Hi everyone,
I wanted to share my experience with getting my visa and landing. I received an email from the Consulate General in Buffalo with a passport request. They informed me that could either do it the traditional way by mail, or in person that the Consulate General on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 8 AM and 11 AM. They said they would try very hard to get the passport returned the same day. We were required to include 3 visa-sized photos, a sheet with name, height and eye color, and a print-out of the passport request they had emailed.
I arrived there at 7:20 AM and there were already 2 people waiting. By the time they started letting us in around 8 AM, there were 14 or 15 people in line (I couldn't see clearly from where I was standing) and people kept coming and coming during the entire time I was there.
When we entered their waiting room there were 3 windows, labeled #1, #2 and cashier. Those of us with immigration matters were sent to window 2, and those with non-immigrant matters were sent to window 1. The second person in line, who was before me, was there for a non-immigrant matter. This ended up with me being second in line at the immigrant window. I told the lady I was there to pick up an immigrant visa, and she asked for my passport, photos and letter. I gave them to her and told her that I had also been asked for a separate sheet with my name, height and eye color, so she just said "Ok, hand that over as well," and I did. She gave me a card with a number and told me "When you hear me calling this number, please come back to the window. You can have a seat for now." "Do you know how long it will take?" I asked her, and she told me "Not more than a few hours."
While sitting there waiting there was a steady stream of requests for people to go to the cashier; these were the non-immigrant applicants. After an hour and a half they called my number, and I went back to window 2. The lady gave me my passport with the visa inserted and my Confirmation of Permanent Residence, and told me "You are welcome to land today, but it will take three to three and a half hours for the date to be submitted electronically to the Port of Entry, so you have to wait at least that long."
Three and a half hours later I drove across the Queenstion-Lewiston Bridge (this is the Niagara-Fort Erie POE) to land. I explained to the Customs agent what I was doing and he asked me if I had anything with me or anything to follow. I told him no (I have already been in Canada for over two years and all my important stuff is already here), so he gave me a small form where he scribbled that I was landing and had no goods to follow, told me to park in lot 2, and go into the building that said Immigration. I did, and waited 5-10 minutes before an agent was available. I told him that I was landing as a PR, and he got really excited and exclaimed "Oh yeah!?" He was extremely friendly and pleasant. He first asked me if I had even been committed of a crime anywhere in the world, I said no, then he confirmed that I had nothing with me or to follow. He then confirmed if my address and phone number were as stated on the COPR. My address is the same but my phone number was different, so he scribbled the correct number on the COPR and updated it in his computer. He then had me sign the COPR, gave me my copy, and told me about my rights as a PR and about the card and how long it would take. He then welcomed me to Canada as a PR and I was done. All in all, the time spent from when the agent first called me to when I was finished landing and officially a PR was slightly less than 5 minutes.
After this I went straight to Service Canada and Service Ontario in Saint Catharines (right after Niagara Falls) for my permanent SIN and OHIP (I had both on a temporary basis under my work permit) and they were able to verify my COPR right away electronically.
All in all, except for the long waits at the Consulate General, I'd say the process was extremely efficient and everyone was polite. I noticed that the staff at the Consulate General were nice if you were quick and efficient, but if you took a long time to explain yourself or fumbled with your papers they got irritated. I didn't do this, but I saw it happen to other people. I feel bad for a poor Korean man who was there and had poor English skills... The security lady really pushed him.
One interesting thing that the agent who landed me said: the COPR has a legend stating "NOT VALID FOR TRAVEL" and he also told me that it is not valid for travel and either wait for my PR card or get a travel document from the local diplomatic post if I have to travel before I get it. I told him I had heard that you can travel on it in your private vehicle, and he said that is correct. He then proceeded to explain that the reason you can't do it on commercial vehicles is not because of the border staff, but because of the carriers. He said that if you show up on the border with a COPR, no matter how you got there, even if you have no PR card. As he said, "You're a Permanent Resident, we don't care." Apparently this is because the commercial carriers are responsible if they take someone to the border with a COPR who turns out not to be valid, or if the person in question has lost PR status.
Some suggestions based on my exprience:
1. Definitely go there rather than mail, if it is convenient. The location is easy as it is in the CIBC Center, a big skyscraper that you can see from far around.
2. Get to the Consulate General early. It took me one and a half hours to get my visa even though I was second in line for immigrants, and I have to be there 40 minutes early to get into that position. The visa actually has an issue date from when they made the decision, which was almost 2 weeks before I went there, which means they took all this time just to affix the visa to my passport and prepare the COPR. I imagine that if you get there later, with all the people that are constantly pouring in there due to them only being open 6 hours per week, you may have trouble getting it back in time.
3. Be prepared and have every necessary document already out and in your hand when you enter the Consulate General so you don't have to open a folder or something to get to them, or you will have an unpleasant experience.
4. My POE was a minor one (one of four in the Niagara region, and the only one that doesn't even have a NEXUS lane), so that probably helped with my process. When I first walked into Immigration there was only one man there, and one more arrived after me, who also happened to be landing.
I hope this post has been helpful and education for everyone. If you have any questions about this, please feel free to either post them here or PM me and I will do my best to respond.
Thanks for reading!
I wanted to share my experience with getting my visa and landing. I received an email from the Consulate General in Buffalo with a passport request. They informed me that could either do it the traditional way by mail, or in person that the Consulate General on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 8 AM and 11 AM. They said they would try very hard to get the passport returned the same day. We were required to include 3 visa-sized photos, a sheet with name, height and eye color, and a print-out of the passport request they had emailed.
I arrived there at 7:20 AM and there were already 2 people waiting. By the time they started letting us in around 8 AM, there were 14 or 15 people in line (I couldn't see clearly from where I was standing) and people kept coming and coming during the entire time I was there.
When we entered their waiting room there were 3 windows, labeled #1, #2 and cashier. Those of us with immigration matters were sent to window 2, and those with non-immigrant matters were sent to window 1. The second person in line, who was before me, was there for a non-immigrant matter. This ended up with me being second in line at the immigrant window. I told the lady I was there to pick up an immigrant visa, and she asked for my passport, photos and letter. I gave them to her and told her that I had also been asked for a separate sheet with my name, height and eye color, so she just said "Ok, hand that over as well," and I did. She gave me a card with a number and told me "When you hear me calling this number, please come back to the window. You can have a seat for now." "Do you know how long it will take?" I asked her, and she told me "Not more than a few hours."
While sitting there waiting there was a steady stream of requests for people to go to the cashier; these were the non-immigrant applicants. After an hour and a half they called my number, and I went back to window 2. The lady gave me my passport with the visa inserted and my Confirmation of Permanent Residence, and told me "You are welcome to land today, but it will take three to three and a half hours for the date to be submitted electronically to the Port of Entry, so you have to wait at least that long."
Three and a half hours later I drove across the Queenstion-Lewiston Bridge (this is the Niagara-Fort Erie POE) to land. I explained to the Customs agent what I was doing and he asked me if I had anything with me or anything to follow. I told him no (I have already been in Canada for over two years and all my important stuff is already here), so he gave me a small form where he scribbled that I was landing and had no goods to follow, told me to park in lot 2, and go into the building that said Immigration. I did, and waited 5-10 minutes before an agent was available. I told him that I was landing as a PR, and he got really excited and exclaimed "Oh yeah!?" He was extremely friendly and pleasant. He first asked me if I had even been committed of a crime anywhere in the world, I said no, then he confirmed that I had nothing with me or to follow. He then confirmed if my address and phone number were as stated on the COPR. My address is the same but my phone number was different, so he scribbled the correct number on the COPR and updated it in his computer. He then had me sign the COPR, gave me my copy, and told me about my rights as a PR and about the card and how long it would take. He then welcomed me to Canada as a PR and I was done. All in all, the time spent from when the agent first called me to when I was finished landing and officially a PR was slightly less than 5 minutes.
After this I went straight to Service Canada and Service Ontario in Saint Catharines (right after Niagara Falls) for my permanent SIN and OHIP (I had both on a temporary basis under my work permit) and they were able to verify my COPR right away electronically.
All in all, except for the long waits at the Consulate General, I'd say the process was extremely efficient and everyone was polite. I noticed that the staff at the Consulate General were nice if you were quick and efficient, but if you took a long time to explain yourself or fumbled with your papers they got irritated. I didn't do this, but I saw it happen to other people. I feel bad for a poor Korean man who was there and had poor English skills... The security lady really pushed him.
One interesting thing that the agent who landed me said: the COPR has a legend stating "NOT VALID FOR TRAVEL" and he also told me that it is not valid for travel and either wait for my PR card or get a travel document from the local diplomatic post if I have to travel before I get it. I told him I had heard that you can travel on it in your private vehicle, and he said that is correct. He then proceeded to explain that the reason you can't do it on commercial vehicles is not because of the border staff, but because of the carriers. He said that if you show up on the border with a COPR, no matter how you got there, even if you have no PR card. As he said, "You're a Permanent Resident, we don't care." Apparently this is because the commercial carriers are responsible if they take someone to the border with a COPR who turns out not to be valid, or if the person in question has lost PR status.
Some suggestions based on my exprience:
1. Definitely go there rather than mail, if it is convenient. The location is easy as it is in the CIBC Center, a big skyscraper that you can see from far around.
2. Get to the Consulate General early. It took me one and a half hours to get my visa even though I was second in line for immigrants, and I have to be there 40 minutes early to get into that position. The visa actually has an issue date from when they made the decision, which was almost 2 weeks before I went there, which means they took all this time just to affix the visa to my passport and prepare the COPR. I imagine that if you get there later, with all the people that are constantly pouring in there due to them only being open 6 hours per week, you may have trouble getting it back in time.
3. Be prepared and have every necessary document already out and in your hand when you enter the Consulate General so you don't have to open a folder or something to get to them, or you will have an unpleasant experience.
4. My POE was a minor one (one of four in the Niagara region, and the only one that doesn't even have a NEXUS lane), so that probably helped with my process. When I first walked into Immigration there was only one man there, and one more arrived after me, who also happened to be landing.
I hope this post has been helpful and education for everyone. If you have any questions about this, please feel free to either post them here or PM me and I will do my best to respond.
Thanks for reading!
