New quotas?

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/newsarticles/2013/september/08-rules

This article for October posted in September by the UK Border Agency states that they will be " setting new youth mobility scheme quotas for 2014."

As currently Canada has 5,500 places for the visa. I hope that the number does not shrink and that I am one of those numbers.

Book: Live & Work in Britain

So I took this book out from the library in my quest for more information.

Live & Work in Britain by Nicola Taylor

The parts on the working holidaymaker (what the Youth Mobility Scheme was called ) is very small and I am not sure of its accuracy now. The book was published in 2008 so there can be a lot of changes made to the system since it was published.

The first part mentioned about the scheme is this:

"The working holidaymakers scheme allows young Commonwealth citizens the opportunity to come to the UK for an extended holiday which they may help fund by working in the UK up to a maximum of two years. To qualify you must be a Commonwealth citizen, be aged 17 to 30 inclusive and either be unmarried, or married to a working holidaymaker who is taking the holiday with you.

During the period of stay, you may take employment incidental to a holiday but not set yourself up in or run a business. You can choose when to work and when to take your holiday breaks, but you are not allowed to work for more than a total of 12 months out of the 24. You must also be able to prove you have enough money for your accommodation and living expenses for the first two months after you arrive, or for at least one month if you can show that you have arranged a job in advance."

So I am not sure about the whole working only 12 months of the 24 because I have not read that anywhere else. I think this might just be old information.

The website for the UK Border Agency states that "You will be able to live and work in the UK for 24 months under the youth mobility scheme."

October and what is left of it.

Wow, this year seems to be coming to an end so very very quickly.

I am still saving towards getting the Youth Mobility Scheme visa. I still have a lot of questions.

Like should I get an HSBC account because they have the option of the Passport which can link your accounts. This would save me hopefully from the struggle of opening a bank account in the UK.

Do I need to purchase my plane ticket before the interview?

Where should I go?

Ha ha, lots to think about.

October has been a lot of fun. For Thanksgiving six of my friends and I decided that we would make the trek from Vancouver to Edmonton to have Thanksgiving with our friend Tayla.

I drove as my passengers were unable to drive, two not knowing how and one had an expired license and on top of that did not know how to drive standard.

We drove through Kamloops and through Jasper National Park in the Rocky Mountains to reach Edmonton. The drive there was beautiful.

Rocky Mountains. Photo by Jon McRae.

We had left on Friday morning at 4 am and drove all the way to Edmonton only stopping a few times so we made really good time and arrived in Edmonton around 5 pm. We had a really relaxed dinner on the Friday night by ordering in Boston Pizza. I was exhausted so I had an early night.

The next day we had a good breakfast before heading to go grocery shopping for our fixings. That night we went to the West Edmonton Mall to Tony Roma's for dinner. We met up with my mother, uncle and aunt for dinner. It was very nice to see my mom. I always miss her so much.  After the delicious dinner of ribs we enjoyed London Fogs at Second Cup before heading back out to Beaumont where we were staying at Tayla's parents place.

My Sweet Potato. Photo by Jon McRae

I was in charge of making Mashed Sweet Potatoes. We went to No Frills the other day and this was the monster I found. I have never seen them so large before. I chose this one as well as two smaller ones. My dish turned out very good. The whole Thanksgiving dinner was amazing. We had a bacon blanketed turkey, stuffing, veggies, mashed potatoes, soup, buns. I am sure I am forgetting something but all of it was so good. Everyone was stuffed afterwards but we managed to fit in ice cream and pumpkin pie.

The next day a few of my friends had to head back early to Vancouver so we had our goodbyes the night before and on the Monday we drove Scott to the bus station downtown Edmonton before going back and having a relaxing time outside enjoying the entertainment of Tayla's dog Frank.

We drove back to Vancouver leaving Tuesday morning at 6 am and arriving in Vancouver around 5 pm. The drive back seemed a lot longer than the first ride. I think we were all just tired of being cooped up in the car for so long so we made it as fast as possible. On the way back from Edmonton we saw three Elk in Jasper National Park and were able to stop and take a few photos of them.

Elk. Photo by Jon McRae.

The trip was a lot of fun and I was very happy to see Tayla and everyone back together again. I look forward to more adventures but I think they will be solo ones to Wales, to Greece...the places are endless.

I must get back on track with finding where my path leads me.