Hey guys
We want to share our experience in our recent soft landing at the Vancouver International Airport on 23 July 2019. I'm the Sponsor (CDN Citizen) and my wife was the PA. Some background information... My wife's immigration visa expires on 10 Aug 2019 and we were in Canada from 23/7 to 08/08.
Prior to Departure
Customs
We arrived in Vancouver Airport (YVR) via Air Canada (AC8). We already filled out the Arrival Declaration Card on the airplane where i checked "Yes" for more than $10K and Food.
There was minimal wait time for our turn at the immigration counter. When it was out turn, we produced our passports, COPR and declaration card. The CBSA officer was super nice and welcomed my wife to Canada and asked us very brief questions regarding our declaration (like did i fill out E677 for the money and what type of food i'm bringing). After 5 minutes, she let us through and get our luagges from baggage claims. Proceeded to the Immigration office within YVR.
Immigration
There was a small luggage cart parking area just outside the immigration office and we were required to park our belongings there. We were then led inside by one of the airport volunteers to be met with a security guard. We were told to write down our address where the PR card will be mailed to and we proceed to the line up for the actual processing.
The line wasn't too long but still took about 40 minutes for our turn since there was only one CBSA officer working at the time. A new officer showed up and called us up to her counter and asked for all the previous documents. Here are the main points
SIN Number
By the time we walked out the airport, it was 7pm. We decided to do the SIN number the next day at the Sinclair Centre in Downtown Vancouver. There was NO ONE at the line up and we were served immediately. The Service Canada rep just asked to see the signed COPR, Passport and any contact information. As many of you know, the SIN number no longer comes in a Card form but a simple letter. The rep welcomed my wife to Canada and we left!
Overall
It was a very smooth landing experience. I think the key is to prep all the required documents way ahead of time and organize them so that they are easy to read and process.
Let me know if you any questions!
We want to share our experience in our recent soft landing at the Vancouver International Airport on 23 July 2019. I'm the Sponsor (CDN Citizen) and my wife was the PA. Some background information... My wife's immigration visa expires on 10 Aug 2019 and we were in Canada from 23/7 to 08/08.
Prior to Departure
- Since my wife is Mainland Chinese, the Hong Kong VO issued her a single-entry visa on her passport.
- We brought more than $10K CAD, so we filled out the E677 form (more about this below)
- We completed a list of goods being brought into Canada
Customs
We arrived in Vancouver Airport (YVR) via Air Canada (AC8). We already filled out the Arrival Declaration Card on the airplane where i checked "Yes" for more than $10K and Food.
There was minimal wait time for our turn at the immigration counter. When it was out turn, we produced our passports, COPR and declaration card. The CBSA officer was super nice and welcomed my wife to Canada and asked us very brief questions regarding our declaration (like did i fill out E677 for the money and what type of food i'm bringing). After 5 minutes, she let us through and get our luagges from baggage claims. Proceeded to the Immigration office within YVR.
Immigration
There was a small luggage cart parking area just outside the immigration office and we were required to park our belongings there. We were then led inside by one of the airport volunteers to be met with a security guard. We were told to write down our address where the PR card will be mailed to and we proceed to the line up for the actual processing.
The line wasn't too long but still took about 40 minutes for our turn since there was only one CBSA officer working at the time. A new officer showed up and called us up to her counter and asked for all the previous documents. Here are the main points
- Since we are doing a soft landing (not settling), and that our provided address is not that of a family member, she said she will not issue us a PR Card this trip. Additionally, she told us that IRCC recently changed their ways of issuing PR card that they don't want friends to mail PR cards internationally. So, no PR cards for us for now
- For the money form, the officer didn't need it because it was not cash or travel cheques but it was a wire transfer - which the banks has already verify the origins of the money. The E677 was not required
- For the list of Goods, she said the major items she looks at are the big ticket items (any jewelries, electronics, etc). She paid extra attention to the jewelries that my wife received during our wedding (it's a chinese thing) and she said that there should be photos and receipts for these items. We told her that there is no receipts since they are wedding gifts. The office then said (paraphrased) "well, then next time, when you enter Canada, produce photos of the day(s) of the wedding showing you wearing the jewelries)
SIN Number
By the time we walked out the airport, it was 7pm. We decided to do the SIN number the next day at the Sinclair Centre in Downtown Vancouver. There was NO ONE at the line up and we were served immediately. The Service Canada rep just asked to see the signed COPR, Passport and any contact information. As many of you know, the SIN number no longer comes in a Card form but a simple letter. The rep welcomed my wife to Canada and we left!
Overall
It was a very smooth landing experience. I think the key is to prep all the required documents way ahead of time and organize them so that they are easy to read and process.
Let me know if you any questions!
