Immigration to Canada

Arriving

Canadian Border Services Agency – CBSA at airport. The CBSA is responsible for border and point of entry activities in Canada.Make sure you carry all your documents in the handbag

Documents you need to enter Canada

Study Permit Terms & Conditions

With exams round the corner most of you will be busy making plans what comes next , and some of you would even be looking for study abroad programs be it UK, Canada , Australia, New Zealand. So many options and offers available these days the choice becomes even harder, but their is always some basic information that you need to know for a country where you plan to apply for a study visa. In a series of posts to be followed the Study Junction Abroad team will layout the information that you should know.

In the first post we focus on Canada as its attracts more than 1,30,000 students each year to study which bring in vibrant cultural experience.

Before you Apply - Before you can apply for a study visa you need to accepted by a school , college  or  university in Canada.

Canada offers a different types of schools and colleges

Primary & Secondary Schools - These are schools that teach upto grade 12. All such schools are regulated by provincial Government

Colleges & Universities & Technical School - These post secondary institutions have their own set of rules regarding admissions and Level of English & French requirement. For more information regarding admissions you can look at the institutions official website.

Private Colleges & Vocation Schools - These schools are not under any provincial regulation,but you need to make sure that you need the educational requirements for that province when you apply for such institutes.

Language Schools - These are schools that teach English and French languages, not regulated by provincial Governments but you need to make sure that you need the educational requirements for that province.

How to apply - The most basic question that gets you confused, whenever you plan to study abroad make sure you plan in advance. If you are going for a Primary or secondary schools you need to plan atleast six months in advance. If you planing for a College or University you need to plan atleast one year in advance. Students you have no gap in the studies in their study are generally prefered but varies between institutions.

Who Can Apply - If you are accepted by the College or University in Canada you can apply for a study permit

How to apply  - steps to process

1.  Check application processing times
2.  Get and complete the application forms
3.  Find the visa office where you need to submit your application
4.  Collect the documents you need for study permit                           
5.  Check for any provincial guidelines (Quebec)
6.  Complete your application form. Additional documents if any Medical Examination , Police  Certificate
7.  Pay the processing fees.
8.  Check your application.
9.  Submit your application. 

Post Application - After you have submitted your application you need to track the status of your application.The visa office will review your application to make sure its completed correctly and had all required documents. In case your application in not correctly filled it will not be processed and will be returned to you. If your application is correct they will review and decide whether you need to appear for an interview. Visa office will inform you about the time and place.

If your application is not approved  - visa office will send you a letter explaining why your application has been refused.

For all the parlor jokes about dot-coms, e-commerce is here to stay, and the momentum is just building.  E-commerce grew from a few billion dollars in the 1990s, to $250 billion in 2001.  Conservative forecasts place it above $3 trillion in the next few years.

The great advantage of e-commerce is its global reach without the limits of shelf space or warehousing.  E-commerce permits greater choice and price comparison, lower transaction costs, and brings together purchasers around the world.

The great danger of e-commerce is that it will forge ahead of the world's ability to come up with at least a minimum of global rules for it, including taxation, conflicting national laws, and adjudication of disputes.  Protecting consumers form cyber-crime is also important as is the greater notion of building confidence in e-commerce.

While e-commerce is still in its infancy, there is an urgency to solve this emerging global issue quickly, before the issues become insurmountable.  In this capacity also, Canada has become something of a leader.

On September 22, 1998, Parliament announced Canada's Electronic Commerce Strategy, which outlined a number of initiatives designed to establish Canada as a world leader in the adoption and use of electronic commerce.  The primary goals of the plan – facilitating economic growth, maximizing social potential, and reflecting and supporting global needs – were designed to break down the digital divide between information "haves" and "have nots" based on social, linguistic, or geographical grounds.   

In addition, Parliament passed the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act which has the dual purpose of providing for the protection of personal information while building consumer confidence in e-commerce.  Through this legislation, Canada has encouraged the development of higher encryption and authentication of electronic documents.

These initiatives have placed Canada above the U.S. in terms of Internet users and Internet hosts.  In addition, it leads the G7 nations in the share of population that uses the Internet, and in terms of connectedness and technological infrastructure, Canada ranks just slightly below the U.S.  At the same time, Canada has ensured that there is enough of a regulatory framework to protect consumers and innocent internet surfers.

Canada's initiatives should provide a model for the rest of the world.  It has managed to balance the competing requirements of encouraging e-commerce and Internet use, while still ensuring that consumers are protected.

The creative solutions that Canada has used to tackle regional issues are ones that can be applied on a global level.  The lessons learned, whether from its failures in the fish industry or its successes in developing e-commerce, are lessons which it can and ought to export to the world.

Many a debate has addressed the issues surrounding global trade, the role of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the principles of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).  Less attention, however, has been given to global investment harmonization.

While global trade rules such as GATT and the WTO have been most prominent in the public eye, foreign investment has been relatively unnoticed, despite growing three times faster than trade over the last couple decades.  Between 1980 and 2000, foreign investment went from 4% to 12% of GDP as a worldwide average.  Unlike trade, however, there are very few international investment rules, only bilateral treaties between countries.

Because the rules vary worldwide, there is very little consistency from deal to deal, thereby putting countries into inequitable bargaining positions.  Developing countries that rely on trade with developed countries are at the mercy of the stronger nation, which are in a position to make tough political and economic demands, in exchange for foreign investment.  The lack of international trade and investment rules make for an incredibly uneven playing field.       

Dr. Sylvia Ostry agrees.  "The world trading system is in dire need of reform and the reformers – if they exist – are nowhere to be seen, either in Geneva or national capitals."  The University of Toronto economics professor points out that for foreign investment to be successful from both an economic and humanitarian perspective, there must be greater transparency, an emphasis on human rights and participatory democracy, and a general toward open participation in trade policy-making processes.

Canada has a strong history of foreign investment despite ideological or political differences.  Canada's bold trade missions to China during the Nixon era are notable, as is Canada's long-standing trade relations with Cuba.  This insistence on a fair deal unconstrained by ideology is a model that ought to be exported beyond our borders.

Ever since Lester Pearson won a Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the Suez Canal Crisis, Canada has often congratulated itself on its peacekeeping role.  It is arguably more important, however, for Canada to develop a reputation for conflict prevention, and not just keeping the peace after conflict begins.

Intrastate wars have become more commonplace than wars between states.  In 1999-2000, there were over fifty intrastate wars, with a death toll of over 7 million civilians. Since 1945, over 90 percent of these conflicts have taken place in developing countries, often, as in the Congo, drawing neighboring countries into the conflict.

A recent World Bank analysis of intrastate conflicts shows that they predominantly occur where rebel forces have strong financial backing.  While some revolutions are based on genuine grievance, most conflicts, the study showed, are based on gaining access to valuable resources.  Greed, not grievance, is the motivator.  The World Bank's research show that internal conflicts are very likely in countries where income and education are very low, where an exported income such as petroleum, drugs, or diamonds can be easily captured and sold, and where one larger ethnic group dominates smaller ones.

Such conflicts can be averted by tracking the resource internationally, whether diamonds, petroleum, or drugs, making them harder to sell.  Other efforts are intensifying the fight against money laundering and controlling the small-arms trade.  Finally, countries should be actively encouraged to entrench the rights of minorities in their constitutions to ensure that the larger group does not dominate the smaller.   

In 2000, Parliament launched the National Initiative to Combat Money Laundering to bring Canada's efforts into line with international standards. The centerpiece of the strategy was a new Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) Act requiring financial institutions to report suspicious transactions.  The Act also created the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), which analyses these transaction reports and releases information to intelligence and law enforcement agencies when appropriate.  This legislation serves as a successful model for countries desiring to combat money laundering and the financing of civil unrest.

In addition, Canada has been successful in promoting the interests of various cultures and entrenching minority rights in its Constitution.  The Charter of Rights and Freedoms served as a roadmap in post-apartheid South Africa, and should continue to serve as a model for those countries with minority ethnic groups.