Changes Coming to PR Applicants-FSW

If you submitted a PR application under the "Federal Skilled Worker (FSW)" Category before Feb. 27, 2008 and a decision was not made on you application by the end of March 2012, your application will be wiped out and any application fees paid will be returned.

This Change will affect 280,000 applicants and Canadian Immigration will refund a total of $130Million in fees paid to applicants

If you are among all this applicants... all hope is not lost, When your application is returned, you still have the opportunity to re-apply under the new requirements.

News from here

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Faster PR for PHD Students

As of Nov. 5th, 2011, international PHD students who have completed at least two years of study towards their PHD degree and remain in good academic standing at a provincially recognized post - secondary educational institution in Canada would be eligible to apply for permanent residence in Canada under the federal skilled workers category.

Super Visa!!!

Canada just implemented a new visa category called Parent and Grandparents SuperVisa (a multiple entry visa) which is valid for up to 10years. Other perks include;

• The visa allows an applicant to remain in Canada for up to 24 months at a time without the need for renewal of their status.
•  CIC will be able to issue the visas, on average, within eight weeks of the application. 
• Parent and Grandparent Super Visa applicants will be required to obtain private Canadian health-care insurance for their stay in Canada.

New Visa Effective Dec. 1st 2011

Best Province to Immigrate to In Canada!

If you are immigrating to Canada and you have no family or friends here, one of the tough decisions you have to make is deciding which province to migrate to. Your decision will solely depend on what  you plan on achieving here in Canada and if you are a big city or small city individual.

Most immigrants move to Canada for better job prospect and a better life for their family. In the past, Almost  all new immigrants went to the East ( Ontario ) and very few immigrants ended up in the West.  One of the glaring reasons is that the west is much colder than the east. Also, most of the cities in the east were more metropolitian and multicultural than those in the West. There were also better opportunities in the East esp. in cities like Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.

However, just like every other thing in life, immigration trend in Canada is changing! More and more immigrants are choosing to migrate to the West- Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon and Winnipeg. This is due to the Economic boom and job opportunities in the cities.

The Best Province- My personal Opinion
Saskatchewan is currently a hot province to immigrate to! There are lots of Job opportunities! I live here and I love it here! The two Major cities Regina and Saskatoon are Mid size cities! It is easy to get around, little or no traffic! Saskatchewan is a good province to raise kids. Almost every industry is represented in Saskatchewan with the major ones being Mining Industry(- Oil, Gas, Potash and Uranium) and Agriculture. The cost of living here is also pretty low. The only down side to Saskatchewan are those Blizzards and long winters! Overall .. Saskatchewan is a beautiful province.. filled with great opportunities and very nice people.

There are other beautiful cities in Canada, I have visited some of them but I love my SK best:).
Look out for new post on other Canadian cities I like. If you need information about a certain city, please leave a comment and I'll do my best to get back to you:)

ttys

Finding an Apartment to Rent in Canada

After securing an admission and getting a visa to move to Canada to either study or migrate to Canada, the next big challenge is finding where you would stay when you arrive in Canada.

For most students, finding an accommodation could be somewhat easy if they plan to stay on campus. However, if they plan is to leave off campus,their major challenge will be finding an accommodation.

Now this could be tricky if you are not in Canada yet , so if you absolutely have not family or friend in Canada, it is almost impossible to find an apartment.. you are better off staying in a hotel or hostel once you arrive and use a few weeks to find a place. Preferred arrival if planning to stay in a hotel would be atleast 2weeks to the end of the month.. with hopes that at the end of 2 weeks, you would have found a place. Because most apartment rent from either 1st or 15th day of the month. 95% of them being on the 1st of a new month.

General Steps in Getting an Accommodation

1. Visit www.kijiji.com or www.usedeverywhere.com and select the city you are located in to view available listings. It is very important to make google your friend while you are hunting for an apartment so you can compare the distance you'll have to travel for school or work. There are other websites that could be used but the above are the most common.

2. After finding the apartment you may be interested in, contact the person on the ad iether by phone or email to verify the folloing information if not stated.

• What utilitity is included in the rent- Heat, water, power?
• How is laundry operated? Coin or per suite?
• Is there are lease agreement? If there is how long is it for? Any penalties if leases are not completed?
• Is Parking included in the rent amount?
• How much is damage deposit?
• Are pets allowed?
• Is it a kid friendly apartment?
• How much is the rent?

3. After getting a response to the above questions and you are satisfied, it is important to book a viewing for the apartment.

4. After viewing the apartment, if you still like it you'll have to complete an application form and the landlords will review all applications submitted and determine their new tenant. The process includes

• contact of your references of which one of them should be a previous land lord
• A review of your financial ability to pay monthly rent

5. If you are offered the apartment, you will be required to pay the first month rent as well as damage deposit( which is usually one month's rent).

This is just a summary of major steps involved in renting a place. If you have specific questions, please ask.
Thanks

My First Job in Canada!

As an international undergraduate student  in 2005 we were only allowed to work on campus. Finding those on-campus jobs were quite challenging. Even more challenging if you have never worked. When i moved from my home country to Canada, I had never really worked for any one. I only helped my mum out at her business occasionally. That probably was the only thing close to a work experience I had.

So I had to find out other ways I could build up my resume to assure a potential employer that I will be a good employee.

What I did

1. I took part in association in School. Where I took on some leadership roles.

2. I volunteered for orientation programs on campus

3. I was a student Note Taker ( Basically you go to class, take notes and upload it on a website for students with disability.)

With Volunteer Experiences and the little job i did for my mum, I was able to secure my first job at a call center... it paid $8.75/hr

Basically, if you have no real work experience and no job is coming forth, do not turn down Volunteering opportunities. Also ensure that you make sure you do a good job at the volunteer opportunity so you could get references for future job opportunities.

Surviving the Winter

Depending on the province you find your self, this could be the longest season you will experience yearly. Winter can be very unbearable. Even though you can not really comprehend how cold it get here unless you experiences it, to be fore-warned is to be fore-armed:)

Things you should know in addition to a good winter Jacket!
1. Make the weather network your best friend! Do not your house without checking the weather forecast for the day and dress accordingly.

1. When someone tells you what the temperature is or you listen to the weather forecast, be sure to find out what the weather plus windchill is. The windchill actually determines what it really feels like out there. The temperature could be -20 however with windchill it could go as low as -30. Basically windchill factor takes into account the effect of the wind at a given temperature. More wind.. the colder it is!

2. When we all bring our food from the freezer to defrost, depending on what it is.. most of the times our first instinct is to warm it up somehow. we either leave them in hot water or microwave. This is a NO! NO! when you have frostbites ( partial freezing of exposed body parts in extremely low temperatures). Putting your hands in hot water if you have frostbites hurts seriously ( terrible pain feels like your fingers are about to fall off..). It better to sit in a warm place and warm up gradually.

3. Having the right winter footwear is very important. I have fallen every winter! I have fallen while wearing heels, flatshoes, runners, and even in winterboots! With footwear it is all about GRIPPPPPP! GRIPPPP! To be frank those good winter shoes are quite ugly.. especially if you are in the business of looking fabulous at all times. Be very careful when you walk on ice.. avoid shiny surfaces in the winter if you can.. they are mostly frozen ice and your probability of falling if you are not careful is 90%.

4. Do not let hot drinks ( like Tim Hortons teas, cappuccinos, and coffee ... how I love them) depart from you! Colds are almost inevitable! You'll get them.. no matter how warm you dress. So take hot tea and soups as often as you can. Also drink lots of water.

5. In most parts of Canada, the winters are usually really dry.. so MOISTURIZE! MOISTURIZE! MOISTURIZE! to avoid itchyness and scaly(lol) skin..