And then I cheated.

Okay, I didn't really cheat, but hear me out.

I bought the domain for this blog, designed a logo, customized the template, spent hours trying to figure out why the little "pencil" icon that allows you to edit a blog post straight from the blog doesn't appear like it does on my other blog, spent several more hours writing the blog posts that I published two days in a row, spent several more hours writing a still-unpublished post...and then I just stopped.

The question, is why? It's not because I decided not to move to Canada. It's not even because I stopped wanting to blog. You see, Immigration Québec offers an evaluation for determining your chances of being selected by Québec. As I briefly mentioned previously (and explained in detail in the post that I never published--I'll do that soon), Québec has a different immigration process than the rest of Canada. Prior to applying to Canada, you must be selected by Québec for admission to their province. This evaluation, though not an official decision, helps determine your chances of being selected. I had taken the evaluation before but decided to take it again and to be more careful this time. After taking the evaluation this time, I was greeted with a lovely message that amounted to "Please don't waste our time, or yours, by applying for selection because you will most likely not be selected."

Damn. (Not quite strong enough for my true thoughts, but my mother will likely read this and I'd rather spare myself the berating.)

The likely reason that this was the outcome of the evaluation is my lack of work experience. Don't get me wrong, I've been working since I was fourteen (I just turned 26 on the 11th), but my work experience does not relate to my degree in French. Speaking French helps with admission to Québec, but that alone does not guarantee entry. If I'd been working as a translator or a teacher, then my chances would be increased, but, as it stands, I have to enter "0" when answering the question that asks how long I've been working in "my field."

So what now? Well, I didn't give up. I decided to research my options. What are other options for immigration? What kind of people are accepted? I found various accounts, but one in particular stood out to me. See, it appears that most people who obtain a post-secondary degree from an accredited university in Québec are granted the certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ) needed to apply to the Canadian government for Permanent Resident status. In fact, there is an expedited process for people in this position.

Over the years, most people assumed that I was going to use my French to degree to teach high school and I quickly put those thoughts to rest. That said, that didn't mean that I didn't want to teach at all; I just didn't want to teach high school (I hated it the first time and don't particularly want to spend the rest of my life there). The other option is teaching at the post-secondary level and this is something I have considered off and on for years. This was a possibility that I did relate to some people; so what was holding me back? After spending six years to obtain my Bachelor's degree, I really needed a break before I considered going back to school for a Master's degree. Well, it's now been a little more than a year since I graduated.

See? Things sort of fell into place in my head when I read about increased chances for graduates of Québec universities. So, I started my search for schools and programs. Ultimately I decided to apply to Université Laval in Québec City for a Master's in Linguistics, specializing in teaching languages.  On Halloween I received my letter of acceptance.

Let the chaos ensue! The student immigration process is like a junior version of the Permanent Resident process. I need a Study Permit from Canada, but before I can get that I need the student version of the CSQ, a certificat d'acceptation du Québec (CAQ). I am now in the process of trying to obtain a CAQ. I'm still waiting on one document from the university before I can submit my application. Once Immigration et Communautés Culturelle Québec has received my completed application, processing takes 4 weeks.

Did I mention I'm supposed to start at Univeristé Laval in January?

In the words of my best friend, "Aye yai yai!"

Preparing for Adventure

So Québec is the place for you, but what now?

The first thing I would suggest doing in your application process is familiarizing yourself with the Immigration-Québec website: http://www.immigration-quebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/index.html. This website is full of useful information. Don't let yourself become overwhelmed by the details--I'll help you with that--just get familiar with the layout. This will make things easier down the road.

I should point out here that I am applying for permanent residency as a "Permanent worker." Other categories include "Businesspeople," "Temporary workers," "Foreign students," "Sponsors and sponsored persons," and "Refugees and other clienteles." Were I to find a job and be offered a position in advance, I may apply as a Temporary worker and then later apply for permanent residency, but this is an unlikely scenario for me due to my skill set.

The official immigration website provides a list of 8 steps that, if followed, "will lead to your immigration to Québec!" I suggest viewing the list for a general break down of the process. In addition to leading you to the necessary documents for the process, it provides information about the requirements of practicing your trade in Canada as well as other information such as the cost of immigration and the obstacles surrounding finding a job.  Getting a general understanding of the process will prepare you to delve into the details in the coming months.

My next step will be organizing all of the necessary documents and forms to complete my application. That, of course, doesn't mean having all the documents on hand or all of the forms completed. It's simply the final preparation step before I dive into the actual process. I'll outline that in my next post. Ciao!

Welcome!

Sometimes in life things go the way you want and sometimes they don't. It's not always up to us what happens, but I know that I don't ever want to be left thinking, "What if?" Whether it be when considering job opportunities, delving into romance, or dealing with other areas of my life, I always keep that one question in mind. And now it's that one question that has me finally grabbing the bull by the horns and looking to the north for a bright future.

My name is Mike. At this writing I am 25-years-old. By day I'm a Social Media Coordinator for a family of well-known e-commerce websites. By night...well by night I spend most of my time deciding which of my 37 hobbies to devote my evening to.  I graduated from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee in May of 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in French. You probably noticed that my job is completely unrelated to my degree. That might upset me were it not for the fact that I love my job and I love speaking French.

To be honest, I can't remember what put the idea of moving to Canada in my head, but by the end of 2011 I had signed up to take an English language proficiency test. This was the first step I had taken towards immigration. It was no longer just talk, I had finally taken action. Then, of course, I fell in love and canceled my test.

Well now my heart has been good and broken (don't worry, it was months ago, I'm over it!) and the immigration plans are back on. Of course, now Québec is no longer accepting applications for immigration*. D'oh! That's the last time I do (or don't do) something because of romance! But I'm not too worried because they will begin accepting applications again on April 1st, 2013 (let's hope it's not an April Fools joke!). Eight months may seem like a long time, but, to be honest, it may take me that long just to prepare all the materials that I need. For example, when I signed up for the English language proficiency test last year, I had to sign up a testing center more than 5 hours from my house just so I wouldn't have to wait more than 3 months to take the test (signing up for a far away center allowed me to have to wait "only" 3 months).

It took me a while to find the right job after college as my degree only really lends itself to being a translator or a teacher (both of which would have required more schooling than I cared to complete). So you may wonder why I would give up a job it took so long to find in order to move to another country. Well, there are a couple parts to that answer:

1. The process of immigrating to Québec often takes years. (Plenty of time to enjoy my job! Though, I am hoping that the freeze on applications will lead to quicker processing once they begin to accept them again.)
2. My application could be denied. This would make me very sad, but it's a very real possibility. What do I have to offer over another applicant? This will be a test of how far my language skills will get me given that I don't belong to a highly coveted profession.
3. There are larger forces at work. I will not let this blog become political in the least, but I would be lying if I didn't acknowledge that Canada has some things that are very important to me that the United States does not currently offer. (That's all I will say on that subject.)

So I've decided that Canada is the place for me. I knew immediately that I would want to move to the province of Quebec due to my love for the French language. The next step was to actually visit the province. I did and, much to my surprise, I fell in love with Quebec City. This was only a surprise to me because I'm a "city boy" and thought I would love Montreal. In truth, I was turned off by the cost of living ($20 per day for transportation!), the traffic, and the number of people. Mais la Ville de Québec? C'était parfait! 

The next step was research. I quickly found the website devoted to immigration to Québec, but was almost immediately overwhelmed by what I found. I went in search of helpful resources but found them to be few and scattered about the internet. Then I found a book devoted to the process of immigrating to Canada. I was very excited to have a concise resource until I learned two things:

1. The authors didn't actually make the move; they simply did the research for a hypothetical immigration.
2. The book covered the process for moving to most of the Canadian provinces with "most" meaning "all of them except for Québec." It's absolutely essential to note that Québec has a completely different immigration process than the rest of the country. Gaining permission to reside permanently in another province will not grant you permission to live in Québec.

So the did the next logical thing and searched for another book to help ease me through the process. I found nothing.

That's where this blog comes in. I'm not just going to do hypothetical research. I'm going to lay out the process for you as I actually go through it with the ultimate goal of gaining permanent residency. It's my hope that, in doing this, I will make the process easier to understand and that, should they arise, you can learn from my mistakes.

I have touched on a few parts of the process in this post that may have left you with questions ("English test? Aren't you a native Speaker?" Hint: Yes.), but rest assured that I will cover each part of the process in detail as I move through it. Also note that, while I'm a citizen of the United States, the process is much the same for people immigrating from most countries. There are a few differences for certain countries, but they are outlined in all of the official immigration documents. This blog should be able to act as a great primer for most people regardless of their country of origin. Of course, I suggest that you contact a lawyer or government official if you are confused by any of the requirements for citizens of your country of origin. It's much better to double check in advance than to wait months or even years and then have your application rejected on a technicality! Should I ever require legal advice, I'll be sure to share what I have learned with all of you.

So, are you onboard? If Québec is the place for you, strap yourself in and get ready for an adventure. Allons-y!

*They are still accepting applications if you meet certain requirements. Unfortunately, I do not. These requirements are outlined on the bottom of this page.