[Long post but I hope you will take time to read this]
Good afternoon, everyone. I hope you’re all doing great!
I really
REALLY want to start a new life in Canada and as early as now, I’m gathering all the necessary information I can obtain to ensure that my application (should everything go as planned) will be smooth. To be honest, I find FSW process to be tricky because you have lots of requirements and information to gather even though there is no guarantee you will receive an ITA because of the CRS score. I really don’t know where to begin! I would like to apologise now if some of my questions are odd or illogical but
I am hoping you guys will help me. Please.
Here are some of my details:
Country of origin: PH
Age: 21-26 (not disclosing my actual age here)
Highest education attained: Bachelor’s Degree (here in my country, I'm not sure what will be assessment but I am hoping for the best)
Field of study: Computer Science
Current job: Visual Designer
Years of work experience in current job: 1 year, 4 months as of this writing (I started on March 2019)
Relationship status: Single
Target province: BC (all my relatives are there)
EE Profile planned registration date: December 2020
IELTS: Planned examination date: November 2020
Education assessment: Planned request of documents and submission for assessment: Between August and September 2020
Here are my questions
APPLICATION
- My aunt told me that once I apply for FSW, they will give me a “guarantor letter”, indicating they will support me while I am in Canada should this venture successful… I haven't seen that in the requirements, but will it help? At all?
- How did proof of funds helped you in your application? I am single so I will be the only applicant.
- Based on the dates I’ve provided, when should I start gathering my financial data (banking statements, etc)?
- Should I seek advice to an immigration consultant?
WORK / WORK EXPERIENCE
- Will they consider Visual Designer as Graphic Designer (NOC 5241)?
- One of the minimum requirements for FSW is you have at least 1 year of experience in your current occupation, but many people are saying that you should have at least 2 years… I’m planning to apply by the end of the year which will give me 16+ months of work experience… will that be okay?
FINDING A JOB IN CANADA
- How difficult is it to apply for a Canadian job or even, obtain a job offer for someone who is living outside of Canada?
- Which job portal do you think is the best?
- How many job applications should I send in a day?
- I am eyeing for BC Tech Pilot PNP because it looks promising (no IELTS and proof of funds needed!) but there are catches:
- Some of its requirements include a job offer and 2 years of work experience
- I’m planning to apply for jobs in December but on that time, my work experience won’t be 2 years yet. Should I still look for jobs?
- In relation to the last question, the BC Tech Pilot PNP is until July 2021 only… is it right to start seeking jobs on December this year or is it too little too late?
IELTS
Again, when I researching about the examination, I felt intense pressure I find it difficult and I’m not a bookworm! I'm scared I might not meet the standards...
- How difficult is the IELTS exam?
- In your experience, which section of the exam you think is the most difficult?
- Should I go to a review centre or is self-studying enough?
- Which testing centre would you prefer? British Council or IDP?
- Any tips to ace IELTS?
EDUCATION ASSESSMENT
- In your experience, how long does it take to obtain your education assessment from WES or IQAS?
- Which education assessing body is better? WES or IQAS? Or should I send my Degree record to both?
That’s all for now… There will be more questions in the coming weeks. I’m looking forward to your responses! No trolling and negativity please.
Thank you!
P.S.
I tried simulating my CRS score and they're between 372 and 416 (highest) due to the following factors: Work experience, IELTS (simulated Band 7 - Band 9), No job offer.
With the score trend, even if I get a job offer, receiving an ITA still feels like a far-fetched dream that's why I'm really targeting that Tech Pilot PNP.
Hi,
I'd like to share some inputs from someone coming from the same country.
APPLICATION:
>> No proof of funds needed during application, it comes after ITA.
>> Based on your timeline, you don't need to gather your financial data now, what you need to do is start saving so you can meet the minimum monetary requirements and have some left over, I think it's about 14,000 CAD this year (show money if you will). Get the bank accounts later.
>> I do not have immigration consultant. Based on the IRCC's website it seems you don't need one, assuming you're confident enough with your points.
IELTS:
>> I took my IELTS with British Council in BGC last March. CLB10 in speaking, writing and reading, CLB9 in listening. Personally I am happy with their service.
>> When you take either British Council or IDP, they will provide FREE online content and seminars and workshops, and when you attend those, they tend to focus a lot in writing; according to British Council statistically us Filipinos find writing the most difficult. Me personally, I find listening the most challenging simply because it tests not only your English skills but also focusing skills. Then again I have a good affinity for English even when I was young, so take it as it is.
>> As for training: listening and reading is something you can train for yourself, there are a lot of online content available for this, not just sample tests, but podcasts and articles to test your English comprehension. But for speaking and writing, I suggest to have your skills professionally evaluated. I took a few writing and speaking evaluations online, and my recommendation would be to go for ipassielts, they are not the cheapest out there but they are not the most expensive either, and I find their evaluations reasonably priced and very close to my final score. It took me 3 months to prepare for my exam. At the end of the day though, practice is the key.
EDUCATIONAL ASSESSMENT:
>> I paid for my WES assessment September last year, sent the transcripts in October and got my result in December. There's COVID these days so your mileage may vary.
>> WES has an online assessment tool, so you can preview what would the result be even before you send it.
https://applications.wes.org/ca/degree-equivalency-tool/
>> I got my Master's Degree from Mapua, and WES accredited it as a Master's Equivalent in Canada. My Bachelor's Degree from UST was also accredited as Bachelor's Equivalent in Canada. I've checked both with WES by the way even before sending my transcripts, so I'm confident of my evaluation even before the final assessment arrived.
Unfortunately, I didn't make it in the last round of invitations though, my EE profile was created in March, and the cut-off was February. Anyway good luck to us.