TO MOTHER-IN-LAW FOR PANCAKES
Who else can you invite to Canada? An adopted child, if he or she was adopted before the age of 13. Children under 13 whom the sponsor intends to adopt. Parents, grandparents – and if they are over 60, you can invite them after three years from your own move. And if a Canadian is completely alone, he can invite any Ukrainian relative, regardless of how close the family ties are.
Relatives must not only be close but also loving – that is, they must convince the Canadian authorities that they are ready to provide you with housing, food, drink, and care until you get on your feet and can take care of yourself. No one will take their word on this delicate matter – the inviter will have to sign a special undertaking obligating them to provide assistance to the newcomer for ten years. And if the inviter is willing to lend the new emigrant a certain sum but cannot assume full financial responsibility, the relative is moved by Canadian officials into the category of 'independent immigrants'. If the old-timer from Canada formalizes the willingness to provide financial support, it will bring the emigrant an additional 10 points when reviewing exit papers. Canada imposes minimal requirements on relatives of its citizens: not to abuse alcohol and not to cause disturbances. A heavy drinker and a person with a criminal record risks never seeing their Canadian relatives.
CYNIC'S COMMENTARY. All of the above honestly conveys the main points of Canadian immigration law on this issue. However, when trying to determine your chances of leaving, it is worth assessing some of these points soberly, taking into account one unpleasant but real fact for Ukrainians: open immigration policy is for Canada not least a way to make money. The immigration service can accept documents from a wide variety of categories of applicants for permanent residence, but some cases are hopeless from the start. For example, getting a visa to a fiancé (fiancée) is a hopeless idea. Neither love letters soaked in perfume and tears with a Canadian postmark, nor photos of the loving couple in a tight embrace and kiss, nor an engagement certificate and a firm promise to take the relationship to marriage will help. A visa to a loved one overseas can only be obtained with a marriage certificate. So cast aside doubts and sentiment and head to the registry office...
• While abroad, it is always pleasant to see a painting of Kyiv, Ukrainian landscapes, or sunflowers familiar to us hanging in the house. After all, nothing warms you away from home like warm memories. So do not forget to visit an art gallery before leaving and choose a landscape you like among the paintings.
HE WHO HESITATES IS LOST
The second category of immigrants is refugees. Until 1990, people from the Soviet Union held a privileged position among those seeking shelter under the shade of Canadian maples. Since 1979, there was a program for them under which they were considered 'self-exiled'. That is, it was believed that although the ground was not shaking under their feet and locusts had not eaten their crops, their life was still worse than at the epicenter of an earthquake, and if people wanted to flee, they should be pitied and let in. After Gorbachev's liberalization, when every second person became a dissident by the nature of their statements, and every first felt like a sufferer, and emigrants rushed to Canada like flies to maple syrup, dissent as a commodity lost demand in local society. And already in 1990, the 'window' in the legislation was closed.
But if you, God forbid, cannot stay in Ukraine because you are black, a Jehovah's Witness, a Baptist, a Jew, or a member of UNSO all at once and therefore are persecuted by the authorities, your chances of becoming a 'refugee under the Geneva Convention' are high. There is also a category of 'refugees under humanitarian programs'. You can fall into this category as a result of some natural disaster – war, flood, revolution, earthquake. But not every victim of an earthquake or flood can move to Canada – applicants are selected based on their ability to adapt to the country, health, language skills, criminal record, education, age, financial situation. Paradoxically, the most well-off victims from all points of view find it easier to escape overseas.
CYNIC'S COMMENTARY. Today, fleeing our blessed, free, democratic country for political reasons is practically unrealistic. You are no longer in the USSR, the 'evil empire'. You are at home, and no one will believe that you are being mistreated here. Even if you are a victim of a flood in Transcarpathia and have been living in a tent for six months – your country has not renounced its maternal obligations towards you and has not acknowledged in any document drawn up 'on behalf of and on behalf of' that it cannot provide you with a decent existence. And if it has not renounced and has not acknowledged, then crawl more securely under its meager wing and warm yourself if you can.
As for people who cite religious persecution as a reason for emigration, they better go to Canada using the sponsorship and moral support of their 'brothers in faith' there. A religious community can provide real tangible help to those people whose spiritual suffering an ordinary immigration official simply will not listen to. Another category of citizens for whom 'escaping' is not hopeless is representatives of sexual minorities, provided they can document the reality of the persecution they endure. The 'stumbling block' for refugees 'on sexual grounds' is that many immigration lawyers, despite their declared civic tolerance, refuse to handle such cases, considering them 'dirty'.
HONOR STUDENTS CANADIAN STYLE
The largest group of immigrants (more than half of the total) is 'independent'. Independent, or professional, emigration is the most realistic chance to change residence for those who do not have close relatives in Canada. For 'professional' emigrants, a kind of 'passing' system has been developed, with which the government selects the workforce it is most interested in. By filling out a questionnaire, the candidate must score a certain number of points. The evaluation criteria are education, profession, qualifications, experience, availability of a pre-arranged job in Canada, demographic factor, age, language skills, personal qualities. The first five criteria are decisive. The maximum number of points is 100, the 'passing' (if you do not reach it, there is no point in submitting documents for consideration) is 70. Each year, a list of 120 professions in which Canada has a need is determined, indicating the points that proficiency in them adds to the 'emigrant scorecard'. In general, the scoring scheme is as follows:
- Secondary education – one point for each completed year of secondary and primary school;
- Vocational training – maximum 15 points. Studying in monthly courses in a specialty will add 1 point to your 'scorecard', ten years of study – all 15 points;
- Work experience in the specialty – the higher your professional education, the higher the 'value' of each year of work in the specialty. Maximum points – 8 (experience of 4 years or more);
- Demand for the emigrant's specialty in Canada itself. Determined according to the lists of the Ministry of Immigration and Employment; maximum points – 10;
- Availability of a contract with an employer for a work permit – 10 points;
- Agreement to go to those regions of Canada where there is a labor shortage – maximum 10 points. If you insist on settling in one of the large densely populated cities, the total points may be reduced by five;
- Age: from 21 to 44 years old – 10 points; younger than 21 or older than 44 – 2 points are deducted for each year from the total;
- Knowledge of English or French – maximum 15 points for fluency;
- Business and personal qualities – up to 10 points; assessed by the immigration officer during the interview;
- Relatives in Canada: a maximum of 15 points for having a relative's consent to take you on full support for a certain period, 5 points for their willingness to provide feasible assistance.
Those lucky ones who have more money (namely, at least 500 thousand Canadian dollars) and are willing to invest at least half of that capital in the Canadian economy can enter the country under the business immigration program. Businessmen also fall under the definition of 'independent immigrants'.
CYNIC'S COMMENTARY. I risk repeating myself, but not everyone can be an honor student – you remember that from school, right? In 'independent' emigration, the ratio of honor students and poor students is about the same as in your average school. So try to honestly assess your chances before spending your savings in hard currency on the needs of the Canadian state. No moral or material compensation is provided in case of failure.
Information from 'Zagranitsa'.