7 Tips for International Students Looking to Migrate to Canada
We asked Sanchari Rai, an immigration consultant for tips, and she delivered the goods.
Once upon a time, Sanchari Rai lived in India.
She was a senior executive at her job and loved her role: the routines, the learning, and the career growth. For 13 years, this was her life, her identity, and her home.
But one day, 15 years ago, she and her husband relocated to Canada to explore new economic opportunities.
On landing in the Great White North, Sanchari faced a rude shock.
For two years, no matter what she did, she couldn’t land her preferred role. This was baffling for someone who had held a senior position back home in India. In conversations with other immigrants, Sanchari slowly realized she was not alone.
Like her, new immigrants to Canada were battling the almighty Canadian catch-22: You need Canadian experience to get jobs, but nobody will employ you without it.
Sancheri was at an impasse. Undeterred, she started thinking of her next steps. During this period, Sancheri’s husband was completing his Ph.D. in Canada and was constantly inundated with questions from people back home.
“How do I come to Canada?” “How do I apply to schools in Canada?” “What should I bring to Canada?”
Sancheri and her husband had a lightbulb moment. They realized there was an opportunity to start an academic immigration consulting business.
After all, they had gained hard-won knowledge from living and working in Canada that could help other immigrants avoid common mistakes. In a way, they could help other immigrants integrate better than they had done.
And so Ecc Hive was born.
Achieving this goal would take them another three years. But their cumulative experience came with many vital lessons.
Today, Sanchari has seven tips for international students migrating to Canada.
1) The biggest question: Do you have “it” in you?
Where “it,” according to Sanchari, equals grit, resilience, and staying power.
Where “it” = the ability to get up after failing and failing again.
Finally, where “it” = living with diverse people, fending for yourself, doing hours of assignments and coursework, studying, and working and repeating this routine over and over again for two years or more.
Sanchari [paraphrased]: Every country—both your home country and your new country—has its peculiar challenges, but you have to make the best use of what you have. Migration, especially via the student route, requires a lot of grit and resilience outside of academic performance.
2) Stay focused
So many shiny objects abound, distraction lurks around the corner, so losing focus is easy.
As Sancheri observes: “People come to study, and other people convince them that they won’t get a job [after school], so they need to start working to save money for LMIA, etc, and that has completely diverted them.”
However, because study visas have restrictions, students have to work odd jobs that pay cash and don’t count toward their degree requirements. The downstream effect is that instead of going through a direct immigration route, these students land nowhere.
Sanchari's solution for staying the course? Tell yourself, “I came for education, I need to finish my education, and I need to go on [with my life].”
3) Be strategic
Firstly, being strategic means focusing on what you came for. If it’s getting an education, that means going to classes and turning in your assignments.
Being strategic also means, as Sanchari explains, finding relevant jobs to volunteer or work within your field of study.
If you can, do some work — no matter how small — that’s relevant to what you’re studying. So by the time you’re done with school, your internship place can either offer you a role or, at least before you start looking for work in Canada, you already have some relevant experience in your field.
4) Take care of your health — both physically and mentally
“Try not to eat junk [food]. Everything will come crashing down if you’re not [caring] for yourself. So, have a routine.”
5) Ask for help
Sanchari says that no matter what stage you are in your Canadian journey, you should never hesitate to ask for help from others. “Connect with people — there are lots of platforms [like LinkedIn] where you can connect with people for nothing.”
Outside of LinkedIn, Sanchari advises students to join their local communities and college alumni groups.
“Connect with alumni on LinkedIn and find out what jobs are available to you,” Sanchari explains. She adds that you shouldn’t start your job search process when you graduate. Instead, by building your network ahead of time, you’ll have a robust platform to lean on when you finish school.
6) Build from first principles
Coming to Canada should not be the be-all and end-all for anyone. Instead, a more strategic approach is to ask: “What work do I want to do when I land in Canada?”
As Sanchari explains, this exercise allows you to pick a program relevant to your goals. Alternatively, if you’re undecided about what to do, Sanchari prescribes going to the Job Bank to study the shortage areas and picking a relevant program.
“[If you do a relevant program] with all the required side activities, there’s a lot more [probability] that you’ll get a job [after school].”
7) Find your tribe
Read about the realistic things happening in Canada and ignore social media noise. Also, connect with the people who will encourage you, etc.
“Avoid people who will try to pull you down. Find your tribe, and keep doing something new,” Sanchari says.
If you “keep busy and keep learning, the sky is the limit.”
Bonus tips include learning French as an additional language because being bilingual helps in Canada. Also, volunteering in your home country before coming is an advantage in Canada. Finally, giving back to your community in one way or another [time, money, support] is always a good idea because “the more you give, the more you get.”