Immigrating after graduating, what are, and how to improve, the chances?

[Walther]

Hello.

I am a university student from Brazil currently graduating in Mechanical Engineering, in Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, which is one of the best Mech. Eng courses here (last time I saw, it was the second best, and the university has been ranked around 500th in the best universities of the world by https://www.topuniversities.com/qs-world-university-rankings, and the mech eng course was ranked around 250, which is not great, but serves to say it is not a very bad university), I have already studied in Canada for 1 month while I were in high school. I want to immigrate to British Columbia as soon as am eligible to do so. I wanted to know what the prospects of getting a visa to work in Canada soon after graduating are, and how can I improve right now my chances of being accepted after I graduate.

I speak portuguese as a native, and I have also almost maxed out the TOEFL test (english) and I speak a bit of German and Italian.

Another relevant question is: Would it be better for me to try and find a canadian university to start studying in Canada instead? Would that improve my chances by how much? That is a very hard question for me, because federal universities (which mine is) here in Brazil are free, and it might get hard for me to pay for education there, but I could try to make it work, I would only have let go the reserves I have been building and spend them now in the hope I will be able to regain them later on.

 

[scylla]

The chances of obtaining a job offer after you graduate are non-existent given you are a new graduate and have no work experience. To hire you, an employer would have to prove there was no Canadian they could hire. Canada has plenty of Engineering graduates (many of whom are also looking for work as well) - so it will be impossible for a company to prove they couldn't hire a Canadian.

To apply to immigrate, you need at least one year of full time paid work experience. So one option would be for you to get a year's worth of work experience in your home country before looking into immigrating.

Yes - studying in Canada would be another option. However it's an expensive one. You would need to show a bank balance of $25K just to be approved for the study permit.

 

[Walther]

Yes - studying in Canada would be another option. However it's an expensive one. You would need to show a bank balance of $25K just to be approved for the study permit.

I see. Well, I can garantee that that amount is something I can show, and I have enough to pay for the fees.
I'm thinking about applying in University of Victoria and/or University of British Columbia. Any advice regarding that? Here in Brazil we don't have applications, we have entrance exams, and it's the only thing you have to do to enter an university, so I am not used to dealing with applications.

 

[scylla]

I see. Well, I can garantee that that amount is something I can show, and I have enough to pay for the fees.
I'm thinking about applying in University of Victoria and/or University of British Columbia. Any advice regarding that? Here in Brazil we don't have applications, we have entrance exams, and it's the only thing you have to do to enter an university, so I am not used to dealing with applications.

I would recommend you join the International Students section of the forum if you have questions about the university application process in Canada and study permits.

Assuming you're going to do a Masters in engineering, I would recommend you look into Waterloo and University of Toronto.

Good luck.

 

[Walther]

I would recommend you join the International Students section of the forum if you have questions about the university application process in Canada and study permits.

Assuming you're going to do a Masters in engineering, I would recommend you look into Waterloo and University of Toronto.

Good luck.

Hmmm, no. I will be dropping undergraduate studies here in Brazil and transfering to a Canadian University. I posted a question in International Students. If you want you can read it there.

Thanks for the help!

 

[scylla]

Hmmm, no. I will be dropping undergraduate studies here in Brazil and transfering to a Canadian University. I posted a question in International Students. If you want you can read it there.

Thanks for the help!

You'd be better off completing your studies in Brazil and then coming to Canada for further studies. Higher chances of approval. Trying to move without completing your degree first can sometimes make CIC concerned you're not a genuine student and that your primary purpose for coming to Canada is to remain long term.

 

[Walther]

You'd be better off completing your studies in Brazil and then coming to Canada for further studies. Higher chances of approval. Trying to move without completing your degree first can sometimes make CIC concerned you're not a genuine student and that your primary purpose for coming to Canada is to remain long term.

And is it bad that I wanted BOTH to get a better study at Canada and then, after I'm a skilled professional, serve to help grow the country's economy? Is that seen as bad?

Edit.: I see what you mean now, there are people that explore the system. I didn't know that. My interest in education is legitimate, and I have been in love with Canada since I studied there for a month in high school. I just hadn't tried before because of inertia of doing what everyone tries to do in Brazil(trying to study in a federal university) and because I hadn't realised I could actually have a chance there in Canada. You see, I'm a VERY good student, even for my UNI, and all I could hope for, is a better environment to study in, and certainly a canadian institution would be able to provide me that.

 

[scylla]

It's not bad that you want to settle in Canada afterwards - it just can't look like this when you apply for the study permit. To be approved for the study permit, you need to demonstrate that you have strong ties to your home country and have no plans on remaining in Canada long term. If you look through the International Students section of the forum, you'll see plenty of examples of students refused for 'purpose of visit' - this means that CIC believes their primary purpose for studying in Canada is to immigrate. You want to avoid looking like one of these people.

Best option would be to finish your bachelor degree and then apply to do your Masters in Canada. If you really want to try to transfer in the middle of your bachelor degree, make sure you select a top university to attend in Canada. For engineering, I would recommend you go with either Waterloo or the University of Toronto.

 

[Walther]

It's not bad that you want to settle in Canada afterwards - it just can't look like this when you apply for the study permit. To be approved for the study permit, you need to demonstrate that you have strong ties to your home country and have no plans on remaining in Canada long term. If you look through the International Students section of the forum, you'll see plenty of examples of students refused for 'purpose of visit' - this means that CIC believes their primary purpose for studying in Canada is to immigrate. You want to avoid looking like one of these people.

Best option would be to finish your bachelor degree and then apply to do your Masters in Canada. If you really want to try to transfer in the middle of your bachelor degree, make sure you select a top university to attend in Canada. For engineering, I would recommend you go with either Waterloo or the University of Toronto.

Thank you VERY much! That is very helpful, really.

This is the post I made in the International Students section of the forum: http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/approval-rates-in-canadian-universities.503925/

And, as it is written there, these are the universities I am thinking about joining. As you see, Waterloo is among them, I'll think about what you said.
1) University of Alberta*
2)University of Victoria*
3)University British Columbia (Vancouver)*/(Okanagan)
4)Dalhousie University*
5)University of Waterloo(If tuition is less then 31k, couldn't find definitives on that)*
6)University of Ottawa
7)McMaster University
8)Queen's University
9)University of Guelph
10)University of Manitoba

And thank you once again. You have been most helpful.