Laugh if you must, even mock if you feel the need 
but…
I’m having serious thoughts, which is never good to start with… however, I want out of the UK, and the only possible job for me elsewhere, would ofcourse be…suprise suprise…a Driver…
I fancy either USA or Canada…been to both plenty of times, and could quite happily settle in either, so my question is this:
To those of you with experience of this, and advice… how in the name of all that is diesel… do i do it? (emigrate i mean 
)
Well to start with …
Ok, thats out of the way.
To emigrate to the USA you must qualify for a green card. The ony ways you can get a green card is via a VERY CLOSE relative, ie ; Spouse, Father, Mother etc OR if yor skills are very much in demand by a well o do company, sadly, truck driving is not that sort of skill.
Canada is a better option and quite a few on here will no doubt take over now …
hi,as pat says,its nigh on impossible to get a green card for truck driving in the us,i spent a lot on lawyers fees trying to get a work permit,even though my wifes sister is a us citizen we were advised that it still could take up to ten years to get a permit to live there. looks like diesel truckin could do with an american wife pat so he can emigrate like you.do you know any suitable women down south bay area 
cheers diesel.
Well … There’s that old toothless tart that runs the convenience store in North Granville
Pat Hasler:
Well … There’s that old toothless tart that runs the convenience store in North Granville
hi pat, you swine, how dare you call my sister in law a tart,but if diesel truckin wants to drive a truck in the us that bad she would fit the bill cheers diesel
diesel dan:
Pat Hasler:
Well … There’s that old toothless tart that runs the convenience store in North Granvillehi pat, you swine, how dare you call my sister in law a tart,but if diesel truckin wants to drive a truck in the us that bad she would fit the bill
I have some standards boys, come on … well … if having a pulse counts
How’s Canada for emigrating these days? … or for that matter - is it possible to get over there on a working Visa to ““test the water”” so to speak?
Diesel-truckin:
How’s Canada for emigrating these days? … or for that matter - is it possible to get over there on a working Visa to ““test the water”” so to speak?
Pretty easy with a bit of research. You would almost certainly start off on a temporary work permit which will give you plenty of time to see if you like it or not. Then after a period of time that varies from province to province you apply for permanent residence via the provice under the PNP (Provincial Nominee Program). It used to be six months in New Brunswick before you could apply but apparently its now 12 months. Its definetely very do able, theres plenty of us on here who have done it or are in the process. Getting a job here is no problem at all.
They all seem to live around Saskatoon
First of all Canada is the second biggest country in The World, there’s a lot of differences between the provinces, you really need to have a look and find out which one you would like best. For the purposes of trucking that means Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick or Saskatchewan, they’re the ones with vibrant trucking industries.
Once you decide on an area, then you need a job, as has been said, you find a company that has an LMO, this will get you the all important work permit, after 6 months of being on that programme (HRSDC) you can migrate over to the Provincial Nominee Programme (PNP) where the Province nominates you for Permanent Residency (PR) once you’ve submitted your PR Application you can wait up to 24 months (the CIC website will tell you current processing times) until you gain PR.
Come over and have a look around. That’s what I recommend.
Quite a few drivers who started in Manitoba in the last two years have come over and sorted out a job, a driving school, bank account, lodgings, etc. after flying in to Winnipeg with a return ticket.
LMOs have been taking about 2 to 3 weeks to come through.
It’s not the cheapest way of doing it as some companies pay for your flights and the licence change-over but you do get to pick who you want to work for; and there are plenty of smaller companies who don’t normally recruit overseas who will take you on.
Hi guys,
Thanks very much, really appreciate all your replies and advice here. After taking everything into consideration, I have decided it’s definately what I want to go ahead with. I’ve done some small bits of research upto now, but there’s a few things confusing me, if anyone can shed any light at all…
Again, any advice, and any other bits and pieces you think may be usefull to me…i’d be greatful to hear it.
Many thanks guys.
Hi mate I’m leaving for there in a couple of weeks. I was offered a job by H&R but went out to Canada and got something sorted with some help from some guys here.
It’s an amazing place and I’m looking forward to a new adventure.
I’d say go out have a look round and see what you think of the place and research where you want to settle as you could wind up on the middle of nowhere and you might want the bright lights of a big city.
Good luck with it anyway.
Oh your hgv isn’t valid you have to do your test again.
Your British driving licence isn’t valid in Canada but your driving experience in the UK/Europe is as far as employment and insurance is concerned so you dont have to do the ridiculously long training program at huge expense. Some companies will basically sort everything out for you, ie you arrive in Canada, go round to the company and use one of their motors to practice on and use it for the test. Thats what I did back in 2009 and was behind the wheel and earning money 9 days after landing. Other companies will want you to sort it all out yourself with an independent driver training school which will obviously cost a fair amount, although it should be a lot cheaper than the long course that Canadian new entrants do as you’re already experienced and only need to be trained enough to pass the very easy driving test and the somewhat more difficult air-brake nonsense. Before you come out, get a replacement licence from the DVLA and when you arrive in Canada give them your old supposedly lost one. They keep it on file at the provincial capital, it doesn’t get sent back to Swansea so no worries there and then it saves the hassle of driving in the UK on Canadian licence on trips home or such like. The past few years I’ve returned to the UK to drive for a few months as I’ve been a wimp and migrated away from the snow so its been handy to have both licneces to hand. This year I’m here for the long haul apart from a few weeks at home at Christmas.
As a side note. When you do transfer your licence over, your car and bike (if you have it) are valid for a straight swap, its only your truck one thats not.
As a side note. When you do transfer your licence over, your car and bike (if you have it) are valid for a straight swap, its only your truck one thats not.
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When i transferred my Car licence in Alberta they did not give me my bike licence the said i have to seat that over here, is that correct
Boatchaser:
When i transferred my Car licence in Alberta they did not give me my bike licence the said i have to seat that over here, is that correct
I know in New Brunswick its a straight swap, some drivers have had issues with difficult office wallah’s in Service New Brunswick but when the point is pushed and they are made to call someone higher up the chain of command, the bike licence has always been changed straight over too. A guy who came out on the same week as me in 2009 didnt realise this and went back in two weeks later and after 20 minutes of arguments, they buckled and put his bike entitlement on. I dont know if these agreements for licence exchange are federal or provincial in Canada, so maybe Alberta is different?
Different rules to the USA then. I had to take a NY state driving test for the car, which basically involved driving 100 yards, turning right, driving 200 yards, doing a 3 point turn, driving 100 yards, reverse parking behind an imaginary car that was not there, driving back to the start and getting out … about 7 minutes long. In the USA it is ilegal to hold licences for two states but I was allowed to keep my UK licence.
No matter what company you go for when you fly over from the UK to start they have to by law provide your flight for you or they might say we will refund the ticket cost when you get here. Stuff varies in each privince like SK will let you drive class 1 soon as you land BUT you can’t drive out of SK lol here in AB you gotta take bike test again. As others have said think where you wanna go and take from there I been here for bout 3 months now and no intentions of going back to the UK
taffytrucker:
No matter what company you go for when you fly over from the UK to start they have to by law provide your flight for you or they might say we will refund the ticket cost when you get here. Stuff varies in each privince like SK will let you drive class 1 soon as you land BUT you can’t drive out of SK lol here in AB you gotta take bike test again. As others have said think where you wanna go and take from there I been here for bout 3 months now and no intentions of going back to the UK
They only have to pay for the flights under the HRSDC scheme, if you go PNP from the start you have to take care of that yourself, plus there is also the case of companies getting an LMO and not paying for the flights, the reason being that they are getting an LMO so that you can get a job with them, because they like the fact that you’ve got off your arse and come to their yard looking for a job, not because they’re desperate enough to look overseas for drivers.
As I see it, the best way is to find a company that will sort an LMO and nothing more, you pay your flights, the cost of your training and licence and go to work. The companies that do everything for you are usually crap firms and they pay for everything because that is the only way they can get drivers 
No offence to anybody who is with a company that does everything, for some it is the only way to get out here, but the chances of those companies being a job for life are slim to none
Better to get a decent job from the start if it is possible, even if it means that it costs a fortune to start, in the long term you’ll be better off