Dear desis,
At present I am in Saudi Arabia.I am planning to give my entry during first week of january.The last date for entry is 15/01/2005.My plan and reasons are as follows.
1. I put my eldest son this July in college of engineering guindy,chennai, anna university.He is doing his B.Tech (IT).I want to delay my entry to the maximum so that he can fulfil the requirement of staying in canada for two years by jan 2010.I plan to bring him to canada during his annual vacation for two months and complete six months of his stay in three years.He will move to canada in May 2008 after finishing his degree and complete the balance 1.5 years. Some one suggested that it will be better to admit him in canadian college from now on even if one year is lost.But I don't want to do this as the college where he is studying now is ranked 8th in india.(after all theIITsand bits pilani).Can senior desis give their advice?

2. Regarding moving to canada permanently - I plan to leave my wife there with my youger son who is in 5th standard.I will continue to work in saudi arabia and send them 2000cad/month till my wife qualifies and gets a teaching job. I think she has to to B.Ed in canada and pass the teachers qualification test to get this job.I believe she needs canadian qualifiation eventhough she has already done Msc.BEd in India and teaching in an international school for the past six years in saudi arabia.I am 46(B.Tech Chemical) and working as operations manager in an industrial and medical gases manufacturing company.I am planning this step as finding a job in my field is going to very difficult and i have to get a certificate from PEO for working as an engineer.Please advise whether the step I am taking is o.k.I will move to canada once my wife settles down with a job hopefuly.
3.I plan to stay for a month along with my family when I first enter in jan2005.I along with my family will come back to saudi arabia.In may 2005 my family with my elder son will goback to canada and my wife and younger son will continue stay in canada and my elder son will go back to chennai after 45 days to continue his studies.The reason for this step is the weather.People say do not leave your family there in peak winter (Jan)alone.They can not move around and If they start hating the weather initially then they are never going to like it. Is it correct?

Please advice.

Hi krish,

It is a perfect move. Go ahead.

by the way which company you are working with? BOC/PRAXAIR/AIR PRODUCTS?

I was also haappen to be in the same field but till date i m in odd jobs no field job available.

Think before you take decision.

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Do or Die.....

I will not agree with your point 1. If you want your son to make Canada his home and want to give him a headstart, bring him here to study. He will have much better chances to get into his field (job/profession) if he is a Canadian graduate than an overseas graduate.

The rest of the planning seems ok - but is your wife prepared for facing all the hardship alone?

And by the way, C$ 2000 per month might not be enough for them to lead a life they might be used to, specially when living as a split up family. One thing you have to keep in mind that at this age, dependence on each other as a spouse is much higher than as a young couple, and any small incident or painful adjustment might trigger off worse situations. One of such painful adjustments might be residence you choose to live in. I would suggest a nice condo to make your wife and son's life comfortable, and that alone will rent for nothing less than 1300/pm.

Moreover, she will have to drive - not only to shop and meet people, but also to attend university, and a car can easily cost $400 in running expenses alone.

Just my pooint of view - but more relevant since we are of the same age group!

Chandresh

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Chandresh

Advice is free – lessons I charge for!!

Dear interceptor,
I am working here in a medium sized private gas company.I was with BOC india from 86 to 92 at bby.Where were you working previously?I know that BOC, Prax air ,air liquide and airproducts are having their branches in canada?Did you try them?Your feed back will be valuable. keep in touch.
I agree with you Chandresh regarding the family staying there alone.I have to see that they are comfortable especially in my absense. I thought a good rental apartment should be o.k for them.What is the difference between condo and apartment? I can send a max of CAD2500/month.
Regarding my son in india ,he will loose one year if I try to bring him there now. The college is really a very good one.Is it possible to get admissions in transfer category?after first year?Please advice.

Agree with Chandresh here ....for your eldest son if the college is good ...it is good in india only ...here companies do not differentiate between IITs and other engg colleges , who will know about this college in Guindy, chennai....Anna university. He will be branded as a grad from India .
On the plus side if he comes here now , first he will be a support for his mother and younger brother. the 2-3 yrs he will need to adjust to Canadian life later, he can do it right now instead of waiting to come here again after finishing college in india. If at all you want to split your family, split in 2 places not 3. As for losing a year for your eldest kid.... i wont fret it as much ...he will be learning a lot more by coming to Canada now than later....he may have to wait to get into univ till next yr but his overall learning process of Canadian life wil be on all along ....which is equally if not more important.

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What can be imagined, can be achieved.

Dear Mishtar india,
Thank you for your valuable advise.I do agree with all your points.Considering the fact that he will not be hunting for job when he comes fianaly to canada, but will be doing his post graduation will you change your views.I do agree that he can be of support to the family and will gain lot of exposure in adjusting to the canadian atmosphere.I really worked very hard to get in to this college under as an NRI.The fee I pay for this college is USD6500/year. To remove him from this college, I don't know it will be very difficult decision to make.One of my friend here told me the same thing like you.Dont split in to three two will be better.
I argued with him about indian educations superiority in atleast the basics and subjects.He told me onething.What is marketable today is not an indian degree but western one.So try to grab it as early as possible.
I am in two minds.

Dear indian59,

I agree with what Mishtar India has mentioned in his post.

1. Canadian companies will not differentiate between an engineering grad from IIT, REC, BITS or any other university.

2. Getting admission to a Canadian university is not very easy since a majority of undergraduate students here pursue their masters degree and Phd.

3. In my humble opinion it would be wiser if your son did his under grad studies in engineering from a Canadian university. Having a masters degree in engineering from here does not assure a job opening. I know an electrial engineering student from U of T who spend over 9 months searching for a job even though he is a Canadian.

4. One of the senior execs in Suncor Energy migrated to Canada from mumbai when he was 15 and he completed his chemical engineering studies from U of T and I read in one of his interviews in Macleans magazine that he had to struggle a lot to find an initial opening since companies wouldn't hire him because of his accent. Also undergrad students here visit companies for the summer placements and this helps in getting a broader perspective of how companies operate in Canada.

Anway as a parent the final decision is yours and I am sure that you will consider the best interests of your son.

Thanks and regards,

Nikhil