Thursday, 10 June 2010
Emigrating - Choosing Life Overseas
re you hoping to emigrate to the USA, Canada or Australia?
At any stage in the process of emigrating prior preparation is vital so that you can adapt quickly to your new home.
Over the last decade major destinations like Canada, the USA and Australia have seen millions of new immigrants arrive to their shores. It is perhaps not surprising that the Government of Australia recently tightened their entry requirements on January 1, 2010, making eligibility under the skilled worker category slightly more difficult to attain.
The rationale behind the Australian move was to "ensure that overseas workers are not competing with Australians for jobs". In light of the recent global economic downturn, from which the world now thankfully appears to be emerging, other popular countries for immigrants might well follow suit.
There are however many avenues to be considered and explored when planning to move overseas - a job that is probably best suited to an immigration consultant or lawyer. Wait times for Australian visas have tended to be relatively short when compared to destinations like Canada, which can typically have wait times for approval of anywhere between 3 to 5 years, or longer. Attempting the process on your own is for most a very time consuming and daunting task, and with only a layman's understanding of a country's immigration policies there is every chance that your application could be delayed yet further or worse still, may fail.
If your application is already in and you are at the stage where you are preparing to put everything in order for your arrival, you will need to consider a multitude of things -- accommodation, schooling, transport and perhaps most importantly, employment!
Speaking as one who has faced each of the challenges above, I would urge you not to overlook any of these aspects, and leave yourself enough time to make the appropriate arrangements or enquiries beforehand.
Some of the many things to take care of before you leave your country of origin are as follows:
-- If you intend to rent accommodation upon arrival you will need references from your previous landlords. If you have never rented before then proof of money in the bank will probably be needed by your landlord, in order to assure them that you will be able to meet the terms of your lease for its duration.
-- Obtain a credit history report before you go. This is cheap to do and can prove invaluable as it offers an extra assurance to prospective landlords and future creditors of your reliability. Remember, you will probably have no credit history in the country you emigrate to and these things take time to build up after you have arrived.
-- Call or write to your household and car insurers and ask them for written details of your claims history and any no claims discount that you have accrued to date. Doing this will help to ensure that you do not pay exorbitant premiums for insurance after you have emigrated. Do not leave this until after you have emigrated - the international calls and time differences are a headache you could do without.
-- Ensure that you have sufficient medical insurance to cover you and your family upon your arrival. Each country has differing public healthcare provision, so it is important that you establish what is covered and when. For example, in Canada the mandatory medical services plan that covers all Canadian residents does not take effect until 90 days after you have landed, so for those first 90 days you need stand alone cover, which can be purchased online. Thereafter you must pay monthly, quarterly or yearly premiums to the government plan. Buying a simple travel insurance plan is usually not an option, as these require a date of return to your home country and you will not be covered.
-- Call your family doctor and ask for copies of your medical records. They will probably require a small payment for production of the records and a signed authority from you, but ignoring this step will mean that any future medical care that you receive after you have emigrated will be reliant upon your memory and probably guesswork!
-- Finding the right job before or after you have arrived is vital to ensuring that you settle quickly and happily, and doing so can be just as hard as applying for the all important visa! Employment markets differ from country to country, and it is easy to underestimate just how different things are until you are right there. Do not be fooled into thinking that your experience and qualifications in your home country will carry you into a similar job overseas. Although in some instances this may be the case, in many others it may not! Have your credentials evaluated for the country you are travelling to before you go and you have one less thing to concern yourself with.
Remember, immigration policies change! If you are thinking of emigrating, now is the time to set the wheels in motion before the authorities raise the bar yet higher.
Dave J. Hodgson is a freelance copywriter, webmaster and marketer. If you are interested in cross-border migration of the human kind then you can visit his site at http://www.breakingbarriers.info/ which contains more information on the emigration process and many useful links.
Thanks for stopping by!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dave_J_Hodgson
At any stage in the process of emigrating prior preparation is vital so that you can adapt quickly to your new home.
Over the last decade major destinations like Canada, the USA and Australia have seen millions of new immigrants arrive to their shores. It is perhaps not surprising that the Government of Australia recently tightened their entry requirements on January 1, 2010, making eligibility under the skilled worker category slightly more difficult to attain.
The rationale behind the Australian move was to "ensure that overseas workers are not competing with Australians for jobs". In light of the recent global economic downturn, from which the world now thankfully appears to be emerging, other popular countries for immigrants might well follow suit.
There are however many avenues to be considered and explored when planning to move overseas - a job that is probably best suited to an immigration consultant or lawyer. Wait times for Australian visas have tended to be relatively short when compared to destinations like Canada, which can typically have wait times for approval of anywhere between 3 to 5 years, or longer. Attempting the process on your own is for most a very time consuming and daunting task, and with only a layman's understanding of a country's immigration policies there is every chance that your application could be delayed yet further or worse still, may fail.
If your application is already in and you are at the stage where you are preparing to put everything in order for your arrival, you will need to consider a multitude of things -- accommodation, schooling, transport and perhaps most importantly, employment!
Speaking as one who has faced each of the challenges above, I would urge you not to overlook any of these aspects, and leave yourself enough time to make the appropriate arrangements or enquiries beforehand.
Some of the many things to take care of before you leave your country of origin are as follows:
-- If you intend to rent accommodation upon arrival you will need references from your previous landlords. If you have never rented before then proof of money in the bank will probably be needed by your landlord, in order to assure them that you will be able to meet the terms of your lease for its duration.
-- Obtain a credit history report before you go. This is cheap to do and can prove invaluable as it offers an extra assurance to prospective landlords and future creditors of your reliability. Remember, you will probably have no credit history in the country you emigrate to and these things take time to build up after you have arrived.
-- Call or write to your household and car insurers and ask them for written details of your claims history and any no claims discount that you have accrued to date. Doing this will help to ensure that you do not pay exorbitant premiums for insurance after you have emigrated. Do not leave this until after you have emigrated - the international calls and time differences are a headache you could do without.
-- Ensure that you have sufficient medical insurance to cover you and your family upon your arrival. Each country has differing public healthcare provision, so it is important that you establish what is covered and when. For example, in Canada the mandatory medical services plan that covers all Canadian residents does not take effect until 90 days after you have landed, so for those first 90 days you need stand alone cover, which can be purchased online. Thereafter you must pay monthly, quarterly or yearly premiums to the government plan. Buying a simple travel insurance plan is usually not an option, as these require a date of return to your home country and you will not be covered.
-- Call your family doctor and ask for copies of your medical records. They will probably require a small payment for production of the records and a signed authority from you, but ignoring this step will mean that any future medical care that you receive after you have emigrated will be reliant upon your memory and probably guesswork!
-- Finding the right job before or after you have arrived is vital to ensuring that you settle quickly and happily, and doing so can be just as hard as applying for the all important visa! Employment markets differ from country to country, and it is easy to underestimate just how different things are until you are right there. Do not be fooled into thinking that your experience and qualifications in your home country will carry you into a similar job overseas. Although in some instances this may be the case, in many others it may not! Have your credentials evaluated for the country you are travelling to before you go and you have one less thing to concern yourself with.
Remember, immigration policies change! If you are thinking of emigrating, now is the time to set the wheels in motion before the authorities raise the bar yet higher.
Dave J. Hodgson is a freelance copywriter, webmaster and marketer. If you are interested in cross-border migration of the human kind then you can visit his site at http://www.breakingbarriers.info/ which contains more information on the emigration process and many useful links.
Thanks for stopping by!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dave_J_Hodgson
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