# Any advice on moving to Canada!



## deano2711 (Aug 5, 2008)

Myself and my partner are looking to move from sunny wales to canada. Toronto is our most favourable destination but we're open to other suggestions. We have very limited knowledge of the whole immigration and moving situation. I.e How long it takes? How much it costs?

We are planning on taking a trip to toronto soon to check out the place and to find out about jobs, houses etc. Im a qualified electrician and am currently working on the railway. My partner works as an office administrator but has very few qualifications.

A problem we might encounter is the fact that we would like to take our pet dog along with us. Does anyone have any information on how to get around this?

So if anyone could get the ball rolling for myself and my partner with any useful information I would appreciate it.


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## Deeana (Jul 13, 2008)

Hi
Taking your dog to Canada should not present any problems. There are no quarantine restrictions. Take a look at this page from the Canadian Embassy site for accurate information. 
Canadian Food Inspection Agency - Health of Animals - Importation of Pet Dogs

Also British Airways will give you all the details you need about how to fly a dog. It's a worrying experience for the owners but we have done it several times and the dogs always survive intact!!!!!!

Deeana



deano2711 said:


> Myself and my partner are looking to move from sunny wales to canada. Toronto is our most favourable destination but we're open to other suggestions. We have very limited knowledge of the whole immigration and moving situation. I.e How long it takes? How much it costs?
> 
> We are planning on taking a trip to toronto soon to check out the place and to find out about jobs, houses etc. Im a qualified electrician and am currently working on the railway. My partner works as an office administrator but has very few qualifications.
> 
> ...


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## reallysparkle (Jun 20, 2009)

*re:*

Well I live in Canada and am looking to go back to the UK (was born there), so we're kind of in opposite boats! 

My cousins live in Toronto and it's very expensive. To find a house or even buy an apartment in metro Toronto likely won't be doable on an electrician/office support income. It's one of the more expensive parts of Canada. You would probably be better off looking for a home in a suburb like Mississauga or Milton, and commute to Toronto.

One thing about Canada is you NEED a car. Unless you live smack dab in the middle of downtown, you need a car to get around.

Canada is newer and has much less culture than Europe. Sadly, the oldest buildings are no older than 200 years in most cases. 

I live in Alberta, and if I had to live somewhere else in Canada, it would be Vancouver or somewhere in BC. The winters here are absolutely BRUTAL.

I would definitely visit first - perhaps in wintertime.

I don't know too many of the logistics of actually moving/getting visas and so on, but I hope I gave you some useful info.


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## Clarey73 (Jun 18, 2009)

Hi, We're in the process of immigrating to Toronto ourselves and it has taken a total of 5 yrs!!!!! we just had notification that our medical forms are in transit from toronto. This means we can now book an appointment to undergo our medicals. (It was delayed slightly as i had my second baby in march just as our medical forms were sent so we had to add our newborn son to the application first.)
i have heard that the candian high commission have revamped the whole process and it is a lot quicker than our lengthy wait which is just typical. 
We hired an immigration lawyer in Toronto, who helped put our application together and sent it all off for us, however filing in the initial forms took over 4 hrs.
Even though it has taken so long we are now at the stage where we can finally get excited as our medical forms should be with us any day now.
We too are taking our dog and you have to make sure he/she has a pet passport and annual rabies injections so they will be allowed to travel with you. We have also had a price for shipping our Golden Retriever which was £1,200ish.
Good luck and i hope i have answered some of your q's.








deano2711 said:


> Myself and my partner are looking to move from sunny wales to canada. Toronto is our most favourable destination but we're open to other suggestions. We have very limited knowledge of the whole immigration and moving situation. I.e How long it takes? How much it costs?
> 
> We are planning on taking a trip to toronto soon to check out the place and to find out about jobs, houses etc. Im a qualified electrician and am currently working on the railway. My partner works as an office administrator but has very few qualifications.
> 
> ...


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## Tristanjack (Aug 15, 2010)

*Immigration Lawyer*



Clarey73 said:


> Hi, We're in the process of immigrating to Toronto ourselves and it has taken a total of 5 yrs!!!!! we just had notification that our medical forms are in transit from toronto. This means we can now book an appointment to undergo our medicals. (It was delayed slightly as i had my second baby in march just as our medical forms were sent so we had to add our newborn son to the application first.)
> i have heard that the candian high commission have revamped the whole process and it is a lot quicker than our lengthy wait which is just typical.
> We hired an immigration lawyer in Toronto, who helped put our application together and sent it all off for us, however filing in the initial forms took over 4 hrs.
> Even though it has taken so long we are now at the stage where we can finally get excited as our medical forms should be with us any day now.
> ...


Hi 

Please could you advice on how you went about getting an Immigration Lawyer?

Your help and assistance is much appreciated.


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## MarylandNed (May 11, 2010)

You're in luck in that electricians are currently on the skills list:
Instructions on which skilled worker applications are eligible for processing

I would advise taking advantage of this fact to apply for Permanent Residence:
Immigrating to Canada: Skilled workers and professionals

You can take your dog to Canada. The UK is recognized as "rabies free":
Canadian Food Inspection Agency - Importing Domestic Dogs

I lived in and around Toronto for 7 years. My favorite areas in Toronto are The Beaches area and also the midtown area between Yonge/Eglinton and Yonge/Lawrence (I lived on Sherwood Ave). If you're buying a house, you'll get more for your money in one of the many suburbs. I also lived in the Heart Lake area of Brampton for a couple of years and it was a great area to live in.


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## patient man (Feb 14, 2010)

For anyone thinking of getting an immigration lawyer DONT they are expensive and unless you have problems with your history you dont need them, they will charge you a lot of money for checking your forms and acting as a go between and yourselves and the high commission.
Deano you must have applied under the old system and were moved back in the queue when they changed, the sme happened to us but no worries now the medicals are in the visas wont take long, chin up you will soon be there.
The news is that due to the back log the CIC have put a hold to allow them to catch up, maybe some one else can confirm this or dismiss this.


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