POE/Landing experiences

[SSHanna]

mead reminded me of something..

trolleys here cost money.

if u will be getting trolley in airport , prepare ur cash.

Yeah I have already heard about that in another thread! I think it is about 5$, isn't it?

 

[hell911]

^
no, not more than $2 , i forgot how much.

i already forgot after 1 week of airport travel.

 

[SSHanna]

Haha it is okay! and enjoy your stay in Canada!

 

[remix2013]

^
no, not more than $2 , i forgot how much.

i already forgot after 1 week of airport travel.

It's $2 and they only accept a $2 coin. When you return the cart, you get a quarter back :-\ total ripoff :'(

 

[remix2013]

pretty much the same procedure with the exception that u dont have to collect baggage and after u get study permit u will have to find the gate for ur next connecting flight

Hi there, so I am arriving in Ottawa before connecting a flight to Toronto (1 hour layover time). So in Ottawa, when I am giving my study permit I don't have to claim my baggage? Will it be automatically transferred to Toronto?

 

[Ischaan]

this is for indians but its pretty much same for other countries as well
its nothing to worry about
1) u go to air port and get ur boarding pass and check in ur baggage at ur airline counter
2) u go through indian immigration they ask where u going and purpose of travel and check ur visa and passport.
3) u go through security check where they send u through metal detector etc ....
4) u wait for ur boarding and once boarded enjoy ur flight
5) if u have a lay over when u get down u go to the respective terminal.... u should verify ur terminal on the tv monitors on the airport so that u dont go to the wrong terminal. they change terminals often and the one on ur tickets may change. u can also ask ur flight attendant about it too.
6) then same procedure again of security check and boarding the flight to canada the final leg of ur flight.
7) u get a customs form in the plane ...airline flight attendants distribute this form. u fill it ..its very simple form nothing to be worried about. good idea to carry a pen in ur carryon baggage.
8) once u get down in canada u go to the immigration officer...there is a line normally and u will just follow the crowd. Two different lines one for canada citizens /PR and other for foreign nationals. u join the foreign national line. everything is clearly marked so no worries read the boards.
9) at the end of line u will meet an immigration officer. once u tell him ur a student and visited canada for education he will direct u to a different immigration office .
10.) u will have to collect ur baggage before u go to that different office.
11) in the office they will ask u for all ur documents like ur passport, CAQ(if going to quebec) , admission letter and LOI.
12) then u wait as they process ur study permit and print it out. they will ask u very simple questions . purpose of visit etc no questions about finances etc.
13)they give u the study permit they may tell u what u shouldnt do or the restrictions on ur study permit and then off u go out to find a taxi.....
there may be some difference depending on which airport u land.

dat wud be really helpful....I jus wanna know though I hv asked it earlier I hv USD, so is it f9 in canada using the USD....or I need to completely convert dem to CAD

 

[just_do_it]

Hi there, so I am arriving in Ottawa before connecting a flight to Toronto (1 hour layover time). So in Ottawa, when I am giving my study permit I don't have to claim my baggage? Will it be automatically transferred to Toronto?

You will have to get your bags, get processed at immigration and then check them back in again with the airline. International to domestic transfers have to be processed at immigration first.

 

[just_do_it]

How about this for a POE experience... mind you, this was in 2002 and things may have changed since then (though i doubt it).

Walking off the plane, get stopped by a customs guy (who just happened to be desi) right outside the plane door. Watching the guy try to verify the authenticity of the visa on my passport by scratching it with his thumb, looking at the hologram, holding my passport next to my face to compare the pics while the entire plane full of passengers walk past giving me "the look" and being personally escorted to the immigration line up (all the way to the end of the line i might add which is where i would have gone anyways had i been allowed to walk by myself). The guy would have probably given me a very hard time (more than he already did) had he been in charge of processing my study permit but unfortunately for me, this was not the case. Oh, this was at vancouver BTW. They (desi customs officers) always give me a warm welcome : everytime i fly in by myself. We have a special relationship.

Also, someone asked about carrying cash. You can legally carry upto $10,000 CAD cash on you into canada. That is 10,000 CAD, not US. I read somewhere a guy had 10,000 US on him and after converting its a tad over 10k CAD, so he got stuffed.

You dont need to declare it anywhere if you are not over the limit. Specially to the Indian Customs because they will seperate you from your money faster than you can say 'Jai Hind'. Actually, i would advise not to carry a lot of cash on you at all unless you are planning on doing some expensive shopping en route. carry some US cash for in-transit spending, say $200. Also carry some Canadian cash for when you get here , $500 is probably more than enough. If you have more money to carry, the safest way is probably travellers cheques. You get them in India, bought in US$ denominations, sign them once when you get them and can take them to any bank and sign the second time and cash them in. They are safe as in your signatures need to match before they can be cashed (along with a piece of ID), they can be cancelled if lost/ stolen so your money is safe.

I had about 7k worth of travllrs cheques on me when i came to canada. Legally, they had to be endorsed on my passport but lucky for me, the agent made me sign each one of them once, all 70 of them. Indian customs at Delhi see it on my passport, a woman takes me down a long hallway into a deserted back office (i know what you're thinking... i was scared $hitless at the time) and asked me show her the TC's. I took the wad out of my pocket, she asked me to count them. I had counted 3 and she asked if i had signed all of them, i said yes and she took me back to customs, signalled to the other guy in a NO head swing gesture in a rather disappointed fashion and they let me go. Had i not signed the TC's, i would have been 7k poorer today.

 

[hell911]

It's $2 and they only accept a $2 coin. When you return the cart, you get a quarter back :-\ total ripoff :'(

what? you get a quarter back? i didnt knew, i left it. ;D

 

[unclesamy]

what? you get a quarter back? i didnt knew, i left it. ;D

only on toronto airport ...in montreal airport carts r free lol

 

[hell911]

^
woah.

good thing i had few coins or else i had to drag 2 large and 1 small bag all the way.

 

[SSHanna]

How about this for a POE experience... mind you, this was in 2002 and things may have changed since then (though i doubt it).

Walking off the plane, get stopped by a customs guy (who just happened to be desi) right outside the plane door. Watching the guy try to verify the authenticity of the visa on my passport by scratching it with his thumb, looking at the hologram, holding my passport next to my face to compare the pics while the entire plane full of passengers walk past giving me "the look" and being personally escorted to the immigration line up (all the way to the end of the line i might add which is where i would have gone anyways had i been allowed to walk by myself). The guy would have probably given me a very hard time (more than he already did) had he been in charge of processing my study permit but unfortunately for me, this was not the case. Oh, this was at vancouver BTW. They (desi customs officers) always give me a warm welcome : everytime i fly in by myself. We have a special relationship.

Also, someone asked about carrying cash. You can legally carry upto $10,000 CAD cash on you into canada. That is 10,000 CAD, not US. I read somewhere a guy had 10,000 US on him and after converting its a tad over 10k CAD, so he got stuffed.

You dont need to declare it anywhere if you are not over the limit. Specially to the Indian Customs because they will seperate you from your money faster than you can say 'Jai Hind'. Actually, i would advise not to carry a lot of cash on you at all unless you are planning on doing some expensive shopping en route. carry some US cash for in-transit spending, say $200. Also carry some Canadian cash for when you get here , $500 is probably more than enough. If you have more money to carry, the safest way is probably travellers cheques. You get them in India, bought in US$ denominations, sign them once when you get them and can take them to any bank and sign the second time and cash them in. They are safe as in your signatures need to match before they can be cashed (along with a piece of ID), they can be cancelled if lost/ stolen so your money is safe.

I had about 7k worth of travllrs cheques on me when i came to canada. Legally, they had to be endorsed on my passport but lucky for me, the agent made me sign each one of them once, all 70 of them. Indian customs at Delhi see it on my passport, a woman takes me down a long hallway into a deserted back office (i know what you're thinking... i was scared $hitless at the time) and asked me show her the TC's. I took the wad out of my pocket, she asked me to count them. I had counted 3 and she asked if i had signed all of them, i said yes and she took me back to customs, signalled to the other guy in a NO head swing gesture in a rather disappointed fashion and they let me go. Had i not signed the TC's, i would have been 7k poorer today.

Thank you! that sound pretty complicated! :/ I've never heard of a guy stopped right outside the door of the plane to get verified in a way like that!

 

[SSHanna]

Guys, Is there any problem if I land firstly in Toronto but my university is somewhere else? Do I have to land in the same province where my university is located?

 

[Rgsdas]

Guys, Is there any problem if I land firstly in Toronto but my university is somewhere else? Do I have to land in the same province where my university is located?

Hi

I just landed in Canada yesterday with Toronto being my Port of Entry and St John's, NL as my final destination. After walking out of the aircraft, I followed the line for Flight Connections which led me to the first immigration officer. She led me to the room where they check for the permits. The next lady asked me for my papers and asked me where I was staying tonight. Once she read my LOI and University Offer letter she wanted to see my ticket for St John's Newfoundland. As my flight was in the next one hour, she quickly processed my study permit, along with my spouse's open work permit, no other questions asked. The whole thing took under ten minutes. We collected our checking bags and passed customs. Later we dropped them off at the point for terminal connections and proceeded to the domestic terminal where we got the boarding passes for the last leg of the flight.

So to answer your question specifically, No. You can land anywhere even if your university is somewhere else, provided you have a ticket to show for your connecting flight. Hope this helps.

 

[SSHanna]

That is great! Thank you for sharing your experience and do not worry about your name misspelling issue! It is their fault (from what I understood) They did not see the name correction on your passport. Good luck!