Re: Moving US from Dubai
Hi there,
First of all, I'm a he and not a she ! But its all good, don't worry about it. Like most of them said, its really not worth the hassle and the heartache of going to the US. Going as a student is a tremendous waste of money and time.
As I said before I've been looking into this for a long time almost over a year now. Looking at Canada and Australia, also joined a lot of Canadian forums etc etc to hear it from the horses mouth also have a goof friend from school who is Canadian now.
Both these countries Canada and Australia, don't worry about citizenship as once your granted immigration. PR card in canada and permanent residence visa in Australia. That means almost 100% you will get citizenship.
Initially they are both valid for two years but if your already in either Canada or Australia they can expire and it does not matter your still a legal resident. Only thing you will have to make an easy application that lets you return if you wish to travel outside and return. And in both cases the PR and PRV are both renewed easily.
But if you stay the course your eligible for citizenship before any of them run out. Both cases you have to been in the country for 3 ( Canada )to 4 years ( Australia )with a period of 5 years.
Canada is cheaper to live but only outside the bigger cities like Toronto, Vancouver etc etc, which is the case everywhere but the biggest problem is it does not recognise your qualifications and work experience and you have to start from scratch, specially if your in the medical field. There are many horror stories of migrants ending up doing meanial jobs because of this situation. An Iranian doctor spent 7 years just doing that for example.
Also the pay scale is not so great. A recent Canadian study showed that the avg income of 42k per annum has risen by one dollar per year in a 25 year time span i.e not much chance of promos etc etc.
Plus the weather factor. Majority of Canada is basically frozen 8 months out of 12. And depending on where you live it can get very extreme in the winter time -50 in some cases. Rememer a lot of Canada is situated in the Artic Circle.
As for Australia, it is a bit more expensive but there are two big major advantages. One they regocnise your qualifications and work experience and Second the pay scale start from where Canadias end. Meaning you hit the ground running and ready to go from day one you step foot in Australia also a big plus is the Australian economy is in much better shape.
For example for the field we are applying in, first of all we cannot get a job in our field, will take atleast two years of restudying to get requalified ( i.e: flipping burgers and driving cabs to pay for living and studying expenses ) and then the pay scale in that sector is 30-60k max. As in Australia the pay scale starts from 45k going well over a 100k in the same field.
Cost of living is a bit high mostly due to that most products have to be imported due to its geographical location and that ads to cost, but still not too high maybe 15 to 20% higher. But if you live a modest lifestyle and don't splurge too much its totally possible atleast till you settle down.
As in everywhere in the world if you want to live in the bigger cities like Sydney and Melbourne its going to be more expensive. But if you move out just a little bit out from the cities there is very affordable housing. And living in dubai we are used to hour long commutes to and fro from work, so thats not a big deal.
Although personally I would be more familiar and comfortable moving to Canada but choose Australia for the better oppurtunities it presents.
As for applying Australia is a bit strict as in not too many nominated occupations and a tougher points based system. BUt in my first post I listed both the Canadian and Australian websites. You can take self assesment tests to see wheter you qualify or not and you can apply online and no need to get any kits from anywhere. Everything is mentioned on the govt websites I've listed.
Personally I've choosen an agent for my application as all you have to do is dump all my documents with them and they do the rest. For Canadian immigration it is advisable NOT to use agents becasue most of the so called agents have no idea what they are doing and most applications get delayed or rejected due to their faults.
Also remember Canada and Australia apart from federal immigration plans have other immigration programs from the local territories and provinces which are easier incase you qualify for the federal program
But Australian govt approves and nominates agents so they have to meet certain creteria so it much more safe and AFAIK there are only two approved agents registered with the Australian Immigration dept in Dubai so I'm going through them.
I could save a lot of money applying myself but doing the run around for the paperwork is a huge hassle. And plus I have crossed checked these people with the Australian Immi Dept and they are the real deal so I guess its worth it.
Remember, think about it real hard as to where you want to go and not just the easiest as literally it is going to be the most crucial decesion about your life your going to make.
Currently I am lucky in the sense I have an option between Australia and Canada, but if I didn't have an option I would go for which ever was willing to accept me ! As anyplace is better than here.
My advice is think about it real hard but don't procrastinate about it too much. Thats the mistake I did. I first thought about this in 2008 but then just kept on fooling myself that things might get better and that maybe Dubai will eventually come up with some kind of permanent residency program. If I would have applied back in 2008 I would be writing this from Canada.
But in the end I guess god knows best as at that time I really hadn;t thought about Australia at all. Anyways I hope this info was helpfull. Feel free to write about if you want to discuss anything further.
