# settlement funds- ireland to canada



## scallions (Jan 3, 2010)

Hello everyone, 

Firstly I'd like to say that the information provided by the users on this forum is truly excellent - thanks a lot. Just from reading through other people's thread's I've already found most of the answers I'm looking for. 
However, I have one unanswered question...... my husband and I are hoping to move to Canada ASAP. He's 31 (working in design) and I'm 30 (working in community sector) - no children. 

We're currently trying to clear a loan we have here in Ireland, and so are throwing every penny we have at it in the hope of clearing it by June. This means that saving up the settlement funds that we need to have in order to apply for Permanent Residency is next to impossible - I think it's working out at around 8,500 euros. 

I know it's highly unlikely that there's a way around this, but does anyone know if it is necessary to have proof of availability of these funds when submitting the application? Or do you just need to have the full amount ready for when you're leaving for Canada?

I appreciate any insight you can put my way.

Many thanks, M


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## EVHB (Feb 11, 2008)

We (family of 3) needed to proove we had $16,580 on our bank account at the moment we send our application to the embassy. So that was within 3 months after we had send our application to the Central Intake Office (CIO) in Sydney.
For a family of to, it is $13,486 : Immigrating to Canada: Skilled workers and professionals - Proof of funds
At least, this is so for the Federal Skilled Worker Visum.


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## JGK (Dec 12, 2009)

To be brutally honest, I'd regard that proof of funds to be an absolute minimum amount you'll need.

Bear in mind you'll be arriving in Canada without any form of credit rating (Europe and north America are separate worlds and don't communicate) and as such finding credit may be hard to find even if you are working full time. Quite often the hurdles you have to jump to get any credit are so complicated it's not worth bothering with.


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## scallions (Jan 3, 2010)

I totally agree, but was hoping that we could submit the application without having the full amount saved - as the process seems to take a relatively long time we'd have no problem saving the rezquired amount before we left... I'd just love to get the ball rolling!


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## scallions (Jan 3, 2010)

P.S. thanks for taking the time to answer my question


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## EVHB (Feb 11, 2008)

What kind of visum are you trying to get?
Because Federal Skilled Worker with a job on "the list" takes about 9 months. That's not that long! Certainly not if you want to save an amount that allows you to survice for at least 6 months without a job.


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## scallions (Jan 3, 2010)

EVHB said:


> What kind of visum are you trying to get?
> Because Federal Skilled Worker with a job on "the list" takes about 9 months. That's not that long! Certainly not if you want to save an amount that allows you to survice for at least 6 months without a job.


we're going for the self-employed visa


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## inutley (Jun 9, 2009)

I understand that the process is similar to the Federal Skilled worker which we have just completed. When you complete your initial application you will not have to prove your funds, only at the final stage do you have to sign a declaration of funds available and provide evidence via bank statements etc. The whole process has taken us about 18 months and the final stage was in the last three months, so you should have some time to save up further funds. I would try and secure at least one job for you or your partner before emigrating as this will make it a lot easier!


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## scallions (Jan 3, 2010)

inutley said:


> I understand that the process is similar to the Federal Skilled worker which we have just completed. When you complete your initial application you will not have to prove your funds, only at the final stage do you have to sign a declaration of funds available and provide evidence via bank statements etc. The whole process has taken us about 18 months and the final stage was in the last three months, so you should have some time to save up further funds. I would try and secure at least one job for you or your partner before emigrating as this will make it a lot easier!


Thank you very much inutley - that's answered my question. It'd be great to get a job sorted before going - it seemed to me that it was very difficult to secure anything without the visa in place first though. Would you have had a different experience?


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## inutley (Jun 9, 2009)

scallions said:


> Thank you very much inutley - that's answered my question. It'd be great to get a job sorted before going - it seemed to me that it was very difficult to secure anything without the visa in place first though. Would you have had a different experience?



I work in the construction sector as a project manager and did some initial research to find out main companies in my sector. I then made direct approaches to about six and a further approach via an agency contact. I did not have a visa at the time that I did this and it did affect my opportunities. Indeed, if you do secure a position, the company can then sponsor you which will speed up the process greatly - I have been told to as quickly as three months. Given your situation it may be better to leave this until about 6 months before you go and then start applying. Some sectors are still very much in demand as Canada is now out of recession.


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## EVHB (Feb 11, 2008)

inutley said:


> I understand that the process is similar to the Federal Skilled worker which we have just completed. (...) only at the final stage do you have to sign a declaration of funds available and provide evidence via bank statements etc. The whole process has taken us about 18 months and the final stage was in the last three months,


Were you applying through the new procedure, by first sending your application to the CIO in Nova Scotia?
Because we are going through the new Federal Skilled Worker at this moment (started in September), and we already had to prove our funds via bank statement.


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## inutley (Jun 9, 2009)

EVHB said:


> Were you applying through the new procedure, by first sending your application to the CIO in Nova Scotia?
> Because we are going through the new Federal Skilled Worker at this moment (started in September), and we already had to prove our funds via bank statement.



We did ours prior to this, and only had to deal with the London office. Did you still have to submit the outline information only initially?


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## EVHB (Feb 11, 2008)

inutley said:


> Did you still have to submit the outline information only initially?


I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you mean. Can you explain it a little bit more (I'm not a native speaker).

This is how the new procedure works:
first, you fill in some forms (Application for Permanent Residence - Background/Declaration - Economic Classes: Federal Skilled Workers - Additional Family Information) that you need to send to the Central Intake Office in Sydney, NS. 
After their review, they tell you you need to send all the items of evidence (that can proove what you were claiming on the forms you send to them) to the embassy, in our case in Paris. And you need to fill in some more forms.

Is this an answer to your question?


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