HELLO FRIENDS! Once I was also a candidate for Study Permit from Pakistan. This forum has really helped me to prepare my application and update my knowledge. So I thought to share my experience, which may help someone to take appropriate decision.
My Profile:
BBA & MBA from Pakistan (average grades around 75%)
3.5 yrs job experience at a commercial bank
with no gap between my studies & job
Course & Institution:
George Brown College, Toronto (Intake JAN 2013)
1-year Post Graduate Certificate in Human Resource Management (with co-op)
Financials:
Account Maintenance/Balance Certificate from Bank
I have showed my personal bank statement of 6-months of CAD$ 30,000 = PKR 3.000 Million (nothing else like property documents or certificate of deposit or sponsorship letter)
TIP: Minimum bank statement must be equivalent to your FULL FEES + 1-YR LIVING EXPENSEs ($12,000) + $2000 (OTHERS/RETURN TICKET)
Study Permit/Visa Application:
My classes were from 07-JAN 2013 so I filed my application on 15 September 2012
Got Medical Call on 24 October 2012
Medical Done/Passport resend to Embassy on 01 November 2012
Visa/Passport received on 18 December 2012
16 months visa has been issued
Documents Submitted:
SOP (Statement of Purpose defining your background, experience & goals) not officially required by embassy (Optional document)
Original + Attested copy, All educational documents (certificate + transcript)
Original + Attested copy, Proof of current and previous employment (Preferably with Job Description/Reporting Line on letter head)
Original + Attested copy, Police Certificate
Original + Attested copy, Letter of Acceptance from College (Un-Conditional)
Proof of Fees Payment (Invoice + Draft Copy)
Original + Attested copy, IELTS Certificate
Be confident if your case is genuine you will definitely get the visa, don’t try to do any manipulation in any documents, must keep three months time for visa and make strong financials docs. Some people think if they are applying in Ontario may not get visa due to huge population of Immigrants in the province or applying to college as compare to university have rare chance of visa, but that’s not the fact.
AFTER YOU REACH CANADA:
Text Books Cost $500-700 depending on your course, you will be lucky to find used text books at half price from previous students or online classifieds
You must have at least 4-5months living expenses (Around $4000)
Not officially allowed to work part-time for initial six months (Except On-Campus which is very rare)
You can get on-cash job (un-official) through personal references only at with low wage rate
Don’t expect to make good amount of money (specially to support your tuition fees) in initial six months all depends on your luck
In first month you will definitely have some extra expenses because you are new there and don’t have anything from grocery, snow shoes, blanket/mattress, etc be prepared for it
Single room rent in a shared accommodation is from $350-$600
Must pay at least 1month advance rent and 1month deposit to get accommodation
Monthly Travelling Cost $130-150, Meals $200-300, Min.Mobile Charges $25-30, Other Exp. $50-100
Don’t spend too much money for buying winter clothes from Pakistan, because you must buy them from Canada to match the weather conditions.
BEST OF LUCK