An AOR from London

Saturday was one day shy of 6-months since we submitted our initial application; it was also the day that the AOR from London arrived through the letterbox. It's taken about 7-weeks for them to respond but I'm not complaining, at least we've got something now. The letter states that my file's now been transferred from Sydney, NS to London and I've been issued a new File Reference Number to log-in with. Fingers crossed things will progress smoothly and we get the call forward for medicals in the not too distant future.

The application is on its way (part 2)

Just a quick update as I'm snowed under at the moment doing probate stuff etc. Well, it's been a little over 4-months odd since we sent our initial application to NS and today we sent everything off to London for full processing. Fingers crossed I haven't made any mistakes and we get the call forward for medicals within a couple of months. That's when things will get real interesting given Amber's recent diagnosis.

Asperger's Syndrome.........and the hits just keep on coming

I'm beginning to think that I must have tortured cats or something as a child? We're still reeling from the shock of losing Dad when today life dropped another shovelful of excrement from on high. It's fair to say that we all but knew it was coming, however, Amber's diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome today makes the uphill climb through immigration just that little bit steeper and slippery. I don't like wishing my life away but I've just about had a bellyful of this year - roll on 2010 is all I can say.

It's a cruel world at times.......

Isn't it funny how life twists and turns - just when things seem to be going well, the jaws of unpredictability jump up and bite you in the ass. It was 4.15pm on Friday 25th Sep when my Dad lost his short battle against the scourge of modern society - Cancer. The time and date will forever be emblazoned in my mind; all we had was a mere 5 weeks and 2 days after diagnosis, and then he was gone.

It's amazing how times like this focus your mind on the vulnerability of life; one minute you can be here and the next your gone. Life's not been the same since; we all miss him terribly and there seems to be a big hole in our lives which can never be filled.

Rest in peace Dad; you're better out of this cruel world......

Completing the paperwork (part 2)

It’s about time for an update as it’s been a while. To be honest my mind has been elsewhere as my Dad has been diagnosed with terminal cancer at the age of 63. It’s been a big shock for all of us and has meant things have been up in the air recently.

Anyway, not wanting to pre-empt fate I hadn’t obtained police checks etc prior to hearing back from Sydney, NS. So, to that end, I have been rushing round trying to get things done since receiving my 120-day email.

The UK police checks seem a pretty straightforward process. I work with civil servants so it was no problem getting one of my long standing colleagues to sign off the identity confirmation. I sent them off last week with cheques to the tune of £105 (me, my wife and eldest son); hopefully they will be back next week sometime. The German police checks weren’t quite so straightforward but nonetheless required as we were posted and living in Germany from ’89 to ‘96. First off having to pay the fee in Euro caused minor problems - In the end I went with the BACS bank transfer option, however, the bank stung me with a £9 fee which seemed a bit excessive on a €26 transfer. I also had to get the forms signed off by a solicitor which I got done at the same time as I had all my other documents certified.

Having read the ongoing debate about the need to have everything certified/notarised I was in two minds as to whether to bother or not. In the end the decision was made for me due to the aforementioned German police check requirement. I sent out a generic BCC email to all the local solicitors in my area asking about certifying/notarising approximately 20 - 25 documents. Talk about varying responses; it seems notarising and certifying are two very different beasts – when it comes to notaries I had quotes back which varied from £76 for the first document followed by £35 for each subsequent, however, for basic certification it averaged at £5 for the first document followed by £3 each thereafter. In the end I went to a nice chap called Stephen Gisby & Co in Bristol and he did the lot for £35 all in – the stamp he used had ‘Public Notary’ on it too which was an unexpected bonus.

I thought I would hedge my bets a little for a change so I took another trip to the bank and ordered a Bankers Draft for C$980 to cover the cost of the PR fees. I know it doesn’t need to be sent through yet but I thought I would get it out of the way whilst the money was available. The cheque only took 4-days to arrive in the post which was good; however, the rate has dropped again recently and was a lot worse than when I submitted the initial application a few months ago.

All in all I think everything is pretty much done now; all that’s left is the record of employment which shouldn’t be a problem as I’ve been in the Army since before I was 18. Once that’s sorted it will be a case of waiting for the police checks to come back and then we can fire everything off to London.

It's official........I have a job offer

Today I got my Offer of Employment and Waiver of Citizenship letters through from the CF and also my Arranged Employment Opinion (AEO) letter from HRSDC.

My job offer is confirmed as a 4-year variable initial engagement (VIE) in the rank of Sgt. The AEO is open to 2013 which should be more than long enough.

These will make a welcome addition when I send off my documents to London and should help the immigration process run a little more smoothly.

The 120-day email has arrived

My new Blackberry Curve 8900 came into its own this afternoon. We were driving back from a meeting in Farnborough, winging along the M4, and the 120-day email arrived in the in-box......Woohoo.

Stage 1 is over, so onwards and upwards as they say. Time to start getting everything together to send off to London. I've already emailed the CFRG to see if my AEO has come back from HRSDC yet. That will add another 10 points onto the tally and will no doubt help our cause when they do the full assessment.

An update from the Canadian Forces Recruiting Group (CFRG)

Having got home from work I fired up the laptop and there was an email from the Canadian Forces Recruiting Group (CFRG). I have to admit I had mixed feelings about opening it – would it be good or bad news? As it turns out it was a request for me to ring them as the phone number I had given wasn’t working and they wanted to speak to me.

It was a pleasant change to get through to the R3 Plans/Foreign Applicant Coordinator on the first attempt; normally I get the answer machine as he’s a very busy man. The news was good, the PLA is complete and they are offering me a job. I’ve been offered Sgt which I am more than happy with as CFRG HQ is only authorized to enrol applicants up to and including the rank of Corporal - any higher rank is considered a 'controlled' rank and requires written approval from DGMC (the rank structure goes Cpl - Master Cpl - Sgt). He said they would like me to go to Cold Lake (an Air Force base on the lines of Top Gun), however, there are 3 offers on the table; Wainwright and the training school at Borden – I think they may have me lined up to do some teaching/training but he didn’t have the full details. I am more than happy with the offer, however, I still have to jump through the regular recruiting hoops, i.e. medicals, interviews, security etc and of course there’s the small matter of being granted Permanent Residency (PR) which is by no means a done deal.

Having had a quick scan on the net, Julie and I would be quite happy out in the middle of nowhere in Cold Lake, but the house prices are steep (there’s oil in the sand there) and the children need to be our main priority really. I'm leaning towards Borden simply on the grounds of logistics etc, i.e. it's on the east side so cheaper flights for visitors, the states are within driving distance, it's reasonably near to the city, the property is cheaper etc etc.

So, I’ve now got a couple of days to weigh up the pros and cons and then get back with an answer. They’ll then get the official recruitment process underway and apply to HRSDC for an Arranged Employment Opinion (AEO). That will obviously bolster the immigration paperwork I submitted 3 weeks ago and will mean that I don’t have to stump up the ‘proof of funds’ (C$25,749). At some point they’ll then need to fly me out there for the mandatory interviews, medicals, and security clearances etc prior to signing on the dotted line - that won't be for a while though because the medicals are only valid for a year. Obviously I can’t physically enlist until my time is done here anyway (May 2011), so it will probably be a case of hurry up and wait to hand the ID card in after everything has been processed.

The application has been delivered

Today was the 9th day since I posted our application and I was beginning to get more than concerned that it hadn't tipped up in NS yet. My concern was based on a couple of other applicants who also used 'Royal Mail Airsure' and who's application took 3 - 6 days respectively. The poxy Royal Mail 'Track & Trace' has been giving me the generic - 'Your item, posted on 06/06/09 with reference ***********GB has been passed to the overseas postal service for delivery in CANADA' and to be honest I was getting fed up with it.

Fortunately, the forum members of BE came up trumps again, and steered me towards the Canada Post website which unbeknown to me allows tracking using my Royal Mail reference.

At 7.43 am this morning my new found friend, a Mr Robert Doucette, signed for my package - Stage 1 complete.

I'm embarrassed to say it but the Canada Post tracking leaves the Royal Mail one for dead. I can see a full breakdown of everywhere my package has been - an excellent facility. Onto Stage 2, pacing the floor waiting for our AOR and subsequent 120 day letter (fingers crossed).

CF application update

At last, an update on my application to join the Canadian Forces (CF). Having managed to get hold of the email address of the Master Warrant Officer (MWO) doing my Prior Learning Assessment Review (PLAR), I dropped him a line to find out how things are progressing.

As expected, the process isn't exactly rapid, however, he confirmed that he received my file last week and that he will be starting the PLAR on Monday (15 June).

So, it's now been 3 months since I submitted my application and things are progressing (albeit steadily).

The fingers are still firmly crossed!

Things could get interesting....

Having trawled many more threads on BE this weekend I've run into what will no doubt be the first of many potential show stoppers.

My youngest daughter (Amber) has a Statement of Special Needs for a learning difficulty, i.e. she has some 1 to 1 in class which the CiC might flag up on the medicals as creating ‘Excessive Demand.' Basically, if they think she’ll cost more than $4,806 a year then she’s excessive. Mind you, that includes everything i.e. education, health etc. She doesn’t have any health issues so that’s a bonus.

If they do decide she’s an excessive demand then we'll have to put forward a plan of how we’re going to address this, i.e. pay to send her to private school or pay for extra tutoring etc. I guess we'll cross that hurdle if and when we come to it!

The application is on its way

So, I finally decided that there was no point in delaying the proceedings any longer. If and when the Canadian Forces (CF) come back with an offer I can always forward on the details to add to the file. With that in mind, this morning I gave all the paperwork a cursory last once over before sealing up the envelope. 1/2 an hour later I handed it over to the nice lady in Kingswood Post Office and that was that.

For those interested, I sent it by Royal Mail Airsure (£9.88) which is supposed to take 4 or 5 days to get there and includes tracking all the way.

Nothing left to do now but sit and wait.........

The cheque has arrived

There was a knock at the door this morning with a special delivery from the postman - the cheque for C$1,700 has arrived. After the conversion rate and £12.00 fee my account is now missing the princely sum of £984.91.

Too late to go to the Post Office now so we'll have to wait until Monday to mail off the application. Why do I get that nagging feeling that I've forgotten something........

Trip to the bank

After a confusing phone call with the Nationwide, who seemed to have no idea how to provide me with a certified cheque, bank draft or money order, I was told to visit my local branch who would be able to sort me out. For the privilege of spending my own money I have been quoted a £12.00 fee and about a week to wait for the cheque to be delivered. I'm not convinced they're even going to send me what I need; when I asked the cashier the difference between a normal cheque and a certified cheque the answer wasn't exactly forthcoming.

Completing the paperwork

I suppose a good a place to start as any is at the beginning, which in our case is the considerable paperwork that goes with the territory of emigrating to Canada. In true military fashion, our 'unit' comprises: Platoon Commander (Julie), Platoon Sergeant (moi) and Charlie Fire Team (Scott, Jordan, Amber & Poppy).

It’s always a bonus trying to remember dates and addresses from the 14 different Army units and 12 homes which we've lived at over the past 20 odd years. I can see getting the Police checks done (if they accept us) is going to be interesting.

This 'dream' materialised after spending a wonderful year posted to Alberta as part of my job in the British Army. With only 2 years to push until I hit the big 40 and they pension me off, the prospects of starting a new life in UK Civvie Street isn't exactly looking like a rosy future filled with golden opportunities. The thinking is if we have to starts a new life from scratch, i.e. new job, new home etc then why not do it in another country. So here we are at the very beginning with the 2 year countdown clock ticking away until June 2011 when, if all goes to plan, 'D' Day will be upon us.

Here's what will hopefully be our last UK home:

Being the 'careful' type (not to be confused with tight-fisted) I didn't fancy employing the services of a 'Representative' so it was Shanks' pony today. Anyway, it's not exactly rocket science so after many hours tapping away at the keyboard there's a pile of papers ready to sign. I can now visit the bank tomorrow to sort out how I muster up a Canadian cheque to the tune of C$1,700 (isn't it great having 4 children).

For those that are interested, I am applying under the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) scheme as a Heavy-Duty Mechanic (7312). My Army trade is Mechanical Engineer so it lends itself to the background. I don't have an offer of employment yet but it is early days - for now, I'm more concerned with getting the application process on the go. I have applied to enlist in the Canadian Forces (CF) in the same trade as I am now - the application went in a couple of moths ago and there is initial interest. The CF is now assessing my background and qualifications (called a Prior Learning Assessment) to see if I have something to offer. I should hear back within a couple of months as to whether they're going to offer me a place or not.

Anyway, next stop the bank…..