I moved to Canada in 2008 on a student visa to pursue my Masters degree in Montreal, Quebec.
I am currently going through the immigration process to obtain my Permanent Residency
with the intentions of one day becoming a full Canadian Citizen. I have recently hit a wall with regards
to the immigration process and I do not know what to do. A friend of mine
suggested I write on this forum in the hopes that someone could give me some help
or support. Here is my story:
I started the immigration process in Montreal, Quebec in November 2009. At the
time, I was completing my Masters degree at McGill University.
After successfully completing my Quebec immigration interview in
April 2010, I received my Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ) and then started
the process with the Federal Government.
After graduating with my Masters degree in May 2010, I applied to many
different Quebec-based companies related to my field and even had several
interviews, but the final consensus with each one was that I was over qualified
for the job. A professor of mine at McGill University recommended me for a
teaching contract at a College in Toronto, which I applied for and got.
Six months later, I also began working in CTV. I have now been living and working in Toronto
for just under a year and a half.
At this point, my immigration application has been going on for two and a half
years and I am finally in the last stage of obtaining my Permanent Residency,
having gone through my medical examinations and having already paid the Right
of Permanent Residency Fee. Couple of days ago, I received a letter from the Quebec
government stating that unless I could prove otherwise, they were going to
cancel my CSQ within fifty days because I am not living in Quebec and therefore
have not proven my intentions to reside in the province. This means that my
Permanent Residency application is at stake. I have invested a lot of time and
money into this process and I am afraid that if I have to restart, my work
permit will expire before I receive my Permanent Residency and I would not only
have to give up my jobs, but also leave the country.
I strongly feel that I am what Canada looks for in an immigrant. I am well
educated, fluent in the language, hold a Masters degree from a Canadian
university, work in my field of study, and uphold good Canadian values. I feel
that I followed every procedure by the book and I do not see how I could have
done things differently. In 2009, when I applied for my Permanent Residency and
expressed my honest intentions to reside in Quebec, I was studying there and I
truthfully believed I would end up working and living in the province. How was
I to foresee that a year later I would receive a good job offer in a different
province? Should I instead have taken a minimum-wage, dead-end job just to stay
in Quebec? I am in a specialized field, I am ambitious and hard working, and I
have always prioritized my career over my location. This is why I moved to
Canada in the first place.
The end result is that I want to become a Canadian Citizen, so I find it
completely counter-intuitive that I can be bound to any one province for the
entire duration (two and a half years, so far) of this immigration process,
especially since it was never made clear to me that by “intending” to live in a
province, it actually meant that I was not allowed to reside outside of that
province under any circumstances. To be so close to obtaining my Permanent
Residency and after all of the time, effort, and money I have spent on it, it
seems unfathomable that it can be taken away in this manner. I am at a loss as
to what to do, so I turn to you for any support or advice you could give me.
Thank you very much for your time and attention.
I am currently going through the immigration process to obtain my Permanent Residency
with the intentions of one day becoming a full Canadian Citizen. I have recently hit a wall with regards
to the immigration process and I do not know what to do. A friend of mine
suggested I write on this forum in the hopes that someone could give me some help
or support. Here is my story:
I started the immigration process in Montreal, Quebec in November 2009. At the
time, I was completing my Masters degree at McGill University.
After successfully completing my Quebec immigration interview in
April 2010, I received my Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ) and then started
the process with the Federal Government.
After graduating with my Masters degree in May 2010, I applied to many
different Quebec-based companies related to my field and even had several
interviews, but the final consensus with each one was that I was over qualified
for the job. A professor of mine at McGill University recommended me for a
teaching contract at a College in Toronto, which I applied for and got.
Six months later, I also began working in CTV. I have now been living and working in Toronto
for just under a year and a half.
At this point, my immigration application has been going on for two and a half
years and I am finally in the last stage of obtaining my Permanent Residency,
having gone through my medical examinations and having already paid the Right
of Permanent Residency Fee. Couple of days ago, I received a letter from the Quebec
government stating that unless I could prove otherwise, they were going to
cancel my CSQ within fifty days because I am not living in Quebec and therefore
have not proven my intentions to reside in the province. This means that my
Permanent Residency application is at stake. I have invested a lot of time and
money into this process and I am afraid that if I have to restart, my work
permit will expire before I receive my Permanent Residency and I would not only
have to give up my jobs, but also leave the country.
I strongly feel that I am what Canada looks for in an immigrant. I am well
educated, fluent in the language, hold a Masters degree from a Canadian
university, work in my field of study, and uphold good Canadian values. I feel
that I followed every procedure by the book and I do not see how I could have
done things differently. In 2009, when I applied for my Permanent Residency and
expressed my honest intentions to reside in Quebec, I was studying there and I
truthfully believed I would end up working and living in the province. How was
I to foresee that a year later I would receive a good job offer in a different
province? Should I instead have taken a minimum-wage, dead-end job just to stay
in Quebec? I am in a specialized field, I am ambitious and hard working, and I
have always prioritized my career over my location. This is why I moved to
Canada in the first place.
The end result is that I want to become a Canadian Citizen, so I find it
completely counter-intuitive that I can be bound to any one province for the
entire duration (two and a half years, so far) of this immigration process,
especially since it was never made clear to me that by “intending” to live in a
province, it actually meant that I was not allowed to reside outside of that
province under any circumstances. To be so close to obtaining my Permanent
Residency and after all of the time, effort, and money I have spent on it, it
seems unfathomable that it can be taken away in this manner. I am at a loss as
to what to do, so I turn to you for any support or advice you could give me.
Thank you very much for your time and attention.
