When you hear about a family moving abroad, it often feels like a happy surprise. One imagines that their lives, along with those of their friends, family, and future generations, are about to be transformed in the best of ways. Improved lifestyle, better opportunities, larger incomes, and the time to explore the rest of the globe—there seems absolutely no downside to moving out of India. However, the grass often appears greener on the other side, and this is true for many families who are exposed to the myth of the migrant dream.
A Life in Canada
Pradeep Ananth, his wife Monali, and their son Kabir had been living in Bengaluru, India’s tech capital. They were in their late thirties, well-educated, and well-paid, with life ahead seeming exciting and happy. Pradeep was consulting for multinational tech companies, while Monali had been working with a large e-commerce company for the past 11 years. In 2022, she was offered a promotion as a senior product manager, which came with a six-figure salary and the opportunity to relocate to Toronto. She received a company-sponsored work permit, valid for three years, but it tied her right to work in Canada to that one employer. This meant that if she lost her job, she would not be able to work for any other company.
With the company covering costs of their flights, shipment of luggage, helping them find a place in Toronto, and arranging transportation of their cats, it all seemed too good an opportunity to pass up. As Monali’s spouse, Pradeep received a three-year open work permit that allowed him to work for any Canadian employer, thus enabling the entire family to migrate.
Living in Canada
Over the course of three years, the family set up a home, paid Canadian taxes, opened bank accounts, enrolled their son in school, and made friends. But while they were busy perfecting their nest, the Canadian government was tightening its system and cutting permanent residency spots. At the same time, life in Canada proved not to be as swift and dreamy. While looking for a job, Pradeep handled household chores and school drop-offs and pick-ups. He used to see his parents all the time but now talked to them over strained video calls, juggling the 10-hour time difference. Back in Bengaluru, the family had a nanny, a cook, and cleaning help. In Canada, they had to do it all alone.
In February 2023, a blow came that pushed the family to tears: Monali was laid off. Moving back to India felt like a backpedal, considering the family had told everyone they were moving out for a better life. Moreover, their son was finally settled into school and was making new friends. “The company didn’t see a family; they saw a restructuring target. The minute I reached home, Monali and I broke down and held each other,” Pradeep told Maclean’s.
Pradeep soon got a job paying $4,000 monthly but had to work as an Uber Eats delivery rider during off-hours to subsist on the basics of their life there. He sat for an English-language test for permanent residency and received a high score. Monali tried to apply to Toronto-based roles in her company, but nothing planned out. By October 2024, Ottawa had reduced permanent residency spots by more than 20 percent, from the planned 500,000 to 395,000, and the score to qualify had risen to 540. “For me, this felt like a death sentence,” said Pradeep. When he hoped his employer would fill out paperwork to support his residency, they declined to do so. In July 2025, he reattempted the English exam and scored near-perfect marks, but Ottawa announced it was cutting permanent residency by another 15,000 spots for 2026. Kabir’s happiness was the strength behind their efforts. It “was our anchor: the single most important reason we wanted to stay.”
Back to India
Finally, in October 2025, the family accepted their fate. The couple transitioned to visitor visas and began to dismantle their lives in Canada. They enrolled their son in a Bengaluru school that followed the Cambridge IGCSE curriculum. “We spent our final days throwing things away and selling what we could on Facebook Marketplace,” said Pradeep. However, coming home was good. “It felt as if we’d simply picked up where we’d left off when we moved away three years earlier.” Pradeep was offered a job by a Canadian telecom company as a senior engineer at their Bengaluru offices, where he works Canadian hours. “It’s tempting to look back and say we wasted three years, but I don’t see it that way,” he said. “We arrived in the country legally, paid our taxes, and contributed to the economy, yet we were cast as villains. I don’t want to be anywhere I’m not welcome,” he added, saying he is not sure if he would ever want to go back.
