What are my options for immigrating as a new animator?

[Tommy25]

Hello everyone. I am an American citizen and spent 6 years living in the UK. I really enjoyed my time there, but I after living back in the States for a while, I've started thinking about potentially moving to Canada in the future. I understand that right now, due to the pandemic, I am unable to immigrate as an American. I wouldn't be planning to move to Canada for at least 3 years. Here's my situation:

I am currently an animation student in college. It is a two year, associate's degree program. Without knowing the legalities and possibilities of this, I've wondered about maybe applying for some animation studios up in Canada after I get my degree. I understand that Canada has work permits, as well as express entry. I really don't know what my best avenue would be; it seems like even getting to the point where you can apply for express entry costs a fair amount of money, and I don't want to just throw money away if I'm fundamentally not going to qualify for something. For what it's worth, I am 29, so I'd be looking to move before age 35. English is my first language, and as I said, I'd be a new animator with a degree but no professional experience. Are there any potential avenues for me? I certainly admire the country and would like to step away from the States again. Ideally I'd like to look for an option with a pathway to permanently live in Canada, if possible. Thanks for your help!

 

[primaprime]

You can apply for jobs, but few will be interested if you do not already have permission to work in Canada. To sponsor you for a work permit, first an employer has to invest time and money to prove they couldn't hire locally.

Express Entry will not be an option either if you do not have a master's degree and at least three years of skilled work experience. You also start losing points once you turn 30 so it gets increasingly difficult. You should look into provincial nominations. There is also the Atlantic Immigration Pilot if you're willing to take an unrelated job.

 

[scylla]

Hello everyone. I am an American citizen and spent 6 years living in the UK. I really enjoyed my time there, but I after living back in the States for a while, I've started thinking about potentially moving to Canada in the future. I understand that right now, due to the pandemic, I am unable to immigrate as an American. I wouldn't be planning to move to Canada for at least 3 years. Here's my situation:

I am currently an animation student in college. It is a two year, associate's degree program. Without knowing the legalities and possibilities of this, I've wondered about maybe applying for some animation studios up in Canada after I get my degree. I understand that Canada has work permits, as well as express entry. I really don't know what my best avenue would be; it seems like even getting to the point where you can apply for express entry costs a fair amount of money, and I don't want to just throw money away if I'm fundamentally not going to qualify for something. For what it's worth, I am 29, so I'd be looking to move before age 35. English is my first language, and as I said, I'd be a new animator with a degree but no professional experience. Are there any potential avenues for me? I certainly admire the country and would like to step away from the States again. Ideally I'd like to look for an option with a pathway to permanently live in Canada, if possible. Thanks for your help!

My comments:
- I'm not sure why you think you can't immigrate to Canada right now due to the pandemic. That's not the case. Canada is still accepted and processing immigration applications, although at a slower pace.
- The older you get and the longer you wait, the harder it will be to immigrate since you'll lose points for your age. If your goal is to move to Canada and you qualify to apply, you'd be best off doing that now rather than waiting until you are into your early 30s.
- To submit an Express Entry profile, you only need to pay for an ECA and language test. The rest you don't have to pay until you are actually selected so you're not throwing money away at that point. You won't be selected if you fundamentally don't qualify.
- You can certainly try applying for a job after you complete your degree. Securing a job is generally not the easiest thing to do.

 

[Tommy25]

My comments:
- I'm not sure why you think you can't immigrate to Canada right now due to the pandemic. That's not the case. Canada is still accepted and processing immigration applications, although at a slower pace.
- The older you get and the longer you wait, the harder it will be to immigrate since you'll lose points for your age. If your goal is to move to Canada and you qualify to apply, you'd be best off doing that now rather than waiting until you are into your early 30s.
- To submit an Express Entry profile, you only need to pay for an ECA and language test. The rest you don't have to pay until you are actually selected so you're not throwing money away at that point. You won't be selected if you fundamentally don't qualify.
- You can certainly try applying for a job after you complete your degree. Securing a job is generally not the easiest thing to do.

I guess I was under the impression that I wouldn't be able to immigrate during the pandemic because we are being told in the States that non-essential travel to Canada is suspended.

The other user who commented on my post mentioned that Express Entry would not be a possibility without having a master's degree; is that true? If so, it sounds like there isn't really a path for me to immigrate. I'd also rather finish my degree before trying to move.

 

[scylla]

I guess I was under the impression that I wouldn't be able to immigrate during the pandemic because we are being told in the States that non-essential travel to Canada is suspended.

The other user who commented on my post mentioned that Express Entry would not be a possibility without having a master's degree; is that true? If so, it sounds like there isn't really a path for me to immigrate. I'd also rather finish my degree before trying to move.

Non-essential travel is certainly prohibited (e.g. tourism). If you have been approved for PR and are moving to Canada, this falls under an exception.

Express Entry is a points based program. Those with the most points are selected. You'll need to calculate your points to determine your chances. Right now you need to have 470+ points to be selected directly through EE. Use the online calculator:

https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/crs-tool.asp

 

[Tommy25]

Non-essential travel is certainly prohibited (e.g. tourism). If you have been approved for PR and are moving to Canada, this falls under an exception.

Express Entry is a points based program. Those with the most points are selected. You'll need to calculate your points to determine your chances. Right now you need to have 470+ points to be selected directly through EE. Use the online calculator:

https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/crs-tool.asp

Thanks for the information. It doesn't look very good. I guess the best possibility would be to get a job offer, but even then, I understand there are hoops that would need to be jumped through and I'm not sure that, with my education and work experience level, I'd be able to do it. And considering that my age will continue to work less and less in my favor, I just don't think the timing adds up...that sucks pretty badly; it'd really be nice to bail on my dumpster fire of a country.