When I saw the brown envelope, my heart just stopped for a few seconds. Could it be..?
I knew this envelope, with the little Canadian flag on it: it had brought me good news and bad news over the last five years. I was usually in a hurry to ripe it open, to read the letter inside. But this time, I paused. I didn’t know what to think of it.
Eventually, I teared the side of the envelop and pulled the letter out. Two pages, neatly folded.
“Notice to Appear to Take the Oath of Citizenship“
I closed my eyes for a second. I made it.
I opened my eyes again and looked at the date: July 3rd, 11:30 am. I will be Canadian next week, just two days after Canada Day! I didn’t say a word for a minute, processing the information.
I hadn’t expected my citizenship ceremony to be that soon. I took the citizenship test barely two weeks ago and we had been told that it would take from one to six months to take the oath, provided we passed the test and meet the requirements. I still can’t believe it.
This will be the end of my immigrant status, and the beginning of my life as a Canadian citizen. This is very symbolic for me. I arrived in Canada by chance. It took me some time to learn to like this place, and the few couple of years weren’t easy. But little by little, all the jigsaw pieces fell together.
I have been a visitor, a temporary worker and a permanent resident. I applied for countless visa extensions, a working holiday visa, the landed immigrant status and finally, citizenship. I went through three SIN cards and two health cards. I spent hours filling up paperworks and even more hours waiting for decisions to be made.
I remember how shocked I was the day I learned I had been granted permanent residence. Like for the citizenship, I hadn’t expected it so soon. At the time, my temporary visa was going to expired and I was prepared to go back to France and stay there for at least six months, according to my estimation of the visa processing timea. I had felt so lucky back then. Suddenly, I had stepped into a world of opportunity.
I feel the same today.
The day I officially became a landed immigrant, the officer informed me I could apply for citizenship by 2008. It had seem so far away at the time… I was happy enough I could live and work in Canada for as long as I wanted. Knowing I could apply for citizenship in the distant future was the cherry on the cake, but I was to busy eating the aforementioned cake to pay attention.
But about a year ago, I started to long for my Canadian citizenship. After all, my life was here now and I needed to complete this last immigration step to receive the official acknowledgment. I was surprised myself: it meant more to me than I thought it would. But after all, I left France seven years ago now and even though I will always, to a certain extend, be French, I also became more Canadian. Receiving Canadian citizenship is an honor for me and symbolizes the last step of the immigration chapter of my life. It also mean I’m home somewhere, in this big world.
And I was thinking of the practical side of having Canadian citizenship as well. In Ottawa, the biggest employer is the federal government: however, it is notoriously almost impossible to land a position if you are not a Canadian citizen. I missed voting as well: after all, I was part of this country and I wanted to be able to participate in the democratic process. Finally, traveling to or through the U.S became harder and harder in the last few years, even with a French passport: paying a fee, having fingerprints and pictures taken, and now having to apply for an electronic travel authorization… it didn’t make visiting our Southern neighbors easy.
So I applied for citizenship as soon as I met the requirement, in August of 2008. I knew the process was going to be long, a year minimum. And here I am, exactly eleven months later, trying to memorize the oath.
I can’t help feeling a little bit proud of myself. I wanted a new life in a new country and here I am, 26 years old, a citizen of Canada next week.
I just hope I don’t cry during the ceremony.
Yeah! You got it Zhu! Congratulations…
Congratulations, Girl!
Congratulations, eh!
Will you have dual citizenship? I know some countries allow it and some don’t. If I were to apply for citizenship elsewhere, I would no longer be a US citizen. Is it the same for you?
@Guillermo – Thank you! Hope you will get yours soon too 😉
@Agnes – Thank you!
@Kirsten – Yes, I’m lucky, both France and Canada allow dual citizenship, so I will have two passports. Makes things easier!
Congratulations! Your hard works pay off…
Wow, congratulations! Way to go… and what a journey to get there! We went through that whole process of looking for brown envelopes from Canadian immigration when Mehmet applied for PR. Eventually it will be Citizenship too – very exciting! 🙂
Tears of joy are always acceptable. Congratulations, you are a canuck-in-waiting.
Felicitation! Je suis tellement contente pour toi. Maintenant il faut que tu apprend le rhyme national, si tu ne le connais pas deja.
CONGRATULATIONS ZHU!!!!!!! I’m so happy for you!!!
Wonderful! Great that you kept your “EU-citizenship”. You’ll never know when Mother Europe calls you back.
Congratulations! Wonderful news Zhu!
Good for you! It’s party time, with plenty of cold Molson Canadian…
Hey Zhu,
YAY!!!!! I’m like puting my arm up as I read this and saying “Yes !”.I’m very happy for you ; I know it’s not in old French upbringing but… if i were there, the North American that I’am would have given you a hug.
A new life begins for you ….
Bises du vieux pays !
Congratulations Zhu! All of us at LoonLounge.com are so proud of you!
Congratulations! You absolutely deserved this! I am proud of your achievement! Now, time to practice those raised diphthongs!
Ohhhhhh sooooo exciting!! Congrats 🙂 That’s a really big step!
oh my, oh my!!! so happy for u! congratulations, dear! 😀
Hey cherie,
I saw the title of this post and I just had to drop by to congratulate you: CONGRATS!!!!! *big hug* I knew you’d get it!!
So, now I cannot call you “my French friend” any longer, eh? Now you are like the rest of them “Canadian friend” 😉 lol.
“Knowing I could apply for citizenship in the distant future was the cherry on the cake, but I was to busy eating the aforementioned cake to pay attention.” – LOL LOL LOL LOL this was a good one LOL
You might shed a tear or two during the ceremony: but you deserve it!!! 😀
Congrats, girl: I am proud of you too!
Cheers
Sweet! Congrats Zhu, long way indeed! 🙂
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
I’m so happy and excited for you! You worked hard for this and you deserve it. Good luck memorizing and can’t wait to hear all about the ceremony!
I think you should wear a shirt with a big Canadian flag on it to show how proud you are 🙂
Congratulations!
I just wanted to say a big thank you to all of you for your support!
Seriously, it’s nice guys 🙂
I wish I could all have to come to Ottawa on July 3rd!!!
Congrats Zhu!! This is great news!!
Congratulations, Zhu!!! A big step, isn’t it? I remember it didn’t take too long for us to receive that letter either. Too bad you don’t get to become a citizen on July 1st!!! Could you imagine? And in Ottawa!!! You would have been on every newspaper! 🙂
Once again, congratulations on becoming a citizen of one of the greatest countries in the world.
Hey girl, gratulerer! Du er så flink, du er min stjerne! Hvis du kan bli Canadisk, jeg kan bli Norsk! I don’t get to Ottawa often these days, but next time, drinks are on me! Well done! Big hugs, BB x. P.S. Very efficent system. P.P.S 2 years for the puzzle… takes me at least 3 in countries I have lived!
Congrats Zhu – you really deserve this. Thanks for sharing this wonderful news with us.
Thanks also for sharing your knowledge about the process in several posts too – very readable.
Congratulations Zhu ! A big step indeed, you deserved it.
And your posts on the process for applying for it are very resourceful too.
@Nigel – Thank you very much! Yes, I’m happy 🙂
@Gabriel – I don’t think there are ceremonies on July 1st since nobody is working. Oh well, I’ll settle for July 3rd!
@beaverboosh – I hope you realize what you wrote was not French 😆 I will make a note to hunt the Beaver for drink next time you are in Ottawa.
@RennyBA – Thank you Renny! Becoming a citizen is something I felt like sharing with all of you 😉
@Cuckoo – Thank you! Yes, I hope they will be useful… I struggled to find info myself when I was applying!
Zhu!!! I wasn’t in the country to read your news but better late than never… CONGRATULATIONS!! I know how happy you must feel and hope to be in your same place some day 🙂
Congrats, Zhu! This is a huge accomplishment, as countries don’t make it easy for someone to become a naturalized citizen. You should definitely be proud for sticking to your goal.