Considering moving your career to Canada? As a top destination for skilled workers and professionals, Canada offers abundant jobs opportunities, excellent healthcare, diversity and inclusion, beautiful landscapes, and an outstanding quality of life. However, relocating abroad for employment comes with its own sets of challenges and considerations.
In this comprehensive guide for workers relocating to Canada, we break down key steps for a successful transition and pointers on what you can expect.
Why Relocate to Canada for Work?
Before diving into logistics, understanding why Canada continues ranking as a world leader for immigrant talent will help set realistic expectations.
- Canada actively recruits foreign talent to fill local skills gaps and meet labor demands, especially in fields like healthcare, engineering, IT, and finance. Large cities like Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary offer diverse job prospects, but smaller cities also provide openings across industries.
- Whether an intracompany transfer, immigrant visa program, or skilled worker program, many paths exist for legal work authorization.
- Beyond attractive salaries unaffected by high taxes, workers tend to praise Canada’s welcoming communities, family-friendly environment, scenic natural spaces, and inclusive policies.
While winters prove challenging for some, Canada’s four distinct seasons allow locals to enjoy skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, boating, and other outdoor recreation year-round.
Before deciding whether to relocate for a position, weigh your personal motivations, role responsibilities, company support services, salary and benefits, career development opportunities, legal authorization complexities, taxes, cost of living factors, housing, healthcare, education options, weather and lifestyle preferences, and more.
Preparing the Relocation Move
If your company or employer drives the relocation process, they hopefully provide robust support services, handle visa/permits, ship household goods, arrange temporary housing, and assist with schooling, banking, and settling-in needs.
Review all provided relocation assistance to understand what to expect before, during, and after the international move. Self-initiated moves require managing more logistics independently.
Regardless of the relocation type, thorough preparation proves critical for smooth transitions. Allow plenty of time for paperwork filing, home/auto sales, shipment arrangements, etc. Most clerical processes run slower abroad so avoid last-minute bottlenecks.
- Create checklists outlining step-by-step tasks for different phases with assigned owners and deadlines
- Checklists bring order amid chaos, ensuring nothing falls between cracks
- They also reduce forgetfulness from mental overload and stress
To ease the pre-move burden, budget extra days before commencing work for:
- Establishing bank accounts
- Getting phones
- Enrolling kids in school
- Registering vehicles/licenses
- Taking orientation tours
- Understanding national and provincial tax structures
Key Immigration Steps
Before packing bags and bidding hometowns adieu, secure proper Canadian work authorization for legal employment eligibility. Most companies hiring abroad lead visa/permits coordination but self-initiated movers must self-navigate – don’t skip this step!
All relocating workers need either temporary resident status or permanent resident status for living and working in Canada unless qualifying for special NAFTA work permits or intracompany transfers.
Settling into Canada Life
Once proper authorizations secure and belongings ship, focus attention on assimilating upon arrival. Settling into everyday life, work, and community requires further adjustments beyond the move itself. This transitional period lasts months for some or years for others as defining “home” takes time when starting anew. Patience pays off.
If possible, budget extra days before commencing work for handling administrative items like establishing bank accounts, getting phones, enrolling kids in school, registering vehicles/licenses, orientation tours, etc.
Understanding national and provincial tax structures also helps calculate accurate take-home pay critical for budgeting. Having dedicated time to address essential needs without workplace pressures allows starting jobs with clear minds and minimized distractions.
While simultaneous priorities compete for attention, remember wellbeing tops the list.
- Explore neighborhoods to find healthy groceries suiting food preferences and budget.
- Seek communities offering familiar cultural connections and friendship opportunities
- Discover relaxing outlets to decompress after hectic weeks whether yoga classes, nature trails, ice skating rinks, concert venues or otherwise.
- Protect mental health above all else – every relocation phase proves taxing in its own way.
Relocating abroad for career growth takes courage yet Canada welcomes immigrant professionals with open arms. While pre-move preparations and post-arrival adaptations intensify transitions, support systems help smooth out bumps along the road.
Using ARC Relocation for Your Corporate Relocation
While relocating abroad for work holds exciting career promises, the logistical complexities prove daunting for most. Trusted global mobility partners like ARC Relocation exist to guide you before, during, and after international moves – we become your relocation concierge handling critical elements so you can focus on your new overseas position.
Our end-to-end relocation management services provide total support, reducing employee distractions and increasing job satisfaction, performance, and retention rates for our client companies.
For over 30 years, ARC assisted thousands of expat families transition to Canada thanks to our expertise navigating common pitfalls. Leverage our experience!
Leverage available corporate mobility assistance and local immigrant networks to best navigate processes. Through resourcefulness, perseverance and self-care, exciting possibilities await those ready to embrace life’s next chapter in the Great White North!