Jan has the idea for us to emigrate to Canada, where he has family. He’s found a company that has guaranteed him a work visa by securing him a job with a Canadian company. Their fee is $10,000!
$10,000 is far more than we’ve ever spent, but we do it. We fill out all the complicated applications. Then we sell all our stuff and move in with Jan’s parents, getting ready to move to Canada. We are excited!
Six months later, Jan gets the news….
The news is devastating—and about to get worse.
The company we’d hired to help us was a scam.
They didn’t have a legal process for getting us a visa.
It is a painful experience and an expensive lesson.
We feel angry and lost, which causes us to argue;
it almost destroys our marriage.
Our dreams are shattered.
Jan’s dad suggests a guy who might be able to get Aina a student visa in New Zealand and Jan a partner work visa.
He explains that it will give us a chance to create a pathway to permanent residency.
We decide to go for it! (The cost is much less this time.)
So in February of 2016, we start our new life in New Zealand.
Our beginning is humble. We rent a tiny flat and get low-paying jobs. Jan finds work on a ventilator assembly line (awful), while Aina is required to be a student and restricted to a part-time job.
We can’t even afford to go to the movies, so we take walks in the park and generate ideas for a business we can start if we get residency.
Sell soap? Open a Filipino grocery store? Digital marketing?
We are unsure.
Aina is a marketing assistant, which is not a “skilled job” that qualifies for residency. She works at the company that helped us immigrate.
One day she sees an opportunity.
Aina proposes to her boss, “Let me be your Marketing Officer, and I’ll grow the business using digital marketing.” If Aina could become a “Marketing Officer,” she’d have a “skilled job” required for residency.
Her boss replies, “Get 20 new clients, and I’ll give you the promotion.”
With Jan’s help, she gets 64 clients — and the promotion!
Then, on December 4, 2017, only two years after emigrating to NZ,
Aina is a marketing assistant, which is not a “skilled job” that qualifies for residency. She works at the company that helped us immigrate.
One day she sees an opportunity.
Aina proposes to her boss, “Let me be your Marketing Officer, and I’ll grow the business using digital marketing.” If Aina could become a “Marketing Officer,” she’d have a “skilled job” required for residency.
Her boss replies, “Get 20 new clients and I’ll give you the promotion.”
With Jan’s help, she gets 64 clients — and the promotion!
Then, on December 4, 2017, only two years after emigrating to NZ,
we’d gone through — the scam, the complicated application process, and the difficulty of starting over in a new country (plus all the students we’d witnessed face many challenges because of incorrect advice and pastoral care) — we know precisely the business we want to start.
We know we can create a better, more supportive way to emigrate to New Zealand. So in 2018, we launch our company in our home, a short distance from our bed.
Today we’ve helped more than 1,000 people begin their emigration to New Zealand (and hundreds accomplish it), and more than 4,000 people have done our assessment. Our webinars, which started with 100 attendees, have grown to 5,000, the maximum number allowed on the call.
Every day we are grateful for our life in the wonderful country of New Zealand. We live in the home of our dreams, which includes enough rooms to have offices in our house. We have 18 employees (and growing!).
And the smelly old car has been replaced by a BMW. (Thank God!)
Every day we are grateful for our life in the wonderful country of New Zealand. We live in the home of our dreams, which includes enough rooms to have offices in our house. We have 18 employees (and growing!). And the smelly old car has been replaced by a BMW. (Thank God!)
Best of all, on July 10, 2019, we had a baby girl! Aina’s parents and siblings were there while she was pregnant and after she gave birth. It was easy to invite them because we are residents!
And our daughter’s name is Amara Dream Sacdalan. We chose her middle name because following our dreams gave us our dream life.
Best of all, on July 10, 2019, we had a baby girl! Aina’s parents and siblings were there while she was pregnant and after she gave birth. It was easy to invite them because we are residents!
And our daughter’s name is Amara Dream Sacdalan. We chose her second name because following our dreams gave us our dream life.
Listen as we interview former international students, emigration lawyers, and those who know the ins and outs of how to emigrate and gain permanent residency in Canada and New Zealand!
We’ve already helped dozens of families gain permanent residency in countries like Canada and New Zealand. We can help your family do the same!
We work with expert partners to tailor our proven process around you and your family’s needs. And we stay by your side each step of the way—including after you arrive and begin to build your new life.
If you’d like to work with an immigration consultant that cares about your future, attend our presentation to discover your next steps.
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