HELP needed deciding what to study in order to become qualified to move to Canada!!

[robash]

Hi everyone. Its maybe just a dream but i have started to think about living in canada. my husband has travelled round canada when he was younger doing ice skating camps etc. we would love to have an outdoors lifestyle in a nice community with friendly people who have good morals ( not like the uk, think underage drinking and anti-social behaviour.)

anyway, i am basically looking into what sort of occupations would be highly transferable to canada (and other countries perhaps). i am looking into doing a degree in nursing then gain a year or so experience in the uk in order to qualify for permanent residency. im actually open to any ideas with regards to a career path but in a nutshell the training i do in the uk will be geared to moving abroad.

i was doing some research on the net last night and got a call thismorning rom one of the immigration agencies that i was looking at. she said that it takes about 3 years for the visa process and you must have 3 years experience after you qualify in your occupation in order to be allowed in on a permanent skilled worker visa. I was under the impression that the more years experience you have the more points you get but the minimum was only 1years. also does it really take that long to process?

are there any occupations that you can do almost straight away when you get there without having to spend years of more study inorder to do what youve just spent 3years at uni studying to do!

thabks guys. sorry to go on a bit!

[Bevdeforges]

Most professions really do require a certain level of understanding of the local laws related to the profession. I haven't been through the Canadian immigration process, but I suspect that what most countries are actually looking for is the experience rather than simply the uni training. But even at that, for something like nursing, there are some rather major differences in how that's done between North America and Europe - probably even between the US and Canada.

Most countries do put nurses through some amount of re-training in order to integrate them into the local system. But they are assuming you have the patient care side of things in hand. Any chance you could put off your nursing training until you are settled in Canada with your husband? That might make the process a bit shorter and eliminate the need for re-training.
Cheers,
Bev

[oddball]

Go for the move and do your training in Canada , the other way is long drawn out and you still have to retrain once you get there . It used to be that even hairdressers had to take retraining , as a mechanic with 26 years in the trade , including being an up-grade instructor in the British army , they said they would give me 2 years towards my Canadian license , would not even test me first , Told them what to do with thier piece of paper , certificates do not fix anything , skill does . Colin

[gkloken]

I agree with Colin Studying in Canada is costing much less and you are provided with a part time work if you require it. Once your studies are completed you do get a job through the Uni or college. At least you know you have it right away.

[robash]

Originally Posted by gkloken

I agree with Colin Studying in Canada is costing much less and you are provided with a part time work if you require it. Once your studies are completed you do get a job through the Uni or college. At least you know you have it right away.

wow. i hadnt even thought of doing that. am gonna look into studying in canada to be a nurse. in the uk nurse training is funded so you dont have to pay university fees. any ideas on the costs of nurse training in canada. so would i ( in theory) be able to buy a house and live with my family while i did this. would you be entitled to financial help not being a 'proper' canadian resident during your time as a student.

thanks guys i really appreciate the advice :-)

[Bevdeforges]

Financial help is generally not so readily available for "foreign" students. But, school costs are significantly less in Canada than next door in the US.

You might find this website useful: Directory of Canadian Nursing Schools
Perhaps you could contact a couple of the schools to find out what their policies are for foreign students.
Cheers,
Bev

[robash]

would it be possible to come to canada, buy a home and settle, study at uni to become a qualified nurse, find a job as a nurse and basically settle for the rest of our lives.

i understand the student visa bit, but how would you 'convert' your visa so you can stay and work permanently after graduating. obviously theres no point in buying a house and settling our daughter into school if they are just going to chuck us out when the student visa runs out! thats not the point of the exercise. the point is we want to have a new life in canada.

we do plan to bring a substantial amount of money to support ourselves during the studying period. thanks.

[Bevdeforges]

What is your husband's line of work? Can he qualify for a visa to get you over there and settled in? Then you start school and pick up with your career when you're done.
Cheers,
Bev

[robash]

Originally Posted by Bevdeforges

What is your husband's line of work? Can he qualify for a visa to get you over there and settled in? Then you start school and pick up with your career when you're done.
Cheers,
Bev

hiya, unfortunatley my husband has no trade or qualifications so we wouldnt be able to go down that route. he is a civil servant and has worked as an assistant manager at Morrisons supermarket before that, but no formal qualifications.
we were rather banking on me getting qualified in something in order for us to get in. its all so confusing and complicated. the problem is that we both left school at 16 with good GCSES but have no Alevels etc. My original idea was to do a National Diploma In Health Studies ( equivilant to A level) then a DiplomaHE Nursing (or Degree ), gain a year or 2 experience in Uk and then apply for visa. But when it was mentioned that I could study in Canada as a way in I have started to look into that. So basically all that will take about 7 years before we even apply! then would have to retrain anyway before i could start working as a nurse. so confused.

[CanadianGal]

If going to school as a visa student the costs are *significantly higher*. Training is provided in the UK...Holy cow that will save you thousands! Double or more the thousands a Canadian citizen would have to cough up for nursing at university. Check that. And good luck!