# Police Officer and Pharmacist moving to Canada



## taffy18168 (Jan 17, 2011)

Hi all,

Myself and my girlfriend are seriously interested in moving to Calgary, Alberta. I am a Police Officer and she is due to qualify as a pharmacist. I have made contact with the Calgary police force who have told me that I need to be a permanent resident before I can apply, however, they have also said that when that happens it is more than likely that they would take me on due to my policing experience. My girlfriend will fully qualify as a Pharmacist in June 2012 so that is when we would look to move. We would both be 24 years old in June 2012.

I would greatly appreciate any information that anybody could give in relation to the process of the actual move and any problems that we may be likely to encounter. Pharmacy is on the skilled worker list and we have been living together for over two years so according to the CIC website I should be able to go with her as a common law partner. I am particularly keen to hear from anyone currently serving in the Calgary police force as I am interested in what it is like on a day to day basis. I am also very interested in the recruitment process and hiw difficult it is in comparison to the uk process. 

Finally, are there any Pharmacists that could shed some light on their experiences with finding employment after emigrating. My girlfriend has got some concerns over the process involved in becoming registered in Canada.

Apologies for the amount of questions but we are extremely keen and would like to know exactly what to expect!

Rhys


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

taffy18168 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Myself and my girlfriend are seriously interested in moving to Calgary, Alberta. I am a Police Officer and she is due to qualify as a pharmacist. I have made contact with the Calgary police force who have told me that I need to be a permanent resident before I can apply, however, they have also said that when that happens it is more than likely that they would take me on due to my policing experience. My girlfriend will fully qualify as a Pharmacist in June 2012 so that is when we would look to move. We would both be 24 years old in June 2012.
> 
> ...


Well I am neither a police officer nor a pharmacist and do not live in Calgary, but can tell you that you should read the following websites with regard to the skilled worker application/requirements and being a pharmacist in Alberta.
Immigrating to Canada: Skilled workers and professionals - Who can apply
https://pharmacists.ab.ca/nCollege/default.aspx

Good Luck with your adventure.


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## oddball (Aug 1, 2007)

Hi Rhys , Taffy from Scotland (?) , cannot add much to what has been offered , however , most trades/proffessions need some retraining when they migrate to Canada to learn the differences between the two countries ways and means .

Should all of your ducks be in a row , moving should not present a problem , one suggestion I would like to offer , get a subscription to a major Calgary newspaper , this will give you an insight of the local 'Pulse'. When I visited I found the people to be friendly and helpfull , but that was some years ago , being as you are both young it should not take you long to assimilate into thier lifestyle .

Wishing you all the best in the possibility in your chosen 'New land' , Colin .


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## leeabr101 (Jan 28, 2010)

I am a police oficer and looked into the same thing with my family. I have filled in the immigration forms and although pharmacist may be on the list, your wife would be the main applicant and she would still need to pass the number of points required to get into canada. A lot of points are gained via work experience so ideally she would need 4 years or more (this gets her around 21 points, nearly a third requried).
The other route is if she got a job offer from a canadian company.

the immigration web page will tell you about points and what things are worth. (level of education is also a big points earner)


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## K9DACE (Apr 9, 2010)

Hi there,

We emigrated from the UK just before christmas. I fortunately got my PR visa and then applied to the CPS. I have 13yrs experience. I am 90% of the way through the recruitment process, just the fitness to go which compared to the UK standards is ALOT harder (pretty much the firearms standard opposed to the general PC standard). There is a lot of really helpful stuff on their website and various books that can help prepare you for the written exams and panel. The polygraph was a very unusual experience! but you can read up on the Personal disclosure form you have to fill out first. I know when I was looking into it I google'd CPS recruit forum and theres lots of helpful stuff on there of people going through the process. Good Luck!


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## leeabr101 (Jan 28, 2010)

K9DACE said:


> Hi there,
> 
> We emigrated from the UK just before christmas. I fortunately got my PR visa and then applied to the CPS. I have 13yrs experience. I am 90% of the way through the recruitment process, just the fitness to go which compared to the UK standards is ALOT harder (pretty much the firearms standard opposed to the general PC standard). There is a lot of really helpful stuff on their website and various books that can help prepare you for the written exams and panel. The polygraph was a very unusual experience! but you can read up on the Personal disclosure form you have to fill out first. I know when I was looking into it I google'd CPS recruit forum and theres lots of helpful stuff on there of people going through the process. Good Luck!


Are Calgary still allowing international recruits? 
How did you get your PR before getting the job? Did you have exp in another field?
Any info would be good.


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## K9DACE (Apr 9, 2010)

leeabr101 said:


> Are Calgary still allowing international recruits?
> How did you get your PR before getting the job? Did you have exp in another field?
> Any info would be good.


As far as I know there was a hold on all international recruiting, this may of changed but I don't think so. The recruit unit were happy to answer all questions so best check direct with them. Luckily we applied for our PR back in 2006 via the skilled worker route when Police officers were on 'the list', so got points that way. The process did take almost 3 & 1/2 years! I could only submit my application once we had 'landed'. I have a few friends that went through the international recruit process for CPS prior to 2010 and are loving it.


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## carlb (Feb 11, 2011)

*Why Calgary?*



taffy18168 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Myself and my girlfriend are seriously interested in moving to Calgary, Alberta. I am a Police Officer and she is due to qualify as a pharmacist. I have made contact with the Calgary police force who have told me that I need to be a permanent resident before I can apply, however, they have also said that when that happens it is more than likely that they would take me on due to my policing experience. My girlfriend will fully qualify as a Pharmacist in June 2012 so that is when we would look to move. We would both be 24 years old in June 2012.
> 
> ...


Just curious to know why, of all the cities in Canada with their own (not RCMP) police force you would choose Calgary, I was there last winter for a wedding and it is very very cold, and alot of snow. When my plane left Victoria just after 1pm it was sunny, 9 celcius, when we landed in Calgary just over an hour later it was -13 snowing with over foot already on the ground. :doh:


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