Immigration to Canada as a Student is exciting and it takes a lot of effort to immigrate and settle. One has to undergo various problems before and after landing as coming to a country for education with no prior contact makes it difficult. At the same time, every student has that zeal and enthusiasm which can be converted to a life changing opportunity. However, looking at other side of the coin, some students can’t really make that difference and have to leave Canada with disheartening memories.

Every student lands with a hope of ray to become a Permanent Resident and ultimately the Citizen of Canada. Which has its own perks. The life expectancy rate, education, GDP, beauty, community etc are just some of the benefits which one gets after PR or Citizenship. I am going to write “its not easy” and everyone will agree with me, since many have gone through this. Well, I landed as a PR so I never had to experience what students have to face and go through.

The reason behind writing this blog is to inform those who want to come to Canada as a Student. Well, there is something wrong that you are doing. Which you have to understand prior even thinking of IELTS. Yes, this is correct. Even before IELTS, one has to understand the real process and procedure to become a PR at the end. Apart from IELTS and work experience, two important aspects which play vital role in achieving this are “College and Program of Study” and “Province of Landing”.

College and Program of Study

Everyone knows, after completing education, one gets PGWP (Post Graduation Work Permit) which allows students to work full time as a skilled worker and after couple of years of work experience it helps in PR application. However, many students make that mistake of selecting the college/university of education. And they realize this at a later stage, when nothing can be done. They can not go back to home country, do not have a reason to live here and while living in this grief, they start searching for alternatives like Consultants for paid (illegal) jobs/LMIAs hoping that they can convert it to PR. Well, instead of doing this, you should check things before hand and act intelligently.

Couple of things to consider

  • Target only Designated Learning Institutions

While finalizing the College or University, One should target only Designated Learning Institutions (DLI). A DLI is an approved school to host International Students by Provincial or Territorial Government. The most important part here is, you should know if you will be eligible to work after you graduate since not all DLIs are approved to get PGWP (Post Graduation Work Permit).

Check Designated Learning Institutions List
  • PGWP Criteria

Yes there is a criteria for PGWP. Just education in a specific college, doesn’t mean you can work after completing your studies. The important factors are

“minimum 8 months long duration of that program”

“maintain full time status as a student”

“If you have been transferred between DLIs then combined length of studies should be 8 months”

“most important that DLI should be approved to get PGWP”

Check PGWP Criteria
  • Prior Education in India (Current Resident Country)

I hope this is making sense to you, since we are talking about important considerations which will work in combination towards Canadian PR. Continuing, We are at existing/prior education factor. Now, various students move to Canada without knowing which course will lead to your destination. As per current standards if you have a Bachelors degree and your IELTS is equivalent to CLB 8, then choose 1 year or 2 year diplomas otherwise you should apply for a Full Graduation program. This program will be beneficial in applying jobs as well. Canadian PR is a composition of “Education”, “Work Experience” and “IELTS Score”. So, to balance out all these important factors, you have to decide prior coming here.

  • Last but not the least, Landing Province

I hear this a lot, students after landing in Ontario are struggling to move to other provinces. There are a lot of cases where-in various students after completing education, still not eligible to apply PR because of strict OINP guidelines and pre-requisites. One important aspect in Ontario is, competition. A lot of students are only applying and landing in Ontario which gives the employers as well as the Provincial Government the opportunity to choose the best. Because of which, applying PR through OINP is getting next to impossible for almost all students. Some have to get a job offer under specific NOC codes while others struggle in IELTS. The education sometimes does not match with the job offer and students are bound to apply for another student visa application, in order to increase points. So, Its better to decide first about landing province so that you can apply for PR in future. 

I have made a little table presentation to give you an idea about choosing right Education and Province.

Current Education Plan For Province(s) of Landing
Class +12
Bachelors Program
All Provinces
Class +12
2 years Diploma
Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia
Bachelors Program
1 or 2 Year(s) Diploma
All Provinces but Manitoba & Saskatchewan are preferred
Masters Program
1 or 2 Year(s) Diploma
All Provinces but Manitoba, Saskatchewan & Nova Scotia are preferred

That’s it for today, Will be back again with new information to share.