Landed Immigrants: Share Landing, Job hunt, house hunt & other experience

[qorax]

dear quarex
the air line will provide u with the tramsit card , u know aafter landing at heathrow they will ask u if ur having the connecting flight if yes they guys jus standing next to the exit door of the plain will provide u with the card on which it says TRANSIT CARD , u just need to keep that with ur boarding pass. after that they will again do the security check of ur hand luaguage and then u people have again to check in.

No one gave me any Card, neither I got it anywhere else earlier [in my previous journeys]. I just deplaned at Heathrow, walked past the 'connecting flight' signages [purple colored ones], took the u/g shuttle, came to Bldg. A, walked to the immigr, got the security check done, went to the boarding gate & took the flight to Toronto.

 

[abhi292000]

Halo friends,

Finally i m in Canada and i would like to share my landing experience with you people...actually i have logged in forum after one week sori for it but i was bit busy with my other important works to be done .

My flight was on 11th early morning from Mumbai - Heathrow - Toronto.

At Mumbai airport i completed all the luggage and immigration formality and boarded on Jet flight..landed in heathrow on time...then my time gap for my connecting flight was 1.45 minutes from heathrow to toronto.But when we boarded the flight we were told that flight is being delayed by 2 hours due to volcanic ash problem and we wil fly at 10.45 am.so bloody two hours we were just sitting in plane and then at 10.35 we took of for toronto and reached at toronto airport at 2.30pm

Then i headed towards the immigration section where i was told to follow the back door to immigration officer where i had to complete my landing paper.
I was first to office no had come till that time...then i waited at the go line where IO called me and asked for my passport and landing papers.
Then he asked me some questions which i have mentioned below:-

1. Under what category u were given PR?
2. What was ur profession in india?
3. In my Landing papers it was mentioned as Nova Scotia...so he asked me whether i m going to NS?
4. Then he asked me how much funds i have got?
5. Where i going to stay in Canada?
6. How did i get this accomodation?
7. Do i already have job offer?

Then he told me to sign the POF copy and then he told me that PR has some rules and regulations which i have to follow and abide.

He also told me if to keep my PR status valid i need to stay for two year and then he stamped on my passport gave me one copy of landing papers and told me to retain it til end and told me i will get the card in a months time and he greeted me Welcome to Canada.And then he told me to go to next door where i was greeted by person welcome to canada, he too checked my landing papers and then gave me a bag which contained all the important brochures and information as well.

Then he told me to meet on lady sitting at the door and she too checked my landing papers and gave me SIN card information to apply and noted my details in her register and greeted me again and told me to collect the baggage and then go ahead

I collected my luggage i didnt had any change with me so their was man whom i asked changed i think he employee of migration office..he gave me change and got the trolley then while the way to exit i was again checked by lady officer and she told me to go to customs and then exit.So i went customs officer wherein he asked me if i have any good to follow and i said no..so he said jsut this items u have with u nothing else no car nothing i said no.Then he asked me if i have lsit of things i have bought i said yes and he asked me about funds i told him yes i do have so he said okie then we wil count the same but he didnt count it jsut wrote wat i told him thats it..cos he said jsut want to mention it in the form thats it and not interested to count them.He didnt even ask for the good followed with me. And then he told me its all done and welcome to canada.

then i came to exit to catch cab to my rented house...to be frank i was very afraid when i faced the IO but later on i was okie......

When came out it was good weather and lit bit windy....i reached my destination in 15 min and arranged my room same day and then evening landlord took me for dinner....and told me about the areas nearby and how to communnicate

Second i went for SIN application i travelled alone so was bit worried since i didnt had any new mobile number if i was sot but i managed.It was okie.

I took fido contract next day but let me WARN u people here incoming call are charegable not like india so beware...i didnt knew that and all my balance was lost in 7 hours time...but then my owner told me to go for WIND contract which is 35 CAD per month but they have unlimited calling to any service provider and incoming free as well....SO i owuld suggest u people to go for WIND mobile..u need 2 buy their handsets since their card is not compatible to any other handsets.But backdrop is WIND doesnt have clear coverage since they are new in market but they are growing now.So let hope for best

I m also registered myself with humna resource center and YMCA ....so please to regsiter they help up with resume and cover letter updation.U can alos use their facility of printing scanning faxing photo copy and many other services they conduct seminars for new ppeople i didnt attend but if u wnat u people can.

I also registered myself with Toronto Library.Sori i forgot i opened bank account with Scotia Bank and they offered me to open a cheque account to begin with ......
Now i have started for hunting jobs and wish me luck guys
And if u people need any information u can mail me at abhi292000 @ yahoo.co.in

God bless u all and wish u luck

Take care
Abhishek

 

[hmisabpk]

Halo friends,

Finally i m in Canada and i would like to share my landing experience with you people...actually i have logged in forum after one week sori for it but i was bit busy with my other important works to be done .

My flight was on 11th early morning from Mumbai - Heathrow - Toronto.

God bless u all and wish u luck

Take care
Abhishek

Nice info, welcome to Canada

hmisabpk

 

[saki]

Hi Hmisabpk,

Hope you will be enjoying your stay. You gave us soo much information was wondering if you could put some light on the daily living expenses for toronto, like how much do you pay for grocery, public transport, phone & internet and other bills etc on weekly or monthly basis?

Thanks in advance

Regards
Saki

 

[malu08]

@abhi292000

Gr8 and thanks for the detail.

All the Best for your Job Hunt. Please detail also about your job hunt exp.

btw What is your NOC?

 

[hmisabpk]

Hi Hmisabpk,

Hope you will be enjoying your stay. You gave us soo much information was wondering if you could put some light on the daily living expenses for toronto, like how much do you pay for grocery, public transport, phone & internet and other bills etc on weekly or monthly basis?

Thanks in advance

Regards
Saki

Hi,

Saki,

Thank you so much you think so? Many great Champions are in this forum and doing perfect job and their posts are excellent. I am just learning from them and from all of you.

Yes I started to enjoy my stay and this is the very best time to land if someone is planning to land near future.
Regarding the daily living expenses. It is depend on your family size.

1. House or apartment rent in city area is
1 bed room is from 800 -1000 $ monthly,
2 bed room house or apartment is 1000- 1300 $,
3 bed room house/apart is 1400-2000+ $,
1 bed room basement apartment is 600-800 $

2. Kitchen expenses for small family 10-30 $ / day and big family 20-50 $ /day depend on their foods (I mean veg or non veg)

3. Public transport per trip Bus or train is 3$ per person no matter who long you have trip or you can visit whole area without going out from their system. From children 50 - 75 % and same for the senior citizen, Then there is day pass for whole family 10$ /per day maximum 6 family member can travel 1 day full. They have monthly pass system 100$ /month, half for student and senior citizen. No matter what is your rout and who many buses or trains you are changing. They have well organized, best underground subway system every 3-5 mints you will get train or bus to everywhere from 5:30 am till night 2 am.
All buses and trains are very neat clean and will give you the written display and vice instruction for each in coming stop and station.

4. Regarding phones
A) home phone many companies are offering good promotions and deals but all are same. Whoever, the land line is monthly 15 -50 $ depend on the offers and additional features. Internet phone is from 10- 45 $ per month unlimited incoming and outgoing with caller ID etc.. But you should have the high speed internet connection.
B) Cell phone are from 20-60 $ per month package. Many companies are there, Roger, Bell, Fido, Wind, Solo etc... But good offer is from wind for 6 month 50% discount and unlimited incoming and outgoing (but net work weak). Normally they charge from 20-40 cent /minutes incoming or out going, sms local 15 & international 25cent/message.

5. Ware and Wireless internet, few big 3-4 companies are providing DSL from 30-50$ /month

6. Digital TV or cable TV is also from 30- 100 $ depend on selection of the channels.

7. Can use the own dish but need receiver/ box it will cast around 200-250$.

8. Two companies are leading in this, Bell and Roger they offer bundle package with Home phone, high speed Internet and Digital TV channels 3 to 6 month free offers or half price but you have to sign the contract with them 1-3 yrs (which all cell phone companies are also offering and it is not recommended for newly landed immigrant to do so)

It means you can manage your family (small) between 800-1500 $ / month and big family 4-6 members it will be approximate from 1500- 2500 $ / excluding the house rent.

Your kids school, snacks in school books etc.. no expenses, Medical you will have your OHIP card for medical care.
If you wish to buy your own house off course you have to pay taxes every month depend on the size and price of the house, you can get the loan (mortgage) starting from 1-5 % depend on term and condition and amount and period.

Other hand if you have kids per head government will pay child benefit which is 350 - 500 $ per child depend on your profession / income

For single person expenses will be 500-1000 $/ month excluding housing which could be one room from 400-500 $/month.

In outer city the prices will be little cheap but transportation will be less.

Yes if you want to buy the car prices to cheap but you have to pay the insurance every mount which could be from 200- 500 $ / month. Petrol is about 1 $ / liters.

What are the approximately expenditures are mentioned on cic website it is the almost same for family living in any big city.


I hope I covered what you ask in your question and little picture of daily routine expenses in Toronto


My best regards


hmisabpk

 

[saki]

Thank you soo much misabpk appreciate it

Regards
Saki

 

[rocky272727]

Congratulation abhi292000 on your successful landing and thanks for taking out the time to pass this information

God Bless

 

[rocky272727]

hmisabpk, thanks for sharing such useful information. It will indeed help many new immigrants who plan to start it in Canada.

God Bless

 

[Wolfman567]

Abhi all the very best for your new life in Canada.... ;D

hmisabpk thank you for all the important information...

 

[malu08]

Hi,

Saki,

Thank you so much you think so? Many great Champions are in this forum and doing perfect job and their posts are excellent. I am just learning from them and from all of you.

Yes I started to enjoy my stay and this is the very best time to land if someone is planning to land near future.
Regarding the daily living expenses. It is depend on your family size.

1. House or apartment rent in city area is
1 bed room is from 800 -1000 $ monthly,
2 bed room house or apartment is 1000- 1300 $,
3 bed room house/apart is 1400-2000+ $,
1 bed room basement apartment is 600-800 $

2. Kitchen expenses for small family 10-30 $ / day and big family 20-50 $ /day depend on their foods (I mean veg or non veg)

3. Public transport per trip Bus or train is 3$ per person no matter who long you have trip or you can visit whole area without going out from their system. From children 50 - 75 % and same for the senior citizen, Then there is day pass for whole family 10$ /per day maximum 6 family member can travel 1 day full. They have monthly pass system 100$ /month, half for student and senior citizen. No matter what is your rout and who many buses or trains you are changing. They have well organized, best underground subway system every 3-5 mints you will get train or bus to everywhere from 5:30 am till night 2 am.
All buses and trains are very neat clean and will give you the written display and vice instruction for each in coming stop and station.

4. Regarding phones
A) home phone many companies are offering good promotions and deals but all are same. Whoever, the land line is monthly 15 -50 $ depend on the offers and additional features. Internet phone is from 10- 45 $ per month unlimited incoming and outgoing with caller ID etc.. But you should have the high speed internet connection.
B) Cell phone are from 20-60 $ per month package. Many companies are there, Roger, Bell, Fido, Wind, Solo etc... But good offer is from wind for 6 month 50% discount and unlimited incoming and outgoing (but net work weak). Normally they charge from 20-40 cent /minutes incoming or out going, sms local 15 & international 25cent/message.

5. Ware and Wireless internet, few big 3-4 companies are providing DSL from 30-50$ /month

6. Digital TV or cable TV is also from 30- 100 $ depend on selection of the channels.

7. Can use the own dish but need receiver/ box it will cast around 200-250$.

8. Two companies are leading in this, Bell and Roger they offer bundle package with Home phone, high speed Internet and Digital TV channels 3 to 6 month free offers or half price but you have to sign the contract with them 1-3 yrs (which all cell phone companies are also offering and it is not recommended for newly landed immigrant to do so)

It means you can manage your family (small) between 800-1500 $ / month and big family 4-6 members it will be approximate from 1500- 2500 $ / excluding the house rent.

Your kids school, snacks in school books etc.. no expenses, Medical you will have your OHIP card for medical care.
If you wish to buy your own house off course you have to pay taxes every month depend on the size and price of the house, you can get the loan (mortgage) starting from 1-5 % depend on term and condition and amount and period.

Other hand if you have kids per head government will pay child benefit which is 350 - 500 $ per child depend on your profession / income

For single person expenses will be 500-1000 $/ month excluding housing which could be one room from 400-500 $/month.

In outer city the prices will be little cheap but transportation will be less.

Yes if you want to buy the car prices to cheap but you have to pay the insurance every mount which could be from 200- 500 $ / month. Petrol is about 1 $ / liters.

What are the approximately expenditures are mentioned on cic website it is the almost same for family living in any big city.


I hope I covered what you ask in your question and little picture of daily routine expenses in Toronto


My best regards


hmisabpk

This is again a great information from your side. Keep the good work.

 

[sulekhakulashari]

hmisabpk

great information provided by you. It is a great help for new Immigrants.

Sulekha

 

[sifarsen]

Thanks Abhi,
Your information was indeed very valuable...Thanks for the extensive details you have provided..wish you all the best for your life in canada...peace

 

[sulekhakulashari]

I wanted to know what kind of jobs i can get initially. People like qorax etc. may clarify who already landed. I have 2 masters degree. Can initially I get the job of Assistant, book-keeper etc. job. My husband can do survival jobs but as a woman, Its difficult for me to do the same.

Sulekha

 

[rocky272727]

Source: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/newcomers/before-border-interview.asp

Interview process

Arrive ready for two interviews

When you arrive in Canada, you will have to go through two screening interviews. If all of your documents are available and in order, your interviews should be over quickly.

First interview—official documents

An officer from the Canada Border Service Agency will greet you. The officer will ask to see your visa and travel documents and check to make sure that you and any family members traveling with you have the proper travel documents. The officer will find out about your health and will ask you questions similar to those on the immigrant application form.

Be prepared to answer these questions:

Are you traveling with your family?
Have you been convicted of a serious crime in your home country?
How long do you plan to stay in Canada?
How much money do you have with you?
Are you healthy?
Have you been to Canada before? Were you required to leave?
After you complete your first interview, you will meet with another officer from the Canada Border Services Agency. This officer will check the items you are bringing with you. At some ports of entry you will work with the same officer twice.

Second interview—personal goods

The second interview is for you to declare what you are bringing with you into Canada.

The officer will ask to see your declaration card. You must tell the officer you have arrived in Canada to immigrate. At this point the officer may direct you to another area for the customs procedure.

You must give the officer the list of the items you are bringing with you and a list of the items that will be arriving later. The officer will go through both lists with you and may ask questions about some of the items. The officer may also inspect your luggage.

Be prepared to answer these questions:

What are you bringing with you to Canada?
Do you have any live animals or plants with you?
Do you have any firearms, ammunition or fireworks with you?
Do you have any meat or dairy products with you?
Do you have any fresh fruits or vegetables with you?
Do you have any items from endangered species?
Do not give false answers

You must answer all of the questions truthfully. It is a serious offence to make a false statement. If you make a false statement you may not be allowed to stay in Canada. If you are well prepared and you have no items that are not allowed in Canada, the process will go quickly.

If there are no difficulties, the officer will sign your Confirmation of Permanent Residence and authorize your entry into Canada as a permanent resident.