BEFORE YOU START PLANNING TO TRAVEL ABROAD, PLEASE READ THIS.
To foreign nationals in developing or under-developed countries thinking about studying in Canada, Singapore, Germany, UK, Australia or Ireland, there is always this nagging question; which of the countries above is better off in terms of job employment and permanent residency for international students after graduation?
Well the answer to that... before we go that far let me ask you this question first, what is the motivation behind your desire to study abroad ? Is it just to gain a foreign degree to be above the competition in your home country, to get a better education than is available in your home country or to simply gain employment post study and eventual permanent residence in a more developed country than your home country?
Well if it is the first two reasons mentioned above, well you must likely already have your future planned out and this article will be just entertainment for you. Now to the folks in the last category, well this article is directly written with you in mind. As far as a desires goes, trying to gain admission, go through the rigorous process of securing a study Visa, paying the high foreign currency tuition, shelter, feeding and living fees and loneliness in order to gain post graduate employment and eventual permanent residency is perfectly fine, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Well, it is best you understand that, these countries are attractive to you because they are developed and that development was brought about due to the adherence to the rules based system that they have developed (i.e there is a rule for everything & everyone follows the rules). That you are reading this shows you want to follow a legal route to achieve this desire of yours and that is a good first step.
Now, almost all developed countries will offer a post graduate work permit leading to a permanent residency (which leads to eventual citizenship in some select countries) if you are very highly skilled and specialized. However, you need to understand that countries like Canada, Australia and others wants and needs immigrants (due to a decreasing population because of their low native birth rates) but they want to assess them, and decide who to take and whom not to based on their economic needs and political climate of the nation. This is why they have a points based economic Immigration systems. Controlled immigration is the name of the game.
If you really want to emigrate(which is what we in the Immigration professional call your desire), you have to have enough value to be worthy of being wanted and needed by these countries. Once your application hits the desk of the immigration officer that will be deciding your fate, your value must show and be solidly proven through correct and verifiable information you put down in the application along with your credible supporting documents; all this is only possible if you have done the work to become the kind of foreign national that they are looking for.
Here is a list of countries which are interested, open and have positive polices geared to encourage economic migrants include, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, and a few in Europe including Germany, Netherlands, Finland, Sweden. The UK is closed to immigration.
So, the reason why you have to first plan to study to learn and become a person of value and not just to emigrate, so you acquire the necessary skills to become employable and eventually gain the points for entry.
It most be clearly stated that life is not easy for a foreign national living abroad, living costs are high, loneliness is the order of the day in the first couple months(till you start making your own new friends) and the work ethic is exceptional. You might hate it at first but focusing on where you are and not living a life of always comparing where you are to your old life or home country helps and makes you acclimatize to your new environment.
If you migrate to these countries through a process that isn't legal all in the bid to escape your economic conditions and reality in your home country, you will most likely do only low paid work and never really rise in their society and I am sure you do not want that. Many foreign nationals who did not plan or strategize their migration route fall into the thought process of getting to these countries by any means, as if “everything in these countries is made of gold”! Please believe that is a myth. People, work very hard to make a decent living (even folks that planned their migration route thoroughly, have the right 'papers' and also have gained enough skilled to be considered immigrants of value) and some do more than one job, just to pay the bills to maintain a standard lifestyle for their families
So my advice, which I am sure others will also support, is to stop focusing on emigrating but on acquiring skills, studying, working and doing something useful. There are a huge number of opportunities in almost every country (except war-torn nations)to make money. If you invest in yourself, you can travel, see the world and if you have the right skills, you may even work abroad. The world will open up to you.
So, change your focus. It is about your life and the kind of person you want to be, not just about emigrating any by all means but with a solid and feasible emigration route plan, or maybe explore a business venture? The world appreciates people of value and just having a desire for a better life is definitely not enough. Use this advice as a catalyst and jump into action.
Best of luck.
About The Author
Olayinka Ogundipe is a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant with Arborway Immigration Inc a Canadian Immigration Firm located in the GTA. He is a member in good standing with The Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC), which is the Canadian government mandated supervisory, licensing and regulatory body for all Canadian Immigration Consultants and also an Ontario appointed Commissioner of Affidavit on Immigration, Citizenship and Refugee matters.
You can follow him on Facebook @ArborwayImmigration, Instagram @ArborwayImmigration & LinkedIn @ArborwayImmigration