Amazing scenic beauty, courteous people, vibrant cities and high quality of education – everything is so great about Canada. For decades, this has been one of the most popular destinations for tourists, and in the past few years, it has also become one of the most-preferred destinations for the international students.
No matter how friendly and amazing the country the place might be, for you, it’s still a foreign nation and before you plan your trip to the land of the Maple Leaf, or wish to attend one of the top Canadian universities, there are a few things that you should know.
It’s a large country:
If you are planning to visit the country for a couple of days, then you need to reconsider your stay. Canada is a huge country that is spread across 9.985 million square km (3.855 million sq. miles) of the area that covers five time zones.
Due to its enormous size, getting from one major city to the next one involves long-distance travel. So if you are visiting Canada, make sure you have plenty of time to travel across Canada, instead of just rushing from one place to another.
The weather is one big issue:
While Canada is filled with the picturesque beauty of nature and wonderful national parks, there is one big issue that you need to be prepared for – the weather. Canada is well-known for its mountains that are always found to be covered in snow, but you can also expect snow as thick as one foot in the cities like Toronto if you are visiting the place between December and March.
For most time of the year, the weather in Canada is chilly. During summers, it may feel a bit warmer for the native Canadians, but if you are travelling from the eastern part of the world, that will still be cold for you. Bring multiple layers of warm clothes with you when you are travelling to Canada because the winter never really leaves Canada.
You can bring your pet here:
If you are travelling to Canada for studies and but don’t want to abandon your four-legged companion at home, you can bring them over with you. Dogs and cats are allowed to enter Canada with their owners, as long as they are in good health and have a valid rabies vaccination certificate that was issued in past 3 years.
While you may enter the country with a pet, the hotels and lodges may have some pet policy of their own. So do look up for accommodations that let your pet in alongside you. If you have anything apart from cat or dog, you should talk to the embassy or other authorities that looks over the immigration to Canada.
Accommodation can be a little pricey:
Staying in Canada can be a little heavy on your pocket, as accommodations here are anything but cheap. They have hostel facilities in most of the major cities and tourist spots, but those are still quite expensive, for an average tourist or a student who come here to pursue higher studies.
Whether you are going there as a student or as a tourist, you need to consider all the options for accommodation. The home-stay option was quite popular among the international students which lets them stay with a local family in exchange for comparatively less amount of money. The same option is also available for the tourists.
Get the ETA visa in advance:
The Electronic Travel Authorization, better known as ETA is one of the major entry requirements for the visitors to Canada. Even if you are a visa-free national, you are required to have this authorization as per the new regulations mandated in November ’16.
If you are an American, you won’t require this, but for everyone else, you will require ETA before you board the flight to Canada. Well, the good news is that it does not take a huge amount of time to process. You can get it done online in just a few minutes. Once applied, the ETA Canada Visa will be valid for the next five years, or till the time your passport expires.
Finding work in Canada is less complicated:
If you are visiting Canada for pleasure, not work, then you don’t need to think about job-hunting here. But if you aim to land a job, or get a part-time job while pursuing an academic course in Canada, you can get it more easily than any other major countries around the world.
The Canadian recruitment groups don’t require a strict competency evaluation like a CDR for Engineers Australia (competency demonstration report for immigrant engineers in Australia). If you are skilled and all your documents are valid, you can apply for a job. International students are also allowed to work (under certain regulations) once they receive the work permit.
Well, there are a number of things to do in Canada that are pretty amazing, and if you wish to enjoy your days in Canada, doing things like skiing, hiking, roaming, visiting places or just simply studying, it will be wiser to plan ahead of time.
Author bio
Theodore Wilson, a qualified engineer from Canada, has started his career as an academic homework help expert in Australia at MyAssignmenthelp.com recently, where he helps aspiring engineers prepare their CDR for Engineers Australia.
