A Big Step Toward My Dream: PR in an Amazing 4 Months!

Honestly, I had only ever been to Vancouver, Canada on day trips (lol). Before moving to Canada, I lived in Seattle in the U.S. While there, I came to want to challenge myself alongside the wonderful people there and within the American education and social systems, and I began preparing to start a business with an American friend who lives in Seattle.
However, due to visa issues it became difficult to stay in the U.S., so one of my motivations was to move to Vancouver, the closest city to Seattle, work in Canada, and go to Seattle on my days off to continue preparing the business with my friend. That required me to live permanently in Canada, so to pursue my dream I was thinking about permanent residency from the very start. In fact, at first that was the only thing I was thinking about (lol). Another reason I chose Canada was that several of my friends living in the U.S. had immigrated there from Canada. I asked them about it, and in the end I decided on Canada because, compared with the U.S., immigration is relatively easier, it’s safe, and many systems are well established.

First, I obtained a working holiday visa in 2011. After that, I entered Canada from the U.S. and began my life in Canada.
A working holiday visa is basically valid for only one year, so I gave it everything during that year and looked for an employer who would sponsor a work visa. I worked at a Japanese restaurant for several months, but for various reasons I ended up changing workplaces and had to start over from scratch. Even after changing jobs, though, I still treasure my connections with the friends I met at that restaurant. I’m truly grateful. After that, I was given the opportunity to work at a Canadian-run food service business, where I worked hard, and they applied for a work visa for me within half a year. Then, after working for about a year, I applied for permanent residency as a skilled worker. As a result, I was able to go from applying for permanent residency to obtaining it at a surprising speed.

There are too many to count (lol). Speaking about my permanent residency application, I was initially preparing to apply under CEC, but partway through, the immigration department suddenly changed the rules, and I could no longer apply for permanent residency through CEC with my occupation. That made me think, “What on earth is this?!” However, I immediately consulted my consultant, who advised me that, fortunately, since I was working in a skilled occupation, I could apply as a skilled worker, and I successfully submitted my application – but rule changes like that required a major change of strategy. In my personal life, no matter how solid the support, the truth is that not knowing the future 100% and the long process leading up to the permanent residency application were hard on me both physically and mentally. I think Japanese people rarely hear about or experience immigration in Japan, but because your status is recognized only as temporary, you need great passion and the firm resolve that you are going to move abroad. What left a strong impression on me is that I learned you have to keep pushing toward that goal and change direction depending on the situation.

I felt I had to become someone my employer trusted and relied on within a short period of one year, or even half a year, so I thought I needed to focus all my energy on my job and on the project I was working on in Seattle. So, even though it cost money, being able to leave my permanent residency to a proper consultant was a very big point for me mentally. I chose Visa JP Canada because, after visiting various immigration consultants in Vancouver on my own to hear what they had to say, I attended a seminar and felt that they were the most experienced. You really can tell a lot from how they answer questions and how they respond. Especially in my case, my employer was a Canadian-run company rather than a Japanese one, so there were areas where the employer wasn’t familiar with the process, but the consultant held detailed meetings with them, so we were able to move the permanent residency process forward while keeping the burden on my employer small. It was also wonderful that I obtained permanent residency in a miraculous 4 months from application.

First, I want to put my energy into the handmade udon I’m in charge of at my current restaurant and show my gratitude to the people who have helped me. And not just udon – I want to keep learning all kinds of things like sushi, ramen and coffee and become the best (lol). Right now, for my future projects, I’m working hard in Japan, the U.S. and Canada, learning something new every day to gain specialized knowledge. And alongside my job, I’m preparing to start a business in Seattle with
Americans, as well as to launch a new food service business in Canada and the U.S. Also, during my two and a half years in Canada, I met my life partner and got engaged to a Canadian, so I hope we can do things together that make us a bridge between Japan and Canada. After that, I’d like to apply for permanent residency for my family and parents. They are precious to me, always watching over me from afar while I’ve been abroad, and they always kindly support me when I’m in trouble. I want to repay them somehow. My parents have always said they would like to live abroad, so if I can make that happen for them, I’ll be as happy as can be. Whatever the reason, settling permanently in another country is not easy. Unfortunately, if you think of applying for permanent residency as a single point and look only at that point, I don’t think there is any such thing as an easy path to permanent residency. But if you change your perspective and look at it as a point within your entire life, taking on the challenge of permanent residency is a way to make your life incredibly unique, a chance to learn more than ten times as much as usual, and the starting point of a journey of self-discovery you can enjoy. So why not start by seeing and hearing things for yourself and listening to the voice of your heart?