# Financial Adviser looking to move to Vancouver



## smaxwell (Apr 3, 2011)

Hi I'm a newbie and looking for a bit of guidance. I'm a fully qualified Financial Adviser in the UK looking to re-locate to Vancouver. Does anyone know a good area for small Children? I have looked at a re-loctions but nothing beats 'first hand experience' I'm a little unsure of the Visa process too I have approached a few companies and I think I need to get a job first!
Hope you can all help...

Cheers

Steve


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## nauru (Aug 23, 2009)

Good luck.

Just a warning, you may find the regulatory environment in Canada/BC to be a nightmare. Be sure to look into what "courses" and "qualifications" you need to complete in order to work as an FA in Canada. 

Almost no foreign professional qualifications are recognized in Canada. It is a huge problem in Canada, the discrimination against foreigners who qualified for certain positions in their home countries. 

So be sure to read what you'll need to complete and how much each course will cost you in terms of time and cash. Until you complete these, you may find that no employers in Canada even have the courtesy to call you back.

Not sure if you have done much reading on the major social and economic problems facing the country, but FYI Canada has a huge number of foreign-trained brain surgeons, rocket scientists and highly educated people who drive taxis and serve pizza. Please don't be another one. 

Have you considered the United States instead of Canada? Much bigger market, much more highly developed financial sector, lower cost of living for an expat starting out, higher pay for the same work, and less institutionalized xenophobia.

Again, best of luck.


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

smaxwell said:


> Hi I'm a newbie and looking for a bit of guidance. I'm a fully qualified Financial Adviser in the UK looking to re-locate to Vancouver. Does anyone know a good area for small Children? I have looked at a re-loctions but nothing beats 'first hand experience' I'm a little unsure of the Visa process too I have approached a few companies and I think I need to get a job first!
> Hope you can all help...
> 
> Cheers
> ...


Have you checked that your UK qualifications are acceptable in Canada? Perhaps go to https://www.csi.ca/student/en_ca/home.xhtml to have your qualifications evaluated for the Canadian market.


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## smaxwell (Apr 3, 2011)

smaxwell said:


> Hi I'm a newbie and looking for a bit of guidance. I'm a fully qualified Financial Adviser in the UK looking to re-locate to Vancouver. Does anyone know a good area for small Children? I have looked at a re-loctions but nothing beats 'first hand experience' I'm a little unsure of the Visa process too I have approached a few companies and I think I need to get a job first!
> Hope you can all help...
> 
> Cheers
> ...


Thanks for both replies, I really appreciate it  I have looked at the website and I have decided to email all my qualifications and see what response I get! I have a friend who moved to Winnipeg and he has similar qualification to me (Although I recently achieved diploma status) I will probably look to visit first and see if I can set up some interviews (were possible) but I am fully aware that it will not be an easy task....


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## nauru (Aug 23, 2009)

smaxwell said:


> Thanks for both replies, I really appreciate it  I have looked at the website and I have decided to email all my qualifications and see what response I get! I have a friend who moved to Winnipeg and he has similar qualification to me (Although I recently achieved diploma status) I will probably look to visit first and see if I can set up some interviews (were possible) but I am fully aware that it will not be an easy task....


I'm curious about why you are focusing on Canada instead of the United States.


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

nauru said:


> Good luck.
> 
> Just a warning, you may find the regulatory environment in Canada/BC to be a nightmare. Be sure to look into what "courses" and "qualifications" you need to complete in order to work as an FA in Canada.
> 
> ...


Your comments are somewhat misleading. A huge number of brain surgeons and rocket scientists is a gross exaggeration. Such people usually cannot perform to or raise their levels to Canadian standards, hence unemployed in their professions. I, for one, do not want a brain surgeon educated in some remote Bulgarian/Turkish/Indian/Pakistani medical school doing surgery on my brain unless they have attended a good European/North American university.
Getting entry into the USA is next to impossible unless one is successful in the Green Card lottery or one is highly specialized in the sciences or education.


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## nauru (Aug 23, 2009)

I believe what I said was



> Canada has a huge number of foreign-trained brain surgeons, rocket scientists and highly educated people who drive taxis and serve pizza.


My meaning was that there are is a huge number of highly qualified buy grossly underemployed foreigners, for example foreign trained brain surgeons and rocket scientists -- two lines of work which are obviously the minority in the larger category of highly educated people.

Anyway it's not my goal to debate the ongoing epidemic of immigrant underemployment in Canada, but merely to point out to the OP that he would do well to research this issue and make sure he does not fall into the same trap as other highly qualified immigrants to Canada.


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## aufait888 (Apr 25, 2011)

Hey Nauru?

I reckon Ive seen this same post on another expat site!
Youre not posting the same stuff elsewhere as well are you?

Sorry if Im mistaken, tho.....!





nauru said:


> Good luck.
> 
> Just a warning, you may find the regulatory environment in Canada/BC to be a nightmare. Be sure to look into what "courses" and "qualifications" you need to complete in order to work as an FA in Canada.
> 
> ...


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## aufait888 (Apr 25, 2011)

hi!

if you look at my first post on this forum today, you may just see a coincidental similarity between yours and my qualification!
yes, i have been a f/advisor in the uk too!

but as someone on here as already said, no way will canada accept the uk CEFA qualifications, or in fact any others!
and thats not discrimination--they ahve their own routes to certification, which im afraid we all have to go thru if we need to do the same job there!

thats why ive ditched that idea!

and as you ahvent yet applied for immigration either, let me warn you here and now, its gonna take ages!

friend of mine applied early last year and he only just recvd a reply from CIC saying he will get a response in 18mths time!!!!

anyway, enuff of that negative stuff! lets say you do get thru the hoops; what areas in vancouver could be good for you?

well, having been there several times for recces, i can say that Burnaby, White Roc, Comox, Kelowna, North Shore, Penticton, Port Moody are only just a selection of decent places.
note i didnt mention anywhere downtown vancouver--why? IMHO, its way too expensive and if ur after a quiter family life, then you really ahve to move out of downtown.

hope that helps! if you need any more advice, drop me a message anytime!






smaxwell said:


> Thanks for both replies, I really appreciate it  I have looked at the website and I have decided to email all my qualifications and see what response I get! I have a friend who moved to Winnipeg and he has similar qualification to me (Although I recently achieved diploma status) I will probably look to visit first and see if I can set up some interviews (were possible) but I am fully aware that it will not be an easy task....


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## rich_1 (Sep 26, 2012)

Hi, 

I know these are fairly old messages now, but i was just wondering how you got on with your possible re-locating to Vancouver?

I am in a very similar situation, i am fully qualified Financial Planner with a Private Wealth Firm. I got in touch with the Canadian Standards Board about my UK qualifications. They basically said they wheren't worth anything in Canada and would have to start from scratch. I hope that my experience might count for something even if i need to reqaulify?

The basic CSC qualifications dont look to difficult, but i was wondering if you had had any luck with potentail employers and trying to get a job?

Rich


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