Starting around 2018, my mom desperately wanted me to leave Nigeria. She would go to Poly Road and follow up with agents. She finally hired one person who was new to the job, and I ended up making a lot of mistakes. Apparently, for the immigration pathway, I need to have done a two-year programme, but the agent applied for a one-year study programme. I didn’t even know the difference. I just knew they said my admission was ready. The agent had also told me all I needed to enter the country was the introduction letter and I did not need proof of funds. But the immigration officers at the airport asked. I was shocked and thought I would be deported. I laugh about it now, but I had a lot of anxiety at the time. I immediately contacted a friend who had gathered some money in her account for a visa application, and she sent me her bank statement. I presented it and said it belonged to my aunt. The immigration officer asked, ‘What about
the 36 million?’ That was the amount the agent mentioned in my application. I had to think up a lie on the spot and almost implicated myself. Another mistake I made was thinking my school fee was 8,000 Canadian dollars. After registering, I realised it was actually 27,000 CAD. I didn’t know international students paid a different fee from citizens and permanent residents. I managed to pay because my spouse had just got a better-paying job. He had to request an advance payment of his first salary so I could cover most of my first-semester school fees. I borrowed $6,000 from a friend to pay the balance. I am lucky to have a partner who is a high-income earner and helps with a significant part of my expenses. He pays my school fees a year in advance, so I don’t have to worry. My agent’s errors were not intentional. But there are agents who just want to collect money, some are ignorant, and some just want you to get in and believe you’ll figure things out from there. They don’t care if you have to use a six-month visa to enter or if you are enrolled for a short course that won’t lead to permanent residence.
As narrated by: IFEOLUWA (TORONTO, CANADA)
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