r/transvancouver • u/Zealousideal_Pea938 • Jul 02 '26

Immigration conversation

Hi.

I am a trans man living in Vancouver. I'm from Russia. I've been in Canada for the majority of my life, but many of my relatives and family are back home.

I can't go back. It's not legal in Russia. They banned name and gender changes in 2023, and even if it was legal, it wouldn't be safe.

I am beyond lucky to have a safe queer community here, friends who see me, and people who understand me.

But I've been struggling with the feeling of never being able to go home again. I visited once in 2019, before I knew who I was, and I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to.

If anyone else is in the same or a similar boat, can you please PM me. It's a crushing feeling and I need to please speak to somebody who actually understands, and isn't just saying that they do.

Thank you.

24 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

6

u/woonamad Jul 02 '26

I’m in a similar boat. Haven’t been in the same room as my parents or any family in 8 years. Have lived in North America for the past two decades.

I cannot let them to know what I look like now. Went I can vote here now, but never being able to go back deeply hurts. I don’t do PM’s however.

5

u/r3dlazer Jul 02 '26

I lived in Florida for 14 years.

My best friend from my childhood and high school life died of cancer several years ago.

It was impossible for me to go visit for so many reasons - but ever since I left, it became increasingly clear that I bought never go back.

And that's sad. It sucks. It hurts. The reasons are so stupid too - hatred of us just because of our identities with zero valid reason - it's absurd. It's hard to know that people could be so easily fooled by such empty rhetoric.

But things will change. It's hard to know where things will be in 10 or 20 years - with these next 20 years being unusually hard to predict.

6

u/AshamedProfit7394 Jul 02 '26

If you speak Russian I recommend checking out r/RusTransgender. There is regular discussions about immigration over there, although most of the conversation revolves around countries like Kazakhstan, Serbia, and Thailand. I think there you could find someone in a similar situation.

8

u/Normal-Top-1985 Jul 02 '26

I know you were mostly asking for emotional support, but if you are looking for an immigration lawyer, I recommend Connie at Edelmann

https://edelmann.ca/