Help, advice, guideline type stuff please?

[Saiohn]

So hey guys, basically I want to get to Canada, specifically I would like to live in Vancouver, BC. That's the goal anyway. Thing is, I'm really not sure how to go about it and I'm pretty sure I don't really qualify, with my lack of a decent education or any skilled work experience.

Some information about me, which might not really be all that relevant but I'll mention it anyway as I'm not sure if it helps any. I've stayed in Canada before, when I was 15, I left the UK with my mum and sister and we went to Vancouver. Being 15, it definitely wasn't the best age for a different country as it meant that I didn't get to complete any of my high school exams. Anyway, my mother married a Canadian citizen and as far as I'm aware we were all set to gain our citizenship/residency? unfortunately, a friend of my mums, fell ill and she decided to return to the UK (with my sister) to help care for them. I stayed for a few more months but decided that I too would return to the UK, visit family and maybe study. This, as far as I'm aware has negated any progress that was made towards gaining citizenship.

When I got back to the UK, I took two courses at college, both related to animation/videogame design. (Wasn't a very clever choice of course) I passed the first course and decided to follow it up with two more. Which to this day remains incomplete for various reasons, I do not have an overall qualifcation/certificate for it but a list of modules. I'm not sure this education counts for much at all.

I mentioned that my mother married a Canadian citizen earlier, they're still married but they're no longer together. I'm still in touch with her husband as we were reasonably close. He's mentioned sponsoring, and plans on sponsoring my sister. I also have a friend, who left for Canada a few years ago, now stays in Alberta, he's said that I should mention he can offer me work if need be, however it'd be in the construction business and I am not qualified.

Anyway, basically, I'm asking what my options are for now, for the future? my chances and what I can do to improve them. I got myself a copy of Rosetta stone, getting my French down! gotta help right?

Thanks for reading.

 

[scylla]

Your mother, you and your sister would have been going through the process to gain permanent residency when you left Canada (not citizenship). You can't qualify for citizenship until you have been permanent residents for several years. If your mother and her Canadian husband are no longer together, then he can't sponsor you or your sister for permanent residency. So I would forget about this option now.

One possible option would be to complete further education in Canada (college or university). This is an expensive option since foreign students pay much higher tution fees than domestic students. However this could pave a path to PR for you if you attend a recognized school, obtain a post graduate work permit and are able to secure a job that then qualifies you to apply for permanent residency. You should expect the education to cost you at leasat $25K per year and should aim to take at least a 2 year program.

You could also look into the Working Holiday Visa program which (if you qualify) would allow you to temporarily move to Canada for 1 year to work. Note that all of the spaces for this year's program are gone and you should expect next year's to be snapped up in less than an hour when the program re-opens (it's a very popular program). You can find more information here" http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/united_kingdom-royaume_uni/experience_canada_experience/working_holiday-vacances_travail.aspx

I wouldn’t bother spending time learning French if your aim is to live in BC – this won’t help you immigrate. I think your time would be better spent getting some sort of specialization that might actually help you to immigrate (e.g. welding, electrician certification, completing a college diploma or university degree).

As your immediate next steps, you should spend a few days / weeks familiarizing yourself with Canada's immigration programs to understand what it will take to make a permanent move here. You can find this information here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/apply.asp

 

[scylla]

Just to add - I think one final option would be to secure a permanent job offer in Canada and to immigrate via this job offer. Not just any job offer will do and it's likely the job offer will have to be skilled or semi-skilled. So the construction job may not meet that requirement. Again, you'll need to familiarize yourself with Canada's immigration programs and requirements to understand what type of job you need to secure. If your plan is to settle in BC, then I would recommend you focus on reading up on the BC provincial nominee program.

 

[Rob_TO]

I mentioned that my mother married a Canadian citizen earlier, they're still married but they're no longer together. I'm still in touch with her husband as we were reasonably close. He's mentioned sponsoring, and plans on sponsoring my sister. I also have a friend, who left for Canada a few years ago, now stays in Alberta, he's said that I should mention he can offer me work if need be, however it'd be in the construction business and I am not qualified.

Just so you know, your mom's legal husband does not qualify to sponsor either you or your sister. You and your sister would need to qualify as dependents still, and along with your mom would all need to be sponsored together based on your mom's marriage to him. However if they are actually separated, then that make him ineligible to be a sponsor as you are no longer part of the family class.

Also your friend offering work in Alberta, would need to go through the LMO process first to prove there is no Canadian that can do the job he needs, and then you would need to qualify for a work permit to immigrate here. Since you don't actually have experience in that field, there is not much chance of this happening.

Your options seem to be following what Scylla has mentioned.

 

[Saiohn]

Thanks guys, I guess it's a little upsetting but I guess I need to be realistic. I figure my best option would be to study here, mainly because tuition is really cheap in Scotland (for now ) I'm not sure if a college diploma (HND) would cut it though, I guess it depends what I've studied. I need to do a bit more research on the Canadian immigration programs, and what I might study. I might try and see if I qualify for a holiday working Visa at some point.