My boyfriend and I in our midtwenties and planning to marry in about 2 years time. We live in Jakarta, Indonesia. Because of the pollution here, I've been having health problems. I've lived in medium-sized major cities in the US, Australia, and Europe, and have always been a healthy girl. But since living in Jakarta I've been suffering frequent colds, perpetual headaches, and very low stamina, especially on and around my period. It may be anemia but I haven't checked because I don't really trust the doctors here. My boyfriend--a young lawyer by profession--has been a globetrotter like me, and has expressed interest in living elsewhere, although we haven't really started any serious planning. He was born in Switzerland, but as the son of an Indonesian embassy employee dual citizenship was prohibited so his ID card states Jakarta as his birthplace instead of Geneva. He graduated both his bachelors and masters in law from The Netherlands, whose laws are the basis of Indonesian law. Likewise, Dutch law is concordant with French law and the law of other countries based on Ancient Roman law. He specialises in corporate and business law, and has worked in Holland as well as Indonesia. I have a Canadian permanent residence, which my family and I have earned through legal procedures that started when I was still a minor. I have never lived there. My parents and I visited Canada in 2007 to activate the permit (I was 22), but we are required to reenter in 5 years time ie 2012 (I will be 27). In 2011 I expect to graduate with a bachelors in performing arts communication and in 2012 a masters in journalism or broadcasting. Over the past 3 years I have worked on and off as translator/interpreter, master of ceremony (hosting small concerts and seminars), and hosting a radio talk show. Recently I've decided to cross over to brand management/advertising as a copywriter, hoping that it would land me a fun but challenging job supporting quirky creative professionals like graphic designers, professional photographers, product developers, and others in charge of advertising/brand development campaigns. I plan to join campus clubs to start my portfolio and hope that it would land me with internships or projects elsewhere so I would at least have some experience by the time I migrate. In the future I'd prefer to work on a freelance basis, in case my would-be-husband might get transferred frequently, plus I would like my time to be relatively flexible so we can raise a family. OK, so in short my boyfriend has ties with Europe and I have ties with Canada. Once married, we want to migrate together somewhere (not necessarily Canada or Switzerland although those are the more obvious options for now). I do NOT prefer EU countries, although I'm not totally against it either. We need to prepare how we're going to live overseas and still be able to thrive in our professions. The way I have seen others do this is by joining a multinational company that happens to have an office in Jakarta, then climb the corporate ladder to get transferred elsewhere... how would this work out for a lawyer? (I'm more concerned about him having the fixed job, as I expect to work more as an independent professional in the future) Where can we find more information to explore our options so we can start preparing ahead of time? Companies to work for? International professional associations to join? Policies concerning spouses of Canadian permanent residents or the possibility of an adult born in Switzerland to request citizenship/permanent residency? Policies of other countries? Cities with significantly better air quality than Jakarta? Thanks :)
Immigration - 2 Answers
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1 :
Immigration to Switzerland is extremely strict and you would have to be extremely wealthy to be admitted to Switzerland. Unemployment is very high throughout the EU, and your chances of immigration are not too good, but your chances of employment are pretty horrible except possibly Netherlands. IF he is admitted to the Netherlands bar, he might be able to immigrate and work in Netherlands. If he can get on with a law firm in Jakarta or Surabaya or somewhere which is basically a Dutch firm, maybe he could be promoted to their Netherlands office in time. However, foreign firms are much more likely to need an Indonesian attorney in their Indonesian office and it is highly improbable that they would transfer a good Indon worker out of Indon. You chose a "glamour" occupation which is chronically glutted and very low paying throughout Europe, North America, et al. You may have great employment opportunities in Indon, but not likely anywhere else. And you cannot get your bf or fiance to Canada or anywhere else. You have little to no competition in your fields in Indon. Your best career opportunities are there. If you don't like Jakarta, head for Surabaya, the islands south of Singapore (lots of opportunities going on there!), or elsewhere in Indonesia. You have fabulous opportunities there, and nothing for you elsewhere, except maybe freeze to death unemployed and alone in Canada. BTW, with health problems, nobody wants you to immigrate there. Move to Bandung, Surabaya, etc, and clear up your problems.
2 :
have a Canadian permanent residence, which my family and I have earned through legal procedures that started when I was still a minor. I have never lived there. My parents and I visited Canada in 2007 to activate the permit (I was 22), but we are required to reenter in 5 years time ie 2012 (I will be 27). Permanent residents of Canada must live in Canada for 2 years out of every 5 years or they lose the PR status. So if you are going to be out of Canada for 5 years then you WILL LOSE your PR status which means you can only enter Canada as a visitor. You need to get back to Canada by 2010 and live in Canada for 2 years to KEEP the PR status, the fiance will have to stay in Indonesia while you apply to sponsor him.
