Any/all help that you can offer us is appreciated with all our hearts.

Thanks,
Dale

[steaky]

Once your wife became PR, she can sponsor you and children to come to Canada.

[dhedrick]

In the meantime, would it be possible for us to move and work and attend school?  Or would it be possible for all of us to apply for PR with her as the primary applicant?  The entire process is a bit confusing to me right now.

[scylla]

Steaky -

That's not correct to the best of my knowledge.

Since they would be applying via the skilled class, the initial application would include the entire family (i.e. primary applicant plus spouse and children) and they would be processed together.

It's certainly an option to list part of the family as "non-accompanying" if not everyone is ready to immigrate at the same time. However this doesn't make sense in this case since they all want to arrive together. Also, even if some of the family member are non-accompaying, they still have to be medically examined.

Long story short - the application can and should include the entire family.

dhedrick -

It's my recommendation that you spend some quality time looking through the information on the following site. It's going to take some time to look through everything. However it's the best way to really understand your options. There are also online test available that allow you to enter information about the primary applicant and family to see if you have sufficient points to immigrate (in some cases you need to have a certain number of points to even qualify). You can also find out how much money you as a family will have to bring which will let you know how much you will have to save in preparation.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/index.asp

Once you have familiarized yourselves with the basics, I would then recommend that you spend some time reading the following section of this site which deals with experience class immigrants:

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/skilled-worker-professional-immigration-b4.0/

You will be able to find a ton of good information just by reading old posts (including a number about nursing). And if you have additional questions that don't appear to be addressed, you can post your questions there. The section of the forum you have posted this question in gets relatively little traffic.