The decision to travel overseas and land in Canada is like a dream come true. But, is it all? It’s always helpful to be pre-prepared with the most important prerequisites before moving to a different country. Things can get particularly challenging if you live alone overseas with books and internet and internet being the most trustworthy guides around local things. To sustain yourself and get going with the everyday chores in a foreign land is quite a challenge and calls for something extra. That’s exactly where the multi-faceted utility of intelligent mobile apps for immigrants comes in.
Although there’s a herd of country-specific apps available on iOS and Android devices, the usage and resources available on such platforms might vary from country to country. You need not worry though if your foreign country of choice happens to be Canada. Although several mobile apps seamlessly cater to incoming migrants and visitors in Canada, we have compiled a list of some of the most helpful apps that can make your life much easier during your stay in Canada. With that being said, let’s have a quick look at these selected apps down below:
Best Mobile Apps for Immigrants in Canada
No wonder there’s no shortage of apps for almost everything in today’s smartphone ecosystem, including ones for immigrants in Canada. Amongst the millions of Canadian mobile apps for immigrants, some selected suggestions firmly sit on the list of must-have mobile apps for immigrants flocking to Canada. Right from looking for employment opportunities, news feeds, and social networking to international money transfers, these handfuls of apps address some of your basic yet essential concerns well. Below is a brief description of these apps based on their category and usage.
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For Oversea Bank Balance Stability
Wise
Transferring money from one country to another is quite a task, and an expensive one indeed! However, when done through the Wise app, it’s not only easier but also significantly cheaper. A healthy cash reserve in your account is your sole support in a place far away from your homeland. Usually, the process of transferring this reserve from your native country to your visiting country accounts for a hefty international transfer fee charged by both the sending as well as the receiving bank. Depending on the country you’re migrating to, this transfer fee could be as high as 50% of the total transaction amount.
With Canada being your preferred international destination, the Wise app keeps a vital check on your global money transfer concerns. The app allows users to exchange money internationally with up to 60 nations at a 7% lower rate than any other app or similar service provider. Even the conversion of currencies is quicker with the app and is functional for 56 countries without any charges.
The robust security check is another feature of the app that provides a 3D authentication security check. It notifies users about any unauthorised transaction or unethical activity in their accounts. Moreover, the app’s intuitive interface makes exploring the app and its features very easy. For usage, the app facilitates only a single-time sign-in to link your bank account and Apple Play or a credit card. In case of any discrepancy or difficulty, users can always reach out to the app’s multilingual International Customer Care Service while registering or using the app.
EQ Bank
There has been a growing demand for fee-less financial services led by online-only financial institutions. EQ Bank is one such competitive product in this emerging market today. This comprehensive mobile banking app brings all the financial solutions you need right at the fingertips of your smartphone. Apart from being easy-to-use, digital financial service providers like EQ Bank offer their customers more savings, including free withdrawals, e-transfers and affordable yet efficient international money transfers without having to leave the app.
Noteworthy is the fact that the EQ Bank features some of the highest, non-promotional, interest savings accounts in Canada. The clean and minimalist interface allows for easy navigation inside the app, and the simplified sign-in process ensures the smoother onboarding of users onto the platform. For new users, EQ Bank offers simple and fast banking services across Canada straight from your smartphone with plenty of support for moving funds internationally.
Another important highlight of the EQ Bank platform is the available 1.65% interest rate on ‘Savings Plus’ accounts which have no monthly fees or minimum balance limit. In your Savings Plus account with EQ bank, you can enjoy free bill payments and free “Interac e-Transfers” and add up to 3 people to a ‘Joint Savings Plus’ account with a single click. With such niceties under its tray, this app is undoubtedly a convenient financial management resource for immigrants in Canada.
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For Jobs and Career opportunities
The first thing to secure for your survival in Canada is a decent job to help meet your ends. Thankfully, the digital app ecosystem has ushered in the evolution of a whole new bunch of job-hunting applications. However, there are not many apps that can match the integrated professional ecosystem of LinkedIn. You might probably be using LinkedIn in your home country too. If you’re new to the platform, you must register on the app using your mobile number and email address. After registering, you must set up your LinkedIn profile with your resume, expertise, education, and experience (if any), alongside professional and regional preferences.
The app’s user-friendly interface helps users easily search and apply for jobs anytime and anywhere. The exchanges and interactions with Linkedin’s international community and global businesses further polish one’s career prospects. A bunch of available learning modules targeted toward upskilling and career growth only add to the niceties available with LinkedIn. Moreover, with a LinkedIn Premium subscription, you can unlock complete services of the app like sending direct messages, profile analytics and more for optimal growth. However, with its plethora of useful features on tap, you will have to shell out CAD 35 per month to get the most out of this app.
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For Flawless Communications
Grammarly
Communication is the key to a solid first impression you leave on somebody. When securing a job, good writing skills can certainly enhance your possibilities of making it through, irrespective of your domain or background. If you’re not good at framing words, the Grammarly app is always there to help.
The Grammarly app seamlessly integrates with the web browser on your PC or mobile. It automatically identifies and streamlines any document you try to write. The app checks and corrects grammar, sentence structures, spellings, style and tone in your paper, helping you sound flawless and precise in your document.
To gain deeper access to the Grammarly suite, you will have to purchase the paid versions of the app: Premium and Busines. Furthermore, the paid versions of Grammarly could unlock a plagiarism checker, word choices, snippets, and analytics dashboard. The free version, on the other side, is primarily elementary with just three basic features; grammar, punctuation and spelling.
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For Regular News to Knock the Door
CBC News App
The CBC News app is a free news service provider that helps its users with everything around Canada. This app is a valuable resource to keep yourself posted with the latest updates and essential information about geographical locations. Known to be a credible source, CBC News is quick in publishing and flashing the latest updates around every primary beat like politics, entertainment, sports, border, etc. Interestingly, the app also has an engaging and influential “feature stories” section with rich coverage of enthralling subjects that draw readers’ attention effortlessly.
Perhaps the CBC News app stands out because of its ‘unfiltered information.’ News agencies bringing out irrelevant information and presenting it as news material that may upset a community, race, religion, gender or demography, is a common practice today. Thankfully, that’s not the case with CBC News. The platform covers only necessary topics that must be brought into the public domain.
Moreover, if you can’t pause your daily cycle and go through their new reports, you can always switch to their news podcast “CBC Radio”. You can even scroll through their video stories on the app. The news platform also has other verticals like CBC Listen, CBC Sports, and CBC Gem. The CBC News app is truly a Canadian app for immigrants that should be present on their cell phones and for all the right reasons.
Ground News
People who want to research news and pieces of information, especially from the political genre, can try the Ground News app. This news app is known for its unbiased double-sided insight into such stories. What stands out as this platform’s key USP is its story presentation. The app features stories segregated into different categories, mainly with a biased and unbiased viewpoint. Both these categories consider opposite aspects of any given plot or information.
What’s even more interesting is that the app structures its stories to allow readers to scroll to the category they want to look at. This kind of content segregation helps readers with a more practical approach and understanding of any given piece of information.
One may even compare the opinions and draw an evaluative perception about the given topic. This news platform covers national, international and also local news stories. The Ground News app can seemingly help immigrants in Canada to understand the socio-economic, cultural and geological mechanisms of North America as well as its political interests.
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For Enabling Mobility Carry Forward to New Destination
Proton VPN
VPN stands for “Virtual Private Network” that facilitates seamless and unrestricted operation of any digital portal by a user from any part of the world. The importance of VPNs lies in the fact that every portal and application has certain restrictions on accessibility that bar users from specific regions from accessing and using the portal. For such instances, the Proton VPN can help you connect with regional portals and platforms from your phone, PC, and any part of the world.
Interestingly, the Proton VPN is completely free to use and can be used to access any digital platform on the internet. Accessing websites through a VPN guarantees an intense security check as well. Third parties can’t trace your personal information or activity history when you’re accessing the web through a VPN in your browser.
The Proton VPN also gives the user the advantage of slick navigation with enhanced privacy features which can be switched on or off based on the user’s will. Moreover, an active VPN in your browser can also smoothen your video streaming with no lag or buffering. Furthermore, you can also grab the benefit of low-cost flight tickets that keep changing through the Proton VPN privacy policy.
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For Telecom Carrier Services
Public Mobile
Following the shift of traditional banking to the online ecosystem, next in line was the brick-and-mortar service. This is precisely something that the Public Mobile app has been setting an example for within the telecom domain. The Public Mobile apps for immigrants in Canada is a handy platform, and helps them access a 360-degree solution around carrier services.
Owned and operated by Telus, the app allows users to purchase online, get doorstep delivery of sim cards, and compare and choose from a bunch of available mobile recharge plans. The app platform offers users several offers and discounts on its carrier services.
To seamlessly address user queries and concerns around the platform, its services and usage, the Public Mobile app has a comprehensive customer support system as well. The price bracket for mobile plans available on Public Mobile starts from CAD 15 to CAD 50 for 30 days. Besides this, users may also customize the selected service as per their preference.
Final Thoughts
All of the above-listed apps are nothing less than bliss for immigrants in Canada. No matter what country you’re migrating from, a good hang of these app platforms would significantly reduce your everyday hustle in Canada. Apart from keeping a good tap on most of your primary necessities, these applications shall also arm you with vital information on several subjects to help you make more informed decisions. Courtesy of the digital revolution, though, the existence of such accessible and useful apps makes our lives much more manageable.
Frequently Asked Question (FAQs)
There are multiple mobile apps for immigrants to find a job in Canada. Some of these most popular mobile apps for immigrants in Canada are: Robert Half, Indeed, CareerBuilder, LinkedIn, Eluta, Jobboom, Glassdoor, Monster
Calling can be chargeable and difficult to connect but some Canadian apps for immigrants can help the user connect seamlessly. These apps include: Google Voice, WhatsApp, FaceTime, Rebtel, WeChat, NobelApp, Vonage, Imo
Among the millions of mobile banking apps, Google Pay is the most popular online payment app used in Canada.
For the Canadian citizenship test, the applicants have to give a 30 minutes of online test on USCIS which is a civic software that enables mock tests and other civics tests to take place.
Though there are many social media platforms used by Canadian citizens, a Canadian immigrant must-have app can be Facebook which has the highest number of users in the nation. Which app is used by job seekers in Canada?
What apps are available for worldwide calling in Canada?
Which application is mostly used in Canada for Online payments?
Which app is used for the Canadian citizenship test?
What is the most popular social media app in Canada?
