From Student to Citizen: My Personal Journey as an Immigrant
Feb 24, 2025
Immigrating to Canada and achieving Canadian citizenship was always my end goal - obviously this is not something that I shared in my personal statement letter at the time of my application for my study permit.
The decision to come to Canada wasn’t completely mine but I also didn’t oppose it. My mom encouraged that I apply to Canada as it was known for its safety - afterall, as a single mom who raised only one daughter, safety was her biggest concern.
I remember applying for 5 universities in Canada but once I got admission to UBC (University of British Columbia), everything else just didn’t matter anymore. With my admission letter in hand and a few other documents, I applied for my study permit - which was inevitably refused.
A citizen of Russia who was living in Korea on an expiring visitor visa screams refusal - I filed the application myself, didn’t work with an agency or immigration professionals simply because I didn’t know they existed.
The officer was clearly not satisfied that I had strong ties to my country of residence, so I went to Russia, re-applied, and thankfully it was approved.
I came to UBC to pursue a Bachelor’s degree so after graduation, I was eligible for a PGWP (post-graduate work permit). In my third year I knew that I wanted to be in the immigration industry, but I also knew that I had to sort my transition to permanent residence first.
Luckily I landed a part-time job with L’Occitane in Vancouver while I was studying and after completing 1 year of employment, I expressed my interest in pursuing more managerial roles and that I was open to relocating to the east coast.
Once I secured my PGWP (which was also refused from the first try by the way), I reached out to the regional manager and she had an open position for me as an Assistant Manager (NOC 60020).
There I was, packing my bags, selling most of my belongings, and buying a one-way ticket to Toronto.
After 1 year I started looking for entry-level jobs in immigration firms. Luckily I found a boutique firm that was hiring an administrative assistant but was also offering free first-time consultations.
So what did I do?