Going to Canada

By Tess Guieb
INQUIRER.net
Posted date: March 11, 2009

CANADA -- I had not considered migrating to Canada until my mother brought up the idea. After all, my husband and I had decent, stable jobs. But my mother was very persistent, so I went ahead with the assessment session with the immigration consultant.

That time, for Canada to consider you a skilled worker immigrant, you had to get 60 points from the following factors: age, education, work experience, adaptability, ability in English and/or French, and arranged employment in Canada.

After getting the needed 60 points to qualify to live and work in Canada, I was given a rundown of all the consultant fees as well as the required documentation. I must admit the fee was a bit expensive and collating all the needed documents took a lot of effort.

When applying for a skilled worker immigrant visa, the most important factor is job description.

First, your present job should match a job listed in the Canadian National Occupation Classification (CNOC), which is used to compile, analyze, and communicate information about jobs; it is also used to understand Canada's labor market.

In preparing your job description, enumerate your responsibilities in detail in the simplest terms possible, as if you are explaining your work to a six-year-old kid. I had to make a couple of trips back and forth to my consultant before she approved the final draft. We were also told that most of the questions during the interview would be mostly about our job description so we had to be sure we really knew it by heart.

After about three months, all the needed documents were ready. I brought them to my consultant and she in turn forwarded them to the Canadian embassy. According to her, if the embassy replies to you with a file number, then your papers are already being processed. I got mine a month after.

Two years later, I received a letter asking for additional documents because Canada had changed its immigration rules. I wasn’t sure I wanted to go through with the application because I was pregnant at that time (which by the way caught me by surprise after seven years) and because I was only given three months to comply.

I decided to forego the whole immigration idea so I did not submit the additional requirements anymore.

In March 2005, I got a call from my husband telling me that a letter from the Canadian embassy arrived for an appointment interview in May. I thought he was just kidding but when he started reading the letter I nearly fell off my chair.

Apparently, there were lots of people who petitioned against the change in immigration rules and argued that those who have applied before the change should not be subject to the new rules. That is why our application was reconsidered.

I again got in touch with our consultant, who gave us the schedules for seminars that would prepare us for our interview. My husband and I were the only ones to be interviewed as the rules require the presence of only the applicant, spouse, and dependents 18 years and older. Our agent also required us to update all documents previously submitted as most of them were past the validity period.

We had an 8 a.m. appointment for the interview. We left home early and dropped by the church to offer some prayers before we proceeded to the embassy. Waiting to be called was like waiting for your sentencing in court. The butterflies in my stomach just couldn’t keep still. When our turn finally came, the only thing I kept saying over and over is, “Thy will be done.”

The consul assigned to us was very kind and not intimidating at all. He asked very direct questions that needed answers without elaboration. I kept my answers short and straight to the point because I might end up saying the wrong thing if I go on and on. He had only one question regarding my job though and I was really thankful for it because it was familiar. If I had answered incorrectly I might have been denied outright because after my answer, he said he knew the subject very well having learned it in college.

After the 15-minute interview, the consul congratulated us and handed the medical examination request -- the final requirement before our visas are issued. He also gave a police record verification for the Japanese embassy for my husband, who worked abroad for more than a year. I broke down in tears while shaking his hand and said “Thank you” for about a dozen times.

As soon as we got out of the embassy, I texted my mother to share the good news. It was hard to explain how I was feeling at that time -- a mixture of happiness, excitement, and uncertainty. One thing is sure though: This is going to be a major change not only in my life but my children’s lives as well. The question is, are we ready for it?