A Hairstylist Who Found a Job in Canada Without a Visa and Obtained Permanent Residence in Six Years｜Ms. K

Japanese hairstylists are in high demand in Vancouver.

Why did you decide to immigrate to Canada?

When I was working as a hairstylist in Japan, an acquaintance introduced me to the owner of my current workplace; by then I was already over 30 and too old for a working holiday. Ever since my working holiday in Australia, I had wanted to live abroad again, so I travelled from Japan to that salon in Canada for an interview, combined with some sightseeing.

What made you choose Shiraishi VisaJP Canada?

The salon was short-staffed and would gladly welcome an experienced hairstylist who spoke English and could work there long-term, so they agreed to support my work permit. The salon owner then told me, “Use this company for your visa,” and introduced me to Shiraishi VisaJP Canada.

What was the most memorable part of the process?

I returned to Japan for a while and waited about four months for the visa. Six months after the interview in Canada, I came to Canada on a work permit. It was a pleasant surprise that my husband could also get a work permit because I had one, but he had decided to continue his Japanese job remotely from Canada, so in the end he did not work here. Still, having the work permit gave us the reassurance that he could start working at any time if needed.

My work as a hairstylist in Canada went well. Surprisingly, I had far more Canadian clients than Japanese ones, and I gradually built up regular clients, especially Asian Canadians. Japanese hairstylists are in high demand in Vancouver, and the salon is always fully booked. It is not just my workplace; other Japanese salons all seem to be busy too. After a year, many more clients were requesting me by name, and when my work permit was renewed, I was able to get a considerable raise.

I had been aiming for permanent residence from the start, and the immigration consultant told me it would be good to take English tests from time to time to raise my score. My husband was not working for a Canadian company, so he was not eligible to apply for permanent residence and did not study English himself, but he kept telling me to take the English test, and I think that is why my score improved.

The permanent residence review took a long time after I applied, and my work permit had to be renewed during the review, but I left everything to the immigration consultant, so I had no trouble at all. It felt like I simply gathered the documents I was told to, waited as I was told to, and got permanent residence. Partway through, my husband could not wait any longer and contacted the consultant many times to ask whether it was done yet, but they responded kindly every time.

Future outlook and a message for those planning to travel to Canada

Looking back, I think my decision to go straight to Canada for an interview at the very beginning was the most important first step toward the permanent residence I have now. I want to give my past self some credit for that. I am grateful to the kind and fun owner and colleagues at my workplace, to my clients, and to everyone on the staff at Shiraishi VisaJP Canada. I now have permanent residence, but I plan to keep working hard at this workplace for a while.

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Immigration Consultant

Yuki Shiraishi

Born in Japan. After earning a Bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan, she worked for six years in New York as a marketing consultant at a major travel agency, while also studying in an MBA program at the City University of New York. After returning to Japan, she managed the visa center of the same travel company, handling various international visa applications for foreign clients.

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