Immigrating To Canada: How to avoid culture shock - Tip 1

Find your tribe: Plan to make Multicultural Friends

When in a new environment your first instinct is to seek out people who are familiar. While this is a quick and easy way to feel at home in a new country, challenge yourself to make friends with people from different cultures.

It is a very challenging and humbling experience to be miles away from family and loved ones. So try to have an open mind and be prepared to learn about and befriend people from different cultures.  

As the saying goes; better a friend who is near by than family that is far away and as the Jamaican saying goes ‘good Fren betta than pocket money.’

The good news is that through social media you can start the friend making process before you even get on the plane to Canada. You can reach out to Program Coordinators to see if there is any group for incoming students in your cohort. That's a good resource for meeting your classmates/school mates virtually beforehand and establishing some rapport. 

The reality is that in order to survive and thrive in your new environment you will need to make friends and preferably friends from different multicultural backgrounds. It’s good for your well being and  good for maintaining a healthy network for job hunting and finding other opportunities. 

Plus you never know what you can learn from your new family/tribe and they from you. 

3 Tips for Choosing the Right Immigration Consultant (for International Students)

Immigration is a big move and it can be quite a heavy task to do the required research, gather all the relevant information while trying to keep up with your 9-5 job. Consultancy fees are often a one-time expense depending on the help required. Other fees are normally requirements of the schools. So here's my list of what to look for in an immigration consultant:

1. Someone who keeps up with the requirements of International study. Canadian Immigration law changes often, very often... sometimes several times in the same year. A general complaint of applicants is often encountering immigration consultants advising them with outdated information. If a consultant is advising you with information based on a year ago it is definitely outdated information. Ask around to find out if any of your family and friends have been victims of outdated information and stay far. Find someone who enjoys research and keeping up to date with Canadian Immigration changes.

2. Someone who can advise you on Immigration (Permanent Residence) beyond the requirements of International study. 99 percent of international students in Canada pursue International study as a means to permanent residence. Currently, many Canadian schools are not legally authorized to give immigration advice and many schools are now training Canadian advisers to be able to offer this service. Ideally you want to find a consultant who can help you paint a picture of immigration after your studies, by pointing to immigration law or recent success stories. You also want someone who believes that there is always a way. Which leads to my last check point.

3. Someone who understands your journey and genuinely cares about your success. Again, you can discover this information by asking around and doing background checks. Is it a person who goes above and beyond to provide help for you as a client. Are they easily accessible to you while you have questions during your process? 

These are just a few considerations. Feel free to share any other check point to look for when selecting an Immigration consultant.