Hopefully this is alright to post here.
I live in the US and am trying to move to somewhere around the Ottawa area to be with my partner and her daughter, but I am having a lot of trouble trying to find jobs that would sponsor for a work visa.
I do IT sysadmin, AWS engineer, Linux work, but can’t seem to find places that are hiring or will sponsor. Is this something that is very hard to find or am I just looking in the wrong places?
I have 2 kids and am trying to move there to keep them safe and retain their bodily rights as they get older.
If anyone knows anything or has any ideas for help, I would greatly appreciate it!
Thank you
For a lot of Canadians the best IT jobs are working remote for US firms since they pay so much better than our own. Maybe that’s a potential avenue to explore. Alternatively have you thought about getting married or perhaps your common law already and get those spousal benefits?
if you know of a way to find remote-only IT jobs from the states that are able to be applied to by Canadians, I’m all ears.
The part that’s been depressing me is that even if I search for jobs that are “remote only” I still get postings that say “must be in proximity to x” where x is a US city that I’m at least 10 hours drive away from.
I don’t work in IT, but I have had luck doing this. Go on the local stock exchange (tsx for Canada) pull a index fund which manages companies you are interested in applying for (tttk for IT in the tsx). Review the company list and start applying. This gives you a list currently high performing companies that have enough presence in the country to trade on the stock exchange.
Here is a link which has the names for tttk https://money.tmx.com/en/quote/^TTTK
TSX Venture exchange is also worth a shot
I’m not familiar enough with this program to help beyond letting you know that it exists, but… US citizens who work in specific professions can take advantage of CUSMA: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/temporary-residents/foreign-workers/international-free-trade-agreements/cusma.html
CUSMA work permits allow you to become a temporary resident. Once in Canada, you can apply for common-law or spousal sponsorship after living together for a year.
Or if you want to apply for permanent residence off the bat, look into the Federal Skilled Workers program (FSW) that’s administered through Express Entry. If you have questions about FSW, let me know and I’m happy to provide some other resources you can look into.
What mind of jobs are you looking for? Like infrastructure related or more software development? Maybe check levels.fyi as they have a decent filter?
Definitely make sure your LinkedIn is up to date and apply to as many roles as you can everyday. Feel free to DM me your profile and what kind of jobs you’re after and I’ll gladly give you my take if you’d like. Stay positive and optimistic, the right role will come.