OUR LANDING EXPERIENCE
So friends here I am in Edmonton Canada, After a looooong journey starting from Amritsar in India on 221st June 2015 at 6.45 PM and ultimately ending at Edmonton airport on 22nd June (Canadian time) 6.45 PM.
I would describe all aspects one by one so that all friends can benefit and can get some answers to the most complicated and hidden aspects of Landing.
We boarded JET airways flight from Amritsar to New Delhi- The Airport is a decent one and has good interiors and ambience overall, We reached three hours prior to our flight but as the Airport is a non busy one, I think it was a bit early, I would suggest one and a half hour buffer and not three hours, Even the entry inside was based on a special announcement when JET airways staff came and the x-rays machines were started for the luggage, We entered the airport, Check-in luggage was x-rayed and shifted to other side, Carry on was not X-rayed initially. We went to Jet airways counter where all bags were weighed , We had eight piece of check in luggage out of which six were overweight by one to two KG, The person told us to get rid of some of the weight which we did by taking out some small titbits out of all six bags. Hand luggage was also weighted and the cut off was eight Kg, The guy even asked if we had Laptop in the Laptop bag or not, After the initial hitch and reduction of weight, We were through and we got our boarding possesses for all our flights from Amritsar to Edmonton (all Boarding passes with seat numbers confirmed in all)
Step two- We went to immigration counter in Amritsar- which was empty (nobody except us), The officer there said , your Immigration will be done in Delhi so no Immigration check here in Amritsar.
Step Three- Security Screening- We went to screening Queue where our hand luggage was screened, X-Rayed and guess what The found a big scissors in our bag, Which I had forgotten there (LOL), Anyways thet told us to return that to our waiting parents, which we did and Vallaah we were inside the airport waiting for the aircraft. Airport was very hot maybe the AC was not working. After about two hours we were shifted from GF to FF for boarding the flight, Our boarding passes were checked and we were seated in the aircraft.
It was a short 50 Minuets flight , aircraft was neat and clean, Excellent leg space, comfy feeling, We were served with a veg patty along with some beverages and by the time we finished it, we were already descending for the touch down. We landed at Delhi at about 8 PM and were out of the gates by 8.30 (point to be noted is that Check in Luggage is not given to you in Delhi). We went for dinner with my Brother In Law and came back at 12 Midnight as the flight was at 2.40 AM .
We entered T3 IGI Airport at about 12.10 AM on 22nd June 2015 and as we already had our boarding passes we went for the Immigration, Please note that prior to entering Immigration you have to fill a small departure Information form and present it to Immigration officer, Line was not long and it took us ten to fifteen Minuets to get to an Immigration Officer. The officer first enquired on which visa we were going (Pertinent to say that I had two Valid Canadian Visas in all our passports, One Visitor Visa and other IM visa) When we told him that we were going for landing, He immediately asked for COPR and showed it to his colleague and said ( Is Letter ke bina yeh log Canada me enter nahin kar sakte)(Nice Info here), Another question he asked was , Are you going to surrender your passport once you get PR ( Stupid question but he asked it anyways).
We cleared Immigration and went for security screening which was quick and was over in about twenty minuets, We went inside waited for about one and a half hour and then went to the gates for boarding. We boarded the plane at about 2.10 AM and were seated inside (Please note that after screening when you are inside terminal you can buy food and drinks( Non Alcoholic) which you can actually carry inside plain). Again Nice clean plain , very new, Nice leg space (Which has been an issue for all my trips to Canada previously) Flight started on time and was a long flight about eight hours to Brussels , Belgium, The flight was good and food was served twice in the flight, which was good to see and further for the friends who specifically asked , Milk for babies was available on board.
When the plane landed in Brussels , we were hit by a surprise ( We were told initially while booking that this stoppage is a technical stop for refuelling but we were to leave the plane, get through a twenty min walk to security screening and then re board the plane (not sure if it was the same plane or different) We had separate boarding passes and change of seats The process was bothersome but not very difficult as the airport was more or less empty and there were no long queues to beat.
We had to wait for about one hour to board this plain and please note that the acceptable currency here (To eat or Drink anything) was either Euro or Pound (which I did not carry as I was not aware of this stoppage) Any ways We started our third flight which was again comfortable, Nice food, beverages selection, Authentic Indian food was served and we endured this Eight hour flight to Toronto by watching excellent selection of music and movies by the Airlines. Just prior to landing in Toronto we were given declaration cards , Which were to be filled ( This document ultimately became an Important document and was seen and Checked at least five to six times in Toronto Itself).
We landed at Toronto airport on 22nd June 12.30 PM (Right on time) and 2.45 Hours short of our next flight (Westjet to Edmonton).From here I will explain the entire process in points
(1) Stage one- After De boarding the Aircraft (with your hand luggage) go very quickly to the Immigration queue ( Please announce here that you are connecting and you will be directly sent to Immigration Officers without being made to wait in the long queue) (This process should take anything between ten to twenty Minutes)
(2) Stage Two- When you are at Immigration counter announce that you are here for the landing, The officer will check the declaration card and will mark some notes on it, cross it and will send you through after welcoming you to Canada.
(3) Stage Three- After clearing Immigration you will be sent to a separate area ( People visiting Canada do not come here they are sent to baggage collection) In this room there was another long line but there were over seven officers working for quick disposal. We waited for about half an hour here and were called by an officer, He collected our passports, Checked our Visas, Demanded COPR and then asked to see POF ) had a detailed discussion about POF and he checked everything quickly but thoroughly), We were told to sit for about fifteen minuets and then the officer called us again, Welcomed us and sent us to a counter which said --- Newcomers Counter----
(4) Stage Four- A very Very slow person welcomed us and gave us some literature told us to apply for SIN card which I refused telling him that we will apply for that in Alberta, We were sent to another counter where a Lady again congratulated us and Gave us a souvenir in shape of a very good quality bag. We were sent to exit gate where again our declaration was checked and we were directed to baggage claim location.
(5) Stage-Five- We were to collect our luggage and head to Customs, We sensed that it was a mighty challenging task as we had Eight big bags, Four Small, Two Lappy bagd and three kids bag and ladies purse (Pleeeweeew), We hired a gentlemen to help us ( 10 $ for first three bags and 2$ for each additional) , He took us to customs very quickly but there was a loooong queue and about eight families were there waiting for the declaration and processing.
(6) Stage- Six- Most Important stage of entire landing After waiting for about twenty Min (luckily three additional officers came in and started processing so we were able to go through to the officer quickly) We were called by an officer which asked
a) Have you got the list and value of goods you are carrying .
b) Have you got any goods to follow .
c) He took our B4 and B4A and was very very happy to see that we had done all our homework, even the two sets of documents were a great relief to him, We had put jewellery, My Stamps collection and My Old Revenue documents collection in B4A in addition to all household items, He enquired about those and was again very Impressed to see the complete compilation of Jewellery details + Photos on high quality glossy sheets (We had about eighty separate jewelry pieces) He even said You come and join us here in CBSA we need people like you, Jokes apart, the preparations beforehand and our homework paid off, He kept one copy of B4 as well as B4A and returned us a stamped (each page of our thirty two page list and Booklet) He said this jewelary booklet will be useful to you throughout your life rest of the items we have got one year to import.
d) We were given an Import Document which stated the Value of Items we could import at 300 Thousand dollars but at Nil Duty (The Permit was a big relief when we finally got it in our hand) Work done well
(7) Stage-Seven- Officer told us to run as at that time we had just forty min left for our flight, Again the man that we hired for luggage saved the day and ran along with us to drop the luggage off to WestJet luggage collection counter, By the time we were free from check-in about thirty min were left in the flight.
(8) Stage Eight- We took an elevator which led us to a train which we boarded and went to other terminal, We were again caught up in security screening and the clock was ticking, We raised our concern with the security staff which allowed us to skip the queue (After checking our boarding passes), After screening we ran full speed to the gate which was another ten min away, When we reached there we were amongst the last few standing there, We barely managed to board and by this time we were exhausted and about to faint.
Westjet flight from Toronto to Edmonton, Nice flight, three hours fifty min, little bit congested but OK, We landed here in Edmonton at 6.45 PM (App), Ran to pick up our baggage as we wanted to rest , have a hot shower and sleep but behold Fate had something for us, We waited for our baggage but there was NO BAGGAGE, We went to westjet help desk and Ban- our baggage was still in Toronto, Now the Canadian factor kicks in We were told by Westjet that (a) We will give you 100 $ credit for your next flight and (2) We will give you another 100$ to shop for your overnight cloths and other necessary items, We were floored and we headed to our friend waiting outside, We went to his house and relaxed.
POINTS TO NOTE
1) Be prepared, do your homework well.
2) I read somewhere –you can go without B4 or B4A, yes you can certainly go but ultimately you will end up wasting your own time.
3) Some people say B4A – kot zaroorat nahin- Recently one of my friend who is a Canadian PR had to pay 2000$ when he brought an old diamond set to Canada from India, Why to risk it, Why not to get all the things in place and ready to avoid any future hassles , rest all of us are grown up and intelligent and surely can take our decisions.
4) Be patient but wherever you have to please announce your urgency and you will be taken care of.
5) Long flight but comfortable- JET zindabaad
6) Yes there are four legs Amritsar to Delhi the Plane change Delhi to Brussels then plain change Brussels to Toronto then plane change Toronto to Edmonton and you are there.
7) Anything you think even remotely that you may bring into Canada- Record it in Goods to follow.
For any other question
Call me at 780-680-7085
Mail me @ thevaluers @ gmail.com
Whattsapp me @ 00919316912191
Thanks and wishing you best of Luck
Er.Manish Joshi
