Here at Visto, we love to showcase real success stories of people who went through the process of relocating to Canada to start new lives. Read the interviews with our users and mentors to learn about what the process was like for them, and how they’re settling in to Canada!
Meet Deepak
Deepak was born and raised in India. He graduated in Engineering and went on to pursue an MBA in the United Kingdom. After living and working in the UK for 8 years, he made his way back to India to try his hand at a startup. He stayed in India for 15 months. Unfortunately the start-up didn’t pan out as he hoped so he looked for other options to immigrate. Deepak and his family were looking into immigrating to Canada, Australia and Singapore and eventually decided to settle in Canada in September 2018 last year.
Did you come here through Express Entry or through another program?
I came here through Express Entry.
How long did the whole process take?
I wrote my IELTS on the 16th of December, 2017, and submitted my application on the 15th of January. I got an invitation to apply on January 24, 2018, and made my final application with all the documents (medical check, police verification, etc.) on April 9th, 2018. I got my PR stamped towards the end of May 2018 – the entire process took me about 6 months.
So you did research on your own and decided that Canada was for you?
Yes. I did go to some immigration consultants in India as well but I didn’t find them up to the mark and they didn’t provide me with correct information. The kind of money they were charging and the amount of time they said it would take — they gave me a timeline of a year and a half for the entire process but when I did it on my own it took me approximately 6 months. All of the information I needed was on the CIC website.
During the application process, were there any difficulties that you faced?
To be honest, no. It’s all there and straightforward on the website. The application process was easy enough. I think my application was pretty straightforward because I had my MBA in the UK and my IELTS score was pretty good. It helped that my wife also lived, studied and worked in the UK so all of that came to a great CRS score so it was quite straightforward.
Were there any challenges you faced when you arrived?
Initially when I landed I was very happy. When I was taking the TTC to the downtore core I could see a mix of people: I could see hispanics, caucasians, africans, asians, it was a good mix of people, which I didn’t see in Europe. Here it was a nice feeling, a welcoming feeling that I got. Everyone I met was so helpful and went out of their way to help. It has all been really nice.
Except for the weather.
I thought I had experienced -10 and -15 degrees celsius in the UK but it was nothing compared to Toronto. It was much more severe. None of my winter clothes worked here so I had to buy lots of warm new cloths.
Also infrastructure – It’s very different from the UK. There is less infrastructure so it took some getting used to.
Did you have any community ties when you arrived?
I came with my wife and child — we all traveled here at the same time. I also had some friends here that went to my school. I knew about 2-3 people from my engineering college. I did not join any community program or networking programs but I did have friends here.
What is one thing about Canada that surprised you?
Definitely the people. It’s been a year now and I met one of my colleagues in my very first job and he is now one of my best friends. We go for dinners almost every weekend and I have BBQs at his house and I met him like 9-10 months ago. He is Canadian, he was born and brought up here. He has made me so comfortable. In general, I thought people in the UK were nice and courteous and polite, but the people here surprised me even more with their warmth. I was really happy to see how welcoming people in Canada really are.
In terms of job hunting – what was the process like for you?
Since I got the PR stamped in May 2018, I started looking for jobs from India in June and July. I got a virtual phone number for Canada. With that I updated my CV on Indeed and Workopolis and Monster. My CV wasn’t getting any traction from India so I contacted one of my friends who worked at Scotia Bank and he managed to get me an interview with them. After I interviewed, I received a verbal agreement for an October start date. Just before the offer was in writing I got the news that someone else was hired.
That was disappointing but it was my first experience with job hunting.
I landed in September 2018 and for a month I did the same thing. I kept applying to recruiters, job sites, utilized all of my acquaintances and shared my CV with them. Eventually I did get a job with IBM as a business analyst.
My wife just applied through job sites and pages of different companies. She got a job doing what she was doing previously but at TD Bank. The job process wasn’t very disappointing. Once our CVs gained traction, it wasn’t long before interviews and offers came in.
I worked at IBM until December and then I was hired by PwC in January. Then I received an even better offer from CIBC in May and now I’m in the field I want to be in and in the role I want to be. It’s all been great!
Were there any resources that you thought were missing that you think would’ve been helpful?
For me, no. I went through a similar process when I was job hunting in the UK. I had a friend tell me where to look and what was required to apply to a job here which was helpful. But if someone was coming fresh and didn’t know about the job sites or job pools, that would be much harder for them.
That information would be great as a landing kit. When we landed, we landed on a Sunday but we got leaflets and kits which told us where to go to get our SIN and OHIP, but a leaflet with all of the job sites and where they could apply could be very helpful.
Is there anything you would do differently, now that you’ve gone through the whole process?
Yes. I would have definitely arrived earlier and not as close to the end of the year. If someone is coming from a hot country like India or where people are not used to such extreme cold, they should probably land somewhere in August so they can gradually prepare for the winter and so it’s not as much of a shock for them.
I would recommend speaking to a lot more people. If you know people even through your friends, you should speak to them and get to know the reality of how things are here. A friend told me that UK coats wouldn’t work here and I said “how is that possible?”, and didn’t believe them. So I didn’t prepare for the winter well.
He did tell me about the job sites to use in Canada which was very useful.
What do you think about the idea of a Mentorship program for newcomers?
It’s a great idea. I’m already doing that in my spare time through Quora and LinkedIn. When I started answering questions and helping people, I had about 200 LinkedIn Connection requests. Out of those requests, 150 were from people interested and trying to come to Canada and had specific questions. I’ve tried to answer them and try to guide them and set their expectations as well. PR doesn’t guarantee a job, you still have to go through the process and prove your hard and soft skills as well.
Deepak has kindly volunteered to become part of Visto’s Mentor Network which aims to help newcomers with the transition of moving to Canada and answering any questions they may have. If you’re interested in moving to Canada or learning about our Mentor Program, make sure to sign up and join the community here!
Are you interested in changing the lives of skilled newcomers? We’re always looking to expand our network! Send us a message here and we’ll get in touch!
