In this article, I’ll be sharing our top reasons why we considered migrating to Canada. If you’re also considering it too, read on and hopefully learn a thing or two.
Everyone who knows us is probably aware of the news about our upcoming migration to Canada.
Now, some of you might be wondering why I’ve included this article in my blog. What does it have to do with empowering stay-at-home moms to explore the world, live their passion, or chase their dreams?
Well, I just said it. Living to Canada has been one of our family’s dream, and it could be one of yours, too. But for some reason, perhaps you are hesitant to start chasing for it. This article and those that I’ll be publishing in the coming weeks will hopefully guide you through to your decision.
Since this is one of the first three articles here in my blog, I want to start by giving you the reasons why we considered migrating to Canada in the first place despite some people who might be telling us that it’s not a good idea.
Is migrating to Canada a bad idea?
Some say that most immigrants ended up going back to scratch, losing the career they worked so hard to build, and now wishing they didn’t move there at all. But there are also many others who made it successfully.
Some are also worried about the weather. I find snow to be beautiful and mesmerizing, but if you have to live with it every day for months, you might start to hate it like the others living there. Imagine digging the snow on your pathway just to get to your car, spending an hour to dress up your kids in layers before going out, or fighting off the freezing cold whenever you’re outside – if you can’t live with all these, then moving to Canada could really be a bad idea for you.
Despite this issue whether migrating there is a good idea or not, here’s why we went on anyway with our PR visa application to Canada.
Canada offers free education until secondary school
This is among the reasons why we considered migrating to Canada. Knowing that our kids will benefit from having a first-world quality of education for free gives us an assurance that they will have a good future. Of course, it still depends on a lot of factors, but at the very least, having that kind of education is a good start. We’re not going to worry anymore about whether we could send them to a good school or not. We can work and earn less, but at least we know our kids’ education won’t be compromised.
It’s only free up to secondary school, but most colleges and universities offer a reasonable price for tuition fees which I’m guessing any parent can afford to save early on (in York University, for example, tuition fees start from around CAD 7,000 per year for citizens and permanent residents).
Children under 18 years receive a monthly child benefit allowance
Depending on your annual family income, your kids can get up to around 500 Canadian dollars each every month until before they reach 18. Isn’t it great that you don’t have to worry if in case you lose your job? Your kids will still continue to survive, and they won’t need to stop schooling. Of course, that’s the worst-case scenario, but that doesn’t mean it’s not likely to happen. If it does, at least your kids won’t suffer.
As your family’s income increases, the amount of allowance goes down. But that’s not bad news, right? Because that just means that your family is earning more now.
Public health insurance is available even for permanent residents
So on top of free education and monthly allowances, your kids also get free access to most health care services. Even you are eligible for public health insurance.
The coverage depends on each province’s health insurance system (in Ontario for example, visits to doctors, hospital stays, dental surgeries, certain eye-health services, and ambulance for medical emergencies are covered). What’s better than not worrying if your kids get sick?
Besides getting free access, you don’t need to worry about the quality because Canada’s basic healthcare is said to be equivalent to the US, except for the wait time (it’s a different topic for discussion).
Citizenship is attainable after a number of years
Unlike with other countries, living in Canada as a permanent resident for three (3) out of the last five (5) years can allow you to apply for citizenship. Aside from being able to vote, this means you can get a Canadian passport that would allow you to travel to several countries without the need to get a visa. Isn’t that great?
Even if you don’t want to give up your citizenship and just remain as a permanent resident, you can stay in Canada for as long as you want and would not need to worry about your visa (as long you renew your PR ID every five years). You’ll still be entitled to the benefits given to citizens such as education and healthcare.
Parents and grandparents can be sponsored
Depending on your financial capability, you can be allowed to sponsor your parents and grandparents to come to Canada either as a permanent resident or through super visa (which allows them to stay in Canada up to two years at a time). You don’t need to be a citizen to do this. As long as you’re a permanent resident living in Canada and is eligible to sponsor your parents and grandparents, then you can go and apply for their sponsorship.
Once they become a permanent resident, then they become entitled as well to its benefits.
It’s a place where you can really settle for good
Aside from what I’ve mentioned above, Canada can be a place where you and your family can actually live and stay permanently. You can buy a house that you really like (given that you have enough money as a downpayment, of course), and not worry so much about moving out later on.
As what they say, there’s really no place like home and you’ll probably return to your beloved home country again and again. But if there’s nothing waiting for you there, why turn your back to something that could give your kids a better future?
Conclusion
There are other reasons why migrating to Canada is a good idea especially for families, but for us, these are our top six. So you see, it’s mostly about the kids. Most people get discouraged because they worry that their career would take a full U-turn and then they’d start somewhere else. That’s true – most professionals, like doctors and engineers, end up working in a totally different industry and go back to entry-level positions. If you’re not ready for that, that’s fine.
In our case, we have to give up the career we’ve built here in the UAE, but we’ve already accepted that. We can always start from scratch, go back to school, then work our way up the career ladder. That’s what other people did, and now most of them are successful. My uncle, for instance, is already living a comfortable life there. They have their own house, they’ve petitioned my grandparents and his wife’s parents, they drive two cars. And just like many others, they just worked their way up.
You might say your family is earning more than enough here in the UAE (or wherever country you are now) that you’re not ready to give up that yet, and that’s fine. If we’re in the same situation where our kids can get school allowances for their tuition fees, we might consider staying back. But it’s not just the case for us. Now if you’re just like us, then why not consider applying for a PR visa?
Any thoughts about migrating to Canada? Let me know in the comments!
If you’re interested to know more about how to get a Canadian PR visa, read my post, “A Quick Guide for Families to Applying for Permanent Residency in Canada”.
Share this with your other mom friends whom you think might be interested to apply for a PR visa to Canada.
This is such a lovely post dear! I have been considering to move there since my friend did years back. I have a colleague at work who is about to go there. I would like to know more about immigrating to Canada. How I came across this I do not know but somehow, things happen. I bet God plans them this way! Looking forward to reading more of your posts 🙂
Thanks a lot!
Bridgid
Thank you for taking time to read another one of my posts. It’s nice to know you’re also planning to move to Canada. Not everyone though has been happy with their own decisions to move, but of course we all have our different fate. I’m happy to update you once I’ve published my next post about applying for PR visa. Thanks, keep in touch! 🥰
I want to move too, and Canada is an option.
But what are the chances of settling down financially, especially when you have a family? What are the job options or how friendly is the labour market to immigrants?
As far as I’m aware, there are a lot of job options for new immigrants as long as we’re willing to accept jobs that are not related to our work experience. We may even have to start from the bottom of our career ladder. But some people studied and upgraded themselves, so later they were able to get better jobs. For families, there’s a great chance that you can settle financially, thanks to the child benefit allowance, public schools, and health benefits that are available. But for those first time migrants, of course we need settlement funds to start with. Hope I answered your questions clearly 🙂