As my husband and I are both bilingual (French and English - besides Portuguese, of course) we could have gone to anywhere in Canada. However, we chose Ontario for several reasons. First of all, it's where the most part of jobs are. Secondly, the weather here is a little bit 'better' than in Montreal, for example. And finally, it was a shorter trip from Brazil - and this item took Vancouver off the list.
If we stayed in Brazil while waiting to be called to immigrate we would likely never be able to come. Remember the points you need to have for that? We still haven't reached them, basically because of our age. The older you get, the less points you have. Also, we didn't have the Canadian Experience.
So, the best plan was to come to Canada on a study visa + temporary work permit. In this kind of visa, one spouse studies full time and can work part time while the other spouse is allowed to work full time. Also, the children can go public schools. Moreover, the whole family is eligible get the OHIP, which is the free health system, once the spouse completes 3 months working full time. Another advantage is that you can get an extended working visa of until 3 years after you graduate from your course. This way, we could have the points for the Canadian Experience and enough time to acquire the points to be invited to apply. Another way to increase our points is by scoring the English proficiency tests. As an English Teacher, I believed that it wasn't going to be difficult. However, I've taken the tests 4 times and still didn't get the grades I need. It's a matter of time, though. I will talk about these tests on a separate post as well.
The idea of studying again was attractive because it's a fresh start.
In order to apply for a college or post-graduation course, the institutions usually ask for proficiency tests. You can take either IELTS ACADEMIC or TOEFL. If you can't reach the minimum points they demand on these tests, they usually offer a 3-month course named "Pathway", that prepares students with the English they need for the course they want to take.
We hired the services from the exchange program agency Hi Bonjour, who gave us some options of education. As I already have a degree, I could have chosen a post-graduation program, but these are usually only a year length and very expensive if you aren't a permanent resident, while the colleges ones are two years long. The one-year courses wouldn't give me the visa extension after graduating either. From the options we had in Ontario, Sheridan College was among the highest raked institutions for Human Resources Management. Also, the city of Mississauga on the top 10 best places to live in Canada. It was a match.
It's important to say that the fees for each term of a 2-year program costs about CAD 7000. They call it a 2 year program but each term is 3 months, so, I started in January 2017 and I'll finish in April 2018.
Now we have one year to fight for our Invitation to Apply. And we WILL get that!
Wish us good luck!
It's important to say that the fees for each term of a 2-year program costs about CAD 7000. They call it a 2 year program but each term is 3 months, so, I started in January 2017 and I'll finish in April 2018.
Now we have one year to fight for our Invitation to Apply. And we WILL get that!
Wish us good luck!
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| My first day at Sheridan! |
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| I love my college! |
