From Undocumented Teen to Chartered Accountant: One Immigrant’s Inspiring Journey in France

Karim left his native village of Khémisset (Morocco) for France in the winter of 2002. He arrives in the Bastide district of Limoges, where his mother’s family lives. A city that the teenager will not leave. "I thought we were going to stay a little while and go back. But no. My parents wanted a brighter future for us," the 33-year-old man confides to Populaire du Centre. He quickly adapts. "I quickly felt at home."

Enrolled at the Pierre de Ronsard college, the young man who did not speak French was tempted by a choice. "There was a non-French speaking 4th grade and I wanted to go there, surely out of convenience. But a math teacher advised me to stay in the general track while telling me ’you’re going to have to get moving’." Advice that Karim will follow throughout his studies. Math is his forte. With his brevet (with honors) in his pocket, the young man will continue his studies at the Lycée Gay Lussac. A few months later, he obtains his baccalaureate in economics and social sciences, with honors.

Karim manages to take on other challenges: he obtains a DUT in Business and Administration Management, a management degree, a master’s degree in accounting, and an advanced diploma in accounting and management. Today, the thirty-year-old is an accountant and chartered accountant, and works in the thriving start-up Facil’iti.

After an initial refusal, Karim obtained French nationality in 2013. His ambition, he says, is to open his own accounting firm. "In life, nothing is free. You have to be ambitious and give yourself the means to succeed. I’ve always been afraid of being lazy and going somewhere and missing a decisive encounter."