Kenza Zaoui, 30 years, moved to Manitoba in 2017. But, in order to build his new life in Canada, it took him a good dose of patience and strategy…
The first time Kenza Zaoui has heard of Brandon, Manitoba, she had to “open Google Maps” to locate the city. But that was before. More specifically in 2013, when the young woman, then a student of master of teaching French as a foreign language (FLE), discovers Canada by becoming, for a year, lecturer of French at the university. Fell in love with the Manitoba, the former Parisian decides, “after a lot of travels and expatriations around the world”, of his life. Seven years later, the bet this milf is more than successful : Kenza now lives in Winnipeg, she obtained permanent residency, and has even changed his professional path. It tells The Express stages, and the trappings of his journey of immigration.
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“a Lot of opportunities for bilingual people”
“After my studies in Paris and worked in Jersey as an assistant professor of French and professor at the Alliance française, I’ve been wanting to add a line to my CV of prof FLE and teach at the university. I have applied for an exchange program, but without a vow particular geographical. I left the chance to take me and I found myself a reader of French at the university of Brandon, a city of about 40,000 people located at the bottom of Manitoba. I arrived without any preconceived idea, no preparation. The coup de coeur was not immediate : everything was great, different. What’s more, I had miscalculated my arrival: early September, when I installed, the university was completely empty, the students were not yet back and the campus was like a ghost town, it was very strange… But things are put in place quietly.
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Professionally, the first time were not very fulfilling, up to the point where I found myself a teacher – and only assistant : in fact, he has had to replace from one day to the next day, one of the two teachers of French who is going on medical leave for two months. I was the only person fit to replace at short notice. This is the kind of opportunity that I would not have been in a bigger city because there would have been a ton of more qualified candidates than me !
Personally, I loved the Manitoba : the people are extremely friendly, do everything they can to help you – that is the motto on their license plates (friendly Manitoba). The tranquility and sweetness of life are very significant, the cost of living is very reasonable. In short, it is a good compromise between city and countryside, not to mention that there are a lot of opportunities for bilingual people.
Use the PVT as “how to immigrate”
I wanted to stay in Brandon, but my contract was not renewed. So I went, I continued to travel – I’ve lived in Melbourne and Budapest. When I got a PVT, I chose to come back to Manitoba and I moved to Winnipeg in April 2017. Why Winnipeg ? Because I already had a social circle (a mixture of French friends, people met through my blog and friends of Brandon who had moved) and I had found a job at the Alliance française.
Since my arrival in Canada, I knew that I wanted to stay – I have used the PVT as a way to immigrate – and I quickly thought of the best way to get my permanent residence. I decided to go through the provincial nominee Program, because, even if the processing time is longer, you can apply from six months of work experience only (as against twelve in the system, Express Entry, federal “classic”) and a job category 0, A or B waiver to pass the French test. There is a questionnaire to fill out and the answers are given a certain number of points, knowing that having a job in Manitoba already provides 500 points. Three months after my request, I received my letter of appointment from the provincial government to be able to continue the process at the federal level.
But, even if I am taken in advance, the wait was very long : my federal file is arrived at the immigration office for canada on June 28, 2018, I received the official receipt on the 17th of August 2018 but nothing happened for a long time… The period of twelve months since I had announced at the time that I had begun the process of gradually increased until they reach 19 months. I couldn’t see the end, especially as my PVT is coming up to expiration…
“The stress of the procedures”
To be able to stay in Canada – and in the meantime obtaining my permanent residence – I asked for another permit named “open work permit transitional”. This visa federal (only accessible outside of Quebec) is unknown, but it is obtained very easily and it allows you to continue working while waiting for the reply to his application for permanent residence. For all the people that the canadian employer is reluctant to engage in the steps – and costs – to help avrti a work permit closed (type Mobility or French-speaking Young professionals), this open permit transient can be very useful. It is valid for one year, renewable if need be, but it has limits : in regards to myself, for example, as I applied through the provincial nominee Program, this permit only permitted me to work in Manitoba.
But once again, as the system is congested, the time for obtaining it are very long… So, for three weeks, I found myself under “implied status”. It allows them to stay on the territory according to the terms of the permit last until the canadian government gives its response to your application for a new licence. This is not a situation that is very easy to live with because it is a bit of a ghost administrative : the social security number has expired, you can’t get out of the country, etc, It is about territory but it is really between two waters, it is necessary to do a little low-profile. I have been lucky, this time floating lasted only three weeks.
at the End of April 2019, I received my open permit transitional and last September, after 23 months of approaches, I finally got the permanent residence ! All of these procedures caused me a lot of stress, because that one has no control over the place… so far, we feel that the “Rest of Canada” wants of us, there are plenty of ways to stay if one information well. I think that Manitoba is one of the provinces where it is easier to immigrate as a francophone. And it is a pity to stay in the trio from Montreal/Toronto/Vancouver, Canada has much more to offer than that !
“The magic of Canada is that it gives a chance to the people”
I also decided to change a career path as a teacher of FLE is an area where there is insecurity and I couldn’t take any more of the schedule that this job requires. The problem is that my full master of FLE is not recognized as a teaching certificate in Manitoba. To teach in the canadian system, would have required that I go back to school for one or two years, with the university fees that this entails… what’s more, the teaching certificate that I would have been able to obtain would only be temporary. Administratively, it seemed too complicated.
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from the moment I received my new permit, so I thought I convert it back to. I gave myself some time, but just went fast enough ! I have turned my search by typing “french” on the job search engine Indeed ; I have applied to three offers, without any relation with the teaching, but focus on my skills (in my career, I had the opportunity to coordinate educational : management of teams, schedules, etc).
I had two interviews, which shows the lack of francophones and the fact that Canada is very open : it does not matter if one does not have the qualifications related to the job being applied for, as long as one has the skills. It is the magic of Canada, where it gives a chance to the people… Since August, so I’m doing the project management in the field of games scratch : I work for a canadian company that prints the lotteries for different countries in the world, including France. I’m in charge of making the link between the client and the teams of designers, programmers, computer, printers, etc
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today, I consider myself as a Franco-Manitoban adoption – in fact, I’m invested for the defence of the francophonie in Manitoba (I participated in a forum launched by the Centre de la francophonie des Amériques, and I hope to be able to go to the one organized in June, in Québec, the Fédération des communautés francophone et acadienne du Canada). It is important to show that the French language is alive outside of Quebec – no offense to those who think the opposite !”