Ask HN: How can I move to Canada to work as a Software Engineer?

1 points by cesarbs 11y ago ↗ HN

My wife and I are currently living in the US, but we're considering trying to move to Canada in the near future (next 1-3 years). We're both software engineers, but she can't work right now because of her visa (H4).

We'd like to know more about what the process is like in Canada, and how it compares to the H-1B system in the US. Also, is obtaining permanent residency as daunting as it is in the US?

3 comments

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byoung2 11y ago ↗

Not sure if this still applies, but there was an article a few years ago [1] that talked about some areas of Canada having more relaxed requirements than the popular MTV (Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver) cities.

1. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/13/world/americas/13immig.htm...

pards 11y ago ↗

I'm a software engineer, and I moved to Toronto from Australia. Originally I came in on a working holiday permit (12m), then got a standard work permit (12m), then permanent residency, and now I'm a citizen.

Getting a work permit at the time was pretty easy - all I needed was an official offer letter, my resume and a few government forms. The permit arrived in a few weeks.

I applied for residency from within Canada and it only took 6 months. From what I hear, it's much faster if you apply once you're here, so your best bet might be to find a job first and get a work permit, then move to Canada, then apply for residency once you're here.

cesarbs 11y ago ↗

So basically you can get PR after just 2 years? That's amazing!