Immigrating to Canada but no University Degree

[Jpanchal30]

I am 24 years old and I currently work full time in a retail job in the UK. I am also a fully trained henna and makeup artist and work for another company doing that. This job allows me to work anywhere and we have artists based out in California and Canada as well. So maybe that will help my application?

I have no university degree but moving to Toronto is something that I have wanted for a long time but have never pursued it because I never thought it was an option for me.

I hope someone will be able to give me advice on how to go about my application and the reality of me being successful in me moving to Toronto. I understand that it's not an over night process.

 

[scylla]

I would recommend that you look into the Working Holiday Visa (IEC) program. If you apply and are selected under this program, you can move to Canada temporarily (for a couple of years) to work without first finding an employer willing to hire you. This is probably the best first step you can take. Note that the IEC program for the UK has a very high number of applicants for the few places available. So unfortunately there's no guarantee you would be selected. Having said that, apply and hopefully you'll get lucky.

Immigrating to Canada will most likely be quite a bit more difficult for you. Canada's immigration programs tend to be point based with points being awarded for university degrees / college diplomas, years of skilled work experience, job offers in Canada accompanied by an LMIA, etc. This doesn't mean it won't be possible - but your profession won't make it easy. If you can get a couple of years of skilled work experience in Canada through the IEC - that may make things easier for you.

Good luck.