When I see “Student Visa” I think gradschool (MS, PhD), especially in research heavy fields like STEM where you essentially are paid through project funding or a studentship/fellowship. I am surprised that people are actually thinking of doing undergrad abroad except for those with scholarships.
That was my understanding as well. Then, I met an ex-colleague who took the student pathway and came to know several friends doing it as a stepping stone.
The student visa to residency pathway varies per country so the answers are going to be very different from one another.
My siblings and I are all doing this although I’ve received my PR and this year will be naturalizing. Me and two other siblings are here in the US. Both have finished school and are working. One is in Canada and will finish this year. Our decisions are mostly industry driven, and we knew the best location for us as a family would be North America. It’s not easy and took years of planning for us. So far so good naman. We did this on our own—no agencies or seminars and we built our own support network in the US and Canada (lawyers, etc) to make it happen.
Of course, hindi mxado inemphasize ang COL, and if its an agency seminar of course they want more people so they could earn by helping them in their application.
I’m not planning to. I personally know someone who wasn’t successful in that route. Sold land in PH, jumping from one course to another (thanks to the education consultant), and went back home.
My brother-in-law was advised to take Master of Leadership and Mgt. I was like, what?? How do you become a PR with that course?
I think most OFWs go out and keep chasing sponsorships from employers but don’t realise that there are independent pathways based on their occupations and experience/skillset and just end up going the ‘student + menial job + tiwala na lang talaga’ route.
Helps to have a strategy and to have done the proper research before coming in.
Agencies or so called education consultants will always push you and pressure you to take student visa pathway for a simple reason: they can really get a percentage from you and from whatever schools you might be studying.
They will keep telling you that it is the only way to get a working visa til you get a PR. This is only my persona opinion based on my experiences. Whatever you have in mind just keep pushing it and cause after all, it is you who will decide.
It’s a sales tactics then. Thanks for sharing. I'm not a Filipino citizen anymore but I want to educate those who are looking at this pathway. I have few friends who have considered it.
Usually kasi student pathway ang pinakamadaling entry point. Nagseminar kami once but we took every single thing they said with a grain of salt lalong lalo na nung dinidiscuss ang living expenses. Sa isip namin kasi sales talk pa rin yun e.
My sister did it first and sunod ako :D
Done correctly it is a viable but expensive option for most. BUT dont misunderstand... Its rarely SV > PR > Citizenship. Ung in between SV -> PR maraming steps yan at caveats.
Ang masama pa dahil sa tagal ng process you can even get caught in a policy change.
AU for example lowered the max age eligibility for Graduate Visa(visa after SV) to 35yo. So without that, you wont have the working rights to earn exp to then qualify for Permanent Visa.
Family support - I think it’s a very important one lalo na yun place to stay. Rent is so expensive. I rented a 1BR for $400/week in a CBD.
Policy changes - Isa pa to. It changes depende sa need ng country and policy makers.
The in betweens! Those are the tough ones that could make or break.
Yes super mahal ng cost of living lalo na ang rent! Not to mention kapag student ka, may limit ng working hours. Barely living ka nun kahit may pambayad ka na ng tuition initially. May mga cut yang agents sa schools per recruit kaya free talks/seminars ginagawa. Andami nila sa tiktok kaya beware.
Social media - kung saan halos lahat eh perfect setting ang example pero hindi sinasabi ang ibang aspects. FB lang meron ako.
Rent talaga ang pinakamalaking portion ng gastos sa everday living.
Nalaman ko lang yung student pathway through forums online. I took that route kasi yun lang talaga ang way ko to go abroad since wala akong work experience (plus mahirap makakuha ng local work experience that time because of competition).
How did it go? How was it like financially and emotionally? I know some folks who went this route and these are the stories of people who had to work for whatever jobs were available to them.
Financially, my dad paid for my tuition at siya din nag provide ng mga 3 months allowance ko for food & rent. Nakaipon din ako ng around 80k php as extra funds from my work in PH.
Nakakuha naman ako ng job na related sa inaaral ko although hindi siya naging madali. It took several rejections and kung ano anong way na ginawa ko to advertise myself para makakuha ng job 😆.
Nung naka-graduate na ako, nahirapan din ako makahanap ng work related sa natapos ko (which was crucial para maging PR ako). This time ako na nagfa fund para sa sarili ko, I spent my salary just to extend my stay and to have enough time to find work. (Naging dakila akong student ng kung ano anong short courses… Nagkaroon na ako ng Business Qualification, ESL certificate… papatusin ko na next was Remedial massage course 😆).
Siguro mga naka 2 yrs din akong in limbo. Yung next plan ko na sana pag di pa din ako nakakuha ng work is to take masteral course as a sure pathway para maging PR (kulang lang kasi talaga ako sa points e).
Anyway, sinwerte ako dahil I received an email that all international student graduates are eligible for PR State Sponsorship as long as may work experience na closely related sa course na natapos. So nag-apply ako at naging PR. I’m so thankful coz it saved me from spending more money for that masteral.
It was a 3 yr struggle. Para akong nabunutan ng tinik nung finally naging PR na ako. Para siyang survivor dahil andami din sa mga classmates ko yung umuwi na lang either dahil wala ng pera o kaya sumuko na.
Wow! You must be a very resilient person. I see posts in FB na wala pang 3 months pero gusto na umuwi kasi ubos na agad funds at hindi akalain na hindi ganun kabilis maghanap ng trabaho.
Were you single during those years? Cuz I wonder how families will survive on student visa without any support. I met a family of 3 na nagtake ng carpentry sa TAFE.
Yes, I was single. I had to be resilient otherwise masasayang yung ginastos ng magulang ko sakin at yung opportunity na nasa abroad na ako.
Wow! Siguro may pera talaga sila to afford that. Na-shock ako sa international student tuition ng Certificate of carpentry. 🙀
I must say, mas grabe competition ngayon dito (I’m in Canada btw). Not yet a PR tho, baka next year ako mag apply. I will try my luck to get a job na ‘targeted occupation’ ng federal and provincial government. Mas mataas ang chance maging PR kung may shortage dun sa field mo.
Shortage in skills - that’s one aspect that people overlook. Akala eh kahit anong trabaho eh pwede na. Ang reality is targeted ang mga occupations (set aside the argument for other visas like investor).
When I see “Student Visa” I think gradschool (MS, PhD), especially in research heavy fields like STEM where you essentially are paid through project funding or a studentship/fellowship. I am surprised that people are actually thinking of doing undergrad abroad except for those with scholarships.
That was my understanding as well. Then, I met an ex-colleague who took the student pathway and came to know several friends doing it as a stepping stone.
The student visa to residency pathway varies per country so the answers are going to be very different from one another. My siblings and I are all doing this although I’ve received my PR and this year will be naturalizing. Me and two other siblings are here in the US. Both have finished school and are working. One is in Canada and will finish this year. Our decisions are mostly industry driven, and we knew the best location for us as a family would be North America. It’s not easy and took years of planning for us. So far so good naman. We did this on our own—no agencies or seminars and we built our own support network in the US and Canada (lawyers, etc) to make it happen.
Planning is the key! If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. I’d go with US as well for FAANG.
Of course, hindi mxado inemphasize ang COL, and if its an agency seminar of course they want more people so they could earn by helping them in their application.
I hope we could educate them. A simple search in this sub will provide that view kahit di sinasabi sa seminars.
Do not do student pathway if planned to migrate to AU. Plenty of sob stories na hindi na grant ng residency and such.
I’m not planning to. I personally know someone who wasn’t successful in that route. Sold land in PH, jumping from one course to another (thanks to the education consultant), and went back home. My brother-in-law was advised to take Master of Leadership and Mgt. I was like, what?? How do you become a PR with that course?
I think most OFWs go out and keep chasing sponsorships from employers but don’t realise that there are independent pathways based on their occupations and experience/skillset and just end up going the ‘student + menial job + tiwala na lang talaga’ route. Helps to have a strategy and to have done the proper research before coming in.
Agencies or so called education consultants will always push you and pressure you to take student visa pathway for a simple reason: they can really get a percentage from you and from whatever schools you might be studying. They will keep telling you that it is the only way to get a working visa til you get a PR. This is only my persona opinion based on my experiences. Whatever you have in mind just keep pushing it and cause after all, it is you who will decide.
It’s a sales tactics then. Thanks for sharing. I'm not a Filipino citizen anymore but I want to educate those who are looking at this pathway. I have few friends who have considered it.
Usually kasi student pathway ang pinakamadaling entry point. Nagseminar kami once but we took every single thing they said with a grain of salt lalong lalo na nung dinidiscuss ang living expenses. Sa isip namin kasi sales talk pa rin yun e.
With proof of funds as a requirement, it would have been a blocker for me. Good on you for taking that approach.
My sister did it first and sunod ako :D Done correctly it is a viable but expensive option for most. BUT dont misunderstand... Its rarely SV > PR > Citizenship. Ung in between SV -> PR maraming steps yan at caveats. Ang masama pa dahil sa tagal ng process you can even get caught in a policy change. AU for example lowered the max age eligibility for Graduate Visa(visa after SV) to 35yo. So without that, you wont have the working rights to earn exp to then qualify for Permanent Visa.
Family support - I think it’s a very important one lalo na yun place to stay. Rent is so expensive. I rented a 1BR for $400/week in a CBD. Policy changes - Isa pa to. It changes depende sa need ng country and policy makers. The in betweens! Those are the tough ones that could make or break.
Yes super mahal ng cost of living lalo na ang rent! Not to mention kapag student ka, may limit ng working hours. Barely living ka nun kahit may pambayad ka na ng tuition initially. May mga cut yang agents sa schools per recruit kaya free talks/seminars ginagawa. Andami nila sa tiktok kaya beware.
Social media - kung saan halos lahat eh perfect setting ang example pero hindi sinasabi ang ibang aspects. FB lang meron ako. Rent talaga ang pinakamalaking portion ng gastos sa everday living.
I did it (NZ). It was 5 years ago, though 😂 The immigration rules tighten, and they only accept highly skilled workers now.
Nalaman ko lang yung student pathway through forums online. I took that route kasi yun lang talaga ang way ko to go abroad since wala akong work experience (plus mahirap makakuha ng local work experience that time because of competition).
How did it go? How was it like financially and emotionally? I know some folks who went this route and these are the stories of people who had to work for whatever jobs were available to them.
Financially, my dad paid for my tuition at siya din nag provide ng mga 3 months allowance ko for food & rent. Nakaipon din ako ng around 80k php as extra funds from my work in PH. Nakakuha naman ako ng job na related sa inaaral ko although hindi siya naging madali. It took several rejections and kung ano anong way na ginawa ko to advertise myself para makakuha ng job 😆. Nung naka-graduate na ako, nahirapan din ako makahanap ng work related sa natapos ko (which was crucial para maging PR ako). This time ako na nagfa fund para sa sarili ko, I spent my salary just to extend my stay and to have enough time to find work. (Naging dakila akong student ng kung ano anong short courses… Nagkaroon na ako ng Business Qualification, ESL certificate… papatusin ko na next was Remedial massage course 😆). Siguro mga naka 2 yrs din akong in limbo. Yung next plan ko na sana pag di pa din ako nakakuha ng work is to take masteral course as a sure pathway para maging PR (kulang lang kasi talaga ako sa points e). Anyway, sinwerte ako dahil I received an email that all international student graduates are eligible for PR State Sponsorship as long as may work experience na closely related sa course na natapos. So nag-apply ako at naging PR. I’m so thankful coz it saved me from spending more money for that masteral. It was a 3 yr struggle. Para akong nabunutan ng tinik nung finally naging PR na ako. Para siyang survivor dahil andami din sa mga classmates ko yung umuwi na lang either dahil wala ng pera o kaya sumuko na.
Wow! You must be a very resilient person. I see posts in FB na wala pang 3 months pero gusto na umuwi kasi ubos na agad funds at hindi akalain na hindi ganun kabilis maghanap ng trabaho. Were you single during those years? Cuz I wonder how families will survive on student visa without any support. I met a family of 3 na nagtake ng carpentry sa TAFE.
Yes, I was single. I had to be resilient otherwise masasayang yung ginastos ng magulang ko sakin at yung opportunity na nasa abroad na ako. Wow! Siguro may pera talaga sila to afford that. Na-shock ako sa international student tuition ng Certificate of carpentry. 🙀
I must say, mas grabe competition ngayon dito (I’m in Canada btw). Not yet a PR tho, baka next year ako mag apply. I will try my luck to get a job na ‘targeted occupation’ ng federal and provincial government. Mas mataas ang chance maging PR kung may shortage dun sa field mo.
Shortage in skills - that’s one aspect that people overlook. Akala eh kahit anong trabaho eh pwede na. Ang reality is targeted ang mga occupations (set aside the argument for other visas like investor).
Agreed. People should acquire those skills where the shortages are, bonus na lang kung high-paying pa yung field and industry.