INLAND APPLICATIONS 2010

[Devin]

I sent mine in in march 2010
They processed my application on the 22 November.
I have been approved for my wife to sponsor me and for an open work permit.
But get this.... they sent everything to the wrong address haahahahahahahhaaha. :-\
After waiting patiently for 9 months, unemployed and leaching off of my dwindling savings, bored outa my mind. They finally do it and then post it to the wrong address. Now they want me to wait another 2 months before they re-issue my documents.
Without the work permit i cant get an sin numebr, without an sin number i cant work.
I think i am going to join a kick boxing club, atleast then i can expect the kicks

 

[coldgirl]

Devin, if you applied in March, and got approved in November, that is really fast for inland. Too bad they sent it to the wrong address but at least you know that you are approved and you will be done with this process soon.

 

[Asta]

I have decided that for part of my contribution to the inlander family that I want to help everyone get through this wait easier and calmly. I figure that by doing this small activity I have planned then in the end of this we will all come out stronger and grateful. Everyday I will post a quote. Like the "Quote of the Day" type thing and everyone can reflect how this quote makes them feel and how they connect it into their life at this moment. I will also be posting a new activity that people could do while applying inland and waiting. Hopefully all of you will feel as excited for this as I am.

I will now post to start the activity now!

QUOTE OF THE DAY (Tues. Dec 14, 10)
"Instead of thinking about what you're missing, try thinking about what you have that everyone else is missing."

INLAND WAITING ACTIVITY OF THE DAY
Every day take a picture of something that made you smile or you want to always remember.Make a journal with your photos and write a description about it.Where you were, what you were doing at the time, etc. Then whenever you are sad or want to just reflect on a memory you can flip through your journal. Also, you could make the journal in a scrapbook if you want to be more creative!

thats so true!

 

[tifanjo]

Love_Young, thanks so much for all your effort keeping this thread running and helping everyone feel encouraged! I love your idea for activities and quotes to post.

I keep myself going with things like biking and trail running (I'm in Vancouver, so there's plenty of it), plus luckily I have some freelance work I can do while I'm waiting for a work permit, we recently got an adorable kitten who is tons of work and tons of fun, I'm looking into doing some volunteering soon, and I just try to get out and see friends as much as possible.

I know I am going to have a looong wait - I've already been here for almost a year, and because I have a missing police certificate from a city I lived in in China, things will definitely be delayed. I tried for months to get it, with no success, so I'm just trying not to think about this process constantly at this point. I just have to wait....

 

[Devin]

Processing finally updated this morning - as of December 8; CIC are processing March 9 2010 applications...

hEY NICE SAFA FLAG, I AM A SOUTH AFRICAN TOO

 

[Devin]

Devin, if you applied in March, and got approved in November, that is really fast for inland. Too bad they sent it to the wrong address but at least you know that you are approved and you will be done with this process soon.

I know it did go quite quickly, It has been a long wait none the less, I have just been trying to keep myself busy. I have to say though that the wait has been worth it, the fact that i did not have to leave my wife really helps me keep pushing through the long days. Besides, there is loads to do in Toronto, i have been volunteeering like 3 times a week, i have gone for skating lessons and just wrote the GED exam, not because i didnt finish high school, as i did, but to give me something to do considering i have not been allowed to study anything haha. I have actually been waiting for over a year now because it took me 6 months to get my police clearance from south africa, so one could add that to the 9 months for first stage approval as i was not allowed to work for those 6 months either, luckily i managed to extend my temp res visa.

 

[Devin]

May I ask where and what papers you had to submit in order to obtain your GED High School Equivalency Certificate here in Toronto, Devin?. I did finish high-school myself but having a hard time to make my HS Diploma good here (I'm from Mexico).

Hello there
Sure, all you need is to be legal in Canada and have photo ID. I would suggest not telling them that you already have a high school diploma, as one of the criteria is that you must not have completed high school. You just send the fees involved, which are $100 for all the tests, and you select the dates you wish to write. You write over a two day period usually a Friday night and a Saturday morning, i think it is about 7 hours or so. If you finished high school, you don’t have to really worry about studying too hard, I studied for about 2 weeks going through Steck Vaughns complete GED study guide. I am also a volunteer tutor in Toronto so if you are looking to brush up on some skills, I could suggest a place where you could get free tutoring.
google Independent learning centre ontario , they offer the GED for here

 

[Devin]

I have a GED High School Equivalency Certificate from the States too, perhaps this one is accepted without making tests??. I have 3 years University (from Mexico) and didn't study a thing for the GED in the US and passed, I think I can pass again if needed to since our baby makes it hard to study anyway... I am a brand new Canadian PR awaiting for the PR card, no problems with status there..

To be quite honest I wish I had not studied as the tests were extremely easy.
If I am not mistaken, the Canadian GED and the US GED are the same thing, all the tests come from Washington for Canada and I think Washington administers everything, so you might not even have to re – write them, I wouldn’t bother studying either then if you have gone to UNI. Don’t waste your time. If the US one is not accepted in Canada (which I doubt) you mite as well just sit the GED here considering how easy it is. (I am still dumfounded by how simple it was I wish i had not studied haha).
Give the independent learning centre a call and check what they have to say, but also remember that the GED is not accepted in allot of universities, mostly colleges. It depends on what you want to do though. Is it just for work, or do you want to study further?

 

[Devin]

It's for work, Devin... the options I'm looking up require to have at least a 10th grade schooling and proof of it, of course...
I may go in person rather than calling (someone appears to have better results in person as I've explained on the other thread) to see if the US is good or what.
Yes, I thought the tests in California were easy. My main challenge was the language, but I am more proficient with it now...

Then no worries, the GED will work for you, I actually did mine as my diploma from back home was not considered suffice here either and the jobs i want to apply for require either a high school or Equivalent.

 

[Devin]

Got 'cha... Thx and merry xmas again!.

Merry christmas, goodluck with everything

 

[pptk703]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new here. I sent out my application on 10/25/2010, received in Vegreville on 10/29/10.

Currently I have a post graduate work permit which will expire on 09/10/11. I see that a lot of you have OWP, did you need to get a letter from your employer in order to apply? How soon should I apply for it?

 

[Devin]

If you are applying for family class sponsorship, you need to send your application for a OWP with all your other applications if i am not mistaken.
and an OWP means that you can work for any employer, not one in specific, so no you dont need a letter from an employer to apply for it. You are entitled to a OWP after first stage approval for PR

 

[perrinsa]

I know it did go quite quickly, It has been a long wait none the less, I have just been trying to keep myself busy. I have to say though that the wait has been worth it, the fact that i did not have to leave my wife really helps me keep pushing through the long days. Besides, there is loads to do in Toronto, i have been volunteeering like 3 times a week, i have gone for skating lessons and just wrote the GED exam, not because i didnt finish high school, as i did, but to give me something to do considering i have not been allowed to study anything haha. I have actually been waiting for over a year now because it took me 6 months to get my police clearance from south africa, so one could add that to the 9 months for first stage approval as i was not allowed to work for those 6 months either, luckily i managed to extend my temp res visa.

@ Devin: I know what you mean about the police clearance. I sent my request in for the certificate in December last year and included the return envelope for fedex. In April I had still not heard anything so contacted them - they had "lost" the return envelope and the certificate had been ready for collection for 6 weeks - as if we are supposed to smell that. Finally got it though - Certificate cost $8 but the finger prints and shipping came to $215... It had better not expire before they have used it....

Heres hoping for a Merry Xmas!

 

[adzees]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new here. I sent out my application on 10/25/2010, received in Vegreville on 10/29/10.

Currently I have a post graduate work permit which will expire on 09/10/11. I see that a lot of you have OWP, did you need to get a letter from your employer in order to apply? How soon should I apply for it?

pptk703.. you don't have to worry about your work permit for now. just keep using your PGWP. You have sent your application in the very end of October 2010. As per current Timeline you should hear from Vegreville some where around in July -Aug 2011.. At that point if your application is straight forward, Vegreville approve your sponsor eligible to sponsor and you will be eligible to apply for an open work permit. For that permit you do not require any letter from an employer.

I am currently on PGQP as well, and i am also eligible for an open work permit cuz we already have first stage approval. But i am not planning to apply for that open work permit cuz i already have a valid permit till June 2011. If i won't hear any thing about my second stage status from Vegreville till April 2011 then i will think about applying and pay 150 bucks.

 

[Devin]

@ Devin: I know what you mean about the police clearance. I sent my request in for the certificate in December last year and included the return envelope for fedex. In April I had still not heard anything so contacted them - they had "lost" the return envelope and the certificate had been ready for collection for 6 weeks - as if we are supposed to smell that. Finally got it though - Certificate cost $8 but the finger prints and shipping came to $215... It had better not expire before they have used it....

Heres hoping for a Merry Xmas!

@ perrinsa . I didn’t even want them to send it to me, I asked my family members that still live there to collect it for me, after hounding them for 6 months it finally showed up lol. Not to be funny but I am quite sure that the police certificate will expire in my case, considering that when I received it, it was already dated 4 months prior to when I sent it to CIC so after 9 months for first stage approval, there goes the 12 months validity. Oh well. We will see what CIC says.

And a very MERRY CHRISTMAS to you too fellow South African