BTW, this is a free advice to some of you folks on here that may have or will soon be receiving their PR applications approved. Feel free to skip over.
I'm a Nigerian, born and bred....and I know our culture. We mostly do not plan properly or we gloss over some important things because we have wrong or inadequate info. For the sake of God, especially those with families, make sure you plan, plan, plan. I cannot emphasize it enough. Just as you have spent lots of months preparing your applications and waiting, please spend enough time planning your move. I've had a few clients and acquaintances from Nigeria that got their PR, sold their few belongings in Nigeria, dristributed their earnings and took the next flight to Canada. IF you do such/similar, you'd be in for the greatest shock of your life. In this recession days, the job market is still very tight and alot of businesses are still unstable. Make sure you research the city you plan to land/settle, if possible try to get an accommodation plan in place for at least 3 mths and make sure you have enough funds to take care of yourself and family for 3-6mths. Landing and going straight to a hotel with your family for 2wks does not make sense to me...unless you have the resources to burn. Infact, if you have that kind of money, I'd advice you to come down with your family, land and see the city/province for yourself, apply for your SIN, Health insurance, bank accounts, etc, contact realtors to buy a home (assuming you have an idea about the housing market) and then go back to Nigeria and conclude your plans properly with your first hand info. This is the ideal case...and a few people with the resources do it and do not regret it. Since resources are limited in most cases, you can also maximise it by drawing up a very efficient plan. Trust me, $11,000 (or whatever CIC's requirements are) is hardly enough for rent, clothing, feeding, etc for 3mths....If you have relatives, fine; they may help you initially but do not expect them to carry you on their back till you find your feet. You never know when you can find your feet. If you have a business in Nigeria, I'd advice you keep it "open" till you find your feet in Canada...at least, even if you are receiving some change monthly, it's better than nothing. If you have a job, you may want to take a leave of absence...maybe for 6mths. If within those months things do not go as planned, you have something to fall back on....do not throw caution into the air. Please dont. There's a professor I know about that just relocated....he cannot get a job in his field because institutions are in session and he does not even have his license. Even if he is licensed, there's no guarantee he'd get a contract. Before he (and his family of 4) left Nigeria, he sold everything and his relatives were there to share the spoils. He gave to his last paycheck to his parents. He had the $11k CIC asks for to settle....checked into a hotel for 2weeks after he landed. That wiped him clean. Now, he had to pick up low end jobs (security, cleaning, etc) just to make ends meet. It has been very tough for him and that's due to very poor planning. I can go on and on with stories...but please after all the excitement of getting your PR, sit down and map out your plan to settle. This is one of the reasons why you'd hear some people tell you never to immigrate to Canada or the US as it's not uncommon to see medical doctors, engineers, etc trained in other countries driving taxis/cabs in Canada or the US. I'm not saying things are rosy but if you take time to understand the system, make good contacts and plan properly, you'd be more likely to join the group of "successful" immigrants.
For those of you in the professional field (Medicine, Engineering, Law, etc), most of these professions are regulated. There's no two way about it; there are no under the table deals. You may likely have to take exams or go through a special program before you practice. So, make sure you know what these programs are. Every province is different. Contact the board in that province. Make sure you have the required documents before you come over, otherwise you'd have to wait for the documents to be sent from Nigeria and sometimes, it could take months...if it's a process you can start from Nigeria, you are better off. For example, some doctors may have to write exams. The first exam is the MCCEE...you can take that exam in Nigeria; that way when you come, you start studying or you write the QE1 almost immediately.
Again, the job and business markets are tight at the moment, not impossible but difficult...so do not expect to get jobs the very next week after you land. There are immigration programs in most provinces that help new immigrants. You may want to start contacting those programs before you land...basically, get some leads so that you can have something to follow when you land. If you have credible contacts in Canada (keyword is credible), try to get good leads from them. Do not land blindly. My 2 cents.
P.S. This forum has a settlement subforum where you can get some more info. You may want to post your questions there or on here. I do not have answers to all questions but I can try to find answers for you if time permits. Goodluck with all your immigration moves and planning. God bless y'all!
