January 16, 2024 — The Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver holds its second conference for Filipino international students on Saturday, February 3, at the Creekside Community Center in False Creek, Vancouver, from 10 AM to 3 PM. It is to help Filipino students who are already in B.C. adjust to student life in Canada.The free conference is in partnership with the University of the Philippines Alumni Association in BC.
Since most of these Filipino international students may eventually apply for permanent residency to pursue new careers in Canada, the topics to be discussed at this conference include investments, credits, taxation, property ownership, tenancy rights, parent support services, labor market, and integration through mentorship programs
The PCG organized the first conference for Filipino international students in 2023 followed by three mentorship programs that year.
As a follow up to this second conference, the PCG also plans to sponsor mentorship programs in 2024. The Canadian Filipino.Net will bring you dates and details of these mentorship programs. Watch for these detailed announcements at CFNet and the PCG website.
In the last few years, the Canadian Embassy in the Philippines has experienced a growing influx of Filipinos applying as international foreign students in Canada. According to data provided by the embassy in Manila, more than 30,000 Filipino students have applied so far and a quarter of that number is supposed to study in B.C.
To meet this increase in visa applications, the embassy opened a new global processing center in Manila and hired additional staff to reduce visa processing times. It also introduced the Electronic Travel Authorization program, allowing hundreds of thousands of Filipinos to secure travel documents online, in just minutes.
The Philippines is now among the top 10 country sources for international students in B.C. As the country embarks on its own internationalization policies in education to achieve long-term competitiveness, the PCG in Vancouver expects more students to arrive in the near future. This is in spite of the recent announcement on December 7, 2023 by Immigration Minister Marc Miller that changes the amount of required income for an international student to live in Canada to $20,635 from $10,000 for travel, housing, groceries, and other necessities for the first year, starting on January 1, 2024. Miller said that students will need to show they have access to $20,635 instead of $10,000 as a way to cut down on fraudulent applications.
Seats for this free in-person convention is limited so register now through the link or QR code on the attached poster.
Editor of Canadian Filipino Net
Eleanor R. Laquian has written four best-selling books, and co-authored four others with husband Prod Laquian. She has served in various capacities at the University of British Columbia’s Institute of Asian Research as manager of administration and programs; editor and chair, publications committee; and primary researcher of the Asian Immigration to Canada project. She has a degree in journalism from Maryknoll College in the Philippines, and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of the Philippines. She did postgraduate studies at the School of Public Communications, Boston University in the U.S.
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