Moving to Canada at 40+ through MBA studies. Case study

What should you do if you're over 40, have a higher education and a career in your home country but want to move to Canada? You might be wondering if it's worth starting this complex immigration journey. However, we have a client who, at 40, went to study in Canada to become a permanent resident, and even received a scholarship of almost $10,000 CAD.

We'd like to share with you how it all happened,  step by step, and how long it took.

Background

Let's start with the initial data. Our client is a 40-year-old woman with a higher education, a job, and a good level of English. She wanted to move to Canada with her husband.

She contacted us in September 2022 with general questions. We recommended first taking a free assessment of her chances on our website and then contacting one of our immigration consultants.

Our digital system calculates candidates' chances for more than 120 immigration programs in Canada and provides results. The system showed excellent chances for the woman. On December 20, 2022, she had an initial online consultation with our leading specialist, Ivanna, after which she immediately decided to sign a contract for immigration services.

We decided that the best option would be to move through education. In this case, the woman enrolls in a Canadian university and gets an in-demand education, with the right to work up to 20 hours a week. Her husband, in turn, receives a work visa on the basis of his spouse's study permit and has the right to work for any Canadian company full-time.

Due to sanctions, the family managed to pay for our services only in June 2023.

The client's English was good, at B2 level. She also took the Duolingo test, scoring 120 points, and then additionally took IELTS Academic, scoring 7.0. This is a very good result, a score of 6.0-6.5 is usually required for admission.

University Admission

If our clients have weak English, we suggest enrolling in language courses at ILAC Academy while preparing documents. They have a special university preparation program that allows you to skip the language test for admission. It works like this: you apply to a university, the university approves, we start preparing visa documents, and you study English online at ILAC in the meantime. Some colleges we send students to may present them with 12 weeks of English at ILAC, so you can save a lot.

This is a convenient option for those who doubt their chances due to low language skills. In our client's case, the English program wasn't necessary because her language skills were already good.

In May 2023, we had another call to choose a university and study program. We settled on a two-year MBA program at University Canada West. MBA stands for Master of Business Administration.

Studying such programs is very prestigious because graduates have many opportunities, and they can hold top management positions and run businesses. According to talent.com, which collects salary statistics, MBA graduates in Canada earn an average of $80,000 CAD per year.

In June, we submitted documents for university admission for January 2024. You should bear in mind that document preparation and visa obtaining are rather lengthy processes. You can't submit documents in August and come to study in September; it's better to count for six months. Canadian universities have an advantage here—student intake usually opens several times a year. For example, the MBA program at University Canada West offers intakes 4 times a year.

Obtaining a Visa

So, we submitted documents to the university. Meanwhile, we immediately started working on documents for the visa application.

In early July, the university sent us a request for additional documents, after which we almost immediately received an acceptance letter as well as a letter about a grant in the amount of $9,720 CAD for two years of study.

At the end of August, the couple underwent a medical examination, a mandatory condition for those intending to work or study in Canada or obtain permanent residency. You can take the medical exam either before submitting documents or after that, upon a request from the Canadian Immigration Ministry. To save time, the family decided to take the medical exam before submission.

On October 9, we submitted documents for a student visa for our client and a work visa for her spouse. Unfortunately, at that moment, we faced unluck. By this time, registration for the January intake at the university had already opened, but the woman didn't manage to complete it because the visa documents were still under review. Because of this, the study had to be postponed to April 2024. This outcome is also possible, and you need to keep it in mind.

And then, on November 15, we received a response from the Canadian Immigration Ministry that the long-awaited visas were approved. After that, it was just a matter of details. On November 27, the family sent their passports to the visa center, on November 30, they received visa stickers, and on December 4, they had their passports with visas in hand. We're very happy for them, and are looking forward to seeing them in Canada.

Conclusion

In total, from the moment of the first consultation in our company to receiving the passport with a visa, it took 11.5 months, almost a year. If you also want to immigrate to Canada or go to study, you shouldn't delay, as the process is complex and lengthy.

If you decide to contact us, we'll be happy to help. We handle immigration and admission on a turnkey basis and go through this journey with you from start to finish. We first recommend scheduling an initial consultation to discuss your situation and work out a further strategy.