10/3/14
With the opening of this year’s application process for working holiday visas to Canada NGO Crosscare Migrant Project has stated that it could well be a record year for the number of Irish people leaving for Canada. The Canadian government visa allocation for Irish people this year is going up significantly from 6,350 to 10,700. Last year the available visas were applied for in record time with the allocation taken up in a matter of days. This year the visas have been split into three categories - the standard Working Holiday visa, a small number of internship visas for 3rd level graduates (International Co-op) and visas for people who have job offers in their area of qualification (Young Professionals).
Joe O’Brien Policy Officer for Crosscare Migrant Project, which provides an information and advocacy service for intending Irish emigrants stated that:
If there is the same demand for working holiday visas to Canada this year as there was last year then sadly I think we may see the largest number of Irish people emigrate to Canada in a single year since the 1800s. The 1950s was one of the worst decades in Irish emigration history and then in 1957 we have estimates of 7,500 Irish people arriving in Canada. 2014 could break that number. Of course we need to be realistic about the difference in emigration now and then. Emigration to Canada in the 1950s was often a permanent move with a lot of unknowns facing the emigrant but the nature of emigration has changed significantly particularly with the advent and development of the internet.
The new categories of visa will give more options to intending emigrants and to Irish emigrants there who want to extend their stay. In particular the Young Professionals category will allow people to use their high levels of skills and qualifications and the International Co-op visa will allow people to cultivate links in Canada prior to graduation. However it must also be said that these new categories of visa will also mean that Irish people will be more likely to stay in Canada. The Young Professionals category in particular is designed to hold onto our best and brightest.
As a service that provides pre-departure information the way we provide our service has changed considerably. We are now able to reach a much larger audience with our web based information resources. Also this information can be much more up to date than in the past. Most fundamentally though, much of our information service is now emigrant driven. We have just published a report on advice for emigrants to Canada that is 100% based on the experiences of Irish emigrants on Canadian working holiday visas in 2013.
The report called ‘What is Canada like? 101 answers’ surveyed the views and experiences of 101 Irish people who were on a Canadian working holiday last year. The 101 emigrants were asked what advice they would give to Irish people emigrating to Canada in 2014 with findings categorised under employment, accommodation, social network, helpful organisations and final advice.
Some of the key findings of the report included emigrants emphasizing the importance of networking in the search for employment, the difficulties and pitfalls of sourcing accommodation, the benefits of bringing references from Ireland and the importance of socialising with Canadians.
The full text of the report is at this link: http://bit.ly/1gkrDJ3
An information leaflet on the new visas and Working Holidays visa is at this link: http://bit.ly/NRcXug
For more information contact Joe O’Brien, Policy Officer, Crosscare Migrant Project at 087-9608540 and jobrien@crosscare.ie"> jobrien@crosscare.ie
Notes:
Crosscare Migrant Project is part funded by the Emigrant Support Programme of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.