Working Holiday - Canada

LanceStorm

hey all,

im trying to get some info together on a working holiday to Canada come september!!

im not in college so first off i wanted to ask if anyone knows how you go about getting a work visa for say 3 months?? and also do you have to have work pre-arranged before you go there, or can you go there, travel for a while, then find an apartment n look for a job??

my dream is to go to Calgary, but ive seen a few people say great things about Toronto and Vancouver also, anyone been to any of them??

and last but not least, is it difficult to cross the border if you wanted to visit the US for a week or so??

thanks for any help anyone can give!!

shepthedog

Firstly definitely go for it..Canada is a fantastic place, spent 3 months working there..
Calgary is a beautiful city so it would be a toss up between there and Vancouver.. Vancouver is an amazing city with a great climate right on the ocean..
USIT do a year long working visa which seems pretty good.
As for going into the US, its not a problem usually once you explain its for a holiday.
If you have any specific questions about Calgary, PM me..

Innervision

The USIT visas for this year (as in you have to enter Canada by December 31st 2007) were out at the start of January...probably too late to get one, although you can go on the waiting list

LanceStorm

yeah i was reading up on the situation with usit visa's, it certainly sounds like the best option, but they do mention an awful lot about waiting lists so i assume it gets booked up very quickly each year... so i hope im not too late!!

really dont want to put if off until next year again, i might end up never going!!

now i know this is a stupid question, but you said the climate is very good in vancouver, i would assume the whole of canada is generally snow most of the year?? but if vancouver might have a bit better weather that could be an option!!

lost_for_words

I'm currently on that visa and am out in Vancouver. Would definitely reccommend it absolutely love it here. Weather wise it is much milder here than anywhere else in the country. We saw some snow there a couple of weeks ago but nothing that didnt turn to slush within a day or two. Generally it rains a lot but not the kind of miserable rain you get in Ireland nobody here seems to pay much notice to it. The closest ski resort is Grouse which is about 15 mins away so if you want snow you can still get it, and of course Whistler is about an hour and a half away, heading there this weekend have heard nothing but good reports.

I'd be happy to help if you have any other questions about Vancouver or the visa, there are a fair few other Irish people out here too and a few of them are bound to be boards members that will offer advice too, can't seem to find the other threads on this topic.

aviendha

As another person currently waiting to hear back from USIT on whether visa application for Canada was successful, thinking of Vancouver (no earthly reason why it came to mind, but now that it's there, can't shake the plan!) so any tips/advice on the city would be appreciated, lost_for_words.

Are there many Irish over in Vancouver (thinking of the necessity of GAA-viewing, otherwise it will be an expensive year having to get Setanta subscription!)?

thebigmc

I just got an e-mail back from USIT today to say I have been accepted to the programme, and I applied this Monday. Surprisingly fast for USIT...
Planning to head to Vancouver also, it's suppost to be a great city to spend the summer and the Mountains up in whistler are amazing... can't wait for the summer now

Tusky

Would not reccomend Calgary at all. Very Americanised, doesnt feel like Canada at all. Not much to do in the city itself either.

lost_for_words

aviendha wrote:

As another person currently waiting to hear back from USIT on whether visa application for Canada was successful, thinking of Vancouver (no earthly reason why it came to mind, but now that it's there, can't shake the plan!) so any tips/advice on the city would be appreciated, lost_for_words.

Are there many Irish over in Vancouver (thinking of the necessity of GAA-viewing, otherwise it will be an expensive year having to get Setanta subscription!)?

There is no shortage of Irish people over here or Irish bars for that matter but I generally try to stay away from both because it'd be all too easy to stick with the Irish thing and not meet any Canadians. There are GAA teams out here though if you were into that.
I'd reccommend Hostelling International central on Granville if you're looking for lots of activity and living next door to the night life. If you're looking for something a little more laid back I stayed in the Hostelling International Downtown which is just off Davie Street.

When it comes to finding a permanent address vancouver.craigslist.org is your new best friend, you can find everything on it. It's where we found our apartment which 99% of the time comes unfurnished but does include most if not all of your utilities. We got all our furniture on there too some of it for free and other bits and pieces really cheaply. You can use it to look for a job too, its basically the ultimate classifieds section.

I'll post back later when I think of more