Correr Es Mi Destino » Immigration

Marriage Fraud in the News Again

Zhu — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:00:53 +0000

Work in Progress, Ottawa, March 2012

Marriage fraud is in the news again, with a recent announcement by Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney that aims at tightening the rules for sponsorships.

Relax, there is nothing earth-shattering here. This is the Harper government we are talking about.

I must admit that when I heard the news, I was slightly curious. It’s no secret that Feng, my partner, sponsored me to get a permanent residence status in Canada. In 2005, when I was about to immigrated to Canada, I toyed with the idea to immigrate as a skilled worker but it would have been a risky choice given my age (22) and my lack of experience. So we went with what we jokingly dubbed “the other solution”—the sponsorship.

The sponsorship category basically aims at reuniting families. Indeed, contrary to popular belief, being the common-law partner or the spouse of a Canadian citizen does not give the prospective immigrant any kind of status in Canada. It only gives you the right to apply for permanent residence in the sponsorship category, where you have to prove that your relationship with is genuine.

Of course, some people see it as an easy way to immigrate to Canada and various groups and associations (most of the time, “victims” of a sham marriage) regularly denounce marriage fraud and call for a complete overhaul of the immigration system.

In 2010, Citizenship & Immigration consulted the public on marriages of convenience. I guess we now see the result of it.

So, what’s the big news? Well, the new law will force sponsored spouses to wait five years from when they are granted Canadian residence status before they can sponsor a new spouse.

Let’s take the fictional case of Mr. Jones (from the US) and Mrs Smith (from Canada). If Mrs Smith sponsors Mr. Jones and then divorce once he obtains the permanent residence status in Canada, Mr. Jones must wait five years to sponsor Mrs. Doe, the new spouse from the US.

According to a representative of Canadians Against Immigration Fraud (yes, apparently there is such an association), “These measures will definitely protect the integrity of our immigration system.”

Yeah sure, if you think so.

Really, this measure is hardly earth-shattering and shouldn’t change anything for the large majority of couples about to apply for sponsorship or currently in the process.

From what I see in immigration forums, the most common kind of “marriage fraud” is when the sponsor doesn’t take his/her responsibilities seriously. Being someone’s sponsor is a big commitment and the requirements are clear from the start:

You and the sponsored relative must sign a sponsorship agreement that commits you to provide financial support for your relative, if necessary. This agreement also says the person becoming a permanent resident will make every effort to support her or himself.

You must provide financial support for a spouse, common-law or conjugal partner for three years from the date they become a permanent resident.

Yet, I keep on reading messages from people who ask how they can sponsor their boyfriend/girlfriend they have never met in person! These people are often those who post again a few months later to describe how they were lied to, and to ask how they can get out of the sponsorship agreement (quick fact: you can’t).

This is not to say that there aren’t bad people who take advantage of their sponsors, but I think education is the key: know what you are getting into, and accept it.

So, is this recent announcement going to make the system better? I doubt it. I think it’s just a buzz and a quick fix to please those who complain about having being cheated.

What do you think?

The Canadian Immigration Taboo: Those Who Go Back Home

Zhu — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:00:26 +0000

Gatineau, February 2012

Each year, about 250,000 immigrants from all around the world are granted permanent residence in Canada. For most of these newcomers, it’s the beginning of a new life after a several month-long or even several year-long wait.

And each year, an undisclosed number of permanent residents decide to go back home. Each immigrant has its own reason for kissing the “Canadian dream” goodbye, and these reasons are sometimes hard to express. Some immigrants are ashamed of going home, some are bullied into thinking that they didn’t try hard enough, and other are so resentful that nothing constructive comes out of their comments.

All immigrants go through a phase in which they hate Canada. Sometimes it happens during the lengthy immigration process: it’s hard to keep faith when you have to deal with so many administrative requirements, and when your life is pretty much put on hold waiting for someone to take a decision about your future. When I was into the process, I clearly remembered thinking that if my application was sent back to me again, I was heading back to France because I was sick and tired of that nonsense.

The rejection stage can also occur after the “honeymoon period”, when reality kicks in. Yes, Canada is fucking cold (or fucking humid, depending on the season). Yes, some Canadians don’t like immigrants. Yes, some employers are narrow-minded. Yes, the food may have been better back home. But most people eventually overcome this phase and settle down into a routine in their new country, as they become more familiar with it.

But for some immigrants, life Canada doesn’t turn out as good as expected. Life happens.

As a French, I was lucky to be able to spend almost two years in Canada before deciding to apply for permanent residence. During these two years, I “tested out” the country, started working, made friends, etc. But a lot of people from the so-called “developing countries” aren’t that lucky and can’t even get a tourist visa to visit the country they plan to immigrate to.

This can lead to a lot of issues because no matter how much you read about Canada and how prepared you are, you won’t know if the country is right for you until you actually experience it yourself.

So what can you do if you don’t see any other solution but going back home?

Take a deep breath and talk to other immigrants. Most will have experienced what you are going through. Try to see whether you are simply going through a “rejection phase” or whether the issues are deeper.
Consider moving to another province, or another city. Provinces each have their own culture and “vibe”, and as a permanent resident, you can live anywhere in Canada. Even if you apply for permanent residence through the Quebec program, you do not have to stay in Quebec if it doesn’t work out for you.
Remember that you can lose your permanent residence if you do not meet the residency requirements, i.e. being physically present in Canada for at least two years in every five-year period. You may not think much of it if you are sure you don’t want to live in Canada anymore, but I do know immigrants who regretted losing their permanent residence status. And if you do lose it, you have to start the immigration process from scratch.
Consider how long you have to wait until being eligible for citizenship. Of course, becoming a Canadian citizen may not be your goal if you do not want to live in Canada anymore. But it’s still a major milestone and can offer you new opportunities. If you are a few months’ short of meeting the requirements, keep that in mind before heading home.
Talk about your experience. It may be hard to be objective at first but sharing the “lessons learned” will help other immigrants deciding whether Canada is right for them.

Have you ever considered going back home? Did you go through a “rejection phase” in your new country?

No related articles.

When Do You Stop Being An Immigrant?

Zhu — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 12:15:34 +0000

Canadian Beaver, Ottawa, October 2011

For the first two years I was in Canada, it was fairly obvious I was new to the country. Not only I didn’t speak English very well but the North American way of life was a novelty to me. I didn’t know the local customs, products and culture. I never really researched Canada the way a lot of prospective immigrants do because I just happened to land in the Great North Strong and Free by chance.

At first, I considered myself a traveler. I explored the area, the city and the culture like backpackers do. I drew comparisons with France and chatted a lot with my friends back home. I lived like a French, taking advantage of Ottawa’s status as a somewhat francophone city: I only read French books, spent a fortune in European shops and looked for familiar brands, familiar TV shows, familiar faces and accents. Canada’s little quirks amused me and I saw them through the eyes of an outsider.

But being a permanent tourist gets tiring. At one point, you either have to integrate or be a lifelong expatriate—and the latter wasn’t an option for me.

I got my first job in Canada after obtaining a Working Holiday Visa. I worked in an inbound call centre as a bilingual agent and my English quickly improved. Being on the phone all day with customers and surrounded by English-speakers, I didn’t have the choice. Besides, I was more comfortable taking English calls then dealing with French calls from New-Brunswick and Northern Quebec because I couldn’t understand local accents.

By the time I decided to apply for permanent residence, I moved from being a traveler to being a prospective immigrant. Suddenly, I cared about all kinds of practical matters. I started wondering whether I had a future here and how I could make the country work for me. I worried about a lot of things. What if I wasn’t able to adapt to life in Canada? Would France take me back? I was 22, I had just graduated from university but I only had a Baccalaureate and virtually no work experience back home. Most of my friends in France were moving on to graduate studies. Meanwhile, I was filling in immigration papers and working odd jobs. I had reached the point of not turning back. I had to start my adult life somewhere and hopefully not regret it later. Worse, no one could really advise me. I was caught between two cultures, two ways of life. I cried a lot that year, and eventually hoped for the best.

When I was granted the permanent residence, I decided to embrace my new status. After the ordeal of dealing with CIC, I knew my rights and my duties and I was well-versed into immigration matters. Once in a while, my immigrant status backfired at me. Some places refused to hire me because: supposedly they couldn’t do a background check because I hadn’t lived in Canada long enough. Whenever I was interviewed, I always made a point of mentioning I did have a legal status and a valid SIN number. People always asked me how long I had been in Canada for, gauging the chances of me bailing out and going home or trying to figure out whether I could say “eh” properly.

The permanent residence was a short-lived victory. At first, I was overjoyed by the thought of being a full-time immigrant with the right to live, work and study in Canada indefinitely. But I still had to explain my status. To a lot of people, I was still a French in Canada, merely a Canadian in training. Some jobs were off-limit, including government positions, which represent a large chunk of the job market in Ottawa.

I couldn’t wait to apply for citizenship. By the time I was eligible, I had outgrown my permanent resident status and I wanted to belong fully, if only on paper. After taking the oath, I wanted to hug Canada, kiss the ground and shout “it’s mine too!” I’ve never been the patriotic kind to boot.

And now I realize I haven’t been asked where I’m from in a long time now. I probably still have an accent in both English and French but again, so do a lot of Canadians. People aren’t that curious about my background or maybe I just don’t look so exotic anymore. I also feel Canadian. I don’t receive notices from Citizenship & Immigration but voting cards from Elections Canada. I travel with my Canadian passport, I understand cultural jokes and have friends from all walks of life.

I adopted Canada and it adopted me. Most of the time, we get on well.

Looking back, it happened just like that. I had become Canadian.

5 Best Cities to Find a Job in Canada

Zhu — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:15:54 +0000

Toronto’s Skyline, Canada

Statistics Canada reported in October of 2011 that a surprising 61,000 Canada jobs on your site had been added during the previous month, far beyond anyone’s expectations. Although many of these new jobs Canada were the result of Canadians going into business for themselves, the economy did see an increase in the number of traditional full time jobs.

Jobs were lost in some sectors of the economy, such as banking and insurance, but other sectors saw an increase in the number of jobs, such as in food services, public administration and natural resources.

Photonics has been a growing industry in Canada for the last several years in the eastern section of the country. The photonics industry makes devices that use lasers in various industrial applications. Diamond mining has also helped the Canadian economy to grow. Other industries are seeing continued growth or even booms in certain Canadian cities.

Edmonton
Edmonton boasts the best statistics for job growth of any city in Canada. This is due to large amounts of dollars invested in the oil sands industry, which needs engineers and other workers to extract petroleum from sources that were previously considered uneconomical but are now worthwhile due to the increased price of oil. Oil sands extraction and heavy oil extraction have attracted migrants from other parts of Canada as well as foreign immigrants. Edmonton also continues to see an increase in various types of manufacturing jobs.

Saskatoon
Saskatoon enjoys the lowest unemployment rate in Canada, at 4.5 percent. Mining companies continue to hire engineers at salaries of $150,000 per year or more. The automotive industry in Saskatoon is also adding more workers to payrolls, as sales of new cars and trucks increase by 12 percent per year. The automotive industry is considered an economic bellwether. Many industries are associated with it, and increased sales of vehicles are an indicator of increased consumer confidence.

Calgary
Calgary is experiencing such strong job growth that the mayor and business leaders from the area have been touring the country in an effort to attract qualified workers and businesses to support the city’s growing transportation, logistics and technology industries.

Kelowna
Kelowna, British Columbia, was named by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business as one of the top five entrepreneurial cities in Canada in its October 2011 report. Kelowna met the CFIB’s criteria for a business climate that encourages job creation in the establishment of new businesses. The provincial government of British Columbia anticipates job growth in Kelowna and other areas of the province in the areas of healthcare, sales and equipment operators.

Moncton
Moncton, New Brunswick has had a coalition for several years made up of government, business and academic organizations that aggressively works to develop and promote the city’s technology industries. The coalition has been successful in attracting firms engaged in research and development, informatics, biosciences and thin films to the area. Moncton is considered a major business center among the Maritime Provinces and is rated as one of the most livable cities in Canada, despite high amounts of rain and snow each year.

This article is a guest post.

5 Things to Do When You Land in Canada (That No One Told You About)

Zhu — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 12:15:33 +0000

The Parliament of Canada, Ottawa, June 2011

It’s the end of the process and you finally received the letter saying your visa is ready to be issued. You are a soon-to-be landed immigrant and you already have a list of all the practical things you must do after you arrive.

Let me add more to your plate!

Here are 5 Things to do when you land in Canada (that no one told you about)!

Build your credit history — After landing in Canada, you will need to choose a bank and open a checking account. Most Canadians do their day-to-day banking online, including paying bills. You will likely get a debit card for everyday’s purchases, plus a few cheques offered by the bank (if you want more, you must order them—and pay for them). Credit cards are very practical for online purchases but they are not easily available to newcomers who have no Canadian credit history. This is one of the reasons why you must start building your credit history as soon as you can. First, if you are a couple moving to Canada, make sure both partners have bills and accounts in their name. Women often discover that they have zero credit history because they have joint credit with their spouse. Second, to build a good credit history, pay your bills, rent and loans on time. Tip: if needed, you can try one of these workaround to get a credit card without a Canadian credit history.

Start to look for a family doctor — As a landed immigrant, most of your health care needs will be covered by your provincial health care system. Some plans, such as the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP), have a three-month waiting period for new applicant so you may want to buy private insurance. But above all, make sure you start looking for a doctor right away! There is a shortage of family doctors and some specialists in Canada. It took me six years to find a family doctor and I’m not even sure my current one will be able to keep me. So as soon as you land in Canada, pick up the phone book, call family doctors in your area one by one, and ask if you can be put on a waiting list, if applicable. You can also sign up with free referral programs, such as Health Care Connect, but don’t expect miracles—I join the list over 18 months ago and I still have no news. Friends and new colleagues may also be able to let you know if their doctor is taking new patients, so don’t be shy to ask.

Try new local products — The period after landing in a new country is commonly known as the “honeymoon”. You are probably happy to be in Canada (finally!) and everything is fresh and exciting. Make the most of the period because it doesn’t last forever. The “honeymoon” is often follow by a “back to reality” period during which you will have to look for work, deal with some of the unpleasant realities of American life and likely face a few challenges—fear not, it will get better again after that. Meanwhile, the “honeymoon” is the ideal time to try to local products, such as food, drinks, clothes etc. because you are not homesick yet. This will do wonders for your integration potential and for your wallet, as local goods are usually cheaper than imported products.

Start networking — The period right after you land is the best time to start networking. You will likely be curious about your new environment and will feel like meeting people. You may have more time on your hands too because most newcomers don’t find a job right away. Make the most of this period by going out, signing up for new activities and meeting new people, established immigrants or Canadians. I met some of my best friends in Canada right after they landed and trust me, years later you will look back and be happy to have such a long history together.

Record your time out of Canada — Finally, a practical tip you probably won’t think about! When you land, the immigration officer will probably inform you that, three years for now, you could be eligible to become a Canadian citizen. At the time, I shrugged it off because three years had seemed a long time from now. One of the requirements for citizenship is to have completed 1095 days of physical presence in Canada. If you exit and re-enter the country after becoming a permanent resident, do record your trips abroad! You won’t always get a stamp when you leave the country and three years from now, you’ll be scrambling to remember when and where you were absent from Canada in order to subtract these trips from your days of physical present. So simply keep a sheet of paper in your passport and record your time out of Canada to make your future application for citizenship much easier.

Immigrating to Canada: 6 Years Later, What Changed?

Zhu — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 12:25:11 +0000

Mackenzie King Bridge, Ottawa, August 2011

Six years ago, I was one of the many applicants waiting for permanent residence in Canada. Citizenship and Immigration’s website was updated weekly, so every Monday I logged in to check my application status. And every week, I sighted because the status invariably showed as “in process”.

One day, I read the magic words: “decision made”.

I immediately felt relieved. Well, really, I was still worried because I wouldn’t know the exact outcome of my application until I receive a letter at home (plus I’m a professional worrier). But I knew I was almost there. Almost. The outcome had to be good because my Working Holiday Visa was about to expire.

You know the rest of the story. I was granted permanent residence in Canada, I quickly exited the country and came back the same day to validate my landed immigrant status. I later became a Canadian citizen.

So, immigration-wise, what changed since 2005?

Immigrating to Canada is cheaper — A lot of people ask me how much does immigrating to Canada really cost. In a nutshell? Less than before. I clearly remember paying my application fees at my local bank. It was pretty much all of my savings and I had never spent that much money in a day. The breakdown was $75 for the sponsorship application, plus $475 for the principal applicant (me), plus $975 for the acquisition of permanent resident status. Total: $1525. A year later, on May 2, 2006, the Right of Permanent Residence Fee (RPRF) was reduced from $975 to $490, effective immediately. Immigrants who had no yet landed were eligible for a $485 refund. I wasn’t, since I had landed a few months earlier. So if you are immigrating to Canada now, think about it: it’s cheaper than it used to, lucky you!

Getting information is easier — Back in 2004, when I started researching how I could live in Canada permanently, there wasn’t a lot of information available. Sure, the CIC website was a great starting point. It listed all the immigration categories available and provided the necessary forms. But immigration lingo was Greek to me and these detailed tables didn’t help much. I wanted to connect with other immigrants, learn from their successes and mistakes, I wanted some dos and donts tips. In the end, I made an appointment with a local immigration lawyer who told me the basics for $50. And I worked it out alone. Nowadays, there are blogs, forums, networks, social media etc. about immigration. Prospective immigrants can get information and tips from other news citizens, and sharing your experience has never been easier.

More visas are issued — I always say there are about 250,000 new permanent residents in Canada per year because that’s the official rough estimate. The exact figures are interesting. In 2006, 253,482 visas were issued. Then, in 2007 and 2008, the numbers dropped slightly, but picked up again: in 2009, 263,676 visas were issued, and in 2010, a record 277,204.

But there is still a huge backlog to tackle — Most immigrants find the toughest part of the process is the wait. I was lucky. A lot of immigrants aren’t and end up waiting for months for their application to be processed in Canada or in one of the visa offices. And the bad news is that the backlog is bigger than it was a few years ago. In 2006, there were 848,547 applicants awaiting a decision. In 2010, there were 1,003,012 prospective immigrants awaiting a decision. Despite the 2008 Action Plan for Faster Immigration, a lot of prospective immigrants face unbelievably long processing times.

The government provides more comprehensive info — Now, prospective immigrants really have no excuse. I don’t want to read any of these “I want to come to Canada, explain me how” messages anymore. The Canadian government is constantly trying to improve communication with prospective immigrants, and there is a lot of information available online. For instance, Come to Canada, a new interactive web tool to determinate if you are eligible to immigration to Canada, complete with forms and detailed step-by-step instructions. You can even follow them on Twitter!

Did you notice other changes? Do you think there will be more changes in the future? Do you think immigrating now is easier or harder than before?

Oui, I hablo Spanish!

Zhu — Fri, 13 May 2011 12:25:13 +0000

The Spanish Interview

Yo hablo

Tú hablas,

Usted/él/ella habla

Nosotros/as hablamos

…

Oh, fuck it.

A little while ago, Guillermo, my good blog friend and fellow immigrant in Ottawa, asked me if he could interview me. “No worries!” I replied—hey, who doesn’t like being interviewed?

“The interview would be in Spanish” he quickly added. See, Guillermo and is family are from Argentina and even though I know for sure he speaks English fluently, the interview was for his Spanish blog.

“Well, sure” I replied, mentally reviewing who could edit my answers in Spanish.

“Oh, and it’s a recorded interview” he finally added.

Ah, Guillermo… I mean, I do appreciate the faith you have in my Spanish abilities but oh fuck. Well, let’s look at the bright side: at least I speak Spanish. Well, kind of. See, I’ve never learned Spanish formally, I just picked it up when traveling in Latin America. And I’m pretty out of practice. I can read Spanish just fine (it’s also very close to French) and I can write if I have a dictionary nearby. But speaking?

Ha pasado agua bajo el puente… I mean, time has passed, many things have happened and I thought Guillermo came to his senses. I mean, why would a French-Canadian woman with a Chinese name participate in a Spanish interview?

Little did I know that Argentineans show great persistence. I mean, I should have known that, considering graffiti reading “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” (“The Falkland Islands are Argentine”) can be found all across Argentina.

So, one Saturday, Guillermo called me. “Are you ready by any chance?”

I have to add that the interview took place the very same Saturday we behaved like idiot and locked ourselves out of the car and forgot the home keys were attached to the very same key ring (after busing home, obviously). Anyway, when Guillermo called me we were finally home and laughing about the whole thing but still, not our smartest day.

So the interview. Well, I really should have prepared some answers. On top of that, my immigration story is pretty complicated. Believe me, after I hang up with Guillermo, I wanted to kick myself—why didn’t I say that, that and that? Why didn’t I remember that the word for this was that?

Hell, I even dreamed in Spanish that night. Well, to be exact, in my dream I was in Latin America and everybody was laughing at my Spanish while I was saying something like “no, no, por favor!”.

Nonetheless, I encourage you to listen to the interview. And please, remember… my English and my French are better than my Spanish!

Acerca de las Islas Malvinas y el resto … Sólo estoy bromeando, Guillermo!

The Lonely Immigrant

Zhu — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 13:13:57 +0000

Two Silhouettes, Ottawa, Winter 2011

Immigrants I’m in contact with often mention how challenging it is to make new friends in their adoptive country. Sure, we can stay connected with “home” easily through the Internet and social websites made it easier to keep in touch. But meeting new people in real life can be tricky at first. I know. I’ve been there.

When I first came to Canada, Feng and I settled in Ottawa. It was just the two of us there. Feng grew up in Winnipeg and didn’t know anyone in Ottawa—and frankly, before landing there, I didn’t even know where Ottawa was exactly.

For the first 10 months, I couldn’t work because I was on a tourist visa. I had expected that year to be difficult money-wise but in fact, loneliness turned out to be my biggest challenge. I was still a student in France so I’d spend hours at the library (free Internet!) browsing books and preparing for my final exams. Online, I’d chat with my friends back home, with other students in my university in Paris. In Ottawa, I had no one to talk to but Feng.

The problem was obvious: I wasn’t working and I wasn’t taking classes in Canada so I had no opportunity to meet people. Our neighbourhood is awfully quiet and people usually mind their own business. They ship the kids to school in the morning, go to work, come home and keep to themselves. I didn’t have the opportunity to socialize with anyone. Besides, my English wasn’t that good and I was self-conscious when chatting with strangers.

Let’s just say it was a tough year. The first few months were fun because I was discovering a new culture but it got pretty depressing after that. I’m not sure I would have come back to Canada if I hadn’t gotten a work visa. I had never felt so lonely my entire life and I knew it wouldn’t get better until I got some kind of immigration status that would allow me to ease into the culture.

At first, I still had a lot of friends in France. This was only three years after graduating from high school and we had kept in touch. We were all making our first steps in the real world, moving out from our parents, getting jobs, boyfriends and a whole set of new responsibilities. But the longer I spent abroad, the harder it became to stay in touch. Some of my friends didn’t see the point: “you’re missing out too much, I just don’t know how bring you up to date with all that happened lately”, as one put it bluntly. I wasn’t there when they were struggling to rent a place in Paris, when they broke up and found love again, when they failed or passed an important exam. And my friends couldn’t understand what I was going through either. I went back and forth between the two sides of the Atlantic Ocean, I showed up worried after a bad morning queuing at the Canadian embassy in Paris, or I’d be applying for visa extensions. We were living in two different worlds and started to drift out.

It didn’t get better right away. First, I wanted to avoid the “expat trap”—hanging out exclusively with other French immigrants. Fortunately, Ottawa is not Montreal (the Canadian mecca for French) and while I do know some immigrants most of them are well-adjusted to their new life in Canada and past the “everything-was-so-much-better-in-France” stage. Second, friendship has its cultural quirks and I had to improve both my English and my knowledge of Canadian culture to understand how things worked here. Finally, making friends take time, period.

I now have some kind of social life. I know people from all walk of life, Canadians and new immigrants, and I don’t feel as lonely as I used to.

So if you ever feel lonely in a foreign land, remember that: it gets better. Trust me.

3 Unexpected Consequences of Immigration

Zhu — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:50:51 +0000

Nepean Point and Champlain Statue, Ottawa, Winter 2011

You finally landed wherever you dreamed of living, some kind of visa in hand. You tackled all the bureaucratic obstacles on your way and went through an often lengthy immigration process. You adapted to life in a new country, got a job, learned a new language and made friends with locals. You are a new immigrant and you embrace your status. You may become a citizen of your adoptive country one day.

It hasn’t always been easy and you read it all about immigration.

But were you prepared for these three unexpected consequences of immigration? Some things come with the territory.

I know I wasn’t!

Becoming an ambassador of my birth country

I left France ten years ago, right after graduating from high school, and never really looked back. I visit once in a while but I’m pretty disconnected from the French way of life.

However, in Canada, I’m somehow supposed to be a walking encyclopaedia about France. Canadians, from the lady in the bus to my friendly co-workers, ask me all kind of questions about my birth country. Where they should go on holidays, why French women don’t shave their armpits, what’s the best way to rent a place in Paris, when the guillotine was last used… Oh, and my favourite question: how the French health care system works.

I’m sorry, but I don’t have an answer to most of these questions. I grew up in Nantes and I’m fairly knowledgeable about Brittany but I’ve never really traveled much in France. I do shave my armpits. Renting a place in Paris is a nightmare and I can’t offer any insider tip because I was never able to find a place there myself. I googled the guillotine question (the answer is 1939). And no answer to the health care question, the French administration works in mysterious way.

I’m also often asked to explain or justify French politics or help expats there. Immigrants to France sometimes hit a bureaucratic wall and while I’m always sorry to hear that there isn’t much I can do for them. This is like asking an American abroad to apologize for all the bad decisions Bush made!

I had my own reasons to leave France but I don’t want to be too negative about the country in general. Besides, I know a lot of expat bloggers, including Au Soleil Levant (who eventually came back to the U.S but loved her experienced in France), Jennie en France, Cynthia and Kerry who like it. For immigrants the grass can be greener on the other side!

I certainly wasn’t prepared to become an ambassador of France in Canada but I guess it comes with the territory (and my French passport). Hopefully I can sometimes provide some insight and remain somewhat neutral. I won’t say “apartments in Paris? Sure, you can get a lovely place in front of the Eiffel Tower for $200 a month, French lover included!”. But I won’t be overly negative either (“well, you know, since Sarkozy is in power, French all live below poverty level and a bloody revolution is about to happen”).

Becoming an ambassador of my adoptive country

Canadians are quizzing me about France but French are also asking me a lot of questions about Canada. The problem here is often geographic. For instance, someone recently send me an email: “I’m coming to Canada for a month, do you know any cheap hotel?”. Er… let me see. Should I email you the Yellow Pages for each Canadian city or do you want to narrow it down a bit? For French, Canada often means Québec. You know, the province (yes French people, Québec is not a country) where you can speak your mother tongue and make fun of this funny Céline Dion accent.

Other geographical misunderstandings include explaining why I don’t spend all my weekends in Seattle (because it’s 5,000 km away) or why it doesn’t snow in August (because Ottawa is not even close to the Arctic Circle).

Being asked some personal questions

A lot of strangers innocently ask me what brought me to Canada. This is somewhat of a natural question when you meet a relatively immigrant after all. I guess to some people it can also seem to be a polite thing to ask.

But this can be a tricky question for a lot of immigrants because there isn’t an easy and straightforward answer to it. I usually say something around the lines of “I was looking for a new country and fell in love with Canada”. But why Canada? Why didn’t you like living in France? Did you come here alone? Are you married? Is your husband Canadian? Where did you meet? The questions never stop.

I don’t mind it but my immigration story is complicated and there are times when I really don’t feel like sharing personal information. Blogging about my new life in Canada is enough, isn’t it?

I Want Out… But How and Why?

Zhu — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 13:53:48 +0000

This Way!, Bank Street, Ottawa

I often hang out on r/IWantOut, Reddit’s official expat subreddit. People post information about immigration and ask for feedback regarding a particular place or country. But this subreddit seems to be dominated by those (a majority of Americans) who are sick of their country and want to get out of it. Posts titled “I’d go anywhere”, “Can’t take it anymore, looking to move out of the U.S.A” are legion.

Like one Redditor put it, “I’m a little tired of posts that say ‘I’m in high school and I don’t know any languages but the USA SUCKS MAN.’ Can we restrict this to posters who have done some research, know they might have qualifications that could assist in getting out and are in process to getting out?”

This attitude is common when it comes to immigration. A lot of people want to leave their country for political or economic reasons. I get emails through this blog that basically say: “I’m desperate to leave XYZ country, how I can move to Canada easily?” And when I start explaining that moving to Canada is usually do-able but that you have to meet a few requirements, do research etc. their interest vanishes.

I completely understand people who are sick of their country. I didn’t particularly enjoy living in France either and I often thought that being born and raised there wasn’t a good enough reason to stay. That said, I think a lot of prospective immigrants need a reality-check.

First, do you realize what immigrating entails? I personally think that seeing and experiencing the world is a must before settling anywhere. Get out of your city, of your province, of your country and see what you miss and what you don’t. Sometimes it takes a trip abroad to realize that you actually enjoy living in your country, no matter how imperfect it may be.

Second, do you have a realistic plan? You want to move. Good. Now, administratively-speaking, can you actually live in your country of choice? Some countries, including Canada, the U.S.A, Australia and New Zealand do have official immigration programs. But you still have to be selected, and most of the time you will need to have the skills, work experience and education that the country is missing. Other places are a bit of a grey area. For instance, if you want to move to China you will have fewer options since the country doesn’t actively seek immigrants. In fact, it only started drafting the country’s first immigration law. Meanwhile, most foreigners are only allowed to reside here for reasons of work, study, travel, or marriage over a certain period of time.

Are you willing to adapt to another culture? First you will likely have to speak the country’s language in order to get a job. Even expats in, let’s say, Thailand have a better life if they can actually speak Thai. English may be the international language of choice but in many countries it is only spoken by the upper-class or at work. Adapting to another culture also means being a “life student” for a few years. You adoptive country won’t change for you—you have to change.

Are you willing to make compromises? No country is perfect. Broadly speaking, in developed countries you may face extreme consumerism, political extremes, selfishness—I already wrote about the Unpleasant Realities of American Life. In less developed countries, corruption, pollution, poverty, inefficiency can be an issue.

Finally, I can’t help thinking that hating one’s country doesn’t make for a successful immigration. It can certainly play a dynamic role but it’s not everything. You also have to be curious about the world, eager to adapt to a new culture and open-minded. Don’t leave home resentful and bring your anger with you. In most cases, immigrating doesn’t solve any problem you may have.

Case in point: I think it’s pretty clear to anyone who spent time on this blog that I’m left-wing. I hated Chirac’s government and I dislike Sarkozy’s even more. I don’t like Harper’s government either. Am I going to leave Canada because the Conservative are in power? Nope. I’m going to vote and make my voice heard. Hopefully, next time, we will get a smart government. Fingers-crossed. I’m not going to run around the world looking for the perfect government. To my knowledge it doesn’t exist, plus I’d rather try to make change happen.

I know a lot of French who moved to Canada and absolutely love to tell everyone around them how much better Canada is, people are more efficient, smarter, more polite, better educated blah blah blah. I often feel like saying “er… do you know you are still French?” Indeed, not only this kind of attitude can get really tiring (bitching about France is… so French!) but once abroad you will realize how much your birth citizenship is imprinted in you. It’s only in Canada I realized that because of my background I was indeed very much European.

Immigrating is an adventure. But I don’t think slamming the door on your birth country is the best way to start it. Close it quietly instead, and enjoy your new life.