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I am a new immigrant in Steinbach and have lived here for the last nine months. My journey to Steinbach started back in January 2020 when I started to look for business opportunities across Manitoba. I had been looking for the right opportunity and ended up visiting cities such as Brandon, Beausejour, Winnipeg, and lastly Steinbach. I was looking for good fit for a school for my daughter, business opportunity and housing altogether as a package. After a long year’s journey, I found JT’s Store and Diner in Blumenort to be in line with what I was looking for and purchased the business in July 2020. The Steinbach Credit Union and Smith Neufeld Jodoin LLP in Steinbach assisted us with the property transaction.

Eastman Immigrant Services (EIS) was also a part of this successful journey.

First, I called up and left a message and asked whether EIS could provide support for school registration in Steinbach. The following day, I was contacted by Rene Schulz, the Settlement Worker in School (SWIS), who not only described the process but also provided all the forms over the email. He provided assistance in filling out those forms. The best thing was that he followed up with the school and provided me with feedback about the child’s acceptance in the school. He further advised me to follow the rest of the process and provided the key contacts to move forward. As a result of this, I could secure admission for my daughter in the school; even while my daughter was still in India at that time and was scheduled to travel a month later. This gave us a great sense of relief while settling down in Steinbach with first positive reinforcement you may say.

Another instance was my struggle with a temporary resident visa and work permit. I contacted the Eastman Immigrant Services office again for this. I was given an appointment and was provided with explanations about the differences between the documents. This session was really useful as it saved me a lot of hassle and time. All this happened with just a one phone call and appointment. Appointments at EIS are easy to make and the availability of services personnel is the key here, no waiting!!

Recently, I was looking for notary services in the Steinbach area and came across these services at EIS. I was not sure how to render the service, so I called and fixed an appointment for the same. To my surprise, they provided notary services by verifying all my original documents, as this was immigration related. Services, again, were prompt. I found the staff personal to be very professional and helpful and she verified all my documents and attested my papers.

The best part is that these services are offered without costing you anything. I must say that staff is subject matter experts in their areas and cooperative. Overall, for me this has been an amazing experience. I recommend new immigrants to use their services and feel the difference. I bet that their approachability and availability will definitely surprise you!

A big thank you to Eastman Immigrant Services for an overwhelming response; you guys rock. And the assistance that I got from Steinbach Credit Union made every day simple and comfortable by their services. Smith Neufeld Jodoin LLP lawyer(s) still support me with many other things relating to the business.

We are very delighted and enjoying our stay in Steinbach and running the business in Blumenort, immigration to Manitoba has been a successful decision!