@tjsecondtry is organizing meetups in Toronto each month for people on the forum. The first was going to be this week, but I had to bail because we canceled our trip and no one else had planned to go. I'm hoping the March one will work out because I'll have moved there by then.
My Airport Landing Experience - Toronto, ON
- Thread starter crescent_jam
- Start date
@tjsecondtry has a private profile. Kindly let me know when the next gathering is holding.
P.S. I don't understand why people have private profiles on this community forum
Ok, I have no idea what a private profile means, nor did I know I had one. I can receive messages from people and never had a problem. I'll have to take a look and see if I can change it.
Edit - I don't see anything I can change to make myself not private. The only choice I see is between allowing members to message me and allowing only people I follow to message me. I'm set for members.
thank you for sharing! this is a great post! did you bring 10,000 CAD cold cash?Hi Guys,
I've finally arrived!!!!!In the spirit of sharing information, I thought I would also share my landing experience in case anyone else has questions, or it can be of use to anyone.
Basically, I was in and out of the airport in about an hour, and the only documents I ended up showing anyone was my COPR and my passport (and the declaration slip the kiosk prints for you).
- I arrived at the Lester B. Pearson Toronto Airport in Ontario (Mississauga) at 10:15pm yesterday (a Friday)
- Upon disembarking from the plane, we were directed to the Arrivals Hall (5-10 minutes of walking from the terminal, depending on how fast you walk); there were enough arriving passengers there, that it took me about 5 - 10 minutes to get through the line to a kiosk. I joined the line for 'All Passports'
- The kiosk asks you to indicate the country you're coming from, how you arrived (from the US, from another country, from another country but transit through the US), and the purpose for your visit (Immigration), as well as questions about what you're bringing into the country and if you're bringing in any money or monetary instruments valued at more than CAD$10,000). You also have to let it scan your travel document and wait for the kiosk to take a picture of you (remove your glasses if you wear them). At completion, it will print a declaration slip for you. This takes less than 2 minutes unless you're having difficulty understanding the kiosk's instructions, but there are Officers in the hall to assist you if needed.
- Once you finish at the kiosk, you will be directed to wait in line until an Immigration Officer can speak to you (this part was quick, I basically waited in line for 5 seconds, if that much). The Officer will ask you the purpose of your visit ("landing to become a permanent resident"), and if you have any 'goods to follow' (in my case "no"), and will make a mark on your declaration slip with a highlighter, then direct you to leave the Arrivals Hall. This took less than a minute
- As you're leaving the Arrivals Hall, an Officer will direct you to a room for 'New Immigrants, Work Permits, and Study Permits'. Before she directed me, I asked her where I should go as a permanent resident completing my landing, but I suspect she was about to tell me anyway based on the marks she saw on my declaration form
- The Immigration Room took the longest time; there were about 20 - 30 persons ahead of me when I arrived, and it took 30 minutes for me to get to an Immigration Officer
- When it was my turn, I handed my passport, COPR, and declaration form to the Immigration Officer. I asked him if he needed anything else and he said no. He made some small talk about a recent news item related to my home country, and asked me for a Canadian address, but otherwise didn't ask me anything else - no statutory questions - or ask for any other documents - no Proof of Funds. After logging my address, he had me sign in 3 places on both copies of the COPR, handed me my copy of the COPR, gave back my passport and declaration slip, and said 'Welcome to Canada'. That was it. Took about 2 minutes, although I feel like I was processed faster than many of the people ahead of me, but that might have been because some persons were in groups, and there were at least 4 persons who needed a translator to communicate with the Immigration Officers (Spanish-speakers, I think).
- The Immigration Officer directed me toward baggage claim, which was right outside the room. Since I was waiting in line for 30 minutes in the Immigration Room, my luggage was already out on the carousel. I grabbed a cart and collected my checked bags (I had 2 checked, 1 carry-on, and 1 personal item (backpack)). This took 5-10 minutes, but only because I was silly and didn't put away my documents first, so I was juggling holding my documents (without dropping them), maneuvering a luggage cart to the carousel, and getting my bags unto the cart.
- With bags in hand (or 'on cart), I walked out of baggage claim. A Customs Officer took my declaration slip as I was leaving, but didn't ask to check my luggage, or ask me for a 'List of Goods'.
- A few steps later, I met up with my sister and our friend, who were waiting for me with a camera
Since I arrived so late, the ServiceCanada station wasn't open, so I haven't gotten my SIN (social insurance number) yet, but I will do that first thing Monday, along with going to CIBC to open a bank account, request a credit card, and wire transfer funds to the new account. My sister had already arranged a cellphone (Rogers) and a PRESTO card (for public transportation) for me, which I went online and registered today.
Hope this was helpful, and good luck to everyone in their Canada journeys!
No, I didn't - I opted to only bring a small amount (CAD$500) and then to wire transfer in the rest of my money once I had opened my bank accounts in Canada a few days later. But I also had existing credit cards at the time that could be used internationally, as well as family members who were willing to fund me if necessary.
thank you, i thought you are required to bring cash to show you can support yourself and your family for your first few days in Canada, and in case you bring 10,000 CAD you need to declare it...
Hi, thanks for writing about your landing experience! Very helpful. May I ask if it was easy to wire transfer from your country of origin to canada?
No, you're not required to BRING the money with you when you're landing; you just have to show that you have the funds and will be able to transfer them to/use them in Canada when needed (i.e. proof of funds). And that's if the Immigration Officer even asks you to show this, because most of the time, they don't.
It was very easy, but that's because my bank in my home country has a programme where you can communicate with them via email to authorize any transactions (as long as you previously authorized this, and they call you after receiving the instructions to verify your identity). I just sent them my new Canadian bank account number and the Canadian bank's SWIFT Code (you can Google it, but I also confirmed it with my new bank rep), as well as the amount of money I wanted them to transfer, and I had the funds in 2-3 days (minus the wire transfer fees for my home country bank, and the incoming wire transfer fees for the Canadian bank, which are each about CAD$15).
But I suspect it all depends on your home country bank and how easy they make processes like this for you.
That's great! Glad it wasn't too diffocult. My banks here are hsbc and citibank so it shouldn't be too much of a pain... But sometimes bigger banks have so many policies too. Thanks for the tip, I will also ask how much the fee is. Did you open the Canadian bank before you flew in and just activated it when you got there? I am so torn between RBC and TD
I opened mine when I got here; they needed my SIN (social insurance number). It was quick and easy - we didn't have an appointment but they were able to assist us as soon as we walked in. It took 30 minutes to open a chequing account, a savings account, pin my debit card, register for online banking, download the banking app, and order my credit card (which arrived one week later). But I went with CIBC. The banking rep was very warm and welcoming.
Congrats on your smooth landing!!!
I am a fellow J'can; which bank did you wire transfer from and how were the transfer fees?
Sagicor Bank. The wire transfer fees are somewhere between CAD$15 to CAD$25 per wire transfer, but they actually didn't even charge me, so I only paid the incoming wire transfer fees for CIBC.