It is no secret that Canada is home to world-class universities and colleges that attract hundreds of thousands of international students every year. Besides the desire to obtain a diploma or degree, many students choose Canada because they also dream of becoming permanent residents and Canadian citizens.

Sirine is one of those ambitious students. After a successful career in design, marketing and public relations in the Middle East, Sirine decided to move to Vancouver to pursue a Masters of Art at Emily Carr University. She was also determined to make Canada home, and Sirine thought she could easily become a permanent resident after graduating and working in Canada.

To her surprise, when Sirine began preparing her permanent residence application, she found out that one of the immigration programs she was eligible for was temporarily closed, while the other immigration program had new confusing restrictions. The idea of not being able to settle in Canada permanently was a source of unimaginable stress and anxiety for Sirine and her husband Malek – their son was a few months old, they had just opened a restaurant in Vancouver, and they had a couple of months until their work permits expired!

Sirine and Malek reached out to Embarkation for urgent help and guidance. After examining their academic, linguistic and professional skills, we were able to identify that they fit into one of the few occupations eligible for immigration at the time. We worked on securing documents to prove their work experience inside and outside Canada, and we had to quickly prepare their permanent residence application because the government was only accepting the first 1,000 applications. We also had to maintain their status as workers in Canada so they could continue raising their new born son, and operating their newly established business.

We are excited that Sirine, Malek and their two children are now Canadian citizens. Their experience shows that having a knowledgeable and experienced lawyer by your side ensures that you can deal with any unexpected changes and obstacles in the immigration process.