How can I prove physical presence in Vancouver BC if I am not working

[Memo1967]

We are a family of 4, have the Canadian residency .
My husband works outside Canada but my kids and I live in Vancouver BC. in our own apartments and kids go to school here and I am a stay at home mom.
I was told that I have to do all sort of things one of them is volunteer work to prove physical presence since I am not working and don't have pay slips to show the immigration officer and that is worrying me all the time.
I would love to work and do volunteer work but every time I apply i hear almost the same thing " you are now on the waiting list and our wait list is 6 months" , Hospital , blood bank, community center name it that is in addition to the lack of previous Canadian experience and refrences .
1-So what can I do other than collecting utility bills and car insurance , bank statements .............
2-also my husband will not meet the PR requirment nor citizenship because he has 1 month/year leave . So can i apply for him after we get our citizenship since he is 100% sponsoring us in Canada.

 

[Leon]

All the things you mentioned before plus phone bills, receipts, letter from your doctor and dentist and your kids doctor and dentist saying when you had appointments (doctors and dentists are people of respect and their letters weigh more than a lot of other peoples). Also any other place you might go, taking a course, going to the gym etc. If your husband loses his PR and you are still a PR, you can sponsor him.

 

[C2008]

I would love to work and do volunteer work but every time I apply i hear almost the same thing " you are now on the waiting list and our wait list is 6 months" , Hospital , blood bank, community center name it that is in addition to the lack of previous Canadian experience and refrences .

6 months waiting time for a free voluntary work !!!!!
That is really scares me......., why would someone immigrate if there are no jobs in Canada even voluntary ones!!!

 

[Memo1967]

All the things you mentioned before plus phone bills, receipts, letter from your doctor and dentist and your kids doctor and dentist saying when you had appointments (doctors and dentists are people of respect and their letters weigh more than a lot of other peoples). Also any other place you might go, taking a course, going to the gym etc. If your husband loses his PR and you are still a PR, you can sponsor him.

Thank you for your reply appreciate it however the fear in me has escalated even more now
1-The schools accepted to write a letter that my kids go to so and so school but refused to state that I am the sole guardian for them here in Canada, as this is the fact and we don't even have a person to be contacted in case of emergency!
I have failed miserably in trying to make friends here in Vancouver let alone giving out their numbers in case of emergency .
2-How do i arrange the collected receipts ? I already have 2 bags of receipts only and are all on my Visa or cash card

do you think the immigration officers have all this time to go through this heap of receipts ?

 

[Leon]

It will only be needed if you are asked.

 

[Alabaman]

Thank you for your reply appreciate it however the fear in me has escalated even more now

What's with the needless worry? Live your life normally and keep all the paper trails that comes with living your life as you would. If you have a credit card, bank account, keep all the statements. If you have utility, phone, cable bills... keep invoices and payment receipts. Whenever you buy anything... gas, Wal-Mart, restaurants etc... ask for the receipts. When you file your taxes, keep copies...

all the paper trails that would be involved when you live your life as you would normally do are sufficient to proof your residency... nothing extra.

 

[Hanadi-Al]

I suggest to establish an office for unemployed immigrants, where they can register and get a certificate that they are not employed ( from- to a certain date) , and that for citizenship application purpose.
In this case the immigrant has to go to this office every now and then to say Hi and smile to the people there, to prove his presence and existence.. and use it when applying for citizenship.

I’m sure some of you would not like the idea, but believe me it is 1 million times better than getting an RQ for just not finding a job.
Let us make a Facebook group to support the idea !

 

[Leon]

Who is supposed to open this office and pay for it to be up and running?

If you are truly unemployed and can not find a job, you can register as unemployed in which case you do have to report to some office.

If you are at home taking care of children, you can just get a letter from the doctor or dentist of the children to say you were there on such and such dates plus of course your own doctor. That should be enough. If you have spare time to volunteer, you can do that. If the waiting list is 6 mo. then you will have 6 mo. unaccounted for but it is better to have 6 mo. unaccounted for than some years.

 

[AllisonVSC]

Check out http://www.meetup.com/cities/ca/bc/vancouver/

It is a great way to network. Meetups are free or low cost ways to meet people with similar interests for some real, face to face, time. I found meetup right after I arrived in Canada. I joined a book club, a tennis group, a brunch/lunch group, even an ex-patriot group. There are a wide variety of groups in my area (Toronto) including some for stay at home moms and family-oriented ones to do stuff with your children. In some of the groups I found the same people participating on a regular basis. First they were strangers, then acquaintances, and a few I would now call friends.

 

[Memo1967]

Thank you all for your help and support in this issue
Hanadi I loved your idea, Alabaman I love how simple you made life sounds like
I have resorted to studying and pay an arm and a leg for a third needless degree at my age 50.
Allison , will try the site too and may be I will have some luck .

 

[AllisonVSC]

I have resorted to studying and pay an arm and a leg for a third needless degree at my age 50.

Here is another thought, Memo. I am taking a co-op accounting class at my local adult learning center. It is sponsored by the government (not sure though if it is provincial or federal) and is basically a high school equivalence course. All but one of the students in my class are immigrants who have been unable to find work, and most have at least one post secondary degree.

The accounting course is two parts and each is $30 plus the cost of the "Simply Accounting" workbook and cds which I Purchased for $100 (it's used in both intro accounting and advanced accounting). It meets during the day, but they have night classes as well. The advanced accounting class is paired with a "co-op" class that teaches you how to write resumes, cover letters, etc plus mock interviews and lessons on Canadian culture and workplace culture. The co-op class has a 6 week internship component in a Canadian company so I will complete the courses with a new skill of bookkeeping (using Simply Accounting and what ever I will learn in my placement) and some Canadian work experience.

The school I attend has other gov't sponsored co-op classes for "foreign trained professionals" which is basically for workers in fields that require licensing or certification, Office Administration and Customer Service, and Business Leadership. Here is a link to the program (other links are on the left hand side of this page) in my area. Maybe you could find something similar in your area. It would be a great low cost opportunity for you if they have day classes while your children are in school too. You'd get the benefit of documenting some period of time in Canada for proof of residency, it's a lot less expensive than another degree, you'll meet new people, and potentially you could get some job opportunities.

http://www.dpcdsb.org/CEC/CNE/Adult+Centres/Brian+J+Fleming+Centre/Coop/Foreign-Trained+Professional+Co-op.htm

 

[Memo1967]

Thank you very much Allison

 

[jckdry]

I am in Vancouver
U can put me for your kids as emergency contact - if u like