Canadians! Please help?

[Yosh the Panda]

Hi!
So, I'm from the Netherlands and I've been looking into immigrating to Canada for a few years now.
I'm 18 years old, and I was hoping if it's possible for me to study there?
My English is very good (compared to other Dutch people, I can read, understand and speak it, Although I have a minor accent (still practicing to get that away)).
So I'd love to know a few things that I couldn't find on Google.

1. Can foreigners study in Canada (will they get accepted?) and will they do a language test (like in California) or a full test (math, languages, history etc)?
(I'm planning in renting a house there, after I get a residence permit, so I'm not like an exchange student).
2. Is life insurance affordable?
3. Is getting a job in Canada hard if you're not a native?
4. Are foreigners in general treated differently?

Thank you so much in advance for reading and answering.

[Dotty]

Hi Yoshie. I'm applying for 'International Experience Canada' meaning I'm going to immigrate to Canada for 12 months (First visa) then possibly another 12 months after.

You can study in Canada but you have to pay international fees; if you're part of the European Union I don't see why they would do a language test? (Correct me if I'm wrong...)

As far as I've researched, getting a job in Canada is really easy; but if you're studying in Canada you'll probably only be on a studying visa and not on a working visa. You need two separate visas for that kind of thing...

Also from my experience and researching insurance, it's going to cost me like £200 for insurance for 12 months. That's probably around 300+ euro. You'll probably get a better rate being a student. Anyone can study there; I think the fees are cheaper too that Europe (The UK prices here are astonishing...) From my experience at Uni, I know loads of my friends who are in the US + Canada right now and it was no problem but they did it as part of an exchange year. Don't you have any courses at a uni where you are that allows you to study abroad for a year?

In my experience of going to Canada, (albeit, only Montreal) they people are like 1000x more polite than Americans. Also the food is a bajillion times better than just McDonalds, Burger King, McDonalds, KFC, McDonalds, BK... etc etc. Not only that, but you'll have a better chance at getting into Canada than America. Foreigners in any unis aren't treated indifferently; in-fact you may find that there are more foreigners than home students - international students are pretty much the norm.

Erm, Yoshieposhie bum, just have a chat to me if you need me. <3 Funny you should post this when I'm moving to Canada this yr myself. I can help you out.

[A k a r u s a]

To answer number 4,

No, you wont be treated differently.
Ive lived in British Columbia, Canada all my life and all of my friends and family who have lived out of BC and Canada all say that compared to most other places, the people here are some of the nicest. True Canada does not have as many differnt types of people as say the U.S does, but from what ive seen, if your different then your usually even more loved xD

[Boolu]

It's very easy to immigrate to Canada. There's a test for citizenship, but I'm not sure about permanent residency. You won't be treated differently, as Canadians are very nice and accepting 4laugh My family immigrated very easily, and my parents didn't even know english all that well. There are special programs from new immigrants, and financial support. Generally Canadians are very supportive of immigrants. If you're going to apply for University, you should do it now, ASAP. I think the deadline for University of Toronto was March 1st. Check the other deadlines of different Universities.

[Okier - chan]

It is required that if your first language is not english that you need to take the english test, nothing more.
Life insurance is typically not too expensive depending on the coverage you receive, mind you,
I'm Canadian but don't pay a dime due to me being of Aboriginal heritage so I can't help much.
If I'm correct, the Canadian government website might have more information about jobs?
For the last, no, but it also depends on what city you go to. I for one, although I am born in Canada
often face racism due to my heritage as an Aboriginal in bigger cities where stereotypes run wild.
You should be fine though, I know plenty of immigrants from the Netherlands who live in Urban areas.
My grandmother is from there, and more of her family immigrated to Canada years after she did. ^^

And you might want to think about applying to different universities right away, and be warned,
housing in urban ares, even renting a place is pretty expensive, so it might be best if you test out
dorm life first. It's easier because that way you have less to worry about (bills, etc). If you are looking
for a cheaper place to live, I'd suggest the smaller cities that have universities, for instance, in
Prince George, BC, Canada, it's about 400-600 canadian dollars to rent a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom
apartment. That's a reasonable price as most places in big cities can reach from 600-1000 dollars
a month. You DON'T need a citizenship for renting places here, buying yes, renting no. Just keep
an eye on the prices and get in contact with the managers first!

[Yosh the Panda]

Thank you all so much for answering! Every little thing helps, so every bit of information is something I can keep in the back of my mind.

I'm not planning on moving there straight away, if everything goes right I think the soonest would be in 6 years, I'm afraid. I wish I could move there sooner, but right now I cannot afford it yet to even live on my own here in the Netherlands while studying.

Okier - chan

That's actually really affordable compared to the Netherlands, I live in the second most important city of the Netherlands (first comes Amsterdam of course) and renting a house here for two persons costs (I'm calculating it to dollars) about 2000+ dollars a month, for a small apt that has 1 living room, two small bedrooms, a toilet and a kitchen. Also don't forget gas, electricity and water.
If you go live in the suburbs it's of course cheaper, but most of the time the neighborhood is not really great. I don't know how that is in Canada.

[Okier - chan]

depends which city you want to go on which neighbourhood is good or not.
Vancouver is iffy at all levels, same with Prince George where I live, so avoid going anywhere
by yourself at night! and if you do it might be a good idea to invest in a pocket knife when here.
Sub-urbs in big cities here are just as pricey, often the places downtown are more affordable.
I did say to test out the dorms first, it'll be cheaper and will allow you more time to locate a
reasonable apartment that is close to the campus or close to transportation. (buses run every
half hour I believe or every 15 mins in some cities) so keep an eye on that. Typically the school
that you are applying too will have lists of recommended housing units. In canada, it's more
common to come across just the electricity in apartments, you'll be just after electricity (water goes
under that too I believe or is included in rent? ) and of course your food, and phone.
I'd suggest taking a course that will help you budget! it's a good thing to know when living by yourself.
And the prices I named are typical 1 bedroom payments. It all depends on the city really.
If you have any other questions don't hesitate to pm me, alright? I'll be more than willing to help
you find information and answer any further questions you have. ^^