Hello all,
I have completed my landing formalities on May 25th and here is my experience. This was for short landing and I didn't have any GTA or GTF but I was carrying more than 10K USD for POF.
Booked flight tickets via British Airways via London. The BA099 from London arrives in Toronto around 8 PM and I believe it is the quietest time of the day for immigration. The landing was done at T3 Pearson. You have to fill a Customer Declaration Form(CDF) before you disembark your flight.
1. Customs :
I arrived at the customs first and was greeted by an officer, he asked if I was landing to be a PR, he then checked the CDF and enquired about my B4/B4A forms. As I wasn't settling down now and as I was not accompanying any goods I told him simply that I do not have GTF/A for now. He then marked something on my CDF which stated that I had to go through final customs processing before immigration.
2. Immigration.
Greeted by a wonderful female officer who checked our passports, COPR. She asked few basic questions like have u been in Cnaada before? Former employer? Ever convicted of any crime? Address staying now at Canada. Thanks to mastfadi I printed this adddress on a paper before hand and showed to her. She filled in all details, asked us to sign our papers and told us to wait. After about 10 min wait, she called our names and gave our PPs and 1 COPR copy back with a big smile " Welcome to Canada ". She also stated us residency obligations(730d out of 5y)
There was a newcomer section after immigration where the guys gave us few pamphlets on how to work in Canada etc. Helpful if u are new to Canada.
3. Claim check-in baggage: Pulled out the baggage and put them in Free (courtesy CIBC) carts. Then we were asked to go the customs room where they check the baggage contents/cash etc. As I was waiting I saw the officer stating to a lady in my front that not disclosing or falsely disclosing information on CDF will amount to 400$ fine and/or imprisonment. So guys be careful of what u are carrying. Do NOT carry any products OR BYPRODUCTS of milk, plants, meat etc(More details on CBSA site). Eg: Ghee is a byproduct of milk and if you carry it and do not declare on the CDF they may confiscate, impose a fine and/or put u in prison. So please be TRUTHFUL and CAREFUL.
The lady in front of me luckily declared that she was carrying meat and it was not a problem to her. They took away those items and trashed them.
My turn came up and he asked me if there are any Goods(not to be mistaken with Grocery/Food) items with me or to follow. I told him as I am doing a short landing I do not have either for now and when I do my next trip I will get them and fill B4/B4A. He was ok with my explanation and told us to leave.
The landing was not as difficult as I'd imagined. So chill out guys and do a cool landing.
I came out around 930PM and my friends were there to receive us. It was overall a wonderful experience. I did my SIN the next day at the nearest Service Canada counter. That was a breeze, in and out in 15 mins.
Toronto has started to warm up and the temps are in high 20s now. Very pleasant weather now if you are traveling from tropical countries.
Some points:
1. T3 does NOT have SIN counter and the best time to land is after 7PM(According to CBSA officer). Lesser rush and faster processing.
2. Neither Immigration nor Customs asked me for POF, however it doesn't meet its the norm.
3. Be very careful of what you pack(for your friends and you) and make a full list of items before you board that flight.
4. Be TRUTHFUL and extra CAREFUL in all your declarations and do not hide anything either knowingly or unknowingly.
This forum has helped me a in a long way to attain my PR. I am highly indebted to all my fellow PR here. I will try to give back as much as I can with the information that I have. So please shoot your Qs if you have any.
Happy Landing for you too !
