Immigration Angelo Wang is an old immigrant who has been engaged in immigration work for nearly ten years. From a rational and objective perspective, the author analyzes whether it is suitable to immigrate to Canada under the current epidemic situation.

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Immigration Angelo Wang is an old immigrant who has been engaged in immigration work for nearly ten years. From a rational and objective perspective, the author analyzes whether it is suitable to immigrate to Canada under the current epidemic situation. In fact, there are many reasons for everyone to immigrate, and there are great differences between individuals. Therefore, remember not to follow the immigration trend. It is the wisest approach to make a decision after comprehensive consideration before immigrating! Immigration is not good or bad, only whether it is suitable or not. As the author said, it is "Honey to you and arsenic to others", so this article is only for reference. I hope more people who want to immigrate can understand clearly. What exactly do you want and make a relatively correct decision.

For more than two years, YQ has been repeated and wreaked havoc around the world. It changes a lot, maybe our career, our health, our life trajectory, and even our perspective on the world.

I am an immigration practitioner. During this period, I have witnessed many people's hesitation and hesitation about immigration, to their courage and determination.

In a world under this kind of influence, should immigrants still be immigrated?

Is it more stable and safe to stay in a familiar environment?

Will there be anti-Chinese or other dangers overseas in the future?

These are probably the questions that every immigration applicant cannot avoid right now.

Immigration is not suitable for everyone

As my immigration time increases and I come into contact with more and more immigration applicants, I realize more and more that immigration is not suitable for everyone. It can even be said arbitrarily that immigration is not suitable for most people.

Although I always hope to recommend things that I think are beautiful, the world in everyone's eyes is different. "One person's honey is another's arsenic." What's more, the road to immigration is full of twists and turns and challenges, and very few people can make it to the end.

Language barriers and the complexity of immigration laws and policies have greatly increased the threshold for information symmetry;

The relatively high costs of study abroad immigration, investment immigration, and employer immigration are also the most direct considerations;

Parents' worries, Differences between husband and wife, coupled with misunderstanding from friends and society, are always dampening the enthusiasm for immigration;

the waiting time measured in years is even more exhausting of patience, not to mention the changes brought about by time. .

For most people, immigration is the most important and difficult transition in life.

From a personal perspective, the more uncertain the situation, people will instinctively prefer to stay in a familiar environment, which can give themselves and their families a sense of security.

From a world macro perspective, trade protectionism and nationalism have been on the rise in recent years. And this epidemic will change the world, and global internationalization is likely to be reversed. News of discrimination against Chinese people has appeared in the United States, Australia, Canada, Europe and even Southeast Asia.

These are all facts. Immigration is inherently difficult. In the face of sudden global changes, it is normal to worry about or even give up on immigration at this time. Here Dawei said sincerely that immigration is not our only choice in life, and immigration cannot solve all problems. Immigrants are not just for cheap villas and luxury cars, nor can they expect to live a retirement life of enjoyment all day long. They are impulsive.

Whether you decide to immigrate or give up immigration, before making the next decision, you might as well go back to your original self and ask yourself the original question.

Back to the original self, why do you want to immigrate?

Why immigrate? I have asked myself this question for many years, and every time a new answer pops up. This is also human nature. Once you make a decision, you will always find various reasons to prove that you are right.

My reasons for immigrating include but are not limited to the following:

· Happy growth of children;

· Educational resources for children;

· Improvement of housing and living conditions;

· Better natural environment and more contact with nature;

· A simpler life and interpersonal relationships;

· Medical and pension protection;

· More time to do the things you really like;

· Spend more time with your children and family;

· Gain more health;

· Perfect social welfare, less pressure to survive;

summarized it comprehensively, but in fact these are the reasons I only discovered after immigrating. Before immigrating, I never thought of so many. Asking myself, my biggest motivation for immigrating comes from my unsettled heart.

Although I was not a naughty child since I was a child, I was always a bit rebellious in my heart. I can’t explain why, but I always feel like I don’t fit in with the group. I started riding a bicycle every day in middle school. Bicycling gave me a sense of freedom for the first time and could take me where I wanted to go. From then on, the seeds of traveling around the world were planted.

I got promoted, got a raise, bought a house and a car, and had a child, but my heart is still ready to move. I am not willing to live an unchanged life, let alone see my future clearly.

My first trip to North America fascinated me. When I drove through forests, farmland, deserts, and seas, it felt like an animal that had been kept in captivity had seen nature for the first time. No one here cares about you, no one even looks at you, and no one treats you as a foreigner. I have traveled to dozens of countries, but only in this continent, I truly feel at home, and dreamed of living here for the first time. You all know what happened behind

. After repeated failures and blows, and several years of hard work, we finally came to Canada.

Of course, life is not only about poetry and distance, but also about the present. My wife and I work together, but we still can’t save a penny every month. Although I don’t have the financial freedom of being rich, I still live a colorful life. I can accompany my child's growth every day, learn and play basketball with him; I finally have time to read idle books and catch up on American TV series; our family skis in the winter, rows in the summer, and does countless hiking and camping.

I am very satisfied with my current life. Fame and fortune have long left me, but my life is colorful and enjoyable. It’s not that I have lived out a realm, nor that I have found the true meaning of life; the reason why I am satisfied is because of that “original self”, and this kind of life is what I wanted from the beginning!

Is Canada still a good choice?

When considering immigration, in addition to worrying about our future life, what is more important is the stability of this society and its tolerance for immigrants.

As I learn more about the country of Canada, I can feel more and more the national character of Canada, that is, the character of the country.

Canada and the United States belong to the same continent, and there is not much difference in geography; both countries are composed of indigenous first peoples , later European Anglo-Saxons , and recent immigrants from all over the world. However, the two countries have completely different personalities. A large part of the reason is due to historical evolution.

The history of the United States is one of overthrowing colonial rule, winning independence through armed force and resistance, and gradually developing its current personality. They are brave, persistent, hardworking, and innovative; but at the same time they are also arrogant, strong, and have strong desires and ambitions. In terms of social attributes, although the United States is a multi-ethnic country of immigrants, its values ​​​​and national character are exceptionally unified, and its distinctiveness even exceeds that of many countries with long histories. The United States is also proud of its unified values.

The history of Canada is a history of "compromise" , compromising with France, compromising with the United Kingdom, compromising internally, and compromising with its neighbor the United States.It was "compromise" and concessions that led to Canada, which had been a British colony for hundreds of years, to have the legal power to establish a constitution in 1982 and become a truly independent country (Canada's first constitution was formulated by the British in 1867 "British North America Act" was the year the Dominion of Canada was born, which was Canada's founding day. In 1982, the Queen of England signed the Canadian Constitution Amendment, adding the "Charter of Rights and Freedoms" to the original constitution. Legally separate from the United Kingdom and formally establish Canada's status as a sovereign independent country).

But it was precisely because of compromise that Canada was able to achieve autonomy and independence step by step under British rule; and because of compromise, the Canadian federation developed from the original 4 provinces to the current 13 provinces (autonomous regions), achieving the unification of the country. It is also because of compromise that Canada can move between Britain, France and the United States, and it has not been annexed by the United States, thus maintaining its sovereignty; it is also because of compromise that Quebec , a province of French descent, has not seceded from the federation and maintained the integrity of the country.

Talking about history is always boring, but we can see some Canadian characteristics. Speaking of national character, Canada really has no characteristics. It can even be described as "dreary" and "sheep-like". This has also led to Canada's low sense of presence in the international community. It is difficult for it to make the headlines of international news, let alone lead the world's trends. To tell you the truth, before I immigrated, the only words I could think of when talking about Canada were: Bethune, Maple Leaf, Toronto , and of course "Farewell Vancouver". Any more impressions were gone.

But it is precisely because of the history of compromise and the lack of distinctive national characteristics that Canada has no burden. There is no baggage of history, religion, race, or social customs. Of course, there will be some problems, but compared to other countries, it can be said that it is relatively light.

You will find that Canada is extremely tolerant of all values ​​​​of positive human development, or most new things. Canada is one of the countries in the world that attaches most importance to environmental protection, and is also one of the countries where electric vehicles are most popular. Canada attaches great importance to human rights and humanistic care, but there is no conflict and opposition between "freedom and democracy" in the United States. Therefore, just recently, it was said that guns were banned, which is unthinkable in the United States.

Canada does not have such a clear distinction between socialism and capitalism. The important forces in Canadian politics, the New Democratic Party and the Green Party are both socialist-leaning parties. Although he has never been able to govern in the federal government, he has a great influence on the Liberal Party and the Democratic Party, which take turns in power (the BC province where Vancouver is currently located is governed by the New Democratic Party). Canada's so-called right-leaning conservative party would already be extremely left-wing in the United States or Europe.

So in Canada, electricity, water, and natural gas companies are all state-owned, railways are state-owned (airlines were only privatized in the 1980s), car insurance companies are state-owned, television stations are state-owned, and even 90% of alcohol All stores are state-owned (state-owned here is a general concept and does not distinguish between federal assets and provincial assets).

In the Canadian economy, there is another term "transfer payment" that we are very familiar with. The federal government uses taxes to balance the rich and poor in various provinces or among different classes of people, and provides large subsidies to poor provinces and people. You can also understand the reason why Canada has high taxes and high benefits. So, you have to ask, is Canada capitalist or socialist? It's hard for me to answer. All these characteristics of

make Canada and the United States obviously different. The bigger difference is reflected in the latest immigration policy.

The strength of the United States, whether it is economic or cultural strength, has made its desire for immigrants less strong, and it has even begun to reject immigrants.The reason is simple. From an economic and cultural perspective, there is no longer a need for large-scale immigration; and the existing social problems such as religion, race, crime, etc. caused by immigration are becoming more and more serious (of course, these problems are mainly caused by geographical and historical reasons). Therefore, unless they are top academic talents, ordinary people who want to immigrate to the United States have almost no way.

Looking back at Canada, immigration is related to the lifeblood of the country. On a land of nearly 10 million square kilometers, there are only 38 million people, which is nearly one-tenth of the United States. Without people, talking about the development of economy, culture, and international politics is all empty talk. To give the simplest example, small and medium-sized enterprises with less than 10 people in Canada account for 75% of all enterprises. Limited by the population base and over-dispersion, the local market is small, marketing and logistics costs are high, financing capabilities are poor, and there is no strength to expand the international market. The key is the lack of talents. This leads to the fact that most enterprises are localized small and medium-sized enterprises. Even innovative enterprises are limited to technological innovation in the initial stage. After a slight development, the only way out is to sell to American or Chinese enterprises.

The population is not only small, but what is even more terrible is the low birth rate. Canada’s birth rate is 1.5, which means that a woman has an average of 1.5 children. And if we want to meet the population balance, the birth rate must reach 2.1. Canada does not have the lowest birth rate among Western countries, but it has the greatest sense of urgency.

Without immigrants, Canada's population would show negative growth, not to mention the negative impact of an aging society. Starting in the 1960s, Canada began to absorb a large number of immigrants. Unlike the United States (mainly absorbing South Americans, many of whom are illegal immigrants), and different from Europe (mainly absorbing immigrants from North Africa and Middle East ), Canada has The world opens its doors.

Especially since the 1990s, a large number of Asian immigrants (from China, India, and the Philippines) have been introduced. Until now, it attracts an average of 250,000 to 300,000 people every year. And this trend is very stable and never fluctuates significantly.

Now in Canada, 20% of the population was not born in Canada. In Toronto and Vancouver, 50% of the people are first-generation immigrants, and these two cities are one of the most international cities in the world. Take South Surrey, a small border town in the Greater Vancouver area where I live, for example. In the first grade of Wangzhongwang Elementary School, there are 20 children in the class, 8 Chinese, 2 Koreans, 2 Africans, 1 Japanese, 1 As an Eastern European, you can calculate the degree of diversity.

The importance of immigration is self-evident to Canada. This is not because Canada is a Holy Mother country. Its immigration policy is entirely that serves the economy (we will talk about refugees separately in the future). Due to economic considerations, Canada's immigration policy has been continuously adjusted and improved, resulting in the current highly complex and relatively complete federal and provincial two-level immigration system.

The quality of immigrants who pass the screening is generally higher than that of native residents. The average age of immigrants is 7 years younger than the average age in Canada, but the proportion of immigrants with a bachelor's degree or above is much ahead. More importantly, immigration does not bring serious social problems. The large number of Vietnamese immigrants (refugees) introduced during the Vietnam War were a highlight in the history of Canadian immigration. Vietnamese immigrants were hard-working and quickly integrated into society. People joked that every corner store seemed to be owned by a Vietnamese couple; 20 years later, it seemed that the top students in the university were the daughters of these grocery store owners.

Indian immigrants bring their families, often alone, and bring a whole village with them. But in western Canada, Indian immigrants have become the absolute main force in agriculture, transportation, and construction industries. Filipino immigrants can also endure hardships, and their presence can be seen in many service industries at the grassroots level of society. Chinese immigrants and Korean immigrants have brought a large number of technical talents and capital, especially education. In various academic competitions and top majors in universities, Asian immigrants from the Middle East even account for the majority.

So, Whether it is for historical reasons, social reasons or experience reasons, Canada’s immigration policy has been deeply ingrained in our blood.And the ensuing multicultural policy , an open and inclusive mentality is also the essence of Canadian national character.

Racial ambiguity will still exist, and there are black sheep in every society. Not to mention that human nature has a natural rejection of things that are unfamiliar and different from ourselves. But looking at the entire Canadian country and society, racial discrimination must never be allowed to occur. Its power is equivalent to a nuclear bomb, which can destroy the structure and foundation of a country.

There are about 1.8 million Chinese people in Canada, accounting for 5% of the total population. They are the most populous ethnic group except Europeans. Simply put, large-scale discrimination against Chinese people will not happen in Canada. Its population base and social importance are self-evident. What's more important is that if you discriminate against Chinese Americans today, you can discriminate against French Americans tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow you can also discriminate against Indians, Filipinos, Koreans...

The epidemic has indeed brought about many changes, and Canada's economy is also facing unprecedented challenges. Challenges, millions of people are unemployed, and the national economy is likely to go backwards. However, this is a disaster for all mankind, and the whole world is facing it together. I firmly believe that this is just a temporary difficulty, and all countries, including Canada, will inevitably recover.

At the same time, the epidemic has also had a considerable impact on immigration policies. In the short term, immigration applications and entry-exit policies have fluctuated. Many problems have not even been encountered by the Immigration Bureau . Everyone is crossing the river by feeling the stones. . Even the total immigration quota for this year and next is likely to decrease slightly.

However, in the long run, I can safely and boldly say that Canada's continuously open immigration policy will never change, and the national character of openness, diversity, and tolerance will become more and more prominent.

This is not my personal prediction, it is true.

Summary

Having said so much, I am not trying to reassure everyone or encourage immigration. On the contrary, if the epidemic makes you give up immigration, I think it is a very wise choice. There is no good or bad immigration, there is only a question of whether it is suitable for you. If the epidemic makes you recognize what you want and not blindly follow the trend, it is definitely a good thing.

From another perspective, if you are still determined and have dreams despite the impact of the epidemic, then go on bravely. For the family and for oneself.

The world has never changed, only our understanding of it and ourselves has changed.