South African Citizen wants to migrate to Canada

Canada is a good country to settle and live in. It depends exactly where in Canada you propose to lkve in. Taxes are high. Winnipeg is smaller city and is a more affordable country. It is a good idea to have a work proposal lined up before you head to Canada to work.

There is a very reliable immigrations lawyer who lives in Calgary - who is a SA - Canada lawyer. Mr. Nico Breed. His e-mail is : nbreed@shaw.ca.

Have all your documents in hand and make sure that all your educations documents are verified before you come to Canada. That they are accepted by Canada before you leave SA.

Canada is indeed a beautiful country to live in. There are many a SA living and working in Canada. There are many ex SA employers living in Canada. There are many a SA group formed in Canada.

Documents do take a while to get in order. Make contact with this very reputable very reliable and very good SA - Canada lawyer to get him to help you with the process. You become a Landed Immigrant first - then you apply for permanent resident status second and last you become a Canadian Citizen.

Get the job lined up and a definite employment contract lined up first to come to Canada. It depends on your qualifications and what job you are looking for in Canada and which job is most needed.

Good Luck - keep in touch.

Anne M. Gieg (Edwards) Winnipeg.Manitoba,Canada
fynbos@mymts.net

Reply with suggestions sent to Ms. Cronje.

Before you make a final move to Canada - get a visitors visa through a SA - Canada Lawyer then you know that it is above board and is valid - come and travel and see Canada - look at opportunities, make arrangements to see various companies, agencies, such as Kelly Girl Services and other agencies then decide which is the best fit and climate and place to settle in. Their are numerous SA Firms now working and living in various cities in Canada. A move in the summer or early fall would make for a better transition period. The winters are sometimes hard to take coming from a warm tropical coastal country. The winters take some getting used to and you have to dress really warmly to survive winters in Canada. The homesickness will take a while to get over - winters are harsh and long and drawn out. But places are heated indoors - the climates and temps vary from city to city. The summers are good and so are the fall seasons. There are numbers of ex pat families and groups to belong to.

Hi,

Canada is large and diverse in terms of its geography and some might say even cultural mindset. Speaking very generally:

Over on the East coast (Maritimes/ Atlantic) region - you get a more conservative lot. Largest city is Halifax from the Province of Nova Scotia. Very rugged but at the same time very beautiful laid back community. Work wise is relax culture. Average salary is typically 15-25% lower than in other major cities. Other big cities in the maritimes are: Moncton, St. Johns, Saint Johns, Charlottetown

Over in the East: You have Ontario and Quebec. Obviously the biggest city is between Toronto / GTA and Montreal. Between the two, Montreal has a more artsy vibe - but that's my personal opinion. Toronto is great if you just live downtown and need not travel to far to work. But if you are like the rest and commute - its typical major city life - busy busy busy... Don't forgot to consider other smaller but more livable (IMHO) cities like Ottawa, Guelph, etc. But of course job opportunities may be lesser the further away you get from major cities like Toronto or Montreal. Apart from work, there's plenty of things to do in terms of hitting the nature route or going to the city sights.

Mid region: Manitoba and Saskatchewan and mostly grass land and savannahs. They call them the prairies. I can't say much about here as I haven't really visited the place. I do know that both provinces are huge in size. and Saskatchewan is quickly becoming like Alberta with vast amount of natural resources under its belt.

West coast region (including Alberta): Calgary is fast becoming a major city of choice for immigrants. The fact that Alberta is rich in oil sands helps attract ppl over to it. I've heard that Calgary is more exciting to live in than Edmonton. Its also closer to Banff which is a beautiful destination to visit if you ever close by. I suggest you google Banff and check it out. British Columbia on the other hand doesn't need much explanation. The biggest city is of course Vancouver. Its vibrant and also a cool place to be. But in the long run cost of living in terms of housing will get to you. Perhaps rent is ok but purchasing home in Vancouver is crazy. Then again there's also beautiful Victoria which is just an island.

EDWAM1's advice is pretty good. If you can afford it, you should come over and see for yourself. Depending on what field you are in, you may find the job hunting easy or a little harder. Overall, Canadian companies prefer people with Canadian working experience, although exceptions do apply. It may not be easy to find an opportunity, so you got to be mentally prepared for the job hunting process. Typically, if a company is interested in employing you, then they will engage the services an immigration lawyer in applying LMO (labour market opinion) after which once approve, you can then apply for your temporary foreign work permit. All in all - this is a LONG process to begin with, so most of the time the companies that are willing to do so, do so only because they know they can't find any other local resources and are willing to wait. However do not let that deter you. There's lots of folks to make it to the other side, but just to prep you with what to expect once you embark on this journey.

The other way of doing it is to go through provincial nomination. You can also apply for permanent residency first (via a provincial nominee route), which would then fast track you to being a PR. Then when you do land, you can then engage the services of not-for profit organizations that helps overseas talent in finding jobs. I am not sure what the equivalent is in other provinces but over here in Nova Scotia (where I am at), we have the Greater Halifax Partnership (GHfx) http://www.greaterhalifax.com/en/home/default.aspx
that provides services to connect foreign talents with local professionals who are in-the-know of the industry. That's how I got introduced to my current employer. I attended an event that was conducted by GHfx and had a chance to present myself to them. Who knows you might catch you break that way.

Cheers
Philip

I am an South African expat living for almost 10 years in Calgary, AB Canada.  The most difficult thing for me to adapt were to remember to put on a coat when you go outside.  In SA the temperature inside is the same as outside, but as the houses are heated in Canada, you have to check the weather report.  Moving to Canada was the best thing I could have done.  Everything you need to apply for permanent residency can be found at the Canadian website.  The only problem is it takes quite some time to get permanent residency.