VISIT TWO: UNPROFITABLE
The consular section has been working since early morning, but those who want to submit documents for emigration have no reason to crowd at the embassy from nine o'clock, together with those trying to get a student, visitor or other "temporary" visa. Emigration cases (family reunification, sponsorship, etc.) start being processed at 14:00.
Coming exactly at this time means acting quite rationally. Of course, at 14:00 you will see a huge group of about 50-60 people in front of the embassy, but that does not mean that by standing at the end of this long line, you will wait until the second coming. The line consists of those who have already been refused (and these people must get their passport back), those who are to receive a passport with a visa (these people are in the absolute minority), accompanying persons, and people like you who are submitting documents.
Five to ten minutes after the official starts working, everyone will get what they want and leave. There will remain a couple of gawkers and three or four "emigration consultants" – of those who are almost sincerely confident that they can send anyone abroad, but at the same time have no official documents, money to rent their own office or advertise, and therefore catch clients "on the spot". There will also remain a small queue of "submitters", which moves quickly enough.
After handing over the documents at reception (the secretary will check if all documents are present), you immediately pay the processing fee. Payment can be made in hryvnias, US dollars, or Canadian dollars; but mixed payment (hryvnias and dollars simultaneously) is not accepted. You will have to pay the equivalent of $220 for processing the main applicant's case and $65 for processing a child under 19. You receive a receipt, learn your file number, politely say goodbye, and leave. The whole procedure takes no more than fifteen minutes.
VISIT THREE: RESPONSIBLE
For about half a year, you can forget that you are going to Canada so as not to worry unnecessarily. A few months after applying to the embassy, you will receive a letter stating that your case has been accepted for processing and that you should prepare for an interview. An invitation comes six weeks before the interview. Events may take a different turn. Instead of a promise to have a heart-to-heart talk, the embassy may write that they did not like this or that in your documents, that you clearly have too few points for emigration, and that in accordance with certain clauses of immigration laws, your case cannot be considered. Your money is gone...
A lot has already been said about the interview procedure itself. Special instruction booklets on how to pass the interview have even been published, which you might be "treated to" at an emigration firm or at some book market stall. Nevertheless, the element of mystique in the interview has not been eliminated – this concerns both the questions asked, the official's behavior, and the outcome of the whole event.
One of the "magical" moments for many is that the officer asks very precise questions, showing his familiarity with your profession. The secret is that the immigration official has a job description for each profession. Before talking to a doctor, programmer, or welder, he will find out how to do it properly, so that the interviewee has the full illusion that he is talking, if not to a colleague, then at least to a knowledgeable person. Moreover, rich experience in dealing with "departing citizens" turns the immigration officer into a subtle psychologist whom it is better not to try to lie to.
If the university diploma attached to the immigration file was bought at a flea market, and the employment record book with many years of experience in the specialty was made by an amateur bookbinder, this is very easy to find out. When a person starts to dodge and lie, they can be "brought into the open" with two or three phrases. Well, if everything goes well and your honest appearance makes you attractive in the eyes of the fastidious Canadian government, then you have another visit ahead, but to a different address.
VISIT FOUR: PHYSIOLOGICAL
The last visit is to the doctor, for a medical certificate. In Kyiv, there is only one specially "immigration" clinic, located at 9 Protasov Yar Street. The entire examination procedure takes 4-5 hours, the examination is not free, and not everyone passes it successfully. Among potential immigrants, Canadian authorities identify two "risk groups" in the "health" category.
The first are people suffering from infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, venereal diseases, etc., and therefore posing a potential danger to Canadian citizens. The second includes people suffering from incurable diseases (for example, malignant tumors) or other serious diseases requiring long and expensive treatment. Such people may become a heavy burden for Canadian taxpayers, so they are not given the "go-ahead" to enter.
A mother hoping to take her child suffering from a severe form of bronchial asthma to Canada in order to entrust him to Western miracle medicine should thoroughly consult with an immigration lawyer before submitting documents for immigration.
VISIT FIVE: FINAL
Five to six months after successfully passing the interview and medical examination, you will receive two letters from the embassy. One is something like an invitation to transfer a certain amount to the account of the Settlement Fund in Canada. The amount is about 6.5 thousand dollars per person, 9 thousand for a family of two, and 11 thousand for a family of three. This is the money that you are supposed to live on during the first six months until you find a job. Only after you have transferred the money can you go to get the visa.
You should know that it is impossible for a non-resident to open an account in a decent Canadian bank. Therefore, you should be very cautious about offers from those novice businessmen who promise to open an account for you in Canada even before you have received a visa. Even if such an account is opened and you transfer money there, it is quite likely that by the time you arrive in the country, the account will have significantly 'shrunk' or simply disappeared without a trace. The second letter is intended for OVIR, according to which the Ukrainian authorities must issue you a permanent residence permit in accordance with Ukrainian legislation.
EPILOGUE
Visit six, to the airline ticket counter. Do not delay it too much, since the exit visa is valid only for one year after passing the medical examination.
If last year about fifty packages of emigration documents were submitted per day, this year about a hundred applicants come to the embassy daily.
«Заграница» №6, 1999 г.