Daily Times

Living abroad, having a foreign citizenship and foreign passport, is a dream of every individual young and old of Pakistan, including mine as well. Mostly graduate students in Pakistan foster dreams of living abroad after becoming despondent of the society’s economy, high unemployment rate and unjustifiable system and governance.

Most parents would send their children abroad so they can achieve a better life, if they have the capabilities to do so. However, if they do not have the capabilities, most could not send their children, even if they really wanted to, and will dissuade them from relocating abroad by quoting religious, economic and patriotic reasons. Not only parents prevent from going abroad but also friends dissuade from going abroad. Moreover, sometimes friends and relatives who are living abroad also try to discourage a person from going abroad as well. Some parents have built a good livelihood for themselves and their children in Pakistan despite relocating abroad. These parents would set an example to their children to find success in Pakistan just as they did. However, this example would hold no meaning, as situations did not remain the same with the passage of time. Instead, the situation has changed for the worst.

The youth and graduate students are inspired by relocating abroad because of the success of the people living abroad, which might include their friends and relatives. They are inspired because of the quality of life being much better abroad than in their home country. In addition, the people within our government and bureaucracy look to abroad for facilities in health, education and other systems because they themselves are despondent of such facilities available in Pakistan. Hence, the government’s lack of faith in Pakistan’s facilities and by not doing anything to fix the problem have inspired, adults, youths and graduate students to look forward to going abroad rather than stay in their home country. Therefore, we owe it mostly to the government for failing our society and the society for failing the people that has led the people to foster dreams of settling abroad.

By taking advantage of frustration of the people who would do at everything to leave Pakistan, many businesses have been set up to give consultancy to people for this purpose. Such businesses, often called as consultant agencies, have taken huge cash amounts from their clientele and have done little or nothing to fulfill their promise to that clientele. Their primary targets are mostly the graduate students and youths because they know that the current scenario of the society has left them frustrated; hence, they can be easily targeted and manipulated. The youth, mostly graduate students, are suggested to by these agencies, the benefits of international student visas and how an international university degree would help these students settle abroad and live the life they dreamed. Unfortunately, the students, which seek help from these agencies, have no idea that international student visa and an international university degree is not a job guarantee or that it guarantees them immigration to a foreign country.

I am no consultant myself. I do not intend to dissuade people from immigrating abroad because that will be hypocritical of me considering that I also dream of immigrating abroad as well. However, I do know for sure that an international student visa and international university degree would not guarantee me a job or immigration. By reading my previous blog, “Falsely perceived Universities’ advertisements”, you will understand that universitiesabroad or in Pakistan, are not responsible for providing jobs after graduation. The intent of universities is to impart knowledge related to a particular field and give recognition through their degrees that a student has acquired necessary skills and knowledge to work in that particular field. Similarly, they are not responsible for providing immigration either.

A graduate student who wishes to relocate abroad must realize this fact before doing something he or she would potentially regret.Still, their dreams have made them fail to realize that fact, no matter how hard the truth is emphasized. They would eventually seek consultancy from an agency that would likely make their dreams come true. The consultant agencies are not representatives of any embassies of any country nor can they change the outcome of foreign policies of any country. Their sources of information are internet and nothing else.

When I personally first visited an agency for consultancy by invitation of the agency itself, I did not find them compelling as some of the details they had described were vague. They would demand of me a huge sum of money for their services and when I asked them to make a certain point understandable to me, instead they would become rude and threaten me that without their help I would not have the chance to leave Pakistan. Luckily, without hesitation, I declined and started my own research through the internet.It took me six months of independent research on the internet, by browsing immigration websites of different countries along with websites of their universities, to get myself familiar with their procedure. I did find that most of the countries’ immigration policy was limiting my chances for settling in abroad after graduating from their university. For a moment, I started feeling low, and I thought to myself that the foreign countries have made policies so strict so as to seem that they do not like foreign students living in their countries, true as it may sound. After going through embassy’s websites repeatedly, I realized that there is a legal system but the chances are slim however, it is worth a shot. Nonetheless, it would not be easy as one might think it would be, as it would require strong determination and hard work.

Different countries have different immigration policies and it is upon their discretion when to ease or harden their immigration policies. They cannot change their policies just to accommodate one person or more from Pakistan or any other developed or developing countries. Whenever a country announces changes in their immigration policies, they announce it for the benefits of their own country.

A person who wishes to settle abroad would just have to use the internet to do rigorous research by checking the websites of the embassies or immigration websites of the countries of their likings, and get familiar with the rules and regulation of that country’s immigration policy. However, a person would not have faith in himself but rather on other sources who are guarantors.For example, if a person or student wishes to immigrate to Canada, they can do research by just by visiting their immigration website and repeatedly go through their immigration process meticulously. Similarly, if the person wishes for United States they could visit their immigration website and get familiar with their policy after doing thorough research. This logic can be applied to other countries of their liking. If he or she has internet access and goes through these websites meticulously then eventually there will be no need of the consultant agencies, as the people will become consultants to themselves.

Leaving a country is harsh thing to do but when there is no hope in the country, dreaming of living abroad is no sin either. We cannot expect our government to bring changes or fix the problems and we can never expect an instant change by the people themselves. Therefore, if a person intends to immigrate abroad, he or she should keep that ambition as long as it is done legally and they have done detailed research regarding a particular country’s immigration policy and their universities’ admission procedure.