So, I sent some information off to an immigration lawyer to find out whether my best option for staying longer in Canada would be extending my working holiday visa (flexibility with job changing, but no real status ie no health insurance) or applying for an employment authorisation visa (universal health care eligibility, but tied to particular job). If I changed jobs I could get another employment authorisation visa but the more often you do that the dodgier they think you are. I like my job but don't want to stay working for the government and fortunately may have some other options coming up in the coming months.

The lawyers said that given my skills, qualifications etc I would most likely get permanent residency if I applied. Now I am thinking about possibly staying in Canada (but dammit, I'd be home for new years every year because cold new years suck the big one) but think this might be a pretty big step at this stage. Has anyone else been in a similar situation? - lived in another country for a while, decide you love it and want to stay for longer, and done something about it? Permanent residency would give me flexibility in jobs and mean I'm eligible for OHIP (that's the free health plan) but would limit the amount of time I could spend outside of Canada for the next two years.

I have until May to put an application in for whatever, but thought that I'd see what you lot think about the whole thing as well.

Well, I've not done the "love it, want to stay" part, but I know plenty of folks who have. Though not in Canada.

The only hassle it seems to be with applying for residency is that you are indeed limited with the amount of time you can be out of the country during the last part of the process. In the states, for instance, you're not allowed (apparently) to leave the US for the last year of the process. At. All.

In the UK, you're typically not allowed to leave for the 2 years it takes. Which is all well and good, but people have a habit of wanting to get married, or dying on you - and you can't do a damn thing about it.

Certain other countries (NZ for instance) let you out the country for a total of 6 months in the 2 year period. I guess you're saying Canada's the same. The added bonus is that you're coming from a "decent" country in immigration terms - i.e. not a third world one. Though the numbers of visas available for people from Aus will be less than that for people from those countries.

It's all too complicated, and it's actually one of the reasons why I said 'bollocks' to the whole thing. I like knowing that I can't be thrown out of the country at any given time. And I'm not patient enough to wait out the 3-4 year process in the States.


Edited to say: Well, just because you've applied for residency, doesn't actually mean that you are going to take it up. I mean, it gives you the 2 years, but you don't actually have to use them. Though that's a kind of "burn your bridges" thing if you shaft it after that. If you want to stay, it's not necessarily a permy thing. You stay for 2 years (which will FLY by!) and then you can come and go as you please? Good deal.

See, and we liked knowing we could throw you out at any time.

(Hee. I'm all safe with an ocean and a continent between us.)

Hah!

And here I am, enjoying the fact that e said it and I didn't.