# Hi! considering Canada against Australia



## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

Hi all

We applied for PR visa for Australia 9 months back but I do want to consider Canada as well. I have read a lot in the canada migration website but I thought its best if I take advice from fellow forumers here. I have been following the Australia Forum forever now, time I step in here as well. My queries might sound stupid to some of you, but I guess most of you will relate to the initial inquisitiveness which everyone goes through.

1. The fee when converted comes to INR40,000. Am I right? I read somewhere, cant recall where, but if you dont get through, they refund your fee.. is it? Are they so nice? 

2. My Husband's working as a systems manager but has been involved in the complete server setup at his current work place, basically doing the managerial work too. Specialises in Exchange. We got his skill assessed from ACS (Australian Computer Society-the assessing authority for AU migration) and his skill was assessed as Systems Manager. From what I remember reading, systems manager is I think 2nd or third from top in the skill list. Can any IT fellow member suggest if he does fit in it. I think he does, just confirming.

3. There was no mention of getting skill assessed like they do for AU migration (I am sorry if I am comparing it with australian migration process too much but I have been eating, drinking, sleeping Au since 2 years now  ) Can someone throw light on the procedure please.

4. A friend applied for Canada through an agency a while ago, paid their fee but last moment were told, he needs to know french, if it mandatory. It isnt mentioned anywhere that it is. You just get extra marks if one knows french but when I took the point test, we managed 67 points.

5. The website clearly states 9-12 months tops for the entire procedure, but someone told me it is longer than that for Indians because of the number of applications from India are too high. Does not make sense to me though, any comments?

6. Do they have a minimum fund requirement for migrants? For business visa etc yes i do understand you need to show your assets, but anything fr the skill migrants?

7. How is the market for System admins/network security/network admin.systems manager? Which all states have IT jobs. My next step is to look for job portals but coming from teh horses mouth is always more convincing 

8. In Australia, once you have the PR, even the spouse can work, one does not need a special permit for both partners to work. Is it the same there also? or if my husband is the main applicant then I too need to get a work permit to work there?

9. After getting a visa, does the govt assist one with a job? or is there any kind of settlement assistance?

10. We gave ielts last year in May, i suppose it has a validity of 2 years, my OH got 8.5 and i got 7.5. does it give us any extra points. I did not see anywhere on the site where it is mentioned, what bandscore gives you what points in teh point system.

11. I am a winter person but -20 -40 is not the winter that I would call winters, I come from India and I have never seen/felt anything below 1 degree C. How bad is it?

I guess this is it.

Thanks anyways for reading (if you reach this point )

Cheers
Anj


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## mrsDayLewis (Nov 18, 2008)

I went through the emmigration process to Canada about 30 years ago - and although many things have changed, Ive kept up with them enough to give you a little advice.
Avoid the agencies - they do the very same things you would do.(It actually looks bad if you need help bc of lang. or low intelligence).
No, you dont need to know french (unless going to province Quebec), but must know either english or french up to very good standard.
When you complete the application forms for Canada, they check them off with a points system - ie. you get more points if you are young, healthy, educated etc and its also extremly helpful if you have a job to go to, or a company/boss very interested in you, or to have a needed skill.
They also want to know that you have enough money to take with you so that you can support yourself and family/spouse for 1 full year, and to be prepared to pay for all your own medical costs for the first 6 months until you are eligable for free health care.
It is also helpful if you have family in Canada, and if they are prepared to sponser you.
Canada is great... Ive spent most of my life there!


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

hi 

thanks fr your time.

No we do not plan to go the agency route, we have all our papers ready since we just applied for AU PR visa. its been 9 months since we applied, waiting for it to happen but I am now considering Canada as well.

would you by any chance know what band score one would need to prove high proficiency standard in english language?

My husband is 27+ and I am 32. he will be the main applicant and we do manage 67 points. He does fall in the skill in demand list. (Systems manager)

About the money, I dont see a cost of living thread here, anywhere that I can check the same? or approximately how much according to you would be a decent amount for a family of 2. we dont splurge in luxury. lead a simple life. 

I do have a lot of relatives living there but they are not immediate relatives. Cousins and uncles etc, so they can not sponsor us.

thanks again fro your time

cheers
anj


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## scharlack (Nov 21, 2008)

anj1976 said:


> hi
> 
> thanks fr your time.
> 
> ...





Official up to date info - Welcome to Citizenship and Immigration Canada

Cheers


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## jamescruz (May 9, 2009)

I have always believed that Canada is always a better option than Australia whatever the reason may be and Toronto is one of the best cities to live in.


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

scharlack said:


> Official up to date info - Welcome to Citizenship and Immigration Canada
> 
> Cheers


hi

thanks fro your reply but not all answers are on the site  but i appreciate you taking out time to read and reply.


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

jamescruz said:


> I have always believed that Canada is always a better option than Australia whatever the reason may be and Toronto is one of the best cities to live in.


hi there

we applied for australia 9 months back and are still waiting to hear form them. I am scared of the winter but trying to find out things if is worth it or should I just sit and wait fr AU visa to come across.


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## kaz101 (Nov 29, 2007)

Anj, 

You're not allowed to move to anywhere else you have to come to Oz otherwise we'll all be broken hearted! :sad: And yes I am biased 

Regards, 
Karen


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

hahaha.. thats so sweet of you karen. 
I was infact just widening my options and I realised OH's skill is in the demand list. I got hoards of relatives in AU as well as in Canada. Its a tough choice but I am so super tired of waiting. Wish I had a magic wand to get my application on top


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## mr.india (Jul 28, 2009)

anj1976 said:


> Hi all
> 
> We applied for PR visa for Australia 9 months back but I do want to consider Canada as well. I have read a lot in the canada migration website but I thought its best if I take advice from fellow forumers here. I have been following the Australia Forum forever now, time I step in here as well. My queries might sound stupid to some of you, but I guess most of you will relate to the initial inquisitiveness which everyone goes through.
> 
> ...


For point 6. NO, they do not return your money, even if you withdraw your application..


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## sweety1979 (Apr 17, 2009)

*Re:*

Hi Anj, 
Greetings of the season!!!
Was great to see you on this site. If you remember I had asked you a lot of questions on Oz forum and was very happy to get your detailed replies. 

Guess what Anj!! While sending the Oz application we also sent the Canadian application and we got the Canadian PR approved last week. It took us around 8 months. My husband is a .net MCPD.

1. The fee when converted comes to INR40,000. Am I right? I read somewhere, cant recall where, but if you dont get through, they refund your fee.. is it? Are they so nice? 
You can send it in Canadian Dollars to the Canadian office. It is 1100 CAD for both of you. Yes they refund the fee (within 3 months) once the application is rejected.

2. My Husband's working as a systems manager but has been involved in the complete server setup at his current work place, basically doing the managerial work too. Specialises in Exchange. We got his skill assessed from ACS (Australian Computer Society-the assessing authority for AU migration) and his skill was assessed as Systems Manager. From what I remember reading, systems manager is I think 2nd or third from top in the skill list. Can any IT fellow member suggest if he does fit in it. I think he does, just confirming.
There is a check list for the skilled labor required in Canada. It is better to go through it and see which position your husband fits best into….I can’t recollect the link we had used… If possible I will send you the link later…

3. There was no mention of getting skill assessed like they do for AU migration (I am sorry if I am comparing it with australian migration process too much but I have been eating, drinking, sleeping Au since 2 years now ) Can someone throw light on the procedure please.
Yes you are right. The skills are not assessed. For a Canadian application initially you need to send the applications, 4 photos, pp copies, IELTS score, and Bank Drafts to Canada. Once approved (4 to 6 months… might be earlier too) from Canada you need to submit all the papers to the Delhi office.

4. A friend applied for Canada through an agency a while ago, paid their fee but last moment were told, he needs to know french, if it mandatory. It isnt mentioned anywhere that it is. You just get extra marks if one knows french but when I took the point test, we managed 67 points.
We did it on our own and it quite simpler than Oz too. No, it is not mandatory to know French.

5. The website clearly states 9-12 months tops for the entire procedure, but someone told me it is longer than that for Indians because of the number of applications from India are too high. Does not make sense to me though, any comments?
I don’t think it is true. We are almost done by 9 months.

6. Do they have a minimum fund requirement for migrants? For business visa etc yes i do understand you need to show your assets, but anything fr the skill migrants?
The exact figure is on the Canadian website. It is around 15000 CAD

7. How is the market for System admins/network security/network admin.systems manager? Which all states have IT jobs. My next step is to look for job portals but coming from teh horses mouth is always more convincing 

8. In Australia, once you have the PR, even the spouse can work, one does not need a special permit for both partners to work. Is it the same there also? or if my husband is the main applicant then I too need to get a work permit to work there?
It is same as Australia.

9. After getting a visa, does the govt assist one with a job? or is there any kind of settlement assistance?
Nothing much. But I heard it is comparatively easy to settle in Canada.

10. We gave ielts last year in May, i suppose it has a validity of 2 years, my OH got 8.5 and i got 7.5. does it give us any extra points. I did not see anywhere on the site where it is mentioned, what bandscore gives you what points in teh point system.
Yes you are ahead of the required score.

11. I am a winter person but -20 -40 is not the winter that I would call winters, I come from India and I have never seen/felt anything below 1 degree C. How bad is it?
It is not that bad Anj. I was in Michigan and Florida. I found Michigan to be a wonderful place. I am sure you will enjoy the snow.

Thatz all for now Anj. 
Let me know if I can give you more info.
Regards
Sweety


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## jovi (Jul 28, 2009)

Hi all,

Being an asian and specially Muslim I have got lot of fear in my mind when think about Oz, heard lot of Racisim over there but never heard about Canada, both places have their Pros and Cons, I guess Aus have much Pros except the above mention factor, good salaries and lot of oppurtunities specially for IT professionals in Oz with more laid back style life, very pleasent weather specially for us who are very scared of less than 0 Celsius, much sports where in Canada reverse is the scenario. I am not offending but this is the fact. But life is not all about that, one needs to have a peace of mind while living anywhere, this why one take this difficult step of expat. in life.

I have applied for the immigration to both Can & Aus, and hopefully i will get my ACS letter soon than I have to submit the application, where as it is more than a month since I have send my application to NS, Sydney , Canada, can anyone give me more insight to get me decide my ultimate destiny.

Thx!


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

Hi Sweety

Congratulations, I am so happy fr you.. so what next? when do you plan to move?
as fr us, my husband is not too keen for canada, infact he says we have se=pent too much time and money on Australia, so let that be. we cant play ping pong and keep hopping from one destination to the other.. for now Canada is off our list  wish i could convince him.. but sad luck

wish you luck

anj


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## TOPGUN (Jul 8, 2009)

Hi Anj,

I am in position where you were in past years. I am assessed as System manager from ACS and also work on servers, networks and managerial position. Currently working as IT project manager and have applied for AUS 1.5 years back. But now even I want to consider Canada as alternative. So did u applied for Canadian immi at that time. n if yes how was it. need little details.


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

hi
we did not apply for CAN, we got our AU PR and we reached MEL yesterday 
Wish you luck for your future


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## Fordy (Jun 19, 2011)

anj1976 said:


> hi
> we did not apply for CAN, we got our AU PR and we reached MEL yesterday
> Wish you luck for your future


Congrats. May I know whether you did the paperwork yourself of used an Agent?


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

used an agent but it isnt difficult. there are so many in the forum who do it on their own


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## Fordy (Jun 19, 2011)

anj1976 said:


> used an agent but it isnt difficult. there are so many in the forum who do it on their own


Thks for the response. Can you pint me to your agent?


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## SczzyBoy (Jan 1, 2008)

*Ok - my 2 cents*



anj1976 said:


> Hi all
> 
> We applied for PR visa for Australia 9 months back but I do want to consider Canada as well. I have read a lot in the canada migration website but I thought its best if I take advice from fellow forumers here. I have been following the Australia Forum forever now, time I step in here as well. My queries might sound stupid to some of you, but I guess most of you will relate to the initial inquisitiveness which everyone goes through.
> 
> ...


1. You do not get your initial processing fee back. Any further fees to CIC are refundable should you fail, e.g. my CEC application is$550 which I don't get back. I haven't even looked at the next amount as I wait until they say they are processing first.
2. I too am a Systems Manager and that's how I got here. I'm now contracting as it's more lucrative. No - the skill is not in demand here or wasn't 3 years ago when I came. I was brought here to be a Systems Manager but to CIC I came as an embedded systems design engineer (???) but it was on the NOC list. The higher you go on the managerial scale the less in demand you are. Your employer is one thing and the CIC is another.
3. No skill assessment that I've come across or heard of. English is the only skill I got assessed - stupid rule since my first language is English, I was born in Ireland and spent 20 years there and 20 years in London. I still only scored 8.5 out of 9!!!
4. French is not needed except if one wants to work in Quebec.
5. India is currently at 14 months for PERFECTLY completed application forms - watch out for typos. Processing time changes.
6. I believe so. I'm applying in-country through the Experience Class but I believe that FSW need $10,000 in ready funds. This figure is on the website somewhere - probably in the FSW application package.
7.Only ever worked in Calgary so can't say about other areas. Calgary is go for System Admin work currently as Oil and Gas is going through large IT change. IT's good - I got this contract without interview and never having met my employer. I even had to ask the address the night before!
8. No - all parties need work authorization, as far as I know.
9. No and No - unless one is an asylum seeker. Economic Migrants like us have CHOSEN to go there so we must be able to support ourselves.
10 IELTS is valid for 12 months. There is no point in doing anything that you may have to pay for until you have everything in the package that you do not have to pay for. I foudn this out with a British police certificate - I ended up getting 3 because other things took time - each one cost a fee.
11 Ok - yes -20 is cold. Here in Calgary it doesn't feel that cold. You also get used to it pretty quick. Layering up is pretty easy and quick to do after a while. We get varying regular temps of -10 to -25 throughout the winter so it's tolerable. -30 and below is seriously cold. My record is -42 here in Calgary but that was once in 4 winters. Calgary's weather is very unpredictable and is generally the first thing people talk about. The coasts don't normally get it anywhere close to those temperatures.

So there is my 2 cents. I was going to Oz - it was 3rd on my list behind NZ(1) and Can(2) but I got headhunted for here so getting all the initial temporary work stuff sorted and emigration costs made up my mind. I haven't looked back and now, when I say home - I mean Calgary not Ireland.


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

thanks sczzy.. i am in Australia already .. got our visa in Jan 201. moved here a week back.


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## ozthedream (Dec 31, 2010)

hi Anj 

guess i am stalking your posts across countries and continents . 

So this was the time you zeroed in on Oz .. and now , surely youd feel hubby's right ( as most of hubbies are anyway) 

so nice to read Karen's post about needing u to step into OZ first - amazing what bonds can be created by the internet over thousands of miles 

.. and now i read your latest posts where you have praised the same closeknit forum 
ppl helping you with accomodations etc while you look around . 

a nice warm feeling . 

cheers


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