Fed up of the UK?
Drawn to Canada due to its rich culture, beautiful views and apparently really nice people?
Follow this guide if you would like to move to Canada
Apply for International Experience Canada.
IEC is a scheme from the Canadian government that gives 18 - 30 year olds the chance to travel and work in Canada for up to 2 years. By applying for the IEC you get put in the pool for your country. You’ll then get invited to apply. It may take days and it may take months - you can check the number of spaces in the pool here. There are 3 options:
You don’t need a job for this visa and you’ll get an open work permit which will allow you to travel across the Country and work when you want to! It costs like £200
Once you start the application process you have 30 days to complete it otherwise you’ll get put back into the pool. So make sure you have the bread to afford the application process and the time to undertake it.
Find out more about Young Professionals and International Co-op here.
If you’re from the UK get your police certificate done here. It costs around £55 and comes back in 1-2 weeks. Get this done as soon as you start the process!
Share even more of your personal data and get your fingerprints recorded. Most countries have a biometric centre the one in London is a 5 minute walk from Liverpool Street Station.
Get your insurance and get it for 2 years. I don’t care if you only intend to be in Canada for 6 months. You’ll probably want to stay longer and even travel somewhere after. I got True Travellers global insurance which covers me for the next 2 years. When abroad you want to feel safe and secure if the worst happens. It cost about £700.
Get your bread up.
You need to have at least £2500 to be admitted into the country. Don’t move if you’re in a financially tricky situation. You’re better off working for a few more months and pushing your moving day back. I’d recommend £5000 - £7000 for comfortability. Try applying for grants and whatnot to help with the move - I received the DYCP grant to allow me to move to Canada and conduct my research and archival project on the history of Jamaican Patois.
Find somewhere to live.
I started looking months before and I slowly saw that I would probably only find a room a month and a half before my move in date. So I’m moving in December and found somewhere in October. A room in a shared household is about 700 CAD - 1400 CAD. Some people offer shared rooms (A LITERAL ROOMATE) so read carefully before you end up in a very close living situation.
There are a lot of scammers. You need to find real people and get to know them before you sign anything. Have a FaceTime or a phone call and ask the important questions to see if you’d get along as roommates and as potential friends. Moving to a new country is daunting so make sure you feel safe where you live.
The best page I found was:
Put the job feelers out.
I’d start connecting with people in your industry as soon as you start the process. I work in the theatre industry so I’ve been connecting with venues, people and funders to understand the theatrical climate better and to see what spaces I want to operate in. Finding your people from scratch means good groundwork. Spend some meaningful time going over your CV and making sure it’s appropriate within a Canadian context. For those who work in the arts, I used the Ontario Council's format.
Stay tuned to find out how the move goes and what you need to sort in your first week!
e.g. Banking, SIN and phone contracts.
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