Landed at last......

[Bangkokcanuck]

So I can honestly say when I started this journey back in early February 2011 I never imagined it would all fall into place and happen as quickly as it did. My wife and I consider ourselves very lucky that things have gone so well for us and now as of Nov. 3rd she is officially landed and checking out her new home country. We spent a few days in Toronto after landing, have been in Niagara Falls for a couple days and head off to Vancouver later this month. The weather has been very pleasant and for me after four long years its good to be home. There are some changes for sure, but nothing beats living in Canada IMHO.

How did the landing go? Well talk about painless. We landed about 8:20 PM on the night of the 3rd, by 9:30 every was done luggage picked up and we were in our Limo on the way to our hotel.

First stop at the immigration counter the woman working commented on how cute our youngest was and asked if he spoke both English and Thai.. when told yes she said great you should try to keep it up always nice to have another language. That was the only question she asked of us. She noted my wife had visited before and after typing a few things in her computer said welcome to Canada, keep this paper with you and that's that.

On to the little office where the first lady gave us a bunch of papers related to applying for the SIN and OHIP cards. The second desk an older gentleman gave us info about schooling and English and job hunting etc.. etc...

The final stop at customs asked my wife if she had photos of all her to follow Jewelry, (which we did) he took some photo copies of those pics and then stamped the back of each gave them back and said welcome to Canada.. follow the white arrow and you will find your way out..

That's it... clean simple and very painless

I am hard pressed to remember a time I have dealt with gov't officials anywhere that was so smooth and easy... well done to them all.

Good luck to everyone else still waiting, I know it can get rough and depressing sometimes but just keep at it. you know your marriage is real and sooner or later you will be going through the same painless process we did and collecting that PR card.

Take care one and all.

 

[steaky]

Congrats. Are you staying in Vancouver for good or just visit?

 

[Bangkokcanuck]

Congrats. Are you staying in Vancouver for good or just visit?

We will be house hunting in Vancouver over the next eight days. Unlikely to find something that quickly I realize, but we want to get a feel for the lay of the land and what we can get for our budget. Heading back to Toronto later in the month then back to BKK to finalize some stuff. Plan to head back to Canada for good in late March sometime, landing in Ontario and driving the Trans Canada to BC settling in Vancouver for good. Might a bit later than March but we are hopeful everything will be tied up by then in BKK.

 

[Mrs Proper]

Congrats!!!! I love landing stories

 

[mosh951]

congrats!! I can't wait until my wife lands in Canada!!

 

[CharlieD10]

Congratulations and jubilations on a safe and painless landing! Good luck with the house hunt.

 

[NEIKA]

congrats on your landing, wish you and your familiy all the best

 

[malawi]

Thank you for explaining the process! My husband is landing on November 22nd, but he will be alone so I've beena bit nervous for him. Also, he is coming from Malawi and has to transit through two countries (South Africa and Germany) so I'm also worried that he'll have problems with customs in those countries.

Did you need transit visas coming from Thailand?

Our process was also very fast, we applied in April in Pretoria.

 

[malawi]

Also, did your wife have a return ticket? I used airmiles to buy a one-way ticket for my husband and now I'm worried that he'll have problems flying with a one-way ticket. Any ideas? I tried phoning CIC, but they were not helpful at all.

 

[Indigo]

Also, did your wife have a return ticket? I used airmiles to buy a one-way ticket for my husband and now I'm worried that he'll have problems flying with a one-way ticket. Any ideas? I tried phoning CIC, but they were not helpful at all.

Why exactly do you think he might have problems flying with a one way ticket? After all he is moving to Canada, he is landing and becoming a Permanent Resident. A one way ticket would make sense.

I think (but please make sure to confirm this) that a return ticket at the point of landing is only useful if you intend to use it. Because he is landing, it is clear that his intention is not to return, his intention is to immigrate, and that is OK when you are landing! After all you are becoming a Permanent Resident, that's what landing is for. Once you are a PR, they WANT you to live in Canada!

Of course you MAY return after landing, some people do that because they still got some affairs to settle before moving.

 

[jacobsdennis]

CONGRATULATIONS, Bangkokcanuck!!! I really hope my partner's landing goes as smoothly...!!! Thanks for sharing your personal experience!

 

[steaky]

Did you need transit visas coming from Thailand?

Our process was also very fast, we applied in April in Pretoria.

Bangkokcanuck is Canadian while his spouse got PR visa, so no need transit visas.

 

[canadianwoman]

Congratulations! I'm glad everything went so smoothly.

 

[Mrs. Turan]

So happy to hear about your landing. All the best to you both, on your new life together.

 

[Bangkokcanuck]

First of all thanks to everyone for your good wishes we are having a blast in BC and plan to extend our stay a bit longer we will play it by ear as to how long.

Also, did your wife have a return ticket? I used airmiles to buy a one-way ticket for my husband and now I'm worried that he'll have problems flying with a one-way ticket. Any ideas? I tried phoning CIC, but they were not helpful at all.

My wife had a return ticket they did not ask about that directly but on the form we had to fill out it asked how long we planned to be in Canada at that point we answered 25 days. They asked why we said we needed to go tie stuff up in BKK and they sent us her visa in August and we needed to land in Nov not really enough time to plan a full move, they just laughed agreed and moved on.. I would think that having a one way ticket makes perfect sense to someone coming to live full time.