 |
An Englishman's experience of emigrating to Canada |
 |
|
An Englishman's experience of emigrating to Canada |
|
In October 1998, I got married to a Canadian citizen. One would have thought that getting permission to live and work in the country would have been relatively straight forward. Unfortunately this was not the case. As I have had first hand experience of the immigration process, I would like to write my experiences down for the benefit of those who are about to go through the immigration process. Please take it for what it is worth. Different rules will apply for those who emigrate because of job openings in Canada. I would also like to make some comments on the immigration process in the hope that one day the Canadian Government will make things easier for those applying to be a landed immigrant in Canada.
When Pat and I got married in October 1998, we had no idea whether we would settle in England or Canada. After exploring all the possibilities, we decided I would move to Canada.
We had two choices:
The former would have seemed the most obvious choice, but it was beset with problems. Canada Immigration told me that I would not be allowed to work in that time and that if I left the country for what ever reason, my application could be refused. Having married Pat, I had a lot of things to clear up back in the UK, such as selling my home and sending my worldly goods over to Canada. Furthermore, we couldn't live on Pat's income. So, the only viable option was option 2. Under this option, I could visit Canada on a tourist visa and could come and go when I liked. Here is a diary of roughly what happened.
October 1998: Pat and Hugo get married in Manitoba, Canada.
January 1999: Pat submits her application to bring me to Canada as a landed immigrant. The application was detailed and concentrated on her eligibility to sponsor me. Immigration required copies of her birth certificate and our wedding certificate. Pat had to undertake that she would financially support me for the next ten years, and that I would not claim welfare benefits. Immigration wanted to have a complete breakdown of her financial situation including proof of income and expenditure. So she had to submit all her pay slips and evidence of all the loans she needed to pay off. This was to prove to immigration that she could afford to sponsor me. Normally if sponsors don't earn over the minimum amount their application would be refused. Fortunately this stipulation is waived in the case of sponsoring one's spouse. The application fee was about $1500 CDN, but I have been told that it has gone up considerably since then.
March 1999 Pat gets news that her application has passed the first stage, and that all the papers were being sent to the Canadian High Commission in London, and that they would be contacting me shortly.
April 1999 I get an application form from the Canadian High Commission. In it, among other things, they wanted to know:
They also requested a copy of my marriage certificate.
May 1999 Having submitted my application a month earlier, Canadian immigration requested :
Getting the British Police certificate was no problem. For a fee of £10, they ran a search on their main computer to see if I had a criminal record, and then sent me the results of that search.
Getting the same thing from the Belgian Police was not nearly as easy. It meant 'phoning different Government departments in Brussels. Although the process was not expensive, and the people I spoke to were quite friendly, it was quite an ordeal as I do not feel comfortable speaking French on the 'phone. When I sent the certificates on to the Canadian High Commission, I was informed that I had sent in the wrong certificate from the Belgian Police. Finally, I got the required paper, but not without a lot of 'phoning round.
The medical examination involved a complete physical, an eye-site test, a blood test and a chest x-ray. There were no problems there. The doctor sent all the results directly to the Canadian High Commission.
All the correct papers were in by the end of September. I received my visa towards the end of October, and I moved to Canada about a month later.
In that time, Pat visited me twice in England, and I visited her once. On the occasion I visited her in Canada, I had no problems getting in to the country, although immigration did check their computer to see that I had applied for Landed immigrant Status. When I entered Canada to live, there were no problems. At Montreal airport, I handed immigration my visa. They stamped it, and stapled part of it in my passport. No questions were asked. The immigration official welcomed me to Canada, which was nice.
I took the attitude that application process was an unpleasant but supposedly necessary bureaucratic process, and that provided you followed the rules, you would get there in the end. However, there was little or nothing you could do to change or speed up the system. You are very much at the mercy of Canada immigration, so just accept it. The only way of speeding up the system I am aware of is if your Canadian sponsor asks for help from their member of Parliament. We didn't need to do that as our application wasn't that much longer than Canada immigration said it would be. So my advice is DON'T BREAK THE RULES and don't waste your time worrying or arguing about the immigration process: just endure it. It will be over within a year.
If at all possible, do not telephone Canadian High Commission in London about the state of your application. If you have a general query, look at the Canadian immigration web-site http://www.canada.org.uk/visa-info/ or get your sponsor to telephone 1-888-242-2100 from within Canada. You get an automatic answering service. Wait on the telephone until they give you the option to speak to a representative.
When I was asked by Canada immigration to get a Police certificate for the UK and Belgium, I telephoned my local Police station for advice about the former, and for the latter I telephoned the Police station in the area I used to live in Belgium. Be warned, Canadian immigration are not very helpful, so just avoid asking them questions if possible.
I can imagine that Canadian Immigration have to put up with a lot of nonsense from bogus applicants. One hears of terrorists getting into the country in the guise of political asylum seekers. There are those in the criminal underworld who smuggle people into Canada in appalling conditions from south east Asia, making a small fortune from those who are desperate for a better life. It must make the job of Canadian Immigration a difficult one distinguishing between those who are genuine and those who are not. The consequences of getting it wrong are awful: sending a refugee back to his country of origin to face almost certain death, or denying the spouse of a Canadian citizen the opportunity to work and set up home together in Canada.
Pat and I found our first year of marriage difficult because we had to be separated by two different continents for a greater part of the year. Had the rules of Canadian immigration been different, it might have been much easier for us.
I would have welcomed the opportunity to live and work in Canada from the time I was married to Pat AND be able to return to Britain to sell my property and move to Canada. Couldn't there be a visa that would permit this which would last until all the necessary investigations had been made to show that I qualified for Landed Immigrant Status?
Surely, the application process could speeded up, for example by submitting the immigrant's application at the same time as the sponsor's application. That could cut the process by 3 months. Does it need to be as long as 6 - 9 months?
I can understand why Canada Immigration don't want people telephoning them about the progress of their application, as this slows things up. However, people do have genuine questions and it would be most helpful if Canada Immigration made the application process more user friendly. For example if:
I am sure that Canada immigration would get a lot more sympathy from genuine applicants if they explained their position more clearly and were polite, encouraging and helpful to all who appeared genuine. For example, at the end of a holiday to Israel, I was questioned by security staff at Tel- Aviv airport ,who were very apologetic that because of the threat of terrorism, they had to ask lots of questions about the purpose of my visit. It impressed me how diplomatic they were in that they did their security check and remained friendly and did not treat me with suspicion.
It has been said that the real test of what people are really like is the way they treat the powerless. The Canadian Government could get away charging any fee to process an application for immigration. One can't exactly go shopping around to find someone else to process your application. I paid $1500 CDN, which is expensive. I gather it is much more now. Does it really cost that amount to process one application? Can the Canadian Government really justify this large fee? One could argue that it is an easy way for the Canadian Government to make money. I would question the morality of charging this amount. Similarly, to telephone the Canadian High Commission in London, one has to use a number where you pay a premium rate (50p a minute). This is a common practice among Embassies and is a way to make money, but is it ethical?
When we talk to ordinary Canadians about why Pat and I had to spend the best part of a year apart, they are usually appalled that the application process took so long. If the Canadian Government want a reputation of being fair and just, they need to develop an immigration policy that:
Furthermore, I think if a landed immigrant or a naturalised Canadian is found to have mislead the Canadian Government, then I think there are good grounds for deportation.
Hugo Moule 2 JUL 2000
This article has generated lots of email to me from people who want to emigrate to Canada. I would love to hear your experiences and give a sympathetic ear to your struggles, but that is all I can do. There's not much more I can say than what I've already put in this article. By writing to me, you are just consulting one person who has experienced the immigration process once, but from an immigrants perspective. If you do have any queries, I would suggest you study the Citizen and Immigration Canada Web-site for answers. There, you will get expert advice.
Please send us your comments