to all my forummates: new or old,
our landing is very exciting, it is the most rewarding part of this journey. a new chapter in life.
all of the forms, the papers to prepare, money to spend, celebrations following AOR, IELTS, PPR and the visa, the hopes, wishes, garage sales and despidida parties, for me, what the most inspiring part is when you here the phrase, "Welcome to Canada" and we've heard it many times since we landed yesterday.
It is breathtaking and nerve racking to hear.
When we landed:
1. Vancouver International Airport, once you get out of the plane - di pa masyadong maginaw.. okay okay lang. then you follow the crowd lang.
2. for new immigrants, they color it green, you will turn a hard right turn going to a maze of doors with the the sign "New Immigrants", etc...
3. then youll line up in Service Canada counter, get a broucher and a priority number
4. once the priority number is called you'll face up with the immigration officer. nakakatakot yung sa amin because we were asked to transfer to another section where the working and student visas are... but friendly yung immigration officer.
5. he asked fif i am married, with kids, and travelled to Canada before.
6. asked me and my wife to sit down for a moment
7. called me back coz I got a mistake in the phone number (you dont need to memorize it pala, you can carry a small notebook with you). he let me place the address and the phone number in a piece of paper.
8. called me up again to sign the CPR and my wife also did hers. I almost touched the green line out of the white box. he'll ask you to use his own pen.
9. he asked for the declaration card and he stamped it. at this point, if you are coming with a family, you might want to sit back again, if you are alone or with only your spouse, then you can wait..
10. wait for that moment when he tells you that the PR card will be sent to the address in 2-3 weeks. then the words... "Welcome to Canada"
that's it you're done. my wife even asked for the priority number as a souvenier. Customs process is nothing, just give the piece of paper and go... if you're connecting to a domestic flight, just move on like you're doing a regular check-in. there's no such thing as 'check-through'
at least with Air Canada, make sure its 23 kilos each bag, otherwise you have to take off some and do a hand carry which should not exceed a total of 10kg per person including backpacks/paperpags/etc.
that would be it.
we got our SIN this morning. applied for the alberta health card, then went to HSBC and they opened us a FREE first time immigrant checking and savings account with ATM cards and phone+online banking. very convenient.
So, this is it. Job interviews and more job hunting na bukas. bibisitahin namin yun mga centers as advertised by CIIP. we'll check it out.
Hope to see you guys here. Please keep in touch.
This is it, we are here. A new challenge has begun.
Thanks to all, I'll keep in touch soon.
