Canada Visa / Work Question

Shane

Hi!

Not sure if this is the right forum but can't really find one to suit! I have just graduated from college and would love to spend a year working in Canada. I know the visa is relatively straighforward to get but someone told me I didn't need one.

I was born in Tyrone, my parents are from there too and as such I can get a UK passport/citizenship (or so I've been told). Apparently if I have a UK passport/citizenship then I don't need a visa to legally work in Canada and have no restrictions on me?!

Does anyone know if this is true and if so how I should go about it?

tywy

Ah google...

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080228054456AAfZ4GI

Leon11

u need a visa, commonwealth passport holders and certain other countries including ourselves are entitled to go over on holiday for up to 6 months without the need for a holiday visa provided you don't work...

tellastory

as above, you need a working visa to work if you are from the UK. Go through the Canadian High Commission in London. Or if you hold an Irish passport you can try and apply for a 1 year working visa through USIT if there are any left and if you are eligable.

Shane

do i have to book the under 35 working visa through usit? i would like to arrange my own flights and insurance if at all possible

xaurax

I have just applied for the under 35 visa and am now on the waiting list. Does anybody know how successful this might be?
I am hoping to go mid summer and only found out about this visa now.

Shane, I think you have to book flights with USIT, thats one of the stipulations but I saw somewhere on this forum that you can get insurance elsewhere as long as it covers all that the Usit one does....

This is the place that was recommended...
Try http://accidentgeneral.ie for a saving of €150-200

tellastory

If you want to get a working visa without a job offer, it does seem like the best way to do it is by getting the USIT visa, purely because it seems the most efficient way of doing it. There are other ways of doing it, but they appear to take at least 6 - 8 months processing time.

Even with a job offer, it still takes about 6 months to get a labour market opinion and visa accordingly. So it would seem that if you want to move to Canada, irrelevant of how you choose to do it, give yourself plenty of time.
I
would also be really interested to hear if anyone has gone to Canada to work with a visa that they didnt get through USIT, and how they went about it.

kona

whats the sory with usit and their visa???

they say its invalid if you dont book flights with them, this sounds like ****e tbh

tellastory

USIT have an agreement with the Canadian govt. whereby they can issue a specified number of visas every year; and one of the terms involved for participants on the USIT under 35 working visa is that return flights have to be booked through USIT. There is no way around it. but to be honest, without the USIT agreement with the canadians in the first place, most people wouldnt be getting a visa, so its kind of a small price to pay.

traverse

xaurax wrote: »

I have just applied for the under 35 visa and am now on the waiting list. Does anybody know how successful this might be?
I am hoping to go mid summer and only found out about this visa now.

Are you sure you were put on the waiting list? The website is still flashing programme open and I was told the following when I emailed USIT a few weeks ago.

At present places are still available - the website indicates 'Programme Open', which means there are confirmed places available. When there are no longer places it will say Waiting List open.

Well, If you are on the waiting list, can you let the rest of us know how long you had to wait?

Shane

yeah but if you go to the book now section it tells you the waiting list is now in effect

a-non

Has anyone purchased alternative insurance? Who with? A lot of the insurance companies don't seem to have the levels of cover USIT want

cybrandian

Hey Everyone,

I am not sure if I am losing the plot, but I was certain that I saw something last year about a 2 year working holiday visa for Canada, for under 35's?

I have been searching the net all evening and can only find the 1 year option with USIT. Does anyone know if there is a 2 year visa option available?

Any help/advice at all would be really appreciated.

Thanks.

Kid Nothing

I've never heard of a 2 year visa i'm afraid, maybe you read about someone who had gone on a one year visa and got a company to sponsor them for a 2nd year?

cybrandian

No it wasn't that, but I obviously read something incorrectly anyway!
Had it all planned to in June 2010 as well. At least the 1 year option is there for now anyway, but would have been nice to get the 2 year option.
Thanks for your reply anyway.

midlandsmissus

Shane wrote: »

do i have to book the under 35 working visa through usit? i would like to arrange my own flights and insurance if at all possible

Shane you don't have to go through USIT. As you are form Northern Ireland you can do it the english route, which is MUCH cheaper than USIT and they dont make you book your flights or insurance through them.

Im in northern ireland to and im doing it through them.

The company in england is called BUNAC. AS long as you have an english passport you can do it. And you can get that no prob.

rayme1

hey im just on usit waiting list for a visa as it is full,cud any1 please tell me how long it will take to get one or if i even will get one??????

Kid Nothing

rayme1 wrote: »

hey im just on usit waiting list for a visa as it is full,cud any1 please tell me how long it will take to get one or if i even will get one??????

You'd probably get an answer in here quicker:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055228037&page=30

portally

hi - i think the 2 year visa is for Australians only - i think there is a special deal between the two countries - I wish we could get one.

Darragh

Hi Folks

USIT have been in touch with the following information

The Usit Canada programme is a Work & Travel programme operated in conjunction with the Canadian Government and allows participants to legally work in Canada from 1-12 months.

The Programme guidelines are clearly set out on our website and are accessible to customers before they book on the programme.

• Programme fee including Canadian Government Youth Participation fee €489
• Flights from €563 including taxes to Canada for June 09. If a customer is travelling in high season ie July or Aug then obviously the airfare will be higher than someone travelling in March/April/May/June.
• Usit Insurance is a comprehensive Work Policy that has been developed in conjunction with the Canadian Government and must comply with their guidelines & level of cover.
• Insurance starts at €164 for 3 months cover. Not all passengers are going for a full year and they can buy insurance from 3, 4, 5, 6 months upwards.

I hope that helps. If you do have any queries for USIT where you can't find the answers on their website, please do let us know and I'll see what we can do about getting them answered for you.

Darragh

TedDiBiase

Darragh wrote: »

I hope that helps. If you do have any queries for USIT where you can't find the answers on their website, please do let us know and I'll see what we can do about getting them answered for you.

Darragh

I'm wondering could you get 3 months insurance (and hope you don't get in an accident!!! ) and stay for the full 12 months???

corkland

does anyone know if i can get a 1 year working visa for canada even though i have no college background....i was just gona go for a job as a waitress or something simple and im planning on going in 3 months also how much is a 1 year working visa and i also have a free open flight as my sister works for aer lingus so she gets free flights for family that are open for 12 months can i use this or do i have to pay for my ticket with the visa crowd

JohnMearsheimer

corkland wrote: »

does anyone know if i can get a 1 year working visa for canada even though i have no college background....i was just gona go for a job as a waitress or something simple and im planning on going in 3 months also how much is a 1 year working visa and i also have a free open flight as my sister works for aer lingus so she gets free flights for family that are open for 12 months can i use this or do i have to pay for my ticket with the visa crowd

Yes, there is such a visa. It's called International Experience Canada. All the visas are gone for this year. You won't be able to apply for next year until January. No need to go with a visa crowd like USIT, they are just middlemen. You can apply for the visa yourself and save yourself a few hundred quid. You can take any flight to Canada you want.