Advisory for Indian Students Going to Canada for Education

Following is the advisory for Indian Students going to Canada for education by the Ministry of External Affairs.

Do's

1. Please check the credentials of the university / institution before applying for admission and before making any payment towards admission / tuition fee etc. There are several instances where prospective students have made large payments to institutions which were not recognized by the Canadian Government. Their visa requests were turned down by the Canadian consular offices in India because of these reasons. Payments of fees etc. were also not refunded to them on various technical pretexts. There have been instances of some institutions being closed down. If necessary, make reference to the Indian Diplomatic Missions/Posts in Canada.

2. Ensure that after getting admission in the College/University, necessary immigration formalities are completed. (There have been instances where Student Visa were not extended and the student was asked to leave Canada)

3. Get registered with the nearest Indian diplomatic Mission/Post as soon as possible upon arrival in Canada.

4. Obey local laws to avoid any trouble.

5. Have medical insurance, as cost on medical treatment is prohibitive in Canada.

6. If you are flying for the first time, visit the website of the airport to familiarize yourself so that you do not miss the connecting flight as the time between connecting flights may be very short.

7. If you are staying in an intermediate city for more than three days or 72 hours before you reach your destination, then please do reconfirm your seat.

8. English testing on line with TOEFL is mandatory for all students admitted to educational institutions.

9. Accommodation, both in the hostel or outside, is very expensive.

10. It is not necessary that for Post Graduate courses equivalence of Indian degrees will be accepted. This may be checked before admission procedure is started.

11. Students are not granted open work permit by the authorities here. They are generally allowed to work for up to 20 hours a week. However, it is not easy to find part-time work.

12. Weather in Canada is very extreme with winter season lasting from October to April with temperature going down to -25C to -30C with heavy snow fall.

13. Though Canada is a multi-cultural society, there is a vast cultural gap between India and Canada. This results in students feeling lonely and hence sick during the first months after their arrival.

14. Distance between India and Canada is another factor which should be kept in mind. Even in an emergency, it takes more than 25 hours to reach India.

15. There are no non-stop flights between Canada and India

16. Visit the website of the city/cities of your destination. Most of the cities have got their websites. It gives the details among other things of the locations of the colleges/universities and recreation facilities. Website of Vancouver city is :
http://city.vancouver.bc.ca/, Calgary : http://www.calgary.ca/, Edmonton : http://www.edmonton.ca/, and Saskatoon : http://city.saskatoon.sk.ca/ For further information, you can contact our website : www.cgivancover.com.

Don'ts

1. Not to carry prohibited items such as drugs, weapons, etc.

2. Take personal precautions. Do not be friendly with strangers, and others whose antecedents are not know to you.

3. Keep away from illegal activities, including gang activities.

Indian Diplomatic Mission/Posts in Canada

High Commission of India 10, Springfield Road, Ottawa, Ontario K1M 1C9, Canada Tel : 00-1-613-7443751 Fax : 00-1-613-7440913 Email : hc.ottawa@mea.gov.in, hoc.ottawa@mea.gov.in Website : www.hciottawa.ca

Consulate General of India 365, Bloor Street (East), Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 Canada Tel : 00-1-416-9600751 Fax : 00-1-416-9609812 Email : cgindia@cgitoronto.ca, conshoc@cgitoronto.ca Website : www.cgitoronto.ca

Consulate General of India 201-325, Howe Street, Vancouver BC, Canada V6C 1Z7 Tel : 00-1-604-6628811 Fax : 00-1-604-6923556 Email : indiapscg@telus.net Website : www.cgivancouver.com

Canadian Diplomatic Mission/Posts in India

High Commission of Canada 7-8 Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi – 110021 Tel : 011 – 41782000 Fax : 011 – 41782020 Email : delhi@international.gc.ca Website : www.india.gc.ca

Consulate General of Canada SCO No. 54-55-56, Sector 17-A, Near Jagat Cinema, Chandigarh – 160 017 Tel : 0172-5050300 Fax : 0172-5050320 Email : info@congenchadg.com

Consulate General of Canada Fort House, 6th Floor, 221 Dr. D.N. Road, Mumbai 400001 Tel : 022 – 67494444 Fax : 022 – 67494454 Email : mmbai@dfait-maeci.gc.ca

Consulate General of Canada 18 (old) 3rd Floor, Yafa Tower, Khader Nawaz Khan Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai – 600034 Tel : +91 44-28330888 Fax : +91 44-52159393 Email : cheni@gocindia.org