Immigration Consulting Services Offered by KSA

International students can get their questions answered on-campus every Tuesday

The Kwantlen Student Association is looking to help international students at Kwantlen Polytechnic University by offering them immigration consulting services.

While the university does provide educational advising and support, including organizing events for community-building and networking, there are some questions that they cannot answer. Knowing that, the KSA has hired consultants Dani Willetts and Andrea Bastin to let KPU’s international student body know what they need to do to succeed in Canada—in school or otherwise.

Four sessions have already taken place this year, each on a Tuesday, with two more planned for Nov. 22 and Dec. 6. Students can find the KSA tabling from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm in the Grassroots cafe in Surrey and 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm in the KSA lounge in Richmond. Students are encouraged to drop into the sessions to speak with the consultants, which is completely free for anyone enrolled in classes at KPU.

“Each student would sit with the provider and ask any questions that they have, and the provider will answer their questions, and help them with anything related to their immigration and their status here in Canada,” says KSA VP Finance Rawan Ramini. “A lot of international students actually want to apply to become a permanent resident or citizens and don’t know what kind of job will give them more points towards their permanent residency.”

The consultants could also help students who “get into any illegal matters that will jeopardize their staying here” by telling them what to do and where to go.

Ramini is overseeing the project, although she didn’t come up with the idea alone. The last person to fill her position, former KSA VP Finance Waheed Taiwo, passed the immigration consulting services along to Ramini, who felt that they remained necessary to properly serve international students at KPU.

“We have the international office where they have the international advisers, but the international advisers are not certified to consult with students [about] immigration-related stuff. What the KSA international office cannot provide, we recommend with our service,” says Ramini.

She adds that she has “been working with the international office to make sure that [the KSA] is not doing the same thing that they’re doing.”

The international students office deals with matters such as studying visas, working permits, and academic scheduling.

Although turnout at the drop-in sessions has been less than what Ramini had hoped, those who have used the service have been asking important questions. The most common so far have been, “What kind of job do I get to become a permanent resident?” and “How do I bring other family members and friends to Canada with international student permits?”

The first of those two questions is ideal for the immigration consultants, but the latter is not. When they are asked about bringing others into the country, they direct the students to the international office.

To bring more students to the sessions, Ramini will be pinning up promotional posters around campus, putting the dates for future sessions online and on the KSA calendar, and spreading the word face-to-face.

“We want more students to benefit from this service,” she says. “The providers are also willing to do Skype drop-in sessions so any students can access it. They can just call in.”