which city good for masters in health , jobs and easy PR in Canada ?

expatthinkingtoomuch wrote:

Hi all
I'm new member here. I want to move to canada with my spouse , masters course likely on the agenda here. Want to obtain PR too....any suggestions on the best city , affordable, in canada where I can apply for PR while I study? If I take a 2 year course here, can I apply for PR simultaneously? Which city would be having good opportunities for me as in job and quick PR??? Please help....

You haven't mentioned what line of work you are in and what kind of course you intend to take? And another important factor - how many years of working experience do you have?

expatthinkingtoomuch wrote:

Yes good point. I'm in health care sector, doctor MBBS. You see, I intend to do masters in anything related to medicine which can get me a job after I finish, so don't know what field is most in demand , speciality. I wan thinking about rehab medicine like speech pathology. I have one year of experience and there were problems with my documents attestation witout whoch I couldn't work for a period of time...

Medical informatics seems like an area that is picking up pace. Its the intersection between Information Technology and Medicine. If you are interested in this area, PM and I provide you details on your questions earlier.

expatthinkingtoomuch wrote:

Hmm....sounds good. Must look into it , what the job prospects after I finish my studies in this field , which colleges and which city to live in comes next ....and can I obtain PR easily if I take up this field?

Well as I mentioned in the private msg, there are 2 schools popular for medical informatics or health informatics. There are UBC and Dalhousie University. Both are at separate ends of Canada's coast. UBC being west coast and Dal being east coast.

Obviously, housing is more expensive in Vancouver than it is in Halifax. If you choose to go to Dal, then as a student you can apply to live in Peter Green Hall which is cheaper accommodations for mature/ students with family (google peter green hall halifax). Its affordable housing at the heart of downtown Halifax. 10 minutes walk to the faculty and 15 minutes walk to downtown core. Fees on the other aren't exactly the cheapest in Dal, especially since you're an immigrant (not Permanent resident nor a Canadian citizen). As a foreigner, you'll have to pay what is called differential fees. Which during the first few semesters can be as high as the fees itself. However, I'd recommend you'd apply to be a TA (Teaching Assistant) / RA (Research Assistant) along with your masters application. Reason being is that that in itself is like a job but on-campus. That'll give you the ability to apply for a SIN (Social Insurance Number). With a SIN, you can do 2 things - immediately file for TAX (with CRA) and the other is apply for a MSI (Nova Scotia provincial health card). So you don't have to pay for your medical insurance and save on that. Tax, not too worry -  since you're a student and income is below the threshold, you won't need to pay tax at all. But the idea to start to file early is so that you can do the following:
1) Register with CRA your student fees payment (ensure you get the T2202a student slip). The continuous accumulated amount can later be use for tax relief/return when you do earn salary after graduating which can be quite high. Basically, the return you get is the differential fee you paid earlier during your studies.
2) Start your TFSA window. You'll find out later what it is. But later down the road when you want to do savings without tax you can invest with TFSA.
The other side benefits to it is also the fact that you'd get GST/HST return which may not be much but something as well. Tax should be filed together with spouse as it would help you better.
Your spouse can apply for a open work permit while you are studying and can use that for applying for a job. Her salary can help sustain your cost of living while you try to finish up on your studies.
As I've mentioned, unfortunately with your MBBS, you cannot apply for a PR as that would be useless in Canada. But as soon as you graduate, you can apply for a work permit easily without having to get any job offer as you are a graduate student from a Canadian university. After you found a job, and mid way you can apply for PR which should be easy to obtain. There are many channels to apply for PR after that e.g. Federal Skill Worker - Express Entry / Canadian Experience Class (CEC) / Provincial Nominee.
As for job prospect in medical informatics/health informatics - I think its huge. I've seen people easily finding jobs in this sector and all across Canada. Basically, the medical industry are a very special bunch - highly conservative and highly click base. You practically need a similar qualification to get into their space. Even though I have a Computer Science degree, I can't apply for technical position within health informatics company. They'd rather hire someone less technical but with healthcare experience/qualifications. And did I mention its a booming industry? More and more people require healthcare services and thus more and more services are required in the backend of the industry to support it especially in the technology aspect to help improve services, quality, and results.

expatthinkingtoomuch wrote:

Sounds good to me, must check into the website details of the course, fees and session, along with that the average cost of living, .. how much min should I have to show in bank statement?

I am not so sure if there's a need to show bank statement for study permit. But for PR there's a figure listed on this site, http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/ … /funds.asp

And yes I forgot, before I complete my masters, if we have a baby will that effect our chances of getting PR?

If there's anything, it shouldn't affect your application in a negative way. The only thing I can think of is that if you have had submitted your PR application and mid way your spouse was expecting and then you had a medical request from CIC, then you will have to consider if you want to proceed with the X-ray. If you do not want to, you stand to do so due to medical reasons. But you'll have to update CIC about it. When they have acknowledge that you are going to hold off her x-ray, you obviously are going delay the process. This may or may not impact when you will get your actual PR.

Thanks a bunch though, and by the way, how do they like to have immigrantsnin nova scotia? Do asians have a community? Do they have mosques out there? What about safety when it comes to crime rate?

NS is very open to immigration. Infact the population by the locals are dwindling thus the provincial government are extremely supportive of the local efforts to attract immigrants. NS also being a smaller city than your typical Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary, is more peaceful, less hectic and people are easy to get along with (in general). They are also more courteous as well. You don't see that in bigger cities. There is a sizeable South Asian community if that is what you are asking. Largely Punjabis although there also sizeable Tamils, Telegus, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. But nothing compared to the bigger cities of course. There are 2 large mosque. I believe it ought to sunni but I am not sure. There is shitte but that might far out in outside area. Anyhow, if I am not mistaken when it comes to religion all nationalities then to band together and mix. ISANS (the organization that helps immigrants and newcomers integrate) is a good source of help for folks like you when you arrive. Just google ISANS halifax nova scotia and you'll find the link.

My apouse has done MBA from UK, how good chances arebthere for a job? Perhaps banking?

As I've mentioned, ISANS will help newcomers in matters such as job placement. My personal thoughts and based on experience is that folks with non-Canadian qualification may find it difficult at first to attract potential employers especially when you start applying while you are still overseas. But when you're on the ground, the harder you work at your application and all avenues like networking, calling for touch-up, emailing etc etc, then obviously you're just sharpening your job hunting skill and eventually will nail it. Of course I don't know what her expectations are so I can't say if its going to satisfy you guys. One thing you need to know is that in the world these days, lots of people have higher qualifications - that means MBA is not a rarity. Most important thing is to get your feet in the job market and build up your network and credentials locally here first.

How is npayscale for med informatics vs banking?

It all depends on what job you are applying for, how many years of working experience you have etc. Banking is also a large area. So I don't know which specifically you are referring to. If you say, just your typical financial advisor that sits in the branch, I would say they don't make much. But they may enjoy some bank employee perks and also have high bonuses. For med informatics, you may be able to get higher salaries depending on what company you get into. If its a private, they are mostly startups. They may promise you some company shares etc. Also you want use this web link, http://www.jobbank.gc.ca/occupation_search-eng.do to see what kind of jobs are out there and what kind of statistics they have on this kind of job.