COVID-19: Canadians abroad face challenges as they try to come back to their home country

“I have been abroad during earthquakes in Japan, and earthquakes in Chile”

Health insurance is something that Genevieve Latour, Stepabroad client and former brand ambassador, has been on top of every time she travels. Mostly because her mother is a nurse and always pushes Latour to stay safe.

Since the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus (COVID-19) a world pandemic on March 11, travel plans have been cut short and citizens abroad were asked to come back to their home country.

Latour was on a working holiday visa in Australia when COVID-19 spread around the world which caused her to book a flight home as soon as possible.  

“I’m a chill level-headed person but it was nerve-wrecking to know that because of the time difference, when air Canada and Canada would be cancelling flights I would be sleeping in Australia,” said Latour.

COVID-19 is a fast spreading virus that attacks a person’s lungs and causes flu-like symptoms like fever and difficulty breathing. Since the outbreak, there has been over one million cases of COVID-19 world-wide, around 244 thousand recoveries and over 63 thousand deaths.

Air Canada is going to stop all direct flights as of April 7 to get Canadians back from Australia according to one of the emails Latour received from The Registration of Canadians Abroad.

According to the Government of Canada’s website, The Registration of Canadians Abroad is a free service that allows the Government of Canada to notify travellers in case of an emergency abroad or a personal emergency at home. Through the service, Canadians receive emails, alerts and important information in case of a natural disaster or a pandemic like COVID-19.

Stepabroad checked on Latour through emails. She also received an email from her insurance company telling her that if she doesn’t leave Australia within the next 10 days then they will stop covering her.

“It was kind of scary because what if I cannot get out of the country in 10 days?” said Latour.

Stepabroad started contacting their clients from the early stages, before all the airports closed or the governments made official announcements.

Tessa Elliott, Program Development and Sales Manager at Stepabroad said they reached the people in Japan first. They emailed each individual there through their assigned working travel advisor. The advisor then told the clients what is happening and what their options are.

Elliot said that she was surprised by how many people decided to not come back to Canada after the government made an official announcement. Mentioning that Canadians abroad also consider the countries they’re in as another home to them.

“it’s definitely been a stressful few weeks, I know a lot of people are watching the Canadian government and what they’re doing, but we’ve been watching every government,” said Elliott.

Elliott said all clients were covered of COVID-19 in their health insurance because they purchased their travel tickets before the spread of the virus.

Around 10 years ago, a recognized Canadian organization called Stepwest was founded. The organization helped non-Canadians find internships and working holiday visa opportunities here in Canada.

The government of Canada realized that there are more people coming to work in Canada than Canadians leaving and using their working holiday visa and that is how Stepabroad was founded, said Elliott.

Stepabroad supports their clients by helping them complete the necessary documents for travel like; work, health insurance, travel insurance, transportation, planning the first few days, getting hostels and tours when they get there.

A working holiday visa is different for other types of travel. Working holiday visa allows Canadians to work, live and explore a country they’ve always wanted to go to but found it hard to save money for.

Canadians can travel before securing a job with a working holiday visa, while with a regular work visa you must secure a job before leaving.  

This opportunity is available to Canadians between the ages of 18 and 35.

 “We cannot let the fear of something happening stop us from doing stuff, there is always going to be crazy stuff happening,” said Latour.

The only thing you can do is be smart about your choices and plan yourself an amazing trip or working holiday during quarantine said Latour.

Each country has its own visa process. Elliott said the first thing they do with their clients is get a visa to the country. Clients then get a pre-departure meeting to get them ready for whatever they need in their travels.

According to Elliott, Stepabroad puts a lot of attention and effort on making sure to connect their clients. She said because she and many of her co-workers have travelled and worked abroad a lot, they understand how much having someone is important.

“Yes you want the job security, yes you want a place to live, yes you want the visa, but at the end of the day it’s not going to be worth [it]. It’s all of the people that you meet there,” said Elliott.

Clients connect through tours, working together or the Stepabroad’s Facebook group. Members can update each other on their trips as well as meet new people who are in the same country/city.

When asked why Canadians do not take more advantage of the working holiday visa opportunity Elliott said financials.

“A lot of people when they think about going abroad they think oh you have to pay for the trip, you have to pay to study abroad, but that is the great thing about working holiday, is you kind of overcome that barrier because you do get a job abroad, you basically get to experience life here but in a different country,” said Elliott.

Another reason Canadians do not take advantage of their working holiday visa is the lack of awareness to it. Stepabroad is working with the Canadian government to bring awareness and raise opportunities though sharing each others content and creating new partnerships with other countries said Elliott.

As a Canadian you can go to over 30 countries. Stepabroad focuses on countries that their clients ask to go to. Like Australia, Japan, UK, Chile, New Zealand and they will be adding Vietnam soon.

Depending on the country, Canadians can travel any time of the year for a duration of one to two years. According to Elliott, the average people go for is around six months. Stepabroad recommends a minimum of three months to get the full experience and opportunity.

Many crucial skills can be gained from going to a working holiday visa like language skills, adaptability, problem solving, independence. “it really shows when you come back,” Elliott said.