US-based applicants, let's connect here

[BrittanyElaina]

Landing in Vancouver doesn't take long. Maybe 30-45 minutes. That being said, what part of Vancouver is your interview, and what time? I would personally be more concerned with traffic.

Congratulations on the job interview!

I think the landing itself takes an hour or less, but the risk is rather waiting time in the immigration line; I've often gone through long, long immigration lines at YVR around noon/early afternoon, which I think is when a lot of transpacific flights with tons of passangers are landing. It's probably fine if things go as usual, but it could be a big problem if the flight is delayed a bit, and if it were me I wouldn't want to risk an important job interview in the same afternoon and/or be stressed during the landing process... could you possibly land the night before or schedule the interview the next day?

I ended up switching my flight to the night before, more expensive and an extra night accommodations, but hopefully worth not having the extra stress. Since my flight lands so late at night now I expect my landing process will be nice and quick. Just need to get my paperwork in order.

Since virtually all of my possessions will be "Goods to Follow" how specific do I really need to be? Of course I will list all big ticket items (TVs, furniture, valuable items) separately with serial numbers etc. but is something as general as "Clothing XXX$CAD" or "Kitchen Wares XXX$CAD" acceptable for most of the rest? I have no idea how many boxes of anything specifically that it'll end up being since I'm not shipping it yet.

 

[mgnlky]

Since virtually all of my possessions will be "Goods to Follow" how specific do I really need to be? Of course I will list all big ticket items (TVs, furniture, valuable items) separately with serial numbers etc. but is something as general as "Clothing XXX$CAD" or "Kitchen Wares XXX$CAD" acceptable for most of the rest? I have no idea how many boxes of anything specifically that it'll end up being since I'm not shipping it yet.

Yep, that's fine for clothing, kitchen stuff, etc. I only listed out items with serial numbers (technology) or artwork that was original and pricey. To be honest, they didn't even take a look at it really.

 

[canada_dreamer]

You have to call customer service and they'll set it up for you, then they'll mail you a packet with a paper you have to sign and return to confirm. You can send in a check for the initial deposit then, and they'll send back a debit card (I don't know if I'm getting one because I was like "I'm not actually using this for daily banking but solely as a go-between account so I really don't need that" so the agent may have nixed that, which would be fine by me! Clearly I didn't even care enough to confirm either way ). It wasn't too bad a process. They also may ask you to choose a home branch, so be prepared to pick a random one. Mine is actually right down the street from a relative's house so we'll probably end up there next time we visit her to add my husband to the account!

This was really helpful. Thanks.

 

[Ang&Guille]

Hi guys, We received the request to send our passports to Ottawa to get the visa we need to do the landing, they gave us 30 days but I had to ask for an extension because I do not have my passport since I am going on a Mission trip to Africa the first week of January. They gave me until January 20th to submit the passports and pictures. Do you guys know how long will I have to do the landing? Will it be 1 year since the Medicals? I did my medicals in June. Anyone with experience in that process recently?

 

[cowbeepbeep]

Hi guys, We received the request to send our passports to Ottawa to get the visa we need to do the landing, they gave us 30 days but I had to ask for an extension because I do not have my passport since I am going on a Mission trip to Africa the first week of January. They gave me until January 20th to submit the passports and pictures. Do you guys know how long will I have to do the landing? Will it be 1 year since the Medicals? I did my medicals in June. Anyone with experience in that process recently?

Your COPR will expire on the earlier of the expiration of your medicals or your passport.

 

[JERiv]

Yep, that's fine for clothing, kitchen stuff, etc. I only listed out items with serial numbers (technology) or artwork that was original and pricey. To be honest, they didn't even take a look at it really.

That's good to hear! That's what we're doing too. Serial numbers on electronics, individual line item for big stuff (sofa, furniture, etc), and just # of boxes for the rest. We'll find out if that's good enough in 2 weeks.

We don't have to be specific on $ value, right? Because we have no real idea what these things are actually worth. We're just guessing for everything.

 

[DEEPCUR]

Anyone here landed from Texas?

I am planning to land sometime between early January and March next year. It'll be soft landing. I've thought about landing in Toronto airport by taking a direct flight from Dallas. It costs ~$500 per person and I'd be spending around $1000 for me and my wife.

I would like to know if there are any other cheaper options to land..

I thought of taking flight to Buffalo and cross by foot which would cost only half of taking flight to Toronto, but I'm concerned about the winter and snow. I have a 20mo toddler, and I really don't wish to take chances by walking in cold in an international border. One reason is cold and another reason is unfamiliarity with the area/border setup.. like it might be hard to even stand and enquire something to someone in the cold. So I thought Toronto might be much hassle free to land. Also I can apply SIN right away at the airport which is not possible if I land crossing border by foot.

Any other options do I have to do landing other than taking flight to Toronto to save some $$? Like taking flight to a different airport or a different land crossing without cold?

Thanks

 

[JERiv]

Hi guys, We received the request to send our passports to Ottawa to get the visa we need to do the landing, they gave us 30 days but I had to ask for an extension because I do not have my passport since I am going on a Mission trip to Africa the first week of January. They gave me until January 20th to submit the passports and pictures. Do you guys know how long will I have to do the landing? Will it be 1 year since the Medicals? I did my medicals in June. Anyone with experience in that process recently?

Your best bet is probably to plan to just do everything as fast as you can. Send your passports as soon as it's possible after your Jan trip, and try to schedule a soft landing as soon as you get your COPR back. That way no matter what happens, you'll be ready for it.

Your COPR will expire on the earlier of the expiration of your medicals or your passport.

Our COPRs expire around the year of the medicals for us, and several months earlier for our daughters. What appears to have happened is that our daughter's expiry date is based on our old passport's expiry date (we had to renew ours mid-way through the process). So if any of that applies, just keep it under consideration.

 

[JERiv]

Anyone here landed from Texas?

I am planning to land sometime between early January and March next year. It'll be soft landing. I've thought about landing in Toronto airport by taking a direct flight from Dallas. It costs ~$500 per person and I'd be spending around $1000 for me and my wife.

I would like to know if there are any other cheaper options to land..

I thought of taking flight to Buffalo and cross by foot which would cost only half of taking flight to Toronto, but I'm concerned about the winter and snow. I have a 20mo toddler, and I really don't wish to take chances by walking in cold in an international border. One reason is cold and another reason is unfamiliarity with the area/border setup.. like it might be hard to even stand and enquire something to someone in the cold. So I thought Toronto might be much hassle free to land. Also I can apply SIN right away at the airport which is not possible if I land crossing border by foot.

Any other options do I have to do landing other than taking flight to Toronto to save some $$? Like taking flight to a different airport or a different land crossing without cold?

Thanks

We're from Austin, TX and we're planning to do a soft landing in Vancouver, BC two weeks from today. As to why Vancouver, my wife has a brother in BC, and we absolutely love Vancouver.

Whether you can get a better deal than what you already have is kind of dependent on luck. We got tickets to Vancouver after we saw an e-mail sent by "Scott's Cheap Flights" (free mailing list). They blast e-mails on international flight discounts. But I've only seen 2 for Canada in quite a few months. We were able to get them for around $330/person total. And we bought them 2 month before we were actually approved, so it was admittedly a bit of a gamble.

Also, another thing to consider: the flights you get for 'cheap' are usually not direct flights. Our initial flights had 2 stops on the way back. I fully expected a horrible day of airports waits and/or running to catch planes. We were only able to get it down to one stop after the airline changed the flights so that there was no chance of catching one of the connections. With a 20 month old, that direct flight might totally be worth it!!!

 

[moose17]

@DEEPCUR, I have no idea of the layout of the city but you could look at Detroit too. We're going to land there but by car. Sympathies on doing it with a 20-month-old. Ours isn't much younger than that and it definitely adds a challenge!

For the inventory, we're doing what's been said above - details for larger and electronic items and general "clothing - 6 boxes" type of entries for everything else. We're also overestimating amounts of items where we're unsure.

 

[mgnlky]

That's good to hear! That's what we're doing too. Serial numbers on electronics, individual line item for big stuff (sofa, furniture, etc), and just # of boxes for the rest. We'll find out if that's good enough in 2 weeks.

We don't have to be specific on $ value, right? Because we have no real idea what these things are actually worth. We're just guessing for everything.

Do you have the excel template that a lot of people use? If not, DM me your email and I'll forward it to you. I'll take out my personal info & serial numbers, etc., but you can see how it's laid out. I (and many others) have landed using it with no issues.

 

[moose17]

Do you have the excel template that a lot of people use? If not, DM me your email and I'll forward it to you. I'll take out my personal info & serial numbers, etc., but you can see how it's laid out. I (and many others) have landed using it with no issues.

Would you mind sending us one too? I can send DM you my email. We're trying to finalize it today. It's been . . . fun lol (headaches, fussy toddlers and trying to sort out government paperwork, what a joy!).

 

[mgnlky]

Would you mind sending us one too? I can send DM you my email. We're trying to finalize it today. It's been . . . fun lol (headaches, fussy toddlers and trying to sort out government paperwork, what a joy!).

Sure thing!

 

[disp.31089]

@aamir_s1986 if you are a US citizen or permanent resident, you can go through a channeler that can get you the PCC in as little as a few hours up to a week, so it's best to wait until you know you will receive ITA soon or even post ITA. But if you're not a US citizen or PR, you'll have to wait the 3+ months and should apply for the PCC as soon as possible.

Agree with both noscaf2014 and trumprefugee.. if you are a citizen, go through a channeler and you would get it really quick.
But,if you are a PR or on visa, it is best to do it as soon as possible, assuming that you are confident with your score and profile getting picked up in one of the draws. I started 1 month before getting the ITA and it took me 3 months to get the PCC, so it worked out well.
Another thing, though I'm not entirely sure of it, the PCC for the current country should not be more than three months old when you send all your documents. Although I didn't face this scenario, I have read this in several places in this forum. Just thought you should know.

 

[Canadianspirit]

Guys I assume you had your passport back by now
I am just looking for advice
My passport was delivered to Ottawa for stamping per FedEx Oct 22nd and I didn' get it back yet
I called twice and sent an email twice and I keep getting the same response
That it was delivered..my application has been finalized and passport will be returned soon
I don' know if I should trust this anymore!

Esp that one email stated my passport was delivered Nov 1st which is not the case per FedEx
At this point am worried that may be my passport was lost?
I don' know what else to do?

Any advice?
Do you know of anyone who has been in a similar situation?
I am super confused