FSW 2014 - CPC OTTAWA - Visa Office - Let's Connect Here

[Kerdek]

Guys got my passports and COPR letters today morning ..
Finally 1st part of the journey is complete .
Now looking forward to landing in canada soon and starting the next chapter ..
Thanks everyone for the support and i'll need it to go all the way for becoming a citizen ..

Congrats harrysaini, wish u all the best!!!

 

[Diplomatru]

Don't worry about plaigrism, will come up with own.
Thanks

This is rmorgan's text. And it's you I should thank for joining our advocacy group. Let us know in the other threa when you reach out for those MPs.

 

[zorroo]

1) Find your MP by postal code.
http://www.lop.parl.gc.ca/ParlInfo/Compilations/HouseofCommons/MemberByPostalCode.aspx?Menu=HOC

2) Get an envelope, address it as follows. No need for stamps. This comes as Government Letter Free of Postage.

Hon. (Name Surname), MP
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

3) Right a letter, indicating that you as an immigrant feel that C-24 is unfair and you want it repealed. You can use this template, but I strongly advise to come up with your own wording. Sign it and drop it off at Canada Post.

Dear Mr. (Surname),

I immigrated from ________ and came to live in Canada as a Permanent Resident in 20__. Life in Canada is of course challenging for new immigrants, but on the whole we have been warmly welcomed and have not regretted our decision to immigrate.

A major concern was the passing of the previous government’s Bill C-24 which created two classes of Canadians and also made Canadian citizenship more difficult to obtain by increasing the residency requirement from 3 in 4 years to 4 in 6 years (as well as other hurdles). We are glad that Canada rejected the politics of fear and division and elected a new government which is committed to multiculturalism.

My family, friends and I look forward to exercising a Canadian citizen’s right to vote. Bill C-24 has delayed that dream by at least one year. Further delays in citizenship processing occur due to the Ministry’s copiously handing out Residence Questionnaires (RQs), and then not having the funding or staffing required to process the citizenship applications in a reasonable time frame.

I have watched on YouTube your speech during the second reading of Bill C-24, when you listed the five barriers to citizenship raised by Bill C-24. You correctly described them as "Scowls" directed towards new immigrants i.e. long processing times, extended language testing, doing away with 50% of pre-PR time credit for students/workers, 4/6 years residency requirement instead of 3/5 years and the 183 days per year residency requirement.

Accordingly, on behalf of my family and friends, I would appeal to you to consider repealing this Bill C-24 in its entirety. I would also request you to have more resources allocated to the relevant sections of the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to reduce the processing backlogs for citizenship and other applications. Repealing Bill C-24 in its entirety and reducing the processing backlogs would be true to “a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian” refrain, and also give us the timely right to vote in the next elections.

Yours sincerely

4) Repeat the process for Minister McCallum.

Hon. John McCallum, PC, MP
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

5) Get active here:
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/bringing-back-3-year-residency-by-repealing-bill-c24-t392063.0.html

+1 for you Diplomatru. I strongly recommend all people who has landed in Canada, send this letter to you MP and Minister McCallum.

 

[zorroo]

Congrats harrysaini, roozic and others who have landed recently. Also, congrats to all who have received ppr e.g. alimo and aliali.

 

[kwyatt75]

Guys got my passports and COPR letters today morning ..
Finally 1st part of the journey is complete .
Now looking forward to landing in canada soon and starting the next chapter ..
Thanks everyone for the support and i'll need it to go all the way for becoming a citizen ..

Congrats harrysaini! I am so happy for you! ;D

 

[kwyatt75]

Well…I’m asking you all for some information if anyone has any experience. I know Diplomatru seems to know almost everything about anything so please respond if you know anything about this, Diplomatru. I also welcome anyone to provide me with any experience they’ve had with this that might be helpful.

As you all know, I was an applicant for Permanent Residence prior to express entry and just recently received approval of my application and Confirmation of Permanent Residence documents for myself and my family. My family and I are all currently US Citizens. I am planning our official landing to complete the process before the expiration date of our COPR documents (June 24, 2016).

However, we aren’t going to come to stay right away. My oldest son wants to finish high school here in the US so we are going to let him do that before we move permanently. (The good thing is that college is way less expensive in Canada so that will be a bonus for him when we do move.) In the meantime we plan to spend school breaks in Canada.
• I am aware of the 730 days out of 5 years required to maintain PR status and as such will make sure we are in compliance.. I know that it won’t be an issue between the times we stay during breaks and adding the time we are in Canada once we move permanently…

…But in the meantime I have some questions about legalities of the use of my vehicle.
I know that my specific vehicle is importable via the RIV.CA site. However, here is my dilemma…

• First being that it is not paid off yet. I am not sure yet as to whether I will end up paying it off and importing it or if I will just sell it and buy a new vehicle in Canada once we eventually move permanently.
• My question is about using it for when we land, and for other trips to Canada from the US prior to our ultimate final move. I have been trying to research this but maybe some others already know some information that would be helpful.

Considerations/Options:

Option 1:
Since I will actually be spending more time in the US than Canada at least for the first couple of years, it seems it might make more sense to keep my US car…but…
Can I as a Canadian PR drive it into Canada without importing it?
• It seems from what I have found that the answer might be no.
• Are there any ways around this if it is no?

Option 2:
What if I sell my car in the US and purchase a Canadian vehicle? Obviously, there may be some other issues to consider…
• Will US Customs allow me to drive the Canadian Vehicle into the US? I know that Snowbirds from Canada do it all the time and stay for months here in Texas but they are Canadian Citizens. I would be a Canadian PR but I would also be a US Citizen. I don’t know if US Customs would allow me, as a US Citizen, to enter the US with a Canadian Car without importing it…but maybe they would if I am only bringing it temporarily.
• Insurance may be difficult as I would be in the US more than Canada. I know my US insurance covers me in my US vehicle when I go to Canada, but would the Canadian insurance cover me in the US…Especially if I am in the country for long periods of time?

Thanks to you all!

 

[ONI7042]

Hi
Anyone in this group currently living in Alberta Canada, is planning to land Coutts or Carway soon?
Please let me know. I am planning too. We can go together.

 

[Diplomatru]

+1 for you Diplomatru. I strongly recommend all people who has landed in Canada, send this letter to you MP and Minister McCallum.

Thank you for your support zorroo. +1
We need the numbers to get their attention. The parliament is now in session and since LPC and Minister McCallum voted agaisnt C-24, it is an appropriate move from our side to remind the ruling party of this fact. At the very least, we'll get them up to speed with bringing back the pre-landing credit, which is already a deal breaker for those folks who studied or worked in Canada at the time of lodging the FSW application. Best case scenario, the act will be repealed and we'll get our 50% credit +3/4 residence obligation back.

 

[gavin_cic]

freexyg, Kerdek and Sac06: any good news?

 

[Diplomatru]

Well…I’m asking you all for some information if anyone has any experience. I know Diplomatru seems to know almost everything about anything so please respond if you know anything about this, Diplomatru. I also welcome anyone to provide me with any experience they’ve had with this that might be helpful.

As you all know, I was an applicant for Permanent Residence prior to express entry and just recently received approval of my application and Confirmation of Permanent Residence documents for myself and my family. My family and I are all currently US Citizens. I am planning our official landing to complete the process before the expiration date of our COPR documents (June 24, 2016).

However, we aren’t going to come to stay right away. My oldest son wants to finish high school here in the US so we are going to let him do that before we move permanently. (The good thing is that college is way less expensive in Canada so that will be a bonus for him when we do move.) In the meantime we plan to spend school breaks in Canada.
• I am aware of the 730 days out of 5 years required to maintain PR status and as such will make sure we are in compliance.. I know that it won’t be an issue between the times we stay during breaks and adding the time we are in Canada once we move permanently…

…But in the meantime I have some questions about legalities of the use of my vehicle.
I know that my specific vehicle is importable via the RIV.CA site. However, here is my dilemma…

• First being that it is not paid off yet. I am not sure yet as to whether I will end up paying it off and importing it or if I will just sell it and buy a new vehicle in Canada once we eventually move permanently.
• My question is about using it for when we land, and for other trips to Canada from the US prior to our ultimate final move. I have been trying to research this but maybe some others already know some information that would be helpful.

Considerations/Options:

Option 1:
Since I will actually be spending more time in the US than Canada at least for the first couple of years, it seems it might make more sense to keep my US car…but…
Can I as a Canadian PR drive it into Canada without importing it?
• It seems from what I have found that the answer might be no.
• Are there any ways around this if it is no?

Option 2:
What if I sell my car in the US and purchase a Canadian vehicle? Obviously, there may be some other issues to consider…
• Will US Customs allow me to drive the Canadian Vehicle into the US? I know that Snowbirds from Canada do it all the time and stay for months here in Texas but they are Canadian Citizens. I would be a Canadian PR but I would also be a US Citizen. I don’t know if US Customs would allow me, as a US Citizen, to enter the US with a Canadian Car without importing it…but maybe they would if I am only bringing it temporarily.
• Insurance may be difficult as I would be in the US more than Canada. I know my US insurance covers me in my US vehicle when I go to Canada, but would the Canadian insurance cover me in the US…Especially if I am in the country for long periods of time?

Thanks to you all!

I am humbled by your comment kwyatt75.
Your situation is a no-brainer. Don't import your car. You will be able to travel to Canada without any issues with your current license plates and insurance. When you are ready to settle in two years, sell it for USD and given the exchange rate you'll probably get an even better ride in Canada.

A word of caution. 730 days are enough to maintain PR status, but if they feel you have just barely met the cut-off obligation, CIC will trigger a second review, so you'll be looking at ~12 months processing time to get your next PR card. Also, it is illegal to use medical insurance if you are residing overseas.

 

[kwyatt75]

I am humbled by your comment kwyatt75.
Your situation is a no-brainer. Don't import your car. You will be able to travel to Canada without any issues with your current license plates and insurance. When you are ready to settle in two years, sell it for USD and given the exchange rate you'll probably get an even better ride in Canada.

A word of caution. 730 days are enough to maintain PR status, but if they feel you have just barely met the cut-off obligation, CIC will trigger a second review, so you'll be looking at ~12 months processing time to get your next PR card. Also, it is illegal to use medical insurance if you are residing overseas.

I thought I had read something about it being illegal for a Canadian PR to drive a US Car (US Plates/License, etc.) Maybe that was incorrect information? Thanks for the tip on the Medical Insurance issue. I know it varies by province but that you have to be there for a certain amount of time to be eligible. I'll hold off on that until we move permanently. I'll still have coverage in the US in the meantime.

 

[Diplomatru]

I thought I had read something about it being illegal for a Canadian PR to drive a US Car (US Plates/License, etc.) Maybe that was incorrect information? Thanks for the tip on the Medical Insurance tip.

The licensing is what provinces do, so my answer won't account for all of them, but as far as Ontario is concerned, you are exempt from registering the vehicle if you operate it here for less than six consecutive months in a calendar year and if the vehicle complies with the licencing laws of the other jurisdiction (which is Texas, in your case).

 

[kwyatt75]

The licensing is what provinces do, so my answer won't account for all of them, but as far as Ontario is concerned, you are exempt from registering the vehicle if you operate it here for less than six consecutive months in a calendar year and if the vehicle complies with the licencing laws of the other jurisdiction (which is Texas, in your case).

Awesome! Thanks! ;D

 

[gavin_cic]

The return tracker of mine is finally activated.

 

[ehsan.isf]

Hi friends,

Would you tell me how long it takes for cpc to return the passport from the day they receive it? Mine was received by cpc on Jan 15 but no tracking activation yet!

Thanks