Calgary Landing Experience

[kidaz]

After 6 months of awaiting my work permit, I booked my flight and have recently landed in Calgary. Here's my experience.

Day 1
1. Took off from Gatwick to land at YYC exhausted with 2x kids. First go to automated kiosk enter passport information and declare anything bringing in. This spits out a summary sheet which is then reviewed by CBSA/border security.

2. Then go to baggage claim carousel (took an hour). In addition to our normal bags, our carry-ons, nappy bags, we had 3x oversized bags - pram/stroller, child's car seat x2.

3. Go to CBSA/border security again who direct you to 'secondary immigration'. This is where you get your work permit. Takes 20mins and was very slick.

4. I had a container to follow and prepared a bsf186/a forms - these we were told were unnecessary as your goods will return after your work permit, i.e. not available for resale within Canada -- you are not profiteering.

5. Friend picked us up from airport which was a godsend, because we were all so tired and kids were all over the place.

6. Went to our AirBnB.



Day 2
1. Awoke at 3am. At 9am took Uber to car rental, and pay $1000 to rent a car for 9 days.

2. Drive to Scotia bank and set up checking account. This requires: work permit certificate, passport, and postal address. You do not need a SIN. For credit card you need two pay slips and a SIN, which I don't have yet. If I pushed they may have given me the newcomer credit card, but I want one with a good deal. You will be asked for your TIN, in the UK this is your National Insurance number.

3. CAVEAT: Be aware you cannot receive mail at AirBnBs in Canada (at least in my part of Calgary). This is because post doesn't come to your house, instead it goes to a post box on the street for which you need a key. We used a friend's address -- you need this, one way or another.

4. Drive to Express Registry.
North Hill Shopping Centre
#1841, 1632 - 14 Ave NW, T2N 1M7
Next to Safeway inside the mall

5. At Express Registry get: A - Driving License, B - AHCIP. For this you need passport, bank account, address, your home country driving license (providing you have a reciprocal arrangement).

6. Turn right inside the North Hill Shopping center and go to the Telus store and get a phone month-to-month. They have the best coverage in Calgary.

7. Drive to Service Canada at:
Harry Hays Building, Suite 150, 220 4 Ave SE, T2G 4X3

8. At Service Canada centre get a SIN. You need to park for 2.5hrs for this.


Day 3.
Do whatever you want.

 

[Sukhubhi]

Bro kindly share your full timeline please, when did you apply ? And your approval date?from which country did you apply?. How long does it takes for all process. I have applied on march 14 ,2022, since then no reply

 

[kidaz]

Applied early March 2022. Biometrics end of March 2022. WP letter of introduction received end of July. However I am in an extenuating circumstance - I'm an "essential occupation" as well as having a fixed start date, and a pregnant wife who may not be able to fly. I asked and asked the London VO, and eventually they helped. If you are not an EO you may not be on the same timeline.

 

[Vishal Bhandari&]

Applied early March 2022. Biometrics end of March 2022. WP letter of introduction received end of July. However I am in an extenuating circumstance - I'm an "essential occupation" as well as having a fixed start date, and a pregnant wife who may not be able to fly. I asked and asked the London VO, and eventually they helped. If you are not an EO you may not be on the same timeline.

Have you applied normal wp or under IMP??

 

[kidaz]

Normal WP. Not under IMP.

 

[ankitjain811]

Normal WP. Not under IMP.

Was your application GTS or non-GTS? Also was it LMIA or LMIA-exempt?

Thank you for your reply

 

[kidaz]

Non-GTS, it seems very very few employers are eligible to seek a WP under GTS. LMIA-exempt. I'm not sure which criteria provided exemption, though I suspect it is "designated by the Minister".

 

[ankitjain811]

Thank you for your response. I applied from a work permit and it is GTS. My employer was able to get a positive LMIA. Any idea if GSS WP are processed faster than the normal ones?

 

[kidaz]

Week 2
Buy a car. Things about Canadians and cars - they are very expensive, and Canadians drive them comfortably to 250,000 km (150k miles). They also change their oil every 7000km (5000 miles). You also need two sets of tyres for winter and summer, and the changeovers are cheaper if both sets are on rims, in contrast to changing just the tyres.
Get a CarFax report on any car you buy. You won't get insured if salvaged. This is a basic reassurance.
The more important thing is buying from an AMVIC-registered dealer, and ensuring they do an AMVIC 100+ point check.
House of Cars is where I bought 2x cars. Go speak with Vlad in House of Cars on Barlow Trail.
You other option is Kijiji.. but you take your life in your hands there. I know little about cars, and especially very little about cars reliable in such harsh weather conditions.

Kids enjoy Kidz-Go soft play in south Calgary.

 

[kidaz]

Finally got PR in December.

 

[steaky]

Week 2
Buy a car. Things about Canadians and cars - they are very expensive, and Canadians drive them comfortably to 250,000 km (150k miles). They also change their oil every 7000km (5000 miles). You also need two sets of tyres for winter and summer, and the changeovers are cheaper if both sets are on rims, in contrast to changing just the tyres.
Get a CarFax report on any car you buy. You won't get insured if salvaged. This is a basic reassurance.
The more important thing is buying from an AMVIC-registered dealer, and ensuring they do an AMVIC 100+ point check.
House of Cars is where I bought 2x cars. Go speak with Vlad in House of Cars on Barlow Trail.
You other option is Kijiji.. but you take your life in your hands there. I know little about cars, and especially very little about cars reliable in such harsh weather conditions.

Kids enjoy Kidz-Go soft play in south Calgary.

Depends how often one drives their cars. Not everyone drive them to 250,000 km. Nor change oil every 7000 km. Nor two sets of tires for winter and summer - all season tires can be sufficient...