Hi all- I've just stumbled across this site and I hope some of you can help me. I'm 16, in yr11 at school and am leaving this summer- finally. I'm decided what career I'm going for- meteorology and i've already got a place at a local college and after that I was hoping to go to uni abroad, and having been to the vancouver/vancouver island area before I was hoping to study there. In the long term, I'd like to study there, then get a work permit and hopefully get a permanent residency visa. Has anyone ever done something like this before? I'd appreciate any advice you have to offer.

Thanks a lot

It will probably be more expensive to study in Canada compared to the UK (especially as an overseas student) and I wouldn't rely on it as a sure way to permanent residence.

Why not do your first degree in the UK (if that's where you are) and then maybe do a postgrad degree in Canada?

UBC is the best-known university in Vancouver (and is one of the top Canadian universities) but there are others.
http://www.ubc.ca

Jeremy

It is more expensive to study as an overseas student in Canada, but if you have funds available and you think that's where you'd like to be, I'd say go for it!

Thing is, if you are looking to find a career in Canada in the end, you may find a Canadian qualification/degree more acceptable to prospective employers.
Otherwise you have further expense and time to spend jumping through hoops getting your UK qualifications evaluated and accepted!

Just my opinion, having taken 10 months to get mine accredited and THEN I have to pass a further competency exam when I get there before I can register in my profession.

On the other hand if Canadian plans don't work out, then there may be problems getting accreditation in the UK with a Canadian degree.

That's why doing a first degree at a good UK university, and maybe doing a postgrad degree in Canada, could be a good compromise.

Jeremy

I did it (University of Calgary). And I'd do it all over again.

Considerations:

(1) It costs money, obviously.

(2) You won't have the opportunity to earn much, if anything, whilst you're at school. I stayed in Calgary for two summers and had some of the most fantastic experiences of my life. But it all costs money. The other two summers I went abroad to work.

(3) Getting a job with a work permit after graduating can be a hassle. Much depends on your field. Do a degree in chemical engineering and you're not going to have much of a problem. Get a degree in politics and you're returning to the UK.

(4) Whilst transitioning from a post-graduation work permit to permanent residency appears to be smooth on paper, the reality is that due to processing backlogs it can be a nightmare.

If you have the funds (and by international standards, it really is outstanding value), you'll have a fantastic time and I'd recommend it just for the hell of it.

I did my first degree at UVIC but I'm Canadian so I can't say I've done what you're asking about.

I know that UVIC has an international exchange program that offers local (BC) students a chance to study abroad and overseas students a chance to study at UVIC without the international student fees on either side of the exchange - very basically, you'd pay tuition to go to your UK university as normal and a local BCer does the same and you two swap places. I don't know anymore about it though but you can probably find out more it here http://iess.uvic.ca/ - well at least for UVIC. I'm sure UBC, UNBC and SFU have simlar exchange programs.

Just FYI, Canadians stay in school until they are 18, so you may run into problems trying to apply for university before then. We don't really have an equivalent to the two-stage O/A level system. Maybe someone here who has applied to a Canadian university with UK secondary school can tell you more.

Yeah, you need A levels to go to a Canadian university.