In January 2023, Cherry Yeung, 28, and her boyfriend took advantage of Canada’s immigration pathways for Hong Kongers to move to Vancouver.
“We looked into going to Australia but the immigration consultant said we didn’t have enough points to qualify, or, if we did go, we would have to settle in smaller cities,” says Yeung.
“As for the UK, my boyfriend had studied at university there and he felt the society was discriminatory in terms of class. We came to Canada because it was the easiest way to become permanent residents.”
Almost a year after Hong Kong’s national security law was implemented in July 2020, Canada began offering permanent residence pathways that give approved Hong Kongers the opportunity to either get a work permit or study in a post-secondary institution to be eligible for permanent residency.
In March 2023, the South China Morning Post reported that Canada had approved more than 21,000 applications for work permits, while the Migration Policy Institute says that since April 2023 more than 2,400 of those in streams A and B have become permanent residents. Stream A requires completion of a diploma, or graduate or postgraduate degree, while Stream B requires full-time or 1,560 hours’ work in Canada for at least a year.
While the process is solely for Hong Kongers and is straightforward, the path to permanent residency is strewn with obstacles that Yeung and her boyfriend encountered, from finding housing and decently paid jobs to starting from scratch with making friends.
Immigration consultant Ken Wong Tin-lok anticipates that there will be fewer Hong Kongers like Yeung coming into Canada, as the permanent residency pathways policy will end in August 2026, by which time these migrants are expected to have fulfilled the prerequisites of Stream A or B.
“It’s now or never, because they either have to work a full year straight or part time for three years,” he explains, adding this is a temporary policy that may even end before the 2026 deadline.
Of the cases he has seen or dealt with, Wong says Hong Kongers are very resilient. “They have done their homework prior to coming to Vancouver. This is not an affordable place, so those who make it over here have allocated enough money to find a place to live.”
He says those who qualify for the two streams are young people who need to get work experience and will take almost any job.
“The problem is that there is no median wage for these people, so employers might take advantage of them and pay them peanuts for a job that needs technical expertise,” Wong says.
Both Yeung and her boyfriend were social workers in Hong Kong, and at first a friend’s aunt helped Yeung get an administrative job working from home.
“The pay was just above minimum wage [C$17.40 per hour], and at first my boyfriend couldn’t find steady work and did shifts in an Asian supermarket, so financially it was tough,” she recalls. At one point she contemplated going back to Hong Kong to work for a few months.
“It was also hard to work from home as someone who had come here without knowing anyone because I didn’t get to know people in my workplace, so I felt quite lonely and unhappy at times,” Yeung says.
When they first arrived, her boyfriend’s friend helped them find a place to live, but after a year the landlord put the apartment on the market and the couple had to find another place.
“Looking at the listings online we could see housing was more expensive than last year. We would arrange appointments to see condos, but many people came at the same time so it was stressful. When we applied, landlords also asked what kind of work we did to see if we had steady employment.”
Luckily Yeung and her boyfriend managed to pass the exam for the Association of Social Work Boards which enabled them to get their licences to find jobs in their field, him last November and her this July. It was a difficult exam to pass, and she heard of a few people who had failed a few times and gone back to Hong Kong.
Yeung works for Vancouver Coastal Health, where she is based in a hospital focused on children and youth with mental health issues related to stress from their relationships with parents or peers, or struggles with their studies.
“The team I’m in didn’t have anyone who could speak Cantonese and Mandarin to the parents, so I am an asset to them,” says Yeung, who is beginning to make friends.
While Yeung is starting to gain her footing in Vancouver, not everyone has managed to pull through, says Queenie Choo, CEO of Success, one of the largest non-profit social service organisations in Canada, which provides an anonymous crisis line available in Cantonese and Mandarin.
“[Hong Kongers] can feel anxious because they don’t have as much support from family compared to when they were in Hong Kong. Some come here by themselves so they have no network or extended family so they tend to be a bit lonely,” Choo explains.
“Also they may need a job to sustain their financial situation so the financial pressure due to unemployment can be a factor, as housing is expensive here,” Choo says. “This can cause depression and anxiety, adding to the loneliness and social isolation of an unfamiliar environment.”
She adds that those studying can also feel pressure from their families to do well academically, but their performance may be affected by their inability to integrate into their new environment.
In more extreme cases, Choo says some people don’t seek help due to the cultural stigma around mental health issues, which leads to untreated anxiety and depression and even suicide.
“I’m saddened by the situation because of all the pressure they are dealing with. Some are younger than 20 years old and are here alone without parental support,” Choo says.
Her organisation, Success, can refer people to appropriate services such as counselling, as well as encourage them to participate in community connection activities and conversation circles to meet others in similar situations and offer mutual support.
Vancouver-based Youtuber Stanley Tsui Hok-wang, 47, has also encountered Hong Kong immigrants who share their frustrations of living in Canada with him online.
Moving to Vancouver in 2017, he first worked at an Asian supermarket and made videos on the side. Two years later, he was laid off and began to focus on his YouTube channel Koarlo, which now has more than 59,000 followers.
Tsui not only introduces places to visit around the city, and in Canada and the United States, but also gives viewers tips on settling in Vancouver, from dim sum restaurants and buying a car to building a kitchen island in his home.
But Tsui notices many of the comments from his viewers are complaints about living in Canada.
“They grumble about the government, or they have been here for 30 years and say they have no friends or money, or they don’t feel safe, or that it’s hard to make a living,” says Tsui, although these comments make up only a small percentage of those he receives.
“Maybe they feel I’m like a friend they can talk to, and I try to give them some suggestions on how to make their lives better,” he says, adding there aren’t many Cantonese channels in North America.
“But we [Hong Kongers] chose to immigrate to Canada so I’m trying to help them to make the most of it and be happy here,” he says. “You can get more viewers if you post videos that have a negative tone, but I don’t want to do that. Every place has its advantages and disadvantages.”
- Do you need help?
Canada: If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, call or text 988 for the Suicide Crisis Helpline. Support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
United Kingdom: When life is difficult, Samaritans are here – day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org, or visit www.samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.
