Despite living in Thailand for many years, I still hold a Russian passport, and it looks like such a citizenship is a pretty undesirable thing to have nowadays. I never had any illusions about the nature of Putin’s regime, and that’s why I’m not living in Russia, nor I have any business in that region. Still, living abroad for many years didn’t really protect me from certain sanctions imposed on Russia. Indeed, it’s an easily solvable problem, and it’s nothing compared to the horrors many Ukrainians are facing now. Still, the recent events encouraged me to break my last ties with Russia, primarily by seeking a citizenship in a more stable and peaceful country.

There are many immigrant-friendly countries, but the immigration process can be a royal PITA and I have no illusions about that. I was considering quite a few options, but it looks like Canada is best suited for my needs, for the following reasons:

• Easy and transparent immigration process
• Political stability
• Far from Russia
• Access to good jobs (including US jobs)
• Decent healthcare
• Reasonable cost of living

Canada seems like a good long-term bet, so I started preparing the required documents.