₦airaland Forum

I don't know if people still need to be told this, but as a newcomer to Canada, you don't know enough to dabble into the pre-construction game, except you have a very high risk tolerance and your marriage is shock proof. Yes, for married couples, their marriage is usually the first casualty, afterall, the number 1 cause of divorce in North America is financial issues.

Pre-construction has worked for many people. But the risks outweigh the gains. It can set you back to worse than you were before you came to Canada. You will lose your investment and still file bankruptcy; and very few professions in Canada allow people that have filed bankruptcy to practice without restrictions.

My advice? Buy the house you can see with your two eyes and touch with your two hands. If it is your first house, forget about double garage, massive backyard, new build and all those nonsense that inflate prices. Your first house in Canada is not your last house. As much as possible, buy the one that does not max out your credit room. Try to get pre-approved before you start your house search so you know your limit. If your mortgage broker or realtor starts to talk to you about the possibility of private lender, RUN from that deal!!!

jedisco:
Nice. Ownership of ones home seems to be a good starting point of building wealth and stability in most western nations. Having to rent again for a while, showed me how nasty some landlords can be.

Never understood the much higher appeal for new houses in Canada. Reverse was the case in the U.K. I still exchange with folks on the UK mortgage thread to consider new builds. In Canada, folks see 20 yr old houses as old while in the UK 200 yr o houses are still standing and seen as decent and having 'character'
Wanted to go for a new build recently but after I was told I'd have to wait for a year to completion, I went for an old build (20 -30 yr old) instead.

Brother, I used to wonder about the appetite for new builds but I got a lesson on its importance recently. We woke up one morning and the fridge stopped working. Thankfully it was smack dab in the middle of winter so basement served as the fridge immediately. This ended up being a ~2k emergency bill (yes one could explore financing option).

Remember that approximately 25% of all Canadians would be unable to cover a sudden, unexpected emergency expense of $500. Recent studies reveal that the majority of working-age Canadians lack sufficient liquid cash to handle a $1,000 financial emergency, with almost half of the population living paycheck to paycheck (https://www.rbc.com/newsroom/news/article.html?article=125971)

New builds have new appliances and all things being equal, they should last longer and are generally less likely to need replacement/pafuka in the first few years plus they should be under warranty 'in case of incasity'.

I am not saying do new/custom build oo, I am just exploring the other side.
The balance is between delayed gratification of waiting for the custom build and potentially/possibly higher mortgage cost versus the instant convenience and often lower purchase price of a move-in-ready home.

amdman:
Unfortunately, this taste for new builds or bespoke/custom houses, including the taste for massive houses with double garages has become the undoing of many Nigerians who have no business buying such homes.

You sign a pre-construction deal for a $1m+ house without a clear plan for how you will qualify for the mortgage with an A lender. I was speaking with someone recently that has put down almost $200k on such a home. House is now ready, but they dont have the wherewithal to close. A similar home on the street by the same builder is selling for about $300k less than their own price.

Builder has now taken them to court to forfeit their downpayment and get judgment for any loss the builder will make as they will definitely have to sell the house at a much lower price.

Na village people dem!

ferfer:
Brother, I used to wonder about the appetite for new builds but I got a lesson on its importance recently. We woke up one morning and the fridge stopped working. Thankfully it was smack dab in the middle of winter so basement served as the fridge immediately. This ended up being a ~2k emergency bill (yes one could explore financing option).

Nice write-up.

The problem with some of us is the "I must keep up with my neighbour" mentality, which pushes many people into buying homes they simply cannot afford.

Can you imagine people using a line of credit for their down payment? Others max out their credit cards buying furniture. Then some Nigerian realtors convince buyers that the basement rent will cover part of the mortgage, even though many of these new homes are built in areas that aren't very attractive to tenants.

Nevertheless, the smell of a brand-new house is hard to resist! 😄 As long as you stay within your budget and can comfortably afford the payments, we will all be okay.⁹

Hello,

I want to ask, for people who landed as PR, is it quite common to be requested to show the complete proof of funds that you declared during application.

I would appreciate answers from as many people who have first hand information.

Honestly, I don't understand why mortgage brokers and realtors emphasize the bolded strategy so much. I can't see myself buying a house and relying on a tenant in the basement to help cover the mortgage payments.

I usually advise people to buy a home they can comfortably afford on a single income rather than depending on both spouses' incomes. Taking that approach provides a financial cushion and makes it much less likely that you'll overextend yourself financially. If one income is lost or circumstances change, the mortgage remains manageable without creating unnecessary stress.

AirBay:
Nice write-up.

The problem with some of us is the "I must keep up with my neighbour" mentality, which pushes many people into buying homes they simply cannot afford.

Can you imagine people using a line of credit for their down payment? Others max out their credit cards buying furniture. Then some Nigerian realtors convince buyers that the basement rent will cover part of the mortgage, even though many of these new homes are built in areas that aren't very attractive to tenants.

Nevertheless, the smell of a brand-new house is hard to resist! 😄 As long as you stay within your budget and can comfortably afford the payments, we will all be okay.⁹

BurnerMan:
Hello,

I want to ask, for people who landed as PR, is it quite common to be requested to show the complete proof of funds that you declared during application.

I would appreciate answers from as many people who have first hand information.

I wasnt asked, but i had it in my account regardless, make village people no use me count scores.

BurnerMan:
Hello,

I want to ask, for people who landed as PR, is it quite common to be requested to show the complete proof of funds that you declared during application.

I would appreciate answers from as many people who have first hand information.

When i landed close to a decade ago, I was asked surprisingly. Luckily for me I had more than enough to show. Before then, everyone i knew that landed before me said they didn't ask.

I don't know what would have happened if I wasn't prepared.

I think it is rare they ask but prepared anything can happen. I didn't believe that it would be me they would ask when they didn't ask others that I know. So don't take anything for granted

BurnerMan:
Hello,

I want to ask, for people who landed as PR, is it quite common to be requested to show the complete proof of funds that you declared during application.

I would appreciate answers from as many people who have first hand information.

The stats are irrelevant in this case, BurnerMan.

Just make sure you have the complete funds in the account when you get to the port of entry. The port of entry officer reserve the prerogative to do 'the unthinkable' if those funds are not present! This is not the time to send invite to village people.

It is summer again, please tell the kids to wear helmet when they ride their bikes and come down when they move along the cross walk.

Somebody pikin don dey emergency now.

Pls Is it okay to keep the pof in naira account or should be in dollars?

Kenn55:
When i landed close to a decade ago, I was asked surprisingly. Luckily for me I had more than enough to show. Before then, everyone i knew that landed before me said they didn't ask.

I don't know what would have happened if I wasn't prepared.

I think it is rare they ask but prepared anything can happen. I didn't believe that it would be me they would ask when they didn't ask others that I know. So don't take anything for granted

PrettyRX:
Pls Is it okay to keep the pof in naira account or should be in dollars?

I don't think it matters. Just have the required amount that is equivalent in CAD

Hello all. Thanks for all the engagement and useful advice on this thread.
I have a question: Please is 3hrs and 30min layover enough for a new PR to complete the landing process in Toronto before flying to Calgary? I am about to book my flight and I need the opinion of folks who have gone through the process. Thanks.

jedisco:
Nice. Ownership of ones home seems to be a good starting point of building wealth and stability in most western nations. Having to rent again for a while, showed me how nasty some landlords can be.

Never understood the much higher appeal for new houses in Canada. Reverse was the case in the U.K. I still exchange with folks on the UK mortgage thread to consider new builds. In Canada, folks see 20 yr old houses as old while in the UK 200 yr o houses are still standing and seen as decent and having 'character'
Wanted to go for a new build recently but after I was told I'd have to wait for a year to completion, I went for an old build (20 -30 yr old) instead.

Canadians are fond of new builds because they are extremely energy-efficient, unlike old builds that are energy guzzlers. In a climate where HVAC is paramount for comfortable living, especially since temperatures can vary by up to 70C in a year (-40C to +30C), relying on old HVAC can be frustrating, and updating it in old builds can be very expensive. Another reason is that old builds are boring in terms of aesthetics and look, though they can be more spacious than new builds.
The good thing about old builds, however, is that they are usually in mature neighbourhoods with schools, stores, recreational parks, libraries, fire services, etc available in proximity.

amdman:
I don't know if people still need to be told this, but as a newcomer to Canada, you don't know enough to dabble into the pre-construction game, except you have a very high risk tolerance and your marriage is shock proof. Yes, for married couples, their marriage is usually the first casualty, afterall, the number 1 cause of divorce in North America is financial issues.

Pre-construction has worked for many people. But the risks outweigh the gains. It can set you back to worse than you were before you came to Canada. You will lose your investment and still file bankruptcy; and very few professions in Canada allow people that have filed bankruptcy to practice without restrictions.

My advice? Buy the house you can see with your two eyes and touch with your two hands. If it is your first house, forget about double garage, massive backyard, new build and all those nonsense that inflate prices. Your first house in Canada is not your last house. As much as possible, buy the one that does not max out your credit room. Try to get pre-approved before you start your house search so you know your limit. If your mortgage broker or realtor starts to talk to you about the possibility of private lender, RUN from that deal!!!

You have posited valid points about pre-construction, but I disagree with a few of your points. I disagree about newcomers to Canada not able to know enough about it to reap its benefits; I also disagree about the risks of pre-construction outweighing its advantages.
From my experience, before you can sign on with a builder, you need to present to them a pre-approval from your lender, which is usually valid for a period of 12 months, though this pre-approval does not eliminate the risk of being unable to close out the deal on completion of the house.

Life happens to everybody; one can be laid off at work, one's business can enter a downturn, but the effect is the same whether you do pre-construction, go for an old-build, or even choose quick-possession new builds.

You can not rule out the importance of customisation (upgrades) on a property you will be spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on, which is only available when you go pre-construction. You can not also discount the 18-24 months grace/construction period wherein (other things being equal) you can shore up your finances to be in a better position to close the deal when you go for a pre-construction project. Above all, you also get to lock in your purchase price and hedge against price creep only for pre-construction projects.

PrettyRX:
Pls Is it okay to keep the pof in naira account or should be in dollars?

Dollars is better because of the volatility of naira. You can calculate today your naira and it is equal to the required amount in cad only for the same amount in Naira be less by a significant amount when you're migrating.

For reference, my WES payment was done with my GT Card and the exchange was N220 to 1 Cad in 2018, but when migrating in 2021 it became almost N350 to 1 Cad. As of today, I think it is close to N1000 to 1 CAD. To avoid these avoidable shocks, it is better and wiser to keep your POF in CAD or USD, which are more stable.

Zeemaan:
Hello all. Thanks for all the engagement and useful advice on this thread.
I have a question: Please is 3hrs and 30min layover enough for a new PR to complete the landing process in Toronto before flying to Calgary? I am about to book my flight and I need the opinion of folks who have gone through the process. Thanks.

Should be enough, but even if you miss your connecting flight to Calgary due to landing formalities, the airline would likely book you on another connecting flight at no extra cost.

The question, however, is why choose this flight route when you can fly into Calgary directly ie. Lagos-Amsterdam-Calgary or Abuja-London-Calgary.

sirabbey:
Should be enough, but even if you miss your connecting flight to Calgary due to landing formalities, the airline would likely book you on another connecting flight at no extra cost.

The question, however, is why choose this flight route when you can fly into Calgary directly ie. Lagos-Amsterdam-Calgary or Abuja-London-Calgary.

Air fares are crazy for any flight that passes through Europe. Plus transit visa wahala

Zeemaan:
Air fares are crazy for any flight that passes through Europe. Plus transit visa wahala

With your Canadian immigration visa on your passport, you don't need a transit visa for the Lagos-Amsterdam-Calgary and Lagos-Germany-Calgary routes. Use TripAdvisor, FlightScanner, etc to search for affordable flight fees, provided you're flexible with your travel dates and layover length.

sirabbey:
With your Canadian immigration visa on your passport, you don't need a transit visa for the Lagos-Amsterdam-Calgary and Lagos-Germany-Calgary routes. Use TripAdvisor, FlightScanner, etc to search for affordable flight fees, provided you're flexible with your travel dates and layover length.

I did all these. The fares are crazy expensive except the ones that transit through America which requires transit visa.

ferfer:
Brother, I used to wonder about the appetite for new builds but I got a lesson on its importance recently. We woke up one morning and the fridge stopped working. Thankfully it was smack dab in the middle of winter so basement served as the fridge immediately. This ended up being a ~2k emergency bill (yes one could explore financing option).

Remember that approximately 25% of all Canadians would be unable to cover a sudden, unexpected emergency expense of $500. Recent studies reveal that the majority of working-age Canadians lack sufficient liquid cash to handle a $1,000 financial emergency, with almost half of the population living paycheck to paycheck (https://www.rbc.com/newsroom/news/article.html?article=125971)

New builds have new appliances and all things being equal, they should last longer and are generally less likely to need replacement/pafuka in the first few years plus they should be under warranty 'in case of incasity'.

I am not saying do new/custom build oo, I am just exploring the other side.
The balance is between delayed gratification of waiting for the custom build and potentially/possibly higher mortgage cost versus the instant convenience and often lower purchase price of a move-in-ready home.

Hehe... I lived in a new build, and it's good to have everything spanking new, but also it's easy to underestimate certain costs of things like window blinds, finished deck/garden, and the rest. It's also not fun living on a construction site. In the case of appliances, old houses can come with some rather archaic stuff for example, I'm in the process of changing a kitchen appliance. However, a well built house should retain its charm. The way I see these things is best to compare like for like, our individual properties, rather than just new versus old.

For example, my own place now, the boiler is over 25 years old and can give up at anytime. It's easy to underestimate the cost of certain things that are taken for granted with new builds, such as a new roof, new siding, modern toilets and bathrooms, etc.


My issue with some custom builds is that people put too much of their personality into the house, which becomes an issue when they want to sell. I walk into some houses, and the first thing that comes to mind is, "What was the architect thinking, or what was the builder thinking?" Something being made for the mass market is most likely made to appeal to most people.

AirBay:
...
Can you imagine people using a line of credit for their down payment? Others max out their credit cards buying furniture. Then some Nigerian realtors convince buyers that the basement rent will cover part of the mortgage, even though many of these new homes are built in areas that aren't very attractive to tenants.

Nevertheless, the smell of a brand-new house is hard to resist! 😄 As long as you stay within your budget and can comfortably afford the payments, we will all be okay.⁹

Getting a line of credit large enough and at a decent enough rate to be used for down payment ain't easy. How feasible is that for the regular person?

True, new builds are usually off but some Canadian cities are well structured with arterial roads cutting thru such that getting around isn't hard. But the competition becomes tough if one is renting a basement where everyone else is doing same. Basement living no be for the faint-hearted

sirabbey:
Canadians are fond of new builds because they are extremely energy-efficient, unlike old builds that are energy guzzlers. In a climate where HVAC is paramount for comfortable living, especially since temperatures can vary by up to 70C in a year (-40C to +30C), relying on old HVAC can be frustrating, and updating it in old builds can be very expensive. Another reason is that old builds are boring in terms of aesthetics and look, though they can be more spacious than new builds.
The good thing about old builds, however, is that they are usually in mature neighbourhoods with schools, stores, recreational parks, libraries, fire services, etc available in proximity.

Valid points...

The neighbourhood does it for me though. A nice, established neighbourhood would tend to hold its value better that a new one with unknown unknowns and multiple replicas of the same house type. Also, the turnover in newer neighbourhoods tends to be huge. Every weekend, you're sure of same property type coming on the market.

All said, I think Canada has gone full blown free market capitalist with housing. There is so much financial engineering with housing and a huge chunk of the society runs on it. From HELOCs to basement suits to commission fees to pace of completion e.t.c. Its all surreal. The swings can be brutal. In the UK, outside certain flats in London most of the country has beld steady or at least ticked up at least in nominal terms over the last decade and folks pushing to buy the best they can afford tends to work out for most. New builds are also quite restrained (not that its a good thing) and you dont have a city boundaried by new build in every direction.

For sending money to 9ja, what app or means offers the best rates these days?

jedisco:
For sending money to 9ja, what app or means offers the best rates these days?

check out yousend

Iamsheye:
check out yousend

Thanks... I'd try it out. I see it also had other currencies which is nice.
Usually alternate between Cendmate snd Africhange.
Cendmste is currently 978 and Yousend 975

jedisco:
Thanks... I'd try it out. I see it also had other currencies which is nice.
Usually alternate between Cendmate snd Africhange.
Cendmste is currently 978 and Yousend 975

Yolat is new and has the best rate for now. It currently sits at 985.

Use Yolat to send money from Canada and Nigeria. Sign up now using my code TDS4QUBV.Sign Up here: https://yolat.com/signup?referralCode=TDS4QUBV

sirabbey:
Yolat is new and has the best rate for now. It currently sits at 985.

Use Yolat to send money from Canada and Nigeria. Sign up now using my code TDS4QUBV.Sign Up here: https://yolat.com/signup?referralCode=TDS4QUBV

I'd chk it out

Caution: Long read

From PPR to Citizenship: The Traumas, the Triumphs, and the Testimony

The first time I heard the phrase, “May your road be rough,” was in the late 1990s. Our Chemistry teacher said it to us as graduating students while we celebrated the completion of our WAEC examinations and the end of secondary school. At the time, it sounded almost like a curse. Why would anyone wish a rough road on another person? Life, however, has taught me otherwise.
What appeared to be a curse was, in fact, an unconventional blessing. A rough road develops resilience. It builds character, strengthens resolve, and teaches lessons that smooth paths never can. Looking back on our journey from Permanent Residence (PPR) to Canadian Citizenship, I can confidently say that our road was indeed rough, but it was also transformative.

A New Beginning
After completing our landing formalities in December 2021, I spent the next 4 weeks helping my family settle into our new life in Canada. We moved out of our Airbnb, rented and modestly furnished an apartment, and began adapting to our new environment.
By the last week of January 2022, I returned to Nigeria to tie up unfinished business. I formally resigned from my job, disposed of some of our belongings, and arranged for someone else to take over our apartment. While there, I also attempted to renew my Nigerian passport, which was due to expire later that year.

Unfortunately, I encountered the frustrating realities of Nigerian bureaucracy again. Despite paying ₦70,000 for the renewal process on Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) portal, I was unable to obtain a new passport because I was informed at the point of capturing that my National Identification Number (NIN), which I had obtained more than three years earlier, had not yet appeared on the NIS system. The money was lost, the renewal failed, and I eventually returned to Canada in April 2022 without a renewed passport.

Living on Hope....and Proof of Funds
Upon returning to Canada, my wife and I embarked on what would become a long and exhausting search for employment.
At that point, we were surviving primarily on the Proof of Funds (POF) we had brought from Nigeria, and our savings were steadily shrinking. Although the government had begun paying us Canada Child Care Benefits, we made a deliberate decision not to spend the money. Instead, we invested it in Registered Education Savings Plans (RESP) for our children's education.

The decision proved to be one of the wisest financial choices we made. Not only did it help secure our children's educational future, but it also allowed us to benefit from the accompanying government grants. Today, that RESP portfolio has grown into a substantial education fund.
Meanwhile, we attended newcomer programs, career workshops, and government-sponsored integration initiatives. We applied for countless jobs, but neither of us received an offer.

Then, in June 2022, I was awarded a provincial government scholarship for an Information Technology training program valued at $20,000. The training would have opened the door to a career as a junior Network Administrator. Just as I was preparing to begin the program, one of the many engineering applications I had submitted resulted in an interview invitation.
By God's grace, I passed the interview and received an offer the very next day to work as a Project Engineer on a renewable energy project.

The Importance of Professional Credentials
Let me backtrack a little: earlier in the Japa journey, immediately after receiving my PPR, I had begun the process of obtaining professional engineering recognition in Canada.

As a COREN-registered engineer in Nigeria, I used my portfolios and experience to apply for Professional licensure but was only granted Engineer-in-Training (EIT) status by the regulators. They remarked that I lacked Canadian engineering experience. I was advised to reapply after gaining one year of local experience.
At the time, I viewed the EIT designation as a disappointment. Later, I discovered that it played a significant role in helping me secure my first engineering position in Canada.

A Season of Stability
Although the project site was located two hours away from my city of residence, I gladly accepted the opportunity.
After completing the required drug and alcohol screening, the company provided accommodation near the project site as well as a company-maintained truck for my use. For the first time since arriving in Canada, life felt stable. Income exceeded expenses. We began saving. Hope returned.
Eventually, my wife suggested we explore homeownership. We met with one of Canada's major banks to determine our mortgage eligibility based on my employment and our credit profile. The advisors crunch out the numbers and gave us the amount we qualified for based on our circumstances.
The following week, we visited several builders' show homes. It did not take long to realize that while my job was good, that single income would not qualify us for the type of home we envisioned for our family.
The realization weighed heavily on my wife. She felt frustrated that her inability to secure employment might be holding back our family's aspirations. I encouraged her to remain hopeful and continue applying.

The Breaking Point
By December 2022, after nearly a year in Canada without any employment, my wife had reached her limit.
She told me she was tired of submitting applications without success and wanted to return to Nigeria with the children. The prospect of family separation devastated me, but I understood the emotional and psychological toll she had endured.
I asked her for one final extension, 3 more months. If nothing changed by the end of March 2023, I promised I would support whatever decision she made. Unwilling to remain idle while waiting, she got her Class 4 driving license and began driving for UBER using our family vehicle.
Then, on March 16, 2023, 2 weeks before the deadline, everything changed. She received a job offer.
What could have become a family separated by circumstances instead became a family strengthened by perseverance.

Chasing the Canadian Dream
Two weeks after she started work, we returned to the bank for a mortgage reassessment. This time, with two incomes, the numbers worked.
We obtained a 12-month mortgage pre-approval and proceeded to sign a pre-construction home purchase agreement. The plan was straightforward: make an initial 10% down payment from savings, accumulate another 10% during construction, and finance the remaining 80% with a mortgage while avoiding mortgage insurance costs.
By April 2023, the dream was in motion, but life had other plans.

Employment Earthquake: When the Ground Shifted Beneath Us
House construction began in June 2023 and was expected to be completed by April 2024.
As we diligently saved toward the second portion of the down payment, a major policy shift occurred.
In October 2023, the provincial government suspended approvals for new renewable energy projects. The impact on the renewable industry was immediate and severe. By December 2023, after the company's project I was on got completed, my employer laid off approximately 80% of project personnel, including me.
In an instant, the foundation of our carefully crafted plan disappeared. The future of our home purchase suddenly seemed impossible, but God’s Mercy says no!

Grace in Difficult Seasons
In the midst of this uncertainty, once again, God showed up and made a way.
My wife secured an even better job, while Employment Insurance (EI) payments kicked in for me and helped bridged the gap. Although the EI payments represented only a small fraction of my previous income, it was enough to keep us afloat.
Together, we pushed through. By April 2024, we successfully completed the home purchase and moved into our new house. The victory, however, came with new realities.
Our expenses exploded. Mortgage payments, property taxes, utilities, homeowners' fees, garbage collection charges, and allied costs quickly replaced the simplicity of apartment living.
The financial pressure was intense; still, I continued applying for engineering roles.

The Wilderness Long Wait
September 2024 arrived, and my EI benefits expired; still, no job was in sight. I remained unemployed.
To prevent financial hardship from overwhelming our family, I accepted a survival job. It helped pay bills, but the physical demands eventually became too strenuous and difficult to sustain.
Seeking an alternative, I enrolled in security training, passed the examinations, and qualified as a licensed security guard.
Then, just as I was preparing to pivot and begin a new chapter by seeking job roles as a security guard, another engineering opportunity emerged.
One of the many applications I had submitted months earlier resulted in an interview invitation. I attended the interview, and I got the job.
The offer came almost 18 months after being laid off from my first engineering position and 9 months after my EI benefits had ended.
The journey had been emotionally draining, financially exhausting, and mentally challenging, but it ended in testimony.

Lessons from the Storm
The hardships taught me lessons I could never have learned from success alone.
They deepened my appreciation for my wife and her unwavering support. They showed me the importance of partnership during adversity and helped me understand why many marriages struggle, and some crumble under the pressures of immigration and resettlement.
Challenges do not destroy relationships; often, they reveal whether two people are willing to carry life's burdens together. When vicissitudes of life come, couples can either grow together or fall apart.
I count myself very fortunate to be married to a good woman who chose perseverance over surrender.

The Final Milestone
In December 2024, my wife and children became eligible to apply for Canadian citizenship.
They submitted their applications and became Canadian citizens in May 2025.
I became eligible in March 2025, submitted my own application, and proudly became a Canadian citizen in October 2025.
The journey from PPR to Citizenship was anything but easy.
The road was rough, but that rough road built resilience. It strengthened our family. It deepened our faith. It taught us patience, perseverance, and gratitude.

Today, we are not yet where we ultimately hope to be. However, we are far ahead of where we stood when we arrived in Canada nearly five years ago. There are still dreams to pursue, goals to accomplish, and mountains yet to climb, but when I look back at where we started in December 2021, I am overwhelmed by gratitude.

If you're somewhere on your own rough road today, don't give up. The chapter you're in is not the whole story. Sometimes, the roughest roads lead to the most beautiful destinations.

The journey continues…………..Aluta Continua, Victoria Ascerta.

sirabbey:
Caution: Long read

From PPR to Citizenship: The Traumas, the Triumphs, and the Testimony

The first time I heard the phrase, “May your road be rough,” was in the late 1990s. Our Chemistry teacher said it to us as graduating students while we celebrated the completion of our WAEC examinations and the end of secondary school. At the time, it sounded almost like a curse. Why would anyone wish a rough road on another person? Life, however, has taught me otherwise.
What appeared to be a curse was, in fact, an unconventional blessing. A rough road develops resilience. It builds character, strengthens resolve, and teaches lessons that smooth paths never can. Looking back on our journey from Permanent Residence (PPR) to Canadian Citizenship, I can confidently say that our road was indeed rough, but it was also transformative.

A New Beginning
After completing our landing formalities in December 2021, I spent the next 4 weeks helping my family settle into our new life in Canada. We moved out of our Airbnb, rented and modestly furnished an apartment, and began adapting to our new environment.
By the last week of January 2022, I returned to Nigeria to tie up unfinished business. I formally resigned from my job, disposed of some of our belongings, and arranged for someone else to take over our apartment. While there, I also attempted to renew my Nigerian passport, which was due to expire later that year.

Unfortunately, I encountered the frustrating realities of Nigerian bureaucracy again. Despite paying ₦70,000 for the renewal process on Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) portal, I was unable to obtain a new passport because I was informed at the point of capturing that my National Identification Number (NIN), which I had obtained more than three years earlier, had not yet appeared on the NIS system. The money was lost, the renewal failed, and I eventually returned to Canada in April 2022 without a renewed passport.

Living on Hope....and Proof of Funds
Upon returning to Canada, my wife and I embarked on what would become a long and exhausting search for employment.
At that point, we were surviving primarily on the Proof of Funds (POF) we had brought from Nigeria, and our savings were steadily shrinking. Although the government had begun paying us Canada Child Care Benefits, we made a deliberate decision not to spend the money. Instead, we invested it in Registered Education Savings Plans (RESP) for our children's education.

The decision proved to be one of the wisest financial choices we made. Not only did it help secure our children's educational future, but it also allowed us to benefit from the accompanying government grants. Today, that RESP portfolio has grown into a substantial education fund.
Meanwhile, we attended newcomer programs, career workshops, and government-sponsored integration initiatives. We applied for countless jobs, but neither of us received an offer.

Then, in June 2022, I was awarded a provincial government scholarship for an Information Technology training program valued at $20,000. The training would have opened the door to a career as a junior Network Administrator. Just as I was preparing to begin the program, one of the many engineering applications I had submitted resulted in an interview invitation.
By God's grace, I passed the interview and received an offer the very next day to work as a Project Engineer on a renewable energy project.

The Importance of Professional Credentials
Let me backtrack a little: earlier in the Japa journey, immediately after receiving my PPR, I had begun the process of obtaining professional engineering recognition in Canada.

As a COREN-registered engineer in Nigeria, I used my portfolios and experience to apply for Professional licensure but was only granted Engineer-in-Training (EIT) status by the regulators. They remarked that I lacked Canadian engineering experience. I was advised to reapply after gaining one year of local experience.
At the time, I viewed the EIT designation as a disappointment. Later, I discovered that it played a significant role in helping me secure my first engineering position in Canada.

A Season of Stability
Although the project site was located two hours away from my city of residence, I gladly accepted the opportunity.
After completing the required drug and alcohol screening, the company provided accommodation near the project site as well as a company-maintained truck for my use. For the first time since arriving in Canada, life felt stable. Income exceeded expenses. We began saving. Hope returned.
Eventually, my wife suggested we explore homeownership. We met with one of Canada's major banks to determine our mortgage eligibility based on my employment and our credit profile. The advisors crunch out the numbers and gave us the amount we qualified for based on our circumstances.
The following week, we visited several builders' show homes. It did not take long to realize that while my job was good, that single income would not qualify us for the type of home we envisioned for our family.
The realization weighed heavily on my wife. She felt frustrated that her inability to secure employment might be holding back our family's aspirations. I encouraged her to remain hopeful and continue applying.

The Breaking Point
By December 2022, after nearly a year in Canada without any employment, my wife had reached her limit.
She told me she was tired of submitting applications without success and wanted to return to Nigeria with the children. The prospect of family separation devastated me, but I understood the emotional and psychological toll she had endured.
I asked her for one final extension, 3 more months. If nothing changed by the end of March 2023, I promised I would support whatever decision she made. Unwilling to remain idle while waiting, she got her Class 4 driving license and began driving for UBER using our family vehicle.
Then, on March 16, 2023, 2 weeks before the deadline, everything changed. She received a job offer.
What could have become a family separated by circumstances instead became a family strengthened by perseverance.

Chasing the Canadian Dream
Two weeks after she started work, we returned to the bank for a mortgage reassessment. This time, with two incomes, the numbers worked.
We obtained a 12-month mortgage pre-approval and proceeded to sign a pre-construction home purchase agreement. The plan was straightforward: make an initial 10% down payment from savings, accumulate another 10% during construction, and finance the remaining 80% with a mortgage while avoiding mortgage insurance costs.
By April 2023, the dream was in motion, but life had other plans.

Employment Earthquake: When the Ground Shifted Beneath Us
House construction began in June 2023 and was expected to be completed by April 2024.
As we diligently saved toward the second portion of the down payment, a major policy shift occurred.
In October 2023, the provincial government suspended approvals for new renewable energy projects. The impact on the renewable industry was immediate and severe. By December 2023, after the company's project I was on got completed, my employer laid off approximately 80% of project personnel, including me.
In an instant, the foundation of our carefully crafted plan disappeared. The future of our home purchase suddenly seemed impossible, but God’s Mercy says no!

Grace in Difficult Seasons
In the midst of this uncertainty, once again, God showed up and made a way.
My wife secured an even better job, while Employment Insurance (EI) payments kicked in for me and helped bridged the gap. Although the EI payments represented only a small fraction of my previous income, it was enough to keep us afloat.
Together, we pushed through. By April 2024, we successfully completed the home purchase and moved into our new house. The victory, however, came with new realities.
Our expenses exploded. Mortgage payments, property taxes, utilities, homeowners' fees, garbage collection charges, and allied costs quickly replaced the simplicity of apartment living.
The financial pressure was intense; still, I continued applying for engineering roles.

The Wilderness Long Wait
September 2024 arrived, and my EI benefits expired; still, no job was in sight. I remained unemployed.
To prevent financial hardship from overwhelming our family, I accepted a survival job. It helped pay bills, but the physical demands eventually became too strenuous and difficult to sustain.
Seeking an alternative, I enrolled in security training, passed the examinations, and qualified as a licensed security guard.
Then, just as I was preparing to pivot and begin a new chapter by seeking job roles as a security guard, another engineering opportunity emerged.
One of the many applications I had submitted months earlier resulted in an interview invitation. I attended the interview, and I got the job.
The offer came almost 18 months after being laid off from my first engineering position and 9 months after my EI benefits had ended.
The journey had been emotionally draining, financially exhausting, and mentally challenging, but it ended in testimony.

Lessons from the Storm
The hardships taught me lessons I could never have learned from success alone.
They deepened my appreciation for my wife and her unwavering support. They showed me the importance of partnership during adversity and helped me understand why many marriages struggle, and some crumble under the pressures of immigration and resettlement.
Challenges do not destroy relationships; often, they reveal whether two people are willing to carry life's burdens together. When vicissitudes of life come, couples can either grow together or fall apart.
I count myself very fortunate to be married to a good woman who chose perseverance over surrender.

The Final Milestone
In December 2024, my wife and children became eligible to apply for Canadian citizenship.
They submitted their applications and became Canadian citizens in May 2025.
I became eligible in March 2025, submitted my own application, and proudly became a Canadian citizen in October 2025.
The journey from PPR to Citizenship was anything but easy.
The road was rough, but that rough road built resilience. It strengthened our family. It deepened our faith. It taught us patience, perseverance, and gratitude.

Today, we are not yet where we ultimately hope to be. However, we are far ahead of where we stood when we arrived in Canada nearly five years ago. There are still dreams to pursue, goals to accomplish, and mountains yet to climb, but when I look back at where we started in December 2021, I am overwhelmed by gratitude.

If you're somewhere on your own rough road today, don't give up. The chapter you're in is not the whole story. Sometimes, the roughest roads lead to the most beautiful destinations.

The journey continues…………..Aluta Continua, Victoria Ascerta.

Honestly, after reading this long story, it feels like the main achievement being celebrated is the Canadian passport rather than genuine financial freedom.

Yes, becoming a Canadian citizen is a good achievement, but a passport alone does not mean someone has succeeded financially. The story also describes years of unemployment, depleted savings, EI, survival jobs, mortgage pressure, property taxes, and constant financial stress.

Buying a house and obtaining citizenship may look impressive from the outside, but the real question is whether the family is financially secure, has manageable debt, stable income, savings, and peace of mind.

Many immigrants are too focused on passports, houses, and appearances while struggling seriously behind closed doors. Citizenship is valuable, but it should not be confused with financial independence. A passport cannot pay bills, clear a mortgage, or guarantee a stable future.

Your story shows resilience, but it also exposes the reality that many immigrants glorify suffering and celebrate appearances while remaining financially insecure. After nearly five years, the real achievement should be stable income, manageable debt, strong savings, investments, and financial peace not merely a passport and a mortgaged house.

walenden:
Honestly, after reading this long story, it feels like the main achievement being celebrated is the Canadian passport rather than genuine financial freedom.

Yes, becoming a Canadian citizen is a good achievement, but a passport alone does not mean someone has succeeded financially. The story also describes years of unemployment, depleted savings, EI, survival jobs, mortgage pressure, property taxes, and constant financial stress.

Buying a house and obtaining citizenship may look impressive from the outside, but the real question is whether the family is financially secure, has manageable debt, stable income, savings, and peace of mind.

Many immigrants are too focused on passports, houses, and appearances while struggling seriously behind closed doors. Citizenship is valuable, but it should not be confused with financial independence. A passport cannot pay bills, clear a mortgage, or guarantee a stable future.

Your story shows resilience, but it also exposes the reality that many immigrants glorify suffering and celebrate appearances while remaining financially insecure. After nearly five years, the real achievement should be stable income, manageable debt, strong savings, investments, and financial peace not merely a passport and a mortgaged house.

I disagree with your aspersions, and it does feel like you're putting your own narrative into his story. He was succinct in narrating his journey - one which describes the ups and downs which many migrants might face when moving to a new country, more so from a developing one where some of the qualifications might not be appreciated immediately.

You mention buying a house and obtaining citizenship. The reason why most citizenship is celebrated is because it guarantees long-term stay and gives one a sense of stability. I was on a work visa for five years, and despite never being worried about getting a job, I found it unduly restrictive in terms of attainment and what I could achieve. What I was able to accomplish in the two years after I got permanent stay was far above what I did in the five years on a visa. That is the reason why it's celebrated. It gives people a sense of stability and enables them to thrive in the competitive society they become part of.

As regards buying a house, despite recent hiccups, it has proven to be one of the enduring sources of wealth in most Western nations for the last 40 years. Yes, there are st0cks, but most household wealth is still tied in property. Even if you look across nations, in terms of differential attainment among people who are black or ethnic minorities, it almost always boils down to property ownership. You will hardly ever see any country where those who own property do not own wealth. It doesn't just happen. Capitalism works when you own the capital or the means of production, not when someone else owns it, and you become a number in the system.

All said, he does describe a story of resilience, pushing through and triumph - one which we should celebrate, not use as a segway to bring in other narratives.

jedisco:
I disagree with your aspersions, and it does feel like you're putting your own narrative into his story. He was succinct in narrating his journey - one which describes the ups and downs which many migrants might face when moving to a new country, more so from a developing one where some of the qualifications might not be appreciated immediately.

You mention buying a house and obtaining citizenship. The reason why most citizenship is celebrated is because it guarantees long-term stay and gives one a sense of stability. I was on a work visa for five years, and despite never being worried about getting a job, I found it unduly restrictive in terms of attainment and what I could achieve. What I was able to accomplish in the two years after I got permanent stay was far above what I did in the five years on a visa. That is the reason why it's celebrated. It gives people a sense of stability and enables them to thrive in the competitive society they become part of.

As regards buying a house, despite recent hiccups, it has proven to be one of the enduring sources of wealth in most Western nations for the last 40 years. Yes, there are st0cks, but most household wealth is still tied in property. Even if you look across nations, in terms of differential attainment among people who are black or ethnic minorities, it almost always boils down to property ownership. You will hardly ever see any country where those who own property do not own wealth. It doesn't just happen. Capitalism works when you own the capital or the means of production, not when someone else owns it, and you become a number in the system.

All said, he does describe a story of resilience, pushing through and triumph - one which we should celebrate, not use as a segway to bring in other narratives.

You are arguing against a point I did not make. I never said citizenship or homeownership should not be celebrated.
My point is simply that legal stability and property ownership are not the same as financial freedom. A passport provides security, and a house can build wealth, but a person can still be heavily indebted, unemployed, or under serious financial pressure despite being a citizen.
His story is clearly one of resilience and progress. However, he also admitted that expenses increased sharply and that his family faced intense financial strain. Acknowledging that does not diminish his achievements; it simply prevents progress from being confused with complete financial independence.