Landing Experience in Calgary

[arun.gef]

Dear All,

I landed at Calgary Airport on 16th December, and everything was much easier than I thought.
It's my 4th day here & I would like to share my entire experience during this time.

My journey started from Kochi on Air India to Delhi, then Delhi to Amsterdam, and finally Amsterdam to Calgary (last two were on KLM).
There is no additional visa required at Amsterdam as COPR & Canadian Visa are enough to travel. Ensure to keep COPR in a easily accessible location (Never in your Check-in luggage as it will be asked while the airline is providing the boarding pass, sometimes at immigration counter (the officer at Delhi airport didn't ask it, and he was friendly to me after seeing the PR visa & he asked some personal questions as well about the procedure to obtain it).

As Air India & KLM didn't have baggage transfer agreement, I had to collect bags from Delhi airport & check-in again. But it was an easy process as there were no need to change terminal or airport. Total baggage allowance was 23Kgx2 Pieces, One hand bag of 7 Kg & one laptop bag for Air India & KLM as the ticket was booked together (through Makemytrip). KLM transferred my baggage at Amsterdam while I change my flight & we can check the status of bags at the gate before entering the next flight to avoid landing without bags. About the flight experience, Air India had a normal service & KLM gave a very good one. Food was provided twice on both flights of KLM. I chose this one as the flight would be landing at Calgary at 2 p.m., which was better than landing in the evening or night (Sun sets at around 4 p.m here during this season). I was not that tired as I could sleep 4-5 hours on last two flights. Total journey time was 30 Hours including transfer time.

The experience at Calgary airport was very welcoming. There are three places to go to finish landing procedures.
All three places were not crowded & officers were relaxed & friendly.

First one was a common counter for all. Here we need to provide passport, COPR & declaration Card. Declaration card will be provided in the flight & it includes things like are we carrying food or money more than $10000 etc. Fill it before reaching this counter. The officer asked me how much money I was carrying & he wrote the amount on the card. He welcomed me & said,'this the big day for you, Congratulations !'. Then he told me go to the next location for further process.

In second location, the officer verified the visa and other details & said I became a permanent resident of Canada .As I had found an accommodation before landing, I provided that address for PR card. If there is no address, we can update it online later. He filled PR card application & gave me a printout showing Service Canada addresses to obtain SIN. He welcomed me too & gave me some information to keep my PR status & applying for Citizenship after required number of days.

Then I collected my bags & went to the third place, CBSA. This is where they check B4 & B4A, and he was happy when he saw the prepared form.
I had filled & printed two copies of B4 & B4A. Segregate all your items into 8 or less categories. I defined them in this way: Clothes, Kitchen & cooking items, Electrical & Electronics items, Medicines, Grooming items & Miscellaneous items. Prepare two copies of excel sheet including the details of the items in each category, serial number (only for electronics items) and its price in CAD. B4A is for the items we need to bring later. Each item & its price can be mentioned in B4A, and attach photos if you bring Jewelry. He had gone through the entire list & gave me one sealed copy. The main thing he checked was money. He asked me to show the cash & demand draft as I had declared in declaration form that I was carrying more than $10000. However, the officer didn't count my cash. He didn't check my bags as well, though I had declared food items in the declaration card. Overall, it was a very welcoming process unlike my previous experiences in Middle east.

All these things were done in less than one hour as the airport was not crowded. Even the strangers waiting at the arrival area were showing a smiling face while I was coming out. It gave me a very comfortable feeling, didn't feel that I am in a foreign country. The moment when the exit door opened, I just felt like freezing as I forgot to wear my jacket ! There was heavy snowfall previous night (I heard the first big one in the season !) & but the sky was very clear when I landed. It was a wonderful to view snow & Sun while I was heading to the accommodation. Taxi driver was also very friendly. Interestingly, the house owner was coming after her work when I was getting out of the taxi. We had only e-mail communications but still she felt I am the one who is going to come. Before even I think she took majority of my bags & welcomed me to her home. Rent is $500 for a furnished room including utilities.

I had gone through rentfaster.ca to find accommodation before coming here. It is a good website to find accommodation, but please don't send money if someone asks. Keep some hotel addresses as well, just in case if the accommodation is not available.

After landing following were the main things I did.

1. Got SIN confirmation from a Service Canada office. I went to Marlborough mall & it was an easy process. They will ask for passport & COPR.

2. Got a SIM card. I bought a sim card from Fido as I already have a phone. It was $45/month for 750 Canadawide minutes, 750MB data & unlimited international SMS. Add on plans are available for to call Internationally for less rate (for example, 1 Cent/minute to India)

3. Went to Registry, to apply for health insurance card. They need passport, COPR, SIN confirmation. Health insurance card number would be available next day if we want to go to hospital before getting the card. It takes four weeks to mail it.

4. Opened a bank account. I chose Royal bank of Canada, they gave me 6 months free banking, $2000 credit card. It would take 4 business days to clear the demand draft. We can bring as much as money by Draft. I got it from State bank of travancore in India & the rate was very good. They took around 49 INR per CAD. The draft is in CAD, so there is no need to worry about rate fluctuations once we arrive in Canada.

People I met in all these places were extremely welcoming & helpful. This is something different from my previous experiences.

About the bus/train tickets in Calgary, we need to pay $3.15 for a single journey, but tell the driver that you need a transfer if you want to catch another bus or train before reaching the destination. I think it is valid for next 1.5 hours. Just show the ticket to the driver in the next bus. Keep exact change before entering the bus. We can buy daily & monthly passes for lower rates.

If you are coming in the winter and arranging an accommodation before you arrive, ask the landlord about the bus/train facility & availability of grocery/super markets close to it. Purchase some good sweaters, Jacket, gloves,cap, good shoes or boots if possible before coming.

Wish you all a wonderful landing experience !

Thank you

Arun

 

[Anhhuy]

Thank you. Your informations are very clear and helpful for us.

 

[xyz86]

Hey anyone who landed in November has got their PR card yet?

 

[asad.naqvi]

Dear All,

I landed at Calgary Airport on 16th December, and everything was much easier than I thought.
It's my 4th day here & I would like to share my entire experience during this time.

My journey started from Kochi on Air India to Delhi, then Delhi to Amsterdam, and finally Amsterdam to Calgary (last two were on KLM).
There is no additional visa required at Amsterdam as COPR & Canadian Visa are enough to travel. Ensure to keep COPR in a easily accessible location (Never in your Check-in luggage as it will be asked while the airline is providing the boarding pass, sometimes at immigration counter (the officer at Delhi airport didn't ask it, and he was friendly to me after seeing the PR visa & he asked some personal questions as well about the procedure to obtain it).

As Air India & KLM didn't have baggage transfer agreement, I had to collect bags from Delhi airport & check-in again. But it was an easy process as there were no need to change terminal or airport. Total baggage allowance was 23Kgx2 Pieces, One hand bag of 7 Kg & one laptop bag for Air India & KLM as the ticket was booked together (through Makemytrip). KLM transferred my baggage at Amsterdam while I change my flight & we can check the status of bags at the gate before entering the next flight to avoid landing without bags. About the flight experience, Air India had a normal service & KLM gave a very good one. Food was provided twice on both flights of KLM. I chose this one as the flight would be landing at Calgary at 2 p.m., which was better than landing in the evening or night (Sun sets at around 4 p.m here during this season). I was not that tired as I could sleep 4-5 hours on last two flights. Total journey time was 30 Hours including transfer time.

The experience at Calgary airport was very welcoming. There are three places to go to finish landing procedures.
All three places were not crowded & officers were relaxed & friendly.

First one was a common counter for all. Here we need to provide passport, COPR & declaration Card. Declaration card will be provided in the flight & it includes things like are we carrying food or money more than $10000 etc. Fill it before reaching this counter. The officer asked me how much money I was carrying & he wrote the amount on the card. He welcomed me & said,'this the big day for you, Congratulations !'. Then he told me go to the next location for further process.

In second location, the officer verified the visa and other details & said I became a permanent resident of Canada .As I had found an accommodation before landing, I provided that address for PR card. If there is no address, we can update it online later. He filled PR card application & gave me a printout showing Service Canada addresses to obtain SIN. He welcomed me too & gave me some information to keep my PR status & applying for Citizenship after required number of days.

Then I collected my bags & went to the third place, CBSA. This is where they check B4 & B4A, and he was happy when he saw the prepared form.
I had filled & printed two copies of B4 & B4A. Segregate all your items into 8 or less categories. I defined them in this way: Clothes, Kitchen & cooking items, Electrical & Electronics items, Medicines, Grooming items & Miscellaneous items. Prepare two copies of excel sheet including the details of the items in each category, serial number (only for electronics items) and its price in CAD. B4A is for the items we need to bring later. Each item & its price can be mentioned in B4A, and attach photos if you bring Jewelry. He had gone through the entire list & gave me one sealed copy. The main thing he checked was money. He asked me to show the cash & demand draft as I had declared in declaration form that I was carrying more than $10000. However, the officer didn't count my cash. He didn't check my bags as well, though I had declared food items in the declaration card. Overall, it was a very welcoming process unlike my previous experiences in Middle east.

All these things were done in less than one hour as the airport was not crowded. Even the strangers waiting at the arrival area were showing a smiling face while I was coming out. It gave me a very comfortable feeling, didn't feel that I am in a foreign country. The moment when the exit door opened, I just felt like freezing as I forgot to wear my jacket ! There was heavy snowfall previous night (I heard the first big one in the season !) & but the sky was very clear when I landed. It was a wonderful to view snow & Sun while I was heading to the accommodation. Taxi driver was also very friendly. Interestingly, the house owner was coming after her work when I was getting out of the taxi. We had only e-mail communications but still she felt I am the one who is going to come. Before even I think she took majority of my bags & welcomed me to her home. Rent is $500 for a furnished room including utilities.

I had gone through rentfaster.ca to find accommodation before coming here. It is a good website to find accommodation, but please don't send money if someone asks. Keep some hotel addresses as well, just in case if the accommodation is not available.

After landing following were the main things I did.

1. Got SIN confirmation from a Service Canada office. I went to Marlborough mall & it was an easy process. They will ask for passport & COPR.

2. Got a SIM card. I bought a sim card from Fido as I already have a phone. It was $45/month for 750 Canadawide minutes, 750MB data & unlimited international SMS. Add on plans are available for to call Internationally for less rate (for example, 1 Cent/minute to India)

3. Went to Registry, to apply for health insurance card. They need passport, COPR, SIN confirmation. Health insurance card number would be available next day if we want to go to hospital before getting the card. It takes four weeks to mail it.

4. Opened a bank account. I chose Royal bank of Canada, they gave me 6 months free banking, $2000 credit card. It would take 4 business days to clear the demand draft. We can bring as much as money by Draft. I got it from State bank of travancore in India & the rate was very good. They took around 49 INR per CAD. The draft is in CAD, so there is no need to worry about rate fluctuations once we arrive in Canada.

People I met in all these places were extremely welcoming & helpful. This is something different from my previous experiences.

About the bus/train tickets in Calgary, we need to pay $3.15 for a single journey, but tell the driver that you need a transfer if you want to catch another bus or train before reaching the destination. I think it is valid for next 1.5 hours. Just show the ticket to the driver in the next bus. Keep exact change before entering the bus. We can buy daily & monthly passes for lower rates.

If you are coming in the winter and arranging an accommodation before you arrive, ask the landlord about the bus/train facility & availability of grocery/super markets close to it. Purchase some good sweaters, Jacket, gloves,cap, good shoes or boots if possible before coming.

Wish you all a wonderful landing experience !

Thank you

Arun

Thanx arun .. . !!!
Posts like these really help us keeping our morale high.
Please do share your experience in job search in near future as well .

 

[vdassani]

Dear All,

I landed at Calgary Airport on 16th December, and everything was much easier than I thought.
It's my 4th day here & I would like to share my entire experience during this time.

My journey started from Kochi on Air India to Delhi, then Delhi to Amsterdam, and finally Amsterdam to Calgary (last two were on KLM).
There is no additional visa required at Amsterdam as COPR & Canadian Visa are enough to travel. Ensure to keep COPR in a easily accessible location (Never in your Check-in luggage as it will be asked while the airline is providing the boarding pass, sometimes at immigration counter (the officer at Delhi airport didn't ask it, and he was friendly to me after seeing the PR visa & he asked some personal questions as well about the procedure to obtain it).

As Air India & KLM didn't have baggage transfer agreement, I had to collect bags from Delhi airport & check-in again. But it was an easy process as there were no need to change terminal or airport. Total baggage allowance was 23Kgx2 Pieces, One hand bag of 7 Kg & one laptop bag for Air India & KLM as the ticket was booked together (through Makemytrip). KLM transferred my baggage at Amsterdam while I change my flight & we can check the status of bags at the gate before entering the next flight to avoid landing without bags. About the flight experience, Air India had a normal service & KLM gave a very good one. Food was provided twice on both flights of KLM. I chose this one as the flight would be landing at Calgary at 2 p.m., which was better than landing in the evening or night (Sun sets at around 4 p.m here during this season). I was not that tired as I could sleep 4-5 hours on last two flights. Total journey time was 30 Hours including transfer time.

The experience at Calgary airport was very welcoming. There are three places to go to finish landing procedures.
All three places were not crowded & officers were relaxed & friendly.

First one was a common counter for all. Here we need to provide passport, COPR & declaration Card. Declaration card will be provided in the flight & it includes things like are we carrying food or money more than $10000 etc. Fill it before reaching this counter. The officer asked me how much money I was carrying & he wrote the amount on the card. He welcomed me & said,'this the big day for you, Congratulations !'. Then he told me go to the next location for further process.

In second location, the officer verified the visa and other details & said I became a permanent resident of Canada .As I had found an accommodation before landing, I provided that address for PR card. If there is no address, we can update it online later. He filled PR card application & gave me a printout showing Service Canada addresses to obtain SIN. He welcomed me too & gave me some information to keep my PR status & applying for Citizenship after required number of days.

Then I collected my bags & went to the third place, CBSA. This is where they check B4 & B4A, and he was happy when he saw the prepared form.
I had filled & printed two copies of B4 & B4A. Segregate all your items into 8 or less categories. I defined them in this way: Clothes, Kitchen & cooking items, Electrical & Electronics items, Medicines, Grooming items & Miscellaneous items. Prepare two copies of excel sheet including the details of the items in each category, serial number (only for electronics items) and its price in CAD. B4A is for the items we need to bring later. Each item & its price can be mentioned in B4A, and attach photos if you bring Jewelry. He had gone through the entire list & gave me one sealed copy. The main thing he checked was money. He asked me to show the cash & demand draft as I had declared in declaration form that I was carrying more than $10000. However, the officer didn't count my cash. He didn't check my bags as well, though I had declared food items in the declaration card. Overall, it was a very welcoming process unlike my previous experiences in Middle east.

All these things were done in less than one hour as the airport was not crowded. Even the strangers waiting at the arrival area were showing a smiling face while I was coming out. It gave me a very comfortable feeling, didn't feel that I am in a foreign country. The moment when the exit door opened, I just felt like freezing as I forgot to wear my jacket ! There was heavy snowfall previous night (I heard the first big one in the season !) & but the sky was very clear when I landed. It was a wonderful to view snow & Sun while I was heading to the accommodation. Taxi driver was also very friendly. Interestingly, the house owner was coming after her work when I was getting out of the taxi. We had only e-mail communications but still she felt I am the one who is going to come. Before even I think she took majority of my bags & welcomed me to her home. Rent is $500 for a furnished room including utilities.

I had gone through rentfaster.ca to find accommodation before coming here. It is a good website to find accommodation, but please don't send money if someone asks. Keep some hotel addresses as well, just in case if the accommodation is not available.

After landing following were the main things I did.

1. Got SIN confirmation from a Service Canada office. I went to Marlborough mall & it was an easy process. They will ask for passport & COPR.

2. Got a SIM card. I bought a sim card from Fido as I already have a phone. It was $45/month for 750 Canadawide minutes, 750MB data & unlimited international SMS. Add on plans are available for to call Internationally for less rate (for example, 1 Cent/minute to India)

3. Went to Registry, to apply for health insurance card. They need passport, COPR, SIN confirmation. Health insurance card number would be available next day if we want to go to hospital before getting the card. It takes four weeks to mail it.

4. Opened a bank account. I chose Royal bank of Canada, they gave me 6 months free banking, $2000 credit card. It would take 4 business days to clear the demand draft. We can bring as much as money by Draft. I got it from State bank of travancore in India & the rate was very good. They took around 49 INR per CAD. The draft is in CAD, so there is no need to worry about rate fluctuations once we arrive in Canada.

People I met in all these places were extremely welcoming & helpful. This is something different from my previous experiences.

About the bus/train tickets in Calgary, we need to pay $3.15 for a single journey, but tell the driver that you need a transfer if you want to catch another bus or train before reaching the destination. I think it is valid for next 1.5 hours. Just show the ticket to the driver in the next bus. Keep exact change before entering the bus. We can buy daily & monthly passes for lower rates.

If you are coming in the winter and arranging an accommodation before you arrive, ask the landlord about the bus/train facility & availability of grocery/super markets close to it. Purchase some good sweaters, Jacket, gloves,cap, good shoes or boots if possible before coming.

Wish you all a wonderful landing experience !

Thank you

Arun


Hey Arun, very informative post. Congratulations for landing safely. Enjoy the Sun... and the Snow!

+1

 

[Kerdek]

Dear All,

I landed at Calgary Airport on 16th December, and everything was much easier than I thought.
It's my 4th day here & I would like to share my entire experience during this time.

My journey started from Kochi on Air India to Delhi, then Delhi to Amsterdam, and finally Amsterdam to Calgary (last two were on KLM).
There is no additional visa required at Amsterdam as COPR & Canadian Visa are enough to travel. Ensure to keep COPR in a easily accessible location (Never in your Check-in luggage as it will be asked while the airline is providing the boarding pass, sometimes at immigration counter (the officer at Delhi airport didn't ask it, and he was friendly to me after seeing the PR visa & he asked some personal questions as well about the procedure to obtain it).

As Air India & KLM didn't have baggage transfer agreement, I had to collect bags from Delhi airport & check-in again. But it was an easy process as there were no need to change terminal or airport. Total baggage allowance was 23Kgx2 Pieces, One hand bag of 7 Kg & one laptop bag for Air India & KLM as the ticket was booked together (through Makemytrip). KLM transferred my baggage at Amsterdam while I change my flight & we can check the status of bags at the gate before entering the next flight to avoid landing without bags. About the flight experience, Air India had a normal service & KLM gave a very good one. Food was provided twice on both flights of KLM. I chose this one as the flight would be landing at Calgary at 2 p.m., which was better than landing in the evening or night (Sun sets at around 4 p.m here during this season). I was not that tired as I could sleep 4-5 hours on last two flights. Total journey time was 30 Hours including transfer time.

The experience at Calgary airport was very welcoming. There are three places to go to finish landing procedures.
All three places were not crowded & officers were relaxed & friendly.

First one was a common counter for all. Here we need to provide passport, COPR & declaration Card. Declaration card will be provided in the flight & it includes things like are we carrying food or money more than $10000 etc. Fill it before reaching this counter. The officer asked me how much money I was carrying & he wrote the amount on the card. He welcomed me & said,'this the big day for you, Congratulations !'. Then he told me go to the next location for further process.

In second location, the officer verified the visa and other details & said I became a permanent resident of Canada .As I had found an accommodation before landing, I provided that address for PR card. If there is no address, we can update it online later. He filled PR card application & gave me a printout showing Service Canada addresses to obtain SIN. He welcomed me too & gave me some information to keep my PR status & applying for Citizenship after required number of days.

Then I collected my bags & went to the third place, CBSA. This is where they check B4 & B4A, and he was happy when he saw the prepared form.
I had filled & printed two copies of B4 & B4A. Segregate all your items into 8 or less categories. I defined them in this way: Clothes, Kitchen & cooking items, Electrical & Electronics items, Medicines, Grooming items & Miscellaneous items. Prepare two copies of excel sheet including the details of the items in each category, serial number (only for electronics items) and its price in CAD. B4A is for the items we need to bring later. Each item & its price can be mentioned in B4A, and attach photos if you bring Jewelry. He had gone through the entire list & gave me one sealed copy. The main thing he checked was money. He asked me to show the cash & demand draft as I had declared in declaration form that I was carrying more than $10000. However, the officer didn't count my cash. He didn't check my bags as well, though I had declared food items in the declaration card. Overall, it was a very welcoming process unlike my previous experiences in Middle east.

All these things were done in less than one hour as the airport was not crowded. Even the strangers waiting at the arrival area were showing a smiling face while I was coming out. It gave me a very comfortable feeling, didn't feel that I am in a foreign country. The moment when the exit door opened, I just felt like freezing as I forgot to wear my jacket ! There was heavy snowfall previous night (I heard the first big one in the season !) & but the sky was very clear when I landed. It was a wonderful to view snow & Sun while I was heading to the accommodation. Taxi driver was also very friendly. Interestingly, the house owner was coming after her work when I was getting out of the taxi. We had only e-mail communications but still she felt I am the one who is going to come. Before even I think she took majority of my bags & welcomed me to her home. Rent is $500 for a furnished room including utilities.

I had gone through rentfaster.ca to find accommodation before coming here. It is a good website to find accommodation, but please don't send money if someone asks. Keep some hotel addresses as well, just in case if the accommodation is not available.

After landing following were the main things I did.

1. Got SIN confirmation from a Service Canada office. I went to Marlborough mall & it was an easy process. They will ask for passport & COPR.

2. Got a SIM card. I bought a sim card from Fido as I already have a phone. It was $45/month for 750 Canadawide minutes, 750MB data & unlimited international SMS. Add on plans are available for to call Internationally for less rate (for example, 1 Cent/minute to India)

3. Went to Registry, to apply for health insurance card. They need passport, COPR, SIN confirmation. Health insurance card number would be available next day if we want to go to hospital before getting the card. It takes four weeks to mail it.

4. Opened a bank account. I chose Royal bank of Canada, they gave me 6 months free banking, $2000 credit card. It would take 4 business days to clear the demand draft. We can bring as much as money by Draft. I got it from State bank of travancore in India & the rate was very good. They took around 49 INR per CAD. The draft is in CAD, so there is no need to worry about rate fluctuations once we arrive in Canada.

People I met in all these places were extremely welcoming & helpful. This is something different from my previous experiences.

About the bus/train tickets in Calgary, we need to pay $3.15 for a single journey, but tell the driver that you need a transfer if you want to catch another bus or train before reaching the destination. I think it is valid for next 1.5 hours. Just show the ticket to the driver in the next bus. Keep exact change before entering the bus. We can buy daily & monthly passes for lower rates.

If you are coming in the winter and arranging an accommodation before you arrive, ask the landlord about the bus/train facility & availability of grocery/super markets close to it. Purchase some good sweaters, Jacket, gloves,cap, good shoes or boots if possible before coming.

Wish you all a wonderful landing experience !

Thank you

Arun

What a nice experience, it seems so smooth and not complicated at all. I wish you all the best.

 

[madhusanthosh]

Thank you Arun for the detailed info. I still have a doubt with B4 and B4A forms. Our main/hand baggage are already checked by the airport officials. So, is it still necessary to list out the items we carry in the baggage? Also, I am travelling on Mar 4th and my wife and kid are coming on Apr 4th. We havent planned yet on what my wife will be bringing. I have a plan to study things in Canada in that 1 month and then advice her to bring things based on my understanding of the Canada market. In that case, how can I fill the B4A form? Please advice.

 

[engrijlal]

Nice Thread...

I am planning to land in March

 

[arun.gef]

Hi Madhu,

In form B4, you need to list all items that you are carrying & check the box "goods to follow" if you are planning to bring items in the future & you are sure about the details of those items. However, a rough estimate is fine if those are the items such as clothes, kitchen items etc. For example, I plan to bring my coin collection in future, so I just mentioned it in B4A as "Personal coin collection (583 Nos.), Value 1000$". For expensive items such as Jewelry & electronics, more details are needed. Though I not sure about the case of family members who are travelling separately, I think that your wife can prepare a separate B4 form while she is coming & you need just B4 for what you are carrying. In my opinion, you can get clothes, kitchen utensils & spices from there as they are expensive here.

Thank you Arun for the detailed info. I still have a doubt with B4 and B4A forms. Our main/hand baggage are already checked by the airport officials. So, is it still necessary to list out the items we carry in the baggage? Also, I am travelling on Mar 4th and my wife and kid are coming on Apr 4th. We havent planned yet on what my wife will be bringing. I have a plan to study things in Canada in that 1 month and then advice her to bring things based on my understanding of the Canada market. In that case, how can I fill the B4A form? Please advice.

 

[madhusanthosh]

Thank you Arun ... Will follow as u suggest...

 

[Fsasamir]

Dear All,

I landed at Calgary Airport on 16th December, and everything was much easier than I thought.
It's my 4th day here & I would like to share my entire experience during this time.

My journey started from Kochi on Air India to Delhi, then Delhi to Amsterdam, and finally Amsterdam to Calgary (last two were on KLM).
There is no additional visa required at Amsterdam as COPR & Canadian Visa are enough to travel. Ensure to keep COPR in a easily accessible location (Never in your Check-in luggage as it will be asked while the airline is providing the boarding pass, sometimes at immigration counter (the officer at Delhi airport didn't ask it, and he was friendly to me after seeing the PR visa & he asked some personal questions as well about the procedure to obtain it).

As Air India & KLM didn't have baggage transfer agreement, I had to collect bags from Delhi airport & check-in again. But it was an easy process as there were no need to change terminal or airport. Total baggage allowance was 23Kgx2 Pieces, One hand bag of 7 Kg & one laptop bag for Air India & KLM as the ticket was booked together (through Makemytrip). KLM transferred my baggage at Amsterdam while I change my flight & we can check the status of bags at the gate before entering the next flight to avoid landing without bags. About the flight experience, Air India had a normal service & KLM gave a very good one. Food was provided twice on both flights of KLM. I chose this one as the flight would be landing at Calgary at 2 p.m., which was better than landing in the evening or night (Sun sets at around 4 p.m here during this season). I was not that tired as I could sleep 4-5 hours on last two flights. Total journey time was 30 Hours including transfer time.

The experience at Calgary airport was very welcoming. There are three places to go to finish landing procedures.
All three places were not crowded & officers were relaxed & friendly.

First one was a common counter for all. Here we need to provide passport, COPR & declaration Card. Declaration card will be provided in the flight & it includes things like are we carrying food or money more than $10000 etc. Fill it before reaching this counter. The officer asked me how much money I was carrying & he wrote the amount on the card. He welcomed me & said,'this the big day for you, Congratulations !'. Then he told me go to the next location for further process.

In second location, the officer verified the visa and other details & said I became a permanent resident of Canada .As I had found an accommodation before landing, I provided that address for PR card. If there is no address, we can update it online later. He filled PR card application & gave me a printout showing Service Canada addresses to obtain SIN. He welcomed me too & gave me some information to keep my PR status & applying for Citizenship after required number of days.

Then I collected my bags & went to the third place, CBSA. This is where they check B4 & B4A, and he was happy when he saw the prepared form.
I had filled & printed two copies of B4 & B4A. Segregate all your items into 8 or less categories. I defined them in this way: Clothes, Kitchen & cooking items, Electrical & Electronics items, Medicines, Grooming items & Miscellaneous items. Prepare two copies of excel sheet including the details of the items in each category, serial number (only for electronics items) and its price in CAD. B4A is for the items we need to bring later. Each item & its price can be mentioned in B4A, and attach photos if you bring Jewelry. He had gone through the entire list & gave me one sealed copy. The main thing he checked was money. He asked me to show the cash & demand draft as I had declared in declaration form that I was carrying more than $10000. However, the officer didn't count my cash. He didn't check my bags as well, though I had declared food items in the declaration card. Overall, it was a very welcoming process unlike my previous experiences in Middle east.

All these things were done in less than one hour as the airport was not crowded. Even the strangers waiting at the arrival area were showing a smiling face while I was coming out. It gave me a very comfortable feeling, didn't feel that I am in a foreign country. The moment when the exit door opened, I just felt like freezing as I forgot to wear my jacket ! There was heavy snowfall previous night (I heard the first big one in the season !) & but the sky was very clear when I landed. It was a wonderful to view snow & Sun while I was heading to the accommodation. Taxi driver was also very friendly. Interestingly, the house owner was coming after her work when I was getting out of the taxi. We had only e-mail communications but still she felt I am the one who is going to come. Before even I think she took majority of my bags & welcomed me to her home. Rent is $500 for a furnished room including utilities.

I had gone through rentfaster.ca to find accommodation before coming here. It is a good website to find accommodation, but please don't send money if someone asks. Keep some hotel addresses as well, just in case if the accommodation is not available.

After landing following were the main things I did.

1. Got SIN confirmation from a Service Canada office. I went to Marlborough mall & it was an easy process. They will ask for passport & COPR.

2. Got a SIM card. I bought a sim card from Fido as I already have a phone. It was $45/month for 750 Canadawide minutes, 750MB data & unlimited international SMS. Add on plans are available for to call Internationally for less rate (for example, 1 Cent/minute to India)

3. Went to Registry, to apply for health insurance card. They need passport, COPR, SIN confirmation. Health insurance card number would be available next day if we want to go to hospital before getting the card. It takes four weeks to mail it.

4. Opened a bank account. I chose Royal bank of Canada, they gave me 6 months free banking, $2000 credit card. It would take 4 business days to clear the demand draft. We can bring as much as money by Draft. I got it from State bank of travancore in India & the rate was very good. They took around 49 INR per CAD. The draft is in CAD, so there is no need to worry about rate fluctuations once we arrive in Canada.

People I met in all these places were extremely welcoming & helpful. This is something different from my previous experiences.

About the bus/train tickets in Calgary, we need to pay $3.15 for a single journey, but tell the driver that you need a transfer if you want to catch another bus or train before reaching the destination. I think it is valid for next 1.5 hours. Just show the ticket to the driver in the next bus. Keep exact change before entering the bus. We can buy daily & monthly passes for lower rates.

If you are coming in the winter and arranging an accommodation before you arrive, ask the landlord about the bus/train facility & availability of grocery/super markets close to it. Purchase some good sweaters, Jacket, gloves,cap, good shoes or boots if possible before coming.

Wish you all a wonderful landing experience !

Thank you

Arun

My friend, thank you for your detailed mail. Can you plz advise which part of Calgary you chose to settle in? I mean is it SW, NW and so on? I am strongly recommended to settle in NW

 

[arun.gef]

I felt all places I had seen in last couple of days were good. I got one good accommodation in between NW & NE, which is called Centre street. Though I am not very familiar with the city, I felt you can choose any place which is within 10-15 Kms of downtown. Only some places have train services & but there are lots of bus services. Just ensure that the place you choose has at least bus stop & grocery store nearby.

My friend, thank you for your detailed mail. Can you plz advise which part of Calgary you chose to settle in? I mean is it SW, NW and so on? I am strongly recommended to settle in NW