Hi,

me and my missus have a been in discussion quite a few times about moving to Canada, more likely to Vancouver but have never got around to it as we always seem to soon but it never comes up again, all I am is asking is how hard would it be to get a visa to move?

she is an accountant where as i am a travel agent, I know it is more likely that she will get the points needed to qualify but will there be work for me? what are the chances of me finding employment? how do i get started in finding out about getting settled there?

im a bit clueless as I have never lived in a different country apart from the UK

Cheers

See:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index.asp

You (or rather she) might want to see about converting her U.K. accounting credentials to a Canadian one. There's at least 3 types in B.C.: Chartered Accountant, Certified General Accountant and Certified Management.
As for you, there's always Flight Centre (high turnover) and a few other chains.

As Mr Cockroach has said, Flight Centre seems to be frequently hiring -

http://www.flightcentre.ca/careers/

I've lived in Vancouver all my life and love the city (and climate-wise it's not a difficult transition from the UK) but there are some things you should be aware of.

- Certainly compared to the likes of London and environs, Vancouver is not expensive, but compared to much of the rest of the first world it's a very expensive city in which to live. Two years ago my wife and I bought a 'tired', sixty-year-old, 1800 square foot "fixer upper" bungalow in east-Vancouver-proper (not the suburbs) and it cost nearly $700K Canadian. Although the real estate market is cooling somewhat, rents and house prices remain high in Vancouver.

- My European friends (both continentals and brits) who have moved here are consistently surprised at how little vacation time they get. I'm lucky in that I get 17 days, the bulk of my friends get 15, and some get as little as 10. In addition to this, there are nine 'bank holidays' (although most people get ten as most employers add boxing day). If you get a 'government job' you'll likely do a little better. I have a travel agent friend who gets 10 days of holidays. Very frustrating when you consider all the fam-trips she gets at a steep discount that she's unable to take advantage of.

If your wife is a CA in the UK, then she just needs to take a reciprocity exam to get her CA in Canada (look at the ica.bc.ca website since you apply in your local province). CAs are currently pretty valuable and fairly scarce right now but, as always, it depends on your background and experience.

Vacation. Minimum is 2 weeks to start - most major places offer 3 plus statutory holidays (all of them have names, and most have meaning).

Vancouver is expensive housewise compared to average or median salaries. If you can sell in London and buy in Vancouver, you are likely laughing, but otherwise things are pricey given wage levels.

If you interested in moving to Canada you should investigate more than just Vancouver. It is very different than the UK in some ways and very similar in others. Recent immigration to Vancouver has been from across the Pacific, setting the style and pace and expense. There are many locations across the country that are interesting and diverse - and closer to the UK in case you want to go home for visits. Dealing with winter is often a consideration but the country is set up for it. And being cold is countered by wearing proper clothing and being in fully heated buildings. Snow slows things up on occasion but this is part of life as well. Take a look at Halifax and Fredricton in the east, Montreal, London ON, Calgary, Saskatoon, even Toronto and Victoria.

I have to offer a different perspective. To me, Vancouver (and by extension, Victoria) is the only livable place in Canada, especially if you're coming from somewhere like Lancashire with a much milder winter. After an absence of 20+ years, a dozen of which were spent in Vancouver, we moved back to Toronto a couple of years ago. It has been pure hell, the combination of cold winters, hot & humid summers, springs that come and go before you know it, high winds all year round, etc. etc....take my advice, if you're going to consider Canada, stick with the southwest corner of the country!

And if you're coming from the UK, the housing prices in Vancouver aren't going to seem so bad, as long as you're bringing along some equity.

That's frightening, even for a bidding frenzy. Are you over 2 blocks west of Main by any chance?

Or, the 1800 sq ft home might be sitting on an over-sized lot, as many "old-timer" houses seem to be.

LOL... Very close... Exactly 2 blocks EAST of Main, just north of King Edward. WEST of Main was completely out of our price range.

Nope... Even slightly smaller than a 'standard' lot: 33' x 115'

On Sophia/Prince Edward? That's frightening. My partner was looking for a revenue property and saw an old timer of 30'x100' back in 2003 (or early '04) that needed lot of work so we passed it up. Seemed that one sold for something like $53k over with 12 bidding parties. Still smarting at only bidding $25k over for a quarter acre by John Oliver HS. Went for $102k over but still a bargain.

Yep, Prince Edward.

We were the successful bidder by making a subject-free offer that was $87K over asking. There was another bid slightly higher than ours, but because we were subject-free, we clinched it.

I have lived in Toronto and Vancouver (and a couple of smaller places) and would have to agree that West is much nicer than East for me - now even for job prospects which is new.

I lived in Vancouver for 5 years and am about to move back to Canada (though a few hours away in a small town). I am currently living in the UK, just outside Lancaster.

I have no idea about visas (though with English and a degree your wife is unlikely to have too many problems), or work as a TA, but feel free to PM me if you have specific questions.

Dr. PITUK

thanks for all the info, we are at the moment in job discussions, as for her she needs a company that will give her good prospects while also looking after us financially, i need a good Travel agent who willl pay me something similar to what i am on now or else it may be difficult, I dont think Flight centre will be paying the sort of wages that i am used to

I think you mean "immigrate to Vancouver" as you would be "emigrating from" the UK.

I am probably one of the few people who abandoned Vancouver. I grew up on the West Coast (about half of it in Vancouver), and I got sick and tired of people telling me to "Slow down honey, smile, relax".

Of course, now that I've been away for about 20 years, I can really appreciate the beauty of the region when I go home to visit my family (who all look as though they're dressed for a hiking emergency every day).