Just curious if anyone has recently (last 5 years) received a work permit and is working in Canada? How long did the process take from initial contact with the employer to starting the job? Did you do all the application stuff from the UK or did you fly over as a tourist and get it all done there?
How much did it cost to do you CDL licence (as the British HGV licence isn’t transferable)?
I think the smoothest process (although expensive) would be to just fly to the province you want to work and get your Class 1 certificate while visiting as a tourist (can you do this without an actual Canadian driving licence?). Then start job hunting while actually in the province so you can attend interviews etc. That gives you about 6 months from landing in Canada to finding a job, shouldn’t be too difficult…
And lastly, once you’ve been working there in a stable job contributing to the economy, having good credit, no run ins with the police etc, how successful were you when you eventually applied for the PNP for permanent residency and which province did you apply for and why?
Sounds easy but it is not quite like that.
You cannot get a a provisional CDL license unless you have passed the written class one and air brake tests and and have also turned in your UK driving license for a Canadian class 5. (car license.)
As far as I remember you need actual status in Canada such as a legitimate work permit to do this.
Also you would be taking a risk by actually seeking employment while visiting Canada as a tourist as that would make you liable to get deported if you were caught although getting caught is probably unlikely. Certainly you would not want to have any incriminating documents on you when you checked in at the arrival terminal at the airport such as a resume or references as you could be turned around and refused entry to Canada.
The new minimum entry level training (MELT) requirements means that the truck driving license training now takes around 6 weeks and costs around $10,000 unfortunately.
This training program varies slightly from province to province but is mandatory by law and is required by everyone regardless of whether you already held a truck driving license in another country previously.
wire:
Sounds easy but it is not quite like that.
You cannot get a a provisional CDL license unless you have passed the written class one and air brake tests and and have also turned in your UK driving license for a Canadian class 5. (car license.)
As far as I remember you need actual status in Canada such as a legitimate work permit to do this.
Also you would be taking a risk by actually seeking employment while visiting Canada as a tourist as that would make you liable to get deported if you were caught although getting caught is probably unlikely. Certainly you would not want to have any incriminating documents on you when you checked in at the arrival terminal at the airport such as a resume or references as you could be turned around and refused entry to Canada.
The new minimum entry level training (MELT) requirements means that the truck driving license training now takes around 6 weeks and costs around $10,000 unfortunately.
This training program varies slightly from province to province but is mandatory by law and is required by everyone regardless of whether you already held a truck driving license in another country previously.
I see your location is Manitoba, exactly the province I had in mind
I wasn’t aware it was illegal to job hunt while in Canada, not quite sure what the difference is between doing it from home or from inside the country but the law is the law I guess. As for the MELT cost, that’ll probably translate into less wannabetruckers due to the crazy high entry costs.
So if you can’t get your CDL until you have a work permit, I’m guessing the only option is to secure a job first? This seems like it’s going to be a bit awkward, both for the employer and for the immigrant but I’m guessing if you have 10 years of experience driving Class 1’s in the UK the employer is probably going to be very confident you’ll pass your CDL if they do take you on.
I am sure you are correct in that the new regulations put a premium on the CDL license qualification and there probably is less people looking to get qualified now although I believe that there is a certain amount of government funding available for Canadian citizens who wish to get qualified in some circumstances but on the whole the net result of the new regulations seems to be that potential employers are much more reluctant to fund training now especially as that funding would be on top of the cost of obtaining an LMIA work permit, etc…
Regarding preference of provinces in Canada, I would say Manitoba is a good choice mostly due to the cost of living and amount of opportunities for long haul trucking jobs although I freely admit to being biased having lived here for over 12yrs from being a new immigrant on a work permit right through to being a Canadian citizen.
