Reaching the PGWP Application Stage After Three Years of Immigration Consulting to Maintain Study and Spousal Work Permits as a Family Living in Canada｜Mr. S

Their answers and recommendations were always simple and clear, which made me feel very comfortable relying on their services.”

This case involved approximately three years of ongoing consulting and long-term planning, beginning when the family was attending a language school, with the ultimate goals of moving to Canada as a family and obtaining permanent residence.

As part of their long-term strategy, the family also moved between cities to pursue an environment that would be more favorable for their future permanent residence plans.

Throughout this period, we supported the family with Study Permit extensions and the renewal of a Spousal Open Work Permit, which took seven months to process, while helping them maintain continuous work authorization without any gaps.

Their child has also been attending a local school in Canada while holding visitor status.

After several years of careful planning and taking one step at a time, the family has now progressed to the next stage: applying for a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) following the completion of college.

Why did you decide to move to Canada?

There were two main reasons why we decided to move to Canada.

The first was to provide a better educational environment for our son. He attended a bilingual preschool and had been exposed to English from a young age. We wanted him to continue developing his English skills in an environment where he could make the most of that experience.

We were also attracted to an educational environment where children can focus on their own interests and passions rather than being centered primarily around entrance examinations, as is often the case in Japan.

The second reason was that we wanted to spend more quality time together as a family.

Both my wife and I were very busy with work, and my wife in particular had a heavy workload, so we had very little time to simply spend together as a family. This led us to start thinking seriously about whether we wanted to continue living and working in the same way.

These were the main reasons we began considering moving to Canada.

Why did you decide to use Shiraishi Visa JP Canada’s services?

When we first came to Canada, we were working with a different study-abroad agency. However, since we were also planning with permanent residence in mind, we felt that support focused primarily on studying abroad might not be sufficient for our long-term plans.

We therefore began looking for an agency that could advise us on the entire process, including permanent residence.

We found the information they shared through social media, videos, and their website very easy to understand, and we felt that the content was reliable. That was why we decided to work with Shiraishi Visa JP Canada.

What was the most memorable part of the application and visa process?

Mr. Shiraishi provided detailed answers regarding the timing of various procedures, including how to extend our Study Permits and Spousal Open Work Permit while avoiding any gaps in our ability to work. Thanks to his guidance, we were able to proceed without delays.

For the actual applications, Mr. Gould was extremely clear and thorough in his support, which allowed us to move through the process smoothly without any major problems.

The processing time was indeed very long, just as we had been told in advance—for example, seven months for the Spousal Open Work Permit. I was very glad that we had submitted the application early.

How was your experience using Shiraishi Visa JP Canada’s services?

They always provided simple and clear answers and recommendations during consultations and whenever we had questions, which made us feel very comfortable using their services.

We also plan to continue using their services for future visa renewals and other immigration procedures.

What are your hopes for your future life in Canada, and what message would you give to people planning to come to Canada?

Before coming to Canada, there were several things I was worried about. However, now that we have been living in Canada for three years, looking back, those concerns seem rather insignificant.

There are certainly some challenges along the way, but if you deal with each one carefully, things tend to work out surprisingly well.

Neither jumping into a new life without a plan nor overthinking everything to the point where you never take action is ideal.

However, if you have a feeling that you want to leave Japan or experience living in Canada and you are unsure whether to take the step, I would recommend consulting a professional first.