# And so my dream begins.



## Messiah Khan (Dec 27, 2009)

First I would like to say hello to everyone on this forum. For years I have wanted to move elsewhere in the world. I was born in England, but moved to Norway at the age of 2. When I was 12 I moved back and have been here ever since(Now 27). I now have the itch again. I have done lots of research and have come to the conclusion that I would really like to move to British Columbia, Canada. I love wildlife and nature, so the wilderness combined with the modern trappings and convenience of a city like Vancouver seems ideal.

So how realistic is my dream? Me and my partner are visiting BC for 3 weeks this coming summer, so are going to have a good look around then and make the decision. But until then I am doing as much legwork and research as possible. From the reading I have done, I feel relatively confident that we could get permanent resident visas. 

I have done the Skilled Worker Self-Assessment and scored 79. My job is a 'Digital Arts and Media Technician' in a University while my partner is a 'Sexual Health Worker/Youth worker'. I would probably best fit under the NOC code 522x, but I would also consider myself to fit under '4131 College and Other Vocational Instructors' which I see on the 'List'. We are both healthy and have sufficient funds to support ourselves. I am trained to degree level + 5 years of career experience, and my partner has a Degree, Masters Degree and 5 years career experience. Additionally my partner's brother and his partner have recently (3 months ago) moved to Kelowna with permanent resident visas. Does suggest that I would likely be successful if we applied?

Is there any other boxes we need to tick or hoops to jump through? What sort of timeframe and overall cost (I know both these are likely to vary greatly) are we looking at from starting the process to landing? I believe my partner's brother paid a significant amount for the process, but they did get a specialist lawyer to do much of the paperwork. Are you just as likely to be successful if you do the paperwork yourself, or is it worth investing the extra in getting a lawyer to do it?

Thanks in advance, and may be this thread be the start of a very exciting journey.


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

Messiah Khan said:


> First I would like to say hello to everyone on this forum. For years I have wanted to move elsewhere in the world. I was born in England, but moved to Norway at the age of 2. When I was 12 I moved back and have been here ever since(Now 27). I now have the itch again. I have done lots of research and have come to the conclusion that I would really like to move to British Columbia, Canada. I love wildlife and nature, so the wilderness combined with the modern trappings and convenience of a city like Vancouver seems ideal.
> 
> So how realistic is my dream? Me and my partner are visiting BC for 3 weeks this coming summer, so are going to have a good look around then and make the decision. But until then I am doing as much legwork and research as possible. From the reading I have done, I feel relatively confident that we could get permanent resident visas.
> 
> ...



Hello an welcome to the site,

If you, as you say, are on THE LIST of 38 it is really a no-brainer. You just need to complete an application and subject to police and health checks you will almost definitely be granted PR status. If you and your partner are both educated to degree level there should be no reason for paying someone to basically fill in forms for you.


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## Messiah Khan (Dec 27, 2009)

Auld Yin said:


> Hello an welcome to the site,
> 
> If you, as you say, are on THE LIST of 38 it is really a no-brainer. You just need to complete an application and subject to police and health checks you will almost definitely be granted PR status. If you and your partner are both educated to degree level there should be no reason for paying someone to basically fill in forms for you.


Thanks for the reply. Well that sounds very promising. Do you have any idea on average how long the application process is likely to take? Also once a PR visa has been granted, am I right in thinking you have to make the move within one year? Is there a way to specify when you would like to make the move, rather than be constrained by the visa limit?


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

Messiah Khan said:


> Thanks for the reply. Well that sounds very promising. Do you have any idea on average how long the application process is likely to take? Also once a PR visa has been granted, am I right in thinking you have to make the move within one year? Is there a way to specify when you would like to make the move, rather than be constrained by the visa limit?


An approved PR should take 6-9 months from application to issuance. You must make the move to become landed within one year of your medicals. There is no leeway on this requirement however you can come and land in Canada then return to the UK. To retain your PR status you must spend at least 2 years out of 5 in Canada. This is cumulative, not consecutive.
There's much detailed information at Welcome to Citizenship and Immigration Canada


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## Messiah Khan (Dec 27, 2009)

Auld Yin said:


> An approved PR should take 6-9 months from application to issuance. You must make the move to become landed within one year of your medicals. There is no leeway on this requirement however you can come and land in Canada then return to the UK. To retain your PR status you must spend at least 2 years out of 5 in Canada. This is cumulative, not consecutive.
> There's much detailed information at Welcome to Citizenship and Immigration Canada[/url]


Thanks. That makes sense. Might actually be sensible to do it that way and take 2 weeks to land, sort out bank accounts, paperwork etc, then return to the UK to tie up loose strings with job etc, and hopefully arrange a new job in Canada, then return and a convenient time for the big move.

Just another quick question; If I was to be successful in the PR application, through the skilled worker visa, would my partner automatically be admitted as well? Would she have restrictions, or be accepted as a PR? And would it make a difference if we were married or not? Oh and what would happen if we got married in the middle of the application process, would that confuse things greatly or is that easily amended?


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## inutley (Jun 9, 2009)

Messiah Khan said:


> Thanks. That makes sense. Might actually be sensible to do it that way and take 2 weeks to land, sort out bank accounts, paperwork etc, then return to the UK to tie up loose strings with job etc, and hopefully arrange a new job in Canada, then return and a convenient time for the big move.
> 
> Just another quick question; If I was to be successful in the PR application, through the skilled worker visa, would my partner automatically be admitted as well? Would she have restrictions, or be accepted as a PR? And would it make a difference if we were married or not? Oh and what would happen if we got married in the middle of the application process, would that confuse things greatly or is that easily amended?


Hi, we completed our PR visas as federal skilled workers just before Christmas, and are moving to kelowna with our family in March. We did all the paperwork ourselves with no problems, the immigartion offcie did not even raise 1 query, so provided to read the information guides and ensure you fill in everything. Our process (submitted to the London office) took 18 months in total and when you look at the expected durations on the CIC website they show a lot longer, so I'd get the initial appliction in now - you dont need to send full details until later on.
Good luck!
Ian


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## Snodge (Apr 17, 2009)

Messiah Khan said:


> Just another quick question; If I was to be successful in the PR application, through the skilled worker visa, would my partner automatically be admitted as well? Would she have restrictions, or be accepted as a PR? And would it make a difference if we were married or not? Oh and what would happen if we got married in the middle of the application process, would that confuse things greatly or is that easily amended?


Your partner would be allowed in if they fit the Canadian definition of "domestic partner' which if I remember correctly was just cohabitating for a year or two; you'd have to check the CIC website that Auldy posted above. I was in this category two years ago when we put in our app and the process was slowed a bit when we got married as it seems each time you update your file it ends up at the bottom of the pile (that's an unofficial assumption on my part).

The actual form for notifying them that we were married was easy, but then after a month or two they asked for my application to be updated (seemed silly, the only thing different was to say we were married) which delayed the process enough that then my wife's half of the app expired (I think the forms have to be less than 12 months old) and had to get updated and so on. All through this you get next to no explanation of whats going on, we were constantly wondering what was up but eventually after 2+ years we got the notice to send in our passports for the visa stamp.

So go for it! It'll take time but it's well worth it.


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