Landing at Pearson International Airport, Toronto
I flew from Dhaka to Istanbul (8 hours), then 3 hour transit in Istanbul, then Istanbul to Toronto (11 hours).
I took Turkish Airlines. The flight from Dhaka to Istanbul was not very good, the seats had very less leg-room, the food was not great, and the entertainment system (movies/TV) was not working - So that 8 hours long flight was really boring and uneventful.
Our flight started about 30 minutes late. But the Pilot flew fast and we landed in Istanbul at correct time.
We started from Dhaka around 6:45 AM (Dhaka time), and landed in Istanbul around 11:45 AM (Istanbul time).
The food was not great, it was cold and did not taste good. They served sandwiches, and the breads were tough as if they were made by bricks.
Anyways, after landing at Istanbul, I walked for around 15-20 minutes to get to the other side of the Terminal. When you land at Istanbul, find a TV screen that shows your next flight to Toronto. I saw a lot of people taking a break and checking out the store / or eating food. But since it was my first time at Istanbul, I did not waste any time - and started walking towards my gate. The gate was 206 (as far as I can remember). Once I reached the gate, the officer asked me about my reason for travel to Toronto, I replied "Immigration", then he took my passport and took a picture of my Immigration Visa, which was really funny to look at. Because they were using a normal digital camera to take the picture. Shouldn't they have a more secure computer system???
After that he stamped my boarding pass, I went inside the waiting room, it was huge and I could see a part of Istanbul from there. Two officers again checked me and my hand luggage - then allowed me to enter the area. I had my laptop so I opened my laptop and started reading a book by Humayun Ahmed
. I had to wait for around 2 hours, then the boarding for Flight to Toronto started. We made queues and started to board the plane.
This plane was Big. And the seats were bigger with more room for your legs. That was a relief. I sat beside a window seat. The flight attendants welcomed us with the Famous Turkish Delight - it is a sweet and was very yummy to eat.
They also gave us a Form called "
Customs Declaration Form" <- Very Very Important Form. You will need to show this form almost 3/4 times at Toronto Airport. So fill this form out correctly. This is very easy to fill out - It only asks for your name, date of birth, and if you are bringing anything to Canada that will have to be taxed - Fill the form out accordingly. Since I did not have anything to declare, I checked "NO" at all those questions.
DO NOT FOLD THIS FORM, some passengers were stopped and they had to fill this form again, because they folded their forms. Do not fold it. If you made a mistake on this form, just ask the Flight attendants, and they will give you a new one.
I had a couple from Albania seating beside me. They are Canadian citizens, but went to Albania for a break. We talked about little things, and the husband told me, Immigrating to Canada is one of the best choices they have ever made. He also told me his Son is 24 years old and already earns around $45,000 per year after taxes. That means more than $3,500 every month. That accounts for Taka 2,80,000 every month. He also said "Get in to school, start studying, and just work part time for few years".
We had TV/movies playing. More than 40-50 movies were on. So it was impossible to watch all of them
. They were showing "Man of Steel", "Amazing Spider-Man 2" etc. They were also showing the feed from the Camera which was mounted at bottom of the plane. So we could see the clouds and ground below our feet
. This time the food was good. They served Chicken Shashlik with Rice and Vegetable, Yogurt with herbs, Salmon fish with salad, Vanilla cream pudding (<- really yummy lol), Bread with butter and cheese, and water with orange/apple juices. My Albanian friends ordered Alcohol, it is free, so may be they thought "why not" LOL. The flight attendants also supplied us with care packs - which had toothbrush, paste, earplugs, soft socks, slippers (so you can remove your shoes). I really found those slippers helpful, very relaxing.
Before landing at Toronto, they served food again. This time they gave Pasta with parmesan Cheese, and Fried Eggplants, with Shrimp Salad, Rice Pudding (again very yummy), Bread with Cheese and Butter, Biscuits, water plus juices/Cokes. I was so full by eating, at the end I was like "Maaf chai, Ar khaite parbo na re Bhai!"
Then they again served Coffee
After landing at Toronto - Huge airport, you will get lost, if you don't pay attention to the Signs. After you get off, You will see a Sign "Arriving Passengers", follow this sign and eventually you will end up in a place and you will see a Huge Sign that says "Welcome to Canada". Enter through the door and If this is your first time as an Immigrant in Canada, take the path that says "
Visitors to Canada this way". Do Not take the path that says "Immigrants & Residence of Canada this way". Because you are not an Immigrant...Yet! You are still a visitor. I talked to an Border Security officer about it, she confirmed and told me "Take the Visitors path, after you have become an Immigrant, you can use the Immigrants path".
Again since I did not wait to drink water or use the restroom - I was there very quickly and I had only 1 person before me. A officer who was free, waived his hand and I went towards him. He just asked to see my Passport And Customs Declaration Form. Then asked me "Is this your first time", "How much money are you bringing to Canada", "Do you have any goods/items to arrive at a later date"? I answered accordingly. Then he colored my Customs Declaration Form with a Pink Marker. Then said "You can follow this path, Have a nice day". I started following and found a lot of people going on the Left side, another officer was checking the Customs Declaration Form there, and she saw my Form was Colored with a Pink Marker, so she told me "Sir you have to go straight through that door" - There was a door for Immigration, I went through it. There were 10-12 immigration Officers in booths. I waited for my turn there, A pakistani/indian immigration officer waived towards me, so I went to her booth. She asked for my passport and COPR. I had made photocopies of every document, so she said "Why do you have so many photocopies?" I was really upset with that question, I felt like saying "If I want to I will photocopy 1000 times, do you have any problem??"
- But obviously I did not say that...With a Big smile I just said "I like to photocopy every document for my record". Then everything was done with in 5 minutes. She confirmed the information on the COPR with me, asked me to sign the documents, and kept the "COPR-CIC COPY", and gave me back "COPR-CLIENT COPY". She then Congratulated me on becoming a Permanent Resident of Canada. She also said it takes around 4-6 weeks to get PR Card. She then directed me towards another hallway, there I found a nice lady, who gave me some information Booklets about New Immigrants. She was constantly smiling, I was thinking "Everything alright with my face?"
Then she told me to go toward another pathway, where they give you SIN (Social Insurance Number). A young lady was standing along the pathway, and gave me a small slip to fill out my name, parents name, and address at Canada. Then I waited for 5 minutes, another officer called me, and with in 2 minutes gave me paper with my SIN number. Then I left that area, went back the way I came, found more Information Booklets from a stand. A officer there again checked my Customs Declaration Form. After that I started walking towards "Baggage Claim" - to pick up my baggage. Turkish Airlines luggage were dropped at Chain #13. Went there and found they have pulled off all our luggage from the chain, and kept beside the chain. I found 1 trolley, it is
Free, you do not have to pay anymore - then walked around the bags and found my luggage.
With my luggage I started walking towards the Exit. Once I arrived at the Exit, a Border Security officer took my Customs Declaration form finally. I gave him the form, and walked out. And there found a lot of friends and families waiting for their family members. If some one has come to pick you up, you will find them there
.
You can get
Free WIFI in the whole Toronto Airport. To activate WIFI in your phone/laptop/ipad, do this: Turn on your electronics, turn on WIFI and then start a Internet Browser (Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer etc). It will take you to Toronto Airport's website, and will give you a button "Get WIFI" or "Activate WIFI" - click on it. And with in few seconds, you will be connected to Free Internet.
There were lots of taxis right out of the door. Buses too, if you know how to use the transport system. If you are going to take a Taxi, make sure you take one, that is affiliated with the Toronto Airport, the price/fare of Taxi is written on a platform, so you know how much you are going to get charged. I took a taxi and started heading. I guess that was about it.
Hope these information will help future Immigrants.
Welcome to Canada
