Studies in Canada

Studies in Canada as a way to immigrate to Canada

Canada’s immigration policies are evolving in a way that a trend may be observed that foreign workers and international student coming to Сanada to study or work and as such to contribute to the Canadian economy are given more opportunities to immigrate to Canada under various immigration programs.

This trend is justified by the fact that people who are already in Canada are way more familiar with the Canadian realities, they have gotten to know the way of life Canadians have and more importantly they are already either gainfully employed or have a very fair prospects of getting employed in the nearest future.

As such, they are considered to have an ability to settle and establish themselves more successfully in Canada in comparison with other prospective applicants. International students are indeed a very desired pool of prospective permanent residents and many immigration programs are catered to accommodate more easily those who have completed college or university studies in Canada.

However, studies in Canada at a reputable college or a university may be very costly for an international student. There are several ways to alleviate financial burden an international student will bear in connection with his studies in Canada:

finding a college/university that imposes lesser tuition fees on international students. Educational institutions in such megalopolises as Toronto and Vancouver have higher tuition fees in comparison with the ones that are in less populated provinces and cities. For example, the cost of studies in Alberta may be 3 times cheaper than studies in Ontario.
certain colleges and universities offer scholarships and bursaries to international students on certain programs. Usually, those programs are very specific and are either in a highly specialized academic field (for example, in English philosophy of 17th century) or in a highly competitive sport field. Also, usually these programs are made available to individuals who have a proven record of high academic/sports achievements and have an advanced level of English to study successfully.
many educational institutions offer programs that allow students as a part of curriculum to engage in work activities related to their field of studies (co-op education). The work they perform is paid, though the wages for those jobs may be lesser in comparison with the jobs offered on a job market to those who are seeking regular employment. Nevertheless, co-op education is indeed an excellent way to get involved in real hands-on experience and to get some form of monetary compensation while studying.
On-campus employment may be a good way to consider in order to optimize the cost of studies in Canada as this kind of employment is widely available on campuses. The bigger is the campus of an educational institution, the more opportunities there are to get employed at such positions as cafeteria employee, teacher assistant, etc. The advantage of this kind of employment is the opportunity to start it right the way upon entering a program as it is allowed so under the law.
Off–campus employment is another way to bring down the overall cost of studies in Canada. Generally speaking, such employment is allowed after having studied for 6 months. A student may get employed outside of a campus at any position he wishes to undertake thought some conditions apply as to the hours of work a student is authorized to perform, a season of work and so on.

You may wish to contact an immigration bureau to inquire about the opportunities to study in Canada and finding the right educational institution for your particular needs as well as with reference to any other Canadian immigration matters.