The same goes for Canada. The people moving in the 1950s and
1960s moved there on tourists visas and stayed on. In those days a handful
emigrated on entrepreneur visas. The exodus in 1972 to Canada of the Goans
and people of Indian origin from Uganda fleeing the tyranny of Idi Amin was
allowed by then Canadian Government. They were in essence refugees. Why did
they not chose to return en masse to India (their actual homeland) The
trickle in the 1980s and 1990s attracting people from the Subcontinent and
the Middle East was facilitated by Immigration Consultants for a fee
of course, who would arrange to manipulate facts and qualifications and
accordingly assist people to process their applications. Cities in
India, Pakistan and the Gulf were considered more difficult as they
required higher points systems. Colombo in Sri Lanka was considered to be
of Medium difficulty and Rome was used for the week cases. I know of
hundreds of families (who might have not qualified legally) availing of
this system. These people are now well settled in Canada and are a success
in their fields. If they were not allowed these loopholes they would
possibly have remained in their homelands.
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Well, to set the record straight, in the 1950s and early 1960s one did not
require a visa to visit Canada from any of the E. African commonwealth
countries. All you had to do was buy a ticket and fly over. It was the same
procedure if you wanted to visit the UK. Illegally extending your stay in
Canada was like being put into prison as you would never be able to return if
you left the country.
In the 1960s, Canadian High Commission employees were actively recruiting Goans
from the banks in Tanzania. Not many people at the time wanted to go to Canada
as the perception was that it was too cold here. The Canadians countered that
one would get three pensions when they retired i.e. one from the company you
worked for, one from the State and one from your individual pension plan.
The Canadians were also recruiting mechanics who could work on Japanese cars
and many a Goan benefited from this.
I know people who went down to a local bank to open an account and deposit
their Travelers Cheques the day after they arrived in Canada. The bank staff
then asked the newcomer what sort of job they did in the country they came from
and when the new client said 'banker,' the new client was requested to pick up
a job application form - on the desk by the front door - on the way out. Many a
new immigrant was working for the same bank within two weeks.
As far as immigration consultants are concerned, they are a waste of money. One
can easily fill in a Canadian immigration form from home and your application
does not carry more weight if a 'consultant' has signed it. One, as in my case,
can also ask for a waiver of the immigration application fees. In other words,
it did not cost me a cent to move to Canada. Then again, I lucked out as Canada
was actively seeking immigrants with my qualifications the year I migrated.
One last thing, appox 20% of current Canadian MP's have been born outside
Canada. A similar percentage of MP's are the first generation children of
immigrants.
Mervyn
