The Visa Issue: Canada

The Visa Issue: Canada

Canadian Flag

Certainly, if you want to go on exchange to Canada, you will have to consider the “visa issue”.  The student visa in Canada is known as “Study Permit”. You need to obtain a Canadian study permit, if you are a student from one of the following countries:

Afghanistan,  Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, North Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Macao S.A.R., Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives Islands, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Micronesia States, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Palestine, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda Sao Tome e Principe, Saudi Arab, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovak Rep., Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Surinam, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Don’t get scared! There are a number of criteria for students who are not required to get a Canadian study permit to study in Canada.  These criteria are the following:

• Students from Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Botswana, Brunei, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel (National Passport holders only), Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Republic of Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, San Marino, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden, Slovenia, Switzerland, United States, and Western Samoa don't require to have Canadian student visa to study in Canada.
• Students who are the permanent resident of United States who hold a Green Card or can present any evidence which show they belong permanently to USA.
• Students who are the citizens of United Kingdom, either they are in UK or are staying abroad but legally can return back and stay in UK.
• Students who have a valid Special Administrative Region passport issued by the Government of the Hong Kong.

So, if you meet any of these criteria, you should not worry about the obtaining visa procedure!

Application procedure

Documents required for obtaining Canadian study permits:

Of course, if you have to get a Canadian visa, some documents should be presented to prove that you are eligible. These documents include:

• Completed Application for Study permits;
• A valid passport;
• Two photos of the students and each of the family members. The photograph must not be more that six month old. Back of the photo, the name and date of birth of the person appearing in the photo should be written;
• Proof that shows the educational institution has accepted the student for admission in their institution;
• Evidence of sufficient funds to overcome all the living expenses and study costs in Canada;
• Bank transaction statement of last four months;
• Proof of payment of fee in acceptable format. This format varies according to country and region. However, the most general method is presenting it through Bank Draft;
• Evidence that show students have no criminal records;
• Students from some nations may even need to present medical reports (see the list below);
• Any other documents that may help for obtaining a Student visa for Canada.

Medical records:

You have to provide the authorities with your medical record, if you are studying in one of the following countries:

Admiralty Islands, Afghanistan, Algeria, American Samoa, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Ascension, Austral Islands, Azerbaijan, Azores, Bahamas, Bahrain, Balearic Islands, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belau, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bora Bora, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, CambodiaCameroon Canary Islands, Cap Vert, Central African Rep. , Chad, Chagos Archipelago,China, Cook Islands, Cooz Islands, Colombia, Comoros - Islamic Federal Republic, Congo - Democratic Republic (Kinshasa), Christmas Island, Congo Republic, Croatia, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Easter Island, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon Republic, Gambia, Gambier Islands, Georgia, Paris, Guam, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Huahine Island, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Loyalty Islands, Marquesas Islands, Marshall Islands, Midway Islands, New Guinea Islands, Ivory Coast, Johnston Atoll, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kerguelen Islands, Kiribati, Kosrae, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Lithuania, Macao, Macedonia, Madagascar , Madeira, Maio, Makatea, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali Republic, Maupiti, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Moorea, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, New Britain, New Caledonia, New Guinea Mainland, New Hebrides, New Ireland, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue Island, North Korea, Northern Mariana, Northern Sinai, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Ponape, Portugal, Raiatea, Reunion, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Sabah, Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, Sao Tome e Principe, Sarawak, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Society ArchipelagoSolomon Islands, Somali Republic, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, St. Helena, Sudan, Surinam, Swaziland, Syria, Tahaa, Tahiti, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tibet, Tokelau Islands, Togo, Tonga, Tristan Da Cunha, Truk Island, Tuamotu Archipelago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, U.S. Trust Territory of Pacific Island, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Wake Island, Wallis and Futuna, Western Sahara, Western Samoa, Yap Islands, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Canadian Student visa application fee:

You need to pay $125 for your application.

Processing time:

It is recommended that you submit your application for Canadian study permit at least several months before the start of the academic year so that you can make sure that your visa will be ready on time. The visa processing time usually varies depending on the individual cases. Thus, obtaining Canadian visa might take from a week to a couple of months. 

The Visa Issue: Singapore

The Visa Issue: Singapore

The student visa in Singapore is known as “Student’s Pass”. If you want to study in Singapore, you need to obtain a student pass. However, the application procedure for such a visa varies depending on the education institution where you intend to study. We will provide you with some information about the application process for the following universities in Singapore:

Application procedure:

You need to submit your application for a Student’s Pass at least one or two months before the beginning of the academic year through the Student’s Pass On-Line Application & Registration (SOLAR) system.  However, before the submission of the application through SOLAR you need to be registered in SOLAR by the education institution in Singapore. Therefore, you should provide the university where you are going to study with the following information:

• Name, date of birth, gender and nationality of the student (as appear in travel document);
• Course details, course commencement and course end dates; and
• SOLAR application reference number.

After your successful registration in SOLAR by the university, you have to login to the system and submit eForm 16 and provide the following data:

• A registration acknowledgement notice with the login information provided by the education institution;
• Travel document/passport details (including travel document/passport number, date of expiry, etc);
• NRIC/FIN of parents if the student’s parents are Singaporeans or foreigners who are working or residing in Singapore;
• Singapore’s address and contact details (if not available, please provide the school’s registered address); and
• Applicant’s email address.
• One recent passport-sized colour photograph (to be pasted on the top-right corner of eForm 16) and must meet the following requirements:
• Image must be taken within the last 3 months
• Photograph should be in colour, must be taken against a white background with a matt or semi-matt finish
• Image must show the full face and without headgear (headgear worn in accordance with religious or racial customs is acceptable but must not hide the facial features

Upon the submission of the eForm 16 through SOLAR, you have to print a copy of the  eForm so that you could submit it to the Student's Pass Unit (ICA) and complete the formalities for the issuance of the Student's Pass.

Completion of Formalities:

You will be issued with an in-principle approval (IPA) letter by the Student's Pass Unit through the university where you intend to study. You are allowed to enter Singapore by presenting the IPA letter to the authorities at the checkpoints.

You need to provide the following documents for completion of formalities:

• Your valid passport. A copy of the passport particulars page must be submitted;
• The Disembarkation/Embarkation card, granted on entry into Singapore. If you are currently residing in Singapore on other long term passes, you are required to bring along that pass;
• One recent colour passport-sized photograph (taken on white background);
• The printout of eForm 16 submitted through SOLAR (duly signed by the applicant);
• A copy of the in-principle approval letter; and
• A medical report in the prescribed format (available on ICA’s website).

Offsite enrolment for Student's passes issuance:

The  Student's Pass Unit, in collaboration with the university where you are going to do your exchange, conducts offsite enrolment for the issuance of student's passes. The institution will advise you on the date, time and venue for the offsite enrolment.  When you arrive in Singapore, you have to report for offsite enrolment as scheduled for the issuance of a Student's pass. If you do not have an appointment for offsite enrolment, you are required to go to the Visitor Services Centre, 4th Storey, ICA Building for completion of formality.

Onsite enrollment for Student's passes issuance:

Since the completion of formalities can be done by appointement only, you have to use the e-appointment facility to select the preferred date and time to complete formalities. On the date of the appointment, proceed to the Self-Service Ticketing Kiosk 3 located at Visitor Services Centre, 4th Storey, ICA Building to obtain a queue ticket.

Also, when arrive in Singapore, you are required to report to the Student’s Pass Unit, 4th floor, ICA Building, for completion of formalities for the issuance of a Student’s Pass within the duration of the social visit pass granted at the checkpoint.

 You need to take the following steps of the application:

Application Fee:

When you submit your application through SOLAR, you are required to pay a processing fee of  S$30 by credit/debit cardor internet banking. Furthermore, you need to pay an issuance fee of S$60 so that the Student's Pass can be issued.  Keep in mind that prior to collection of Student's Pass, you have to bring along  a signed copy of the Terms & Conditions of Issue for Long Term Pass (LTP) Card that can be downloaded if you click here

Processing Time:

The processing time is within 5 to 10 working days. However, some applications may take a longer time to process. Keep in mind that during the July/August peak period, applications may take a longer time to process. Thus, you are strongly advised to submit your applications early.

Press release: UniFactory's First Event!

As the academic year is coming to its end, students all over the world might be considering going abroad for an exchange period. The excessive amount of dispersed information online can be overwhelming for a lot of people and that is where Unifactory comes in!  The Rotterdam-based company offers an online platform where students with diverse backgrounds and different academic aspirations can find the perfect university for that once in a lifetime experience. So are you still unsure about where to spend your time on exchange? Unifactory’s first offline event should definitely answer some of your burning questions.

What and Where?

The people at Unifactory are working hard to broaden their online reach. However, the desire to operate offline is still present in the minds of the company’s founders. One of the founders stated that their aim is ‘to strike the perfect balance between online and offline consultancy, for those students who feel more at ease with a face-to-face  interactive consult’. So how will this event take place? Unifactory, being a Rotterdam-based company, has arranged to host their first event at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. Not only will the students have the comfort of talking to Unifactory’s exchange consultants, but they can also converse with the exchange coordinators of several universities from different parts of the world (e.g. Singapore, Canada and Finland). More importantly, students are brought in contact with students who have already been on exchange to gain that inside information nobody else can provide them.

When?

This special event will be held on the 12^th of April from 17.00 till 19.00. Any student that is interested can attend, as it not solely for Erasmus University students. All you have to do is click on the ‘join’ button on the Unifactory’s Facebook event called: Exchange Experiences Event.

https://www.facebook.com/events/128591590603190/

A little surprise

But wait there is more. During the Exchange Experiences Event, one lucky person will win a scholarship with the whopping amount of 1000 euro. So click on the ‘join’ button, be there on the 12^th of April, have fun and who knows maybe you will leave with a 1000 euro scholarship!  

UniFactory: Connecting great minds with great places

Interview with the President of ESN Rotterdam

Shopping: Albert Heijn, open markets and Beijenkorf

Rookworst and stamppot

When I first moved to Rotterdam, I had to ask around for at least 5 days before someone could properly tell what were the names of the grocery stores in Rotterdam. Turns out I lived right behind an Albert Heijn, the supposedly high-quality grocery store of Holland. As my diet for 5 days constituted of stale bread and water, I was quite delighted to find out that Dutch people also ate normal food. Well, food that could pass for normal, that is. I also discovered that Albert Heijn was a dangerous place, filled with prepubescent teenagers filling shelves with strange products such as the rookworst (smoked sausage with overpowering taste, usually eaten with mashed potatoes), satésaus (peanut paste, eaten with fries) and different tastes of vla (some sort of heavy custard, eaten alone).

Albert Heijn store

Then again, I was also greeted with delicacies such as the stroopwaffels (thin waffles with heavy syrup inside), roombotterkoekjes (small cubes of what seems to be only butter and flour) and bitterballen (a fried snack with beef, flour and butter inside, in the shape of a small ball), even though some people seem to disagree about it being a delicacy. It seems the Dutch are quite good with pastries. Other names for groceries stores you might stumble upon are: Coop, C1000, Plus, Hema, etc. Small parenthesis about Hema: while not really a grocery store, they pretty much sell anything you can buy, making it the best store to find something you don’t need, but absolutely have to own.

You’ve been warned.

Stroopwaffels

Another great place to go shopping for food and other items is the open market of Blaak. Usually starting early in the morning and lasting until late in the afternoon, the open market is a great place to buy produce and other fresh items for much cheaper. Buying directly from the producers also helps to maintaing the local economy while making sure to eat products that are much fresher than anything bought in the supermarket. The market is also a great place to find miscellaneous items such as phone cases, books, DVDs, etc. The market makes for a great bowl of air as well, and spending a little bit of time in the city, enjoying the company of friends or roommate to do your shopping with.

Market on Blaak

If you feel like shopping for clothes, candy, chocolate or other non-essential goodie, you can always drop by the Beijenkorf, the huge shopping mall situated in the centre of Rotterdam. Standing high with multiple floors, the mall is the best place to find things that are completely useless but definitely need to own. You can find radios in the shape of fruits, phones in the shape of burgers and other funny things. The mall is also a great to shop for clothes, but the high prices might discourage some. If your price range is a little bit lower, as any student’s budget is tight, you can always go to Hema, which is located not so far from the Beijenkorf. One of the entrance of the Hema is situated in the Koopgoot, an underground street filled with stores, eateries and other shops. Be careful though, lying down in the middle of the Koopgoot might anger some security guards (cf. video).

Events While In Toronto

Shopping

Unless you have a car you will probably do all of your groceries shopping in one of the many small supermarkets. Or you will find a friend who has a car :)  In that case you should note that when driving you can turn right on red. Other kinds of shopping can be done at Dundas Square which has a really big mall. The mall has all the shops needed for pretty clothes shopping.

Dundas Square at night!

Events

There is a website for special events in Toronto http://www.ttc.ca/Trip_planner/index.jsp. The website contains lot of information about some very cool things going down in Toronto.

 If you like art and you would like to enjoy it for free visit the Art gallery of Ontario on Wednesday night from 6pm to 8:30pm.  There is also a student discount admission to Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) on Friday nights starting at 4.30pm.

Toronto!!!

Night life

You definitely do not want to miss out on the wild night life Toronto has to offer. Check this out – the places such as bars are open as long as 2am! And in case you are already tired earlier you are lucky because the last metro takes you home at 1:30am. Therefore we would advise you to go house parties. There parties are much better since by the time you get to the party in town (it takes about an hour to get there) it’s time to go home (if you are decided to take public transport). And not to lie to you, since we are all students – house parties are also much much cheaper.

If you want to drink in bars and clubs in Canada you must be at least 19 years old. Again, go house parties! J No public drinking is permitted and it is not possible to buy alcohol in supermarkets. The alcohol store is very very far from the village or campus so think carefully when you are stocking up.

Still, if you decide to go out for a couple of drinks remember to visit the Hard Rock Café for some cocktails and some really nice atmosphere. London tap house is another must-stop. It is a really nice club to go to at night with a terrace that you simply must see. The best view of Toronto that there is!!!

The kind of cocktails you can order. Party Time!!!

 Going out for dinner

 There are 3 places that we can recommend if you get tired of all the delicious home-cooked student food: 

• Sushi place with a great deal: all you can eat for 20 bucks 
• Eggspectation is a good egg place but kind of fancy at Dundas Square 
• Little Italy is a really good  Mexican place

Special thanks for this article goes to Xenia Fink a 3^rd year IBA student who went on exchange to Toronto and was so kind as to provide us with all of this first-hand information. 

-- Maja V

Important Tips For Surviving Toronto

Housing

As an exchange student you have three options when it comes to student housing in Canada. You can live on campus, in a flat outside the campus or under the bridge (natural habitat). Living on campus is very expensive and you have to have a meal plan which is mostly fast food (note: eating when you want is not an option). If you want to have your own kitchen you have to pay even more. However, this option is not usually available for bachelor students anyway.  You can also live in the village which is right outside the campus with relatively new houses. The rooms are good and cheaper and bigger than dorms. You don’t necessarily need to have a room when you get to the university since there are more than enough empty rooms to choose from. If you are a party person and do not care much for the classes you may consider living downtown. It is better for your night life experience; however, it is about an hour from the university campus.

A on campus dorm building of York University

Getting around

To get around in Toronto you need a token. You use the same kind of token for metro, bus and tram. There are several ways how to buy these tokens. At a metro station you can buy them at a booth using cash and talking to a live human being – that’s if you like talking to Canadians. You can also buy the tokens at the campus in a building called InkBlots. If all the above mentioned methods fail, you can purchase the tokens in the bus. However, you have to have exact change and it is 50 cents more expensive.

A token, tiny right?

      Remember:

• You must use one token per ride. They are about as small as the 1 euro cent coin.
• Trip planner (from address to address):  http://www.ttc.ca/Trip_planner/index.jsp (Canadian version of 9292ov.nl) 

Weather

Toronto is a city full of sunshine. However, the sun may fool you into thinking it’s actually warm outside. Big no no! Do not forget your sweater at home because it is usually chilly, even with the sun. In the “occasional” case of rain it is the best to hide and wait it out (and be late for classes). It is usually a heavy flow but only for a short while.

Health care

As is explained very well during the orientation, you have to pay for the mandatory health care of 250 dollars per semester.

Cell Phones

European cell phones do not work in Canada because they do not use the same sim-cards. This means that you have to buy a new phone. Bell is the phone company offering the cheapest phones. They also have some really good options, such as, monthly contracts or prepay. You do not have to be Canadian to get a contract and you also do not need to have a MasterCard. What they may not tell you is that there is also 13% tax added to the price of your contract. This means that the amazing starting price of 25 dollars for you contract is what it is – a STARTING price before taxes.

The phone company

Cancelling your contract should not be a problem. All you have to do is call them 30 days in advance and tell them that you would like to cancel your contract. They will ask you several questions about your contract and why you are cancelling and then they will call you back and you are done.

Miscellaneous (also including visa)

Make sure that your electronics work on 110V such as hair dryer, straightener and laptop charger. Make sure to bring adapters with you and bring a couple of extra ones just to make sure you have enough.

You do not need a visa if you are in Canada for less than 6 months and you have a document saying what you will be doing there (pretending to study).

There are no taxes on the prices yet so you always have to add those afterwards (some prices are just too good to be true).

 Special thanks for this article goes to Xenia Fink a 3^rd year IBA student who went on exchange to Toronto and was so kind as to provide us with all of this first-hand information.

-- Maja  V.

University of Helsinki - Rankings, Classes and More

This is the university, very small and consists of one building

As it is great to know the different ways to survive in Helsinki, it might be nice to know some more about the university from a student’s point of view. Furthermore, the University of Helsinki was ranked 72^nd in the world according to the Shanghai Jiao Tong University and was ranked 23^rd in Europe. Also the University of Helsinki is the top university in Finland. This shows from an academic point of view this university is highly ranked and most be doing something right.

During my interview with Steffi, it became apparent that this university has a high standard of education. For the Finns it is difficult to enter university, however, when they are accepted they cannot be kicked out. The classes were challenging and insightful. The university strives to educate students to the best of their abilities and this was proven by the classes. These classes were surely not a walk in the park. On the up side of things, the classes were relatively small (20 to 30 students max), allowing for more class participation and ensuring that students truly understood the material required for the course. The Finns in Steffi’s classes were more active than typical Finnish people because they were more comfortable around foreigners. Luckily the structure of the classes are similar to the ones at Erasmus and there were no unfriendly surprises.

The advice to give is to enjoy your time in Helsinki, but do not forget about your classes. The most challenging part of this exchange would be balancing all the fun activities with the difficultly of all your classes.

-- Rebecca Regeer

10 little facts about the National University of Singapore (NUS)

By Zohra Wardak

•  One of the most prestigious universities in Asia
•    #28 ranking in the world
•  #3 ranking in Asia
•   Main campus located in Kent Ridge (Southwest Singapore)
• Oldest university in the country
•  Largest in terms of student enrollment
  
  

•            Faculties:

   o     Arts and Social Sciences

   o    Business School (ranked #1 on Forbes’ list of Asian MBA programs)

   o    Computing

   o    Dentistry

   o    Design and Environment

   o    Engineering

   o    Law

   o    Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine

   o    Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore

o    Science

o    Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy

o    NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering

o    University Scholars Program

o    Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music

• Housing:

o   6 Halls of Residence (3000 single or double rooms situated around different parts on campus)

o   3 Student Residences (clusters of 11 to 15 single rooms with own kitchen and bathroom facilities)

one of the Halls of Residence: Kent Ridge Hall

• 10 International partnerships with universities all around the world (e.g. Harvard University, Duke University, Technological University of Munich and Nanyang Technological University)
• 21 university-level research institutes and 3 Research Centers of Excellence

Surviving Singapore: Public Tranport, Climate, Food, Language and Shopping

Even though Singapore is the smallest country in South-East Asia, it is also an Asian Tiger, meaning its economy is highly developed. For all you exchange and international students, we will provide a short survival guide about Singapore. The country might be small, but the differences are big.

Let’s start off with public transport in Singapore. First of all, the public transport system in Singapore is well established, meaning that there is a great connection between places. Singaporean Public Transport includes taxi, rails and bus.

SBS Transit and SMRT Buses are found throughout the island. MRT buses runs across the entire city and is quite convenient, starts around 6 am and ends around 12 am at night (timings vary depending on which part of the line you are). In weekends it runs a bit later than the weekdays. The frequency also varies – buses depart around 2 minutes during peak hours and around 6 minutes during non-peak hours. Unlike Rotterdam, the MRT is always very crowded, so be prepared to stand and squeeze (especially if you are going to town around 8.30 am or 6 pm). Furthermore, there are maps and all stations are announced in English, so quite user-friendly as well. To use the buses you need a farecard, which can be bought at any MRT station. The farecard comes from the term “distance-fare”, meaning that your fare price depends on how far your journey is. You can also buy single tickets from the machines at the MRT stations. You always have to pay a $1,- deposit, which you can get back if you return the single ticket back in the machine. For exchange students we advise you to get an ez-link card, similar to the Dutch OV chipcard. You have to pay a $5,- deposit and you can top them up by cash/credit/debit at the machines in the stations. It’s similar to the OV chipcard, since you also have the tap-in-tap-out system. If you don’t tap out, you get charged the maximum fare. The rail transport in Singapore knows four main lines, namely; the East West Line, North South Line, the Circle Line, and the North East Line with more than 100 stations. MRTs are more reliable time-wise than other buses. You can buy an unlimited bus pass for $52 per month, an unlimited MRT pass for around $40 per month or a joint unlimited MRT-bus pass for $92,- per month.

                                                       Rail transport in Singapore

Taxis can be found anywhere and are 50% more expensive from 12 pm until 6 am. Taxis keep revising the fares, because of the taxi drivers’ complaints. Starting price is around $3, and it goes up with 20 cents every 400 meters. There are some extra charges. For instance, when you call a taxi, you have to pay a starting price of $2.50, peak hours you pay 30% extra than normal or midnight- 6 am you pay 50% extra than normally. Taxi drivers are normally very talkative. Most of the taxi drivers are Chinese with a very heavy accent and others are Singaporean whom speak English. Unlike the Netherlands, it is not common to cycle in Singapore, except by the beaches.

An important note; you are NOT allowed to eat and drink on the buses/trains. If you do so, you get fined quite heavily. There are also consequently no bins inside the MRT stations.

Since Singapore is close to the equator, it is very logical that the climate is hot, humid and wet. You can decide to take a shower outside, since the showers are year-round and there is always a high temperature. You might not be used to the warm and humid weather, so it’s very important to dress accordingly. June is the hottest period in Singapore, meaning around 35 degrees Celsius. From July to October the Southwest monsoon, rain fall for the entire day, takes place. So it’s always good to have an umbrella against the very heavy tropical rain fall. The rain starts and stops very suddenly – always a natural surprise! It is less hot from November to February. On a small note, don't forget that there is air conditioning in every building. It might not be a bad idea to bring a cardigan with you, in case you get a cold. Moreover, it doesn’t really get colder at night. Besides, it is also important to apply and re-apply sunblock if you’re going outside, since the UV intensity is very high. Flip Flops are A MUST and seems to be the national shoe. Even though Singapore is a small city, it may be totally sunny in one area and having a downpour in another. Always good to check the weather – say if you book a tennis court etc.

  

We don’t have to forget to fill the stomach with some yummy food. Where and what? If you want to eat out, you can find traditional cheap out-places at Hawker centers for around $2,50 per meal. Some of the Chinese food are quite oily though, so it may not suit everyone’s taste, but others say that the best Singaporean food can be found in the Hawker centers. Another option is the food courts (also called “food junction” or “food republic”) and these can be found on the top floor/basement of shopping centers. The food court consist out of lots of stalls with Chinese, Western, Japanese, Korean and Indonesian food around $5,-. MacDonalds also reached Singapore and so did Burger King and Pizza Hut , which are 24 hours open. In Little India you can find many Indian Restaurants. Tasty dim sum can be eaten in Chinatown – the chains; Din Tai Fung and Chrystal Jade are famous for their dim sum (open until 10 pm). Bubble Tea has become very popular in Singapore and people queue up for them for good lables like Gong Cha. If you want to cook at home, you can find lots of supermarkets which close around 10 pm. Prices are comparable to the Netherlands, although fruits and dairy related stuff may be more expensive.  

                               Dim Sum at Din Tai Fung                                   Bubble Tea at Gong Chu

The national languages are English, Malay, Tamil and Mandarin. Malay, Tamil and Mandarin are three representative races of Singapore and English is the common language. Schools are all taught in English and all the signs are in English. People in Singapore have a "Singaporean accent" and over time they have also developed this thing called "singlish" - a mix of English, Mandarin, Hokkien and Malay words. Thus, if you have hear Singaporeans talk, you may hear unfamiliar words in between. They also like to add "lah" and "leh" at the ends of their sentences. If you look Chinese, it might be the case that people approach you in Mandarin.


Singapore is filled with shopping centers. Basically, for each MRT station stop, there is a shopping center on top of it. These are the smaller ones though, and may not have all the shops you want. In general they will have bakeries and ATM machines. There are bigger shopping centers in the town area - Orchard Road is called the "shopping street". They sell branded goods and you can find high street store types, supermarkets, bookstores, electronics, etc. The newer shopping centers are Orchard Central (for luxury goods) and Ion and the older shopping centers are Plaza Singapura and Takashimaya. For clothes, you can take a look in the Bugis street. It is market like, and therefore it's hard to decipher between the fashionable and the not so fashionable clothes. 

Orchard Road - Shopping Center

Last but not least; Chewing gum is strictly forbidden and you can't buy it anywhere in Singapore! On top of that, you are also forbidden to smoke in public spaces! 


Special thanks to Soonae Hwang, a Singaporean student on exchange in Rotterdam, who gave me all inside-information about interesting Singapore. 

- Shermin C.