poland - warsaw..

[lioha]

Hey all,

Yesterday I finally got THE email from Warsaw VO saying my papers are ready to be picked up!
So I spent the whole morning calling couriers asking prices etc.

And for me the cheapest was UPS - $99 in total for the express option, Warsaw - Montreal. I also called Warsaw VO and a very nice lady told me more about how it's going to look like with the courier. She said that after I make an order I need to email her (the usual email address) the bar code label (which I'm going to get from UPS after finishing the order) coz based on that she's going to call the courier and arrange the pick up date/time with the UPS courier in Warsaw directly. She also told me not to worry if I don't get it this week as for some reason (she didn't specify why) she won't be able to call the courier till Monday. Good to know.

The funny thing is that when I called UPS I was told I need to create an account to do this pre-paid service. But as I started to ask more it turned out I can just go to UPS store, fill out a form with the sender/receiver addresses and voila. So I did that and the guy at the store knew very well about the pre-paid option and the send the email with the bar cod label to my email address so that later I forwarded it to the Warsaw VO.

You don't need to buy an envelope fro mthe courier, the immigration has already everything packed, the lady told me it's (in my case but I guess it's true for most/all of us) 0.5kg, standard size envelope (30x24cm) if you need to know that for the courier.

So that's how it looked for me, hope it'll help others dealing with the pre-paid thingy.

@ dzuls - yes, we're all outland here, hence Warsaw VO. Good luck to you!

Congratulations!!!

Finally hey? Thank you for a detailed explanation on how to arrange pickup. Hopefully I will do the same soon. Even though my wife is in Riga, Latvia I will still arrange shipment here in Montreal. I am going to pick them up anyways, so I will bring everything with me. Now just have to wait I was expired by your story of a nice lady on the phone so I just sent an email to the VO asking if they recieved everything we sent them last December.

 

[dzuls]

@ dzuls - yes, we're all outland here, hence Warsaw VO. Good luck to you!

Hi Ryathe,

yeah you are right, Warsaw VO means obviously outland I must have had a black-out
By the way, is it possible to arrange a pick up in person at the embassy? I might be in Poland when the process will be finished and am curious if I could pick it up myself.
Congratulations, the whole process went fast for you!

 

[dzuls]

Hi dzuls,

Welcome to the "club" of people going through Warsaw. I am impatiantly waiting for my wife to get that magical email telling to pick up her CORP. It is for people going outland. Basically what happens is that when Warsaw Visa Office decides to give you a go, they actually cheap out on the mailing and ask the applicant to arrange pick up in Warsaw on their own. You can do this with courrier companies. I am wondering if you can just show up at the Visa Office and ask for your paper? Not that either me or my wife are close to Warsaw, but still curious.

Hi lioha,

I just asked Ryathe the same question about a pick up in person Anyway, its weird how the embassy is not arranging it themselves.. I wish you that your wife and baby will be able to join you very very soon!!!

 

[Ryathe]

Oh sorry, forgot to answer it earlier.
Sure you can pick it up yourself at the embassy, I don't know the details though as I knew I won't be able to do it. But if you bring your ID and passport should be enough. I mean, the outland option IS originally for ppl still living in Poland so the fact that the embassy doesn't ask us to come to Poland and pick it up ourselves I consider a big plus.

 

[lioha]

I actually got a reply back from Poland today; very fast. It was the shortest reply ever . They confirmed they recieved everything I sent them. Did not say when they will actually give a decision .

Oh the waiting game!!!

 

[grzybek]

Hey Warsaw folks,

Just checking in . . . we got an email from the Warsaw office this morning asking for:

1. Me to confirm my intention to reside in Canada (i.e. proof I've looked for a job or got one)
2. Scanned pages of my wife's passport.

So, good news! I'm still happily impressed at how fast the Warsaw office is processing things.

One quick question, and I apologise for not searching the forums deeper for this . . . Since this process has been so fast, we actually don't want things to go too quickly or we won't be ready to move in time! When they issue the residency permit, do you have to land in Canada within 6 months, or is the time frame a little longer than that?

 

[Ryathe]

Good news grzybek!

When I got my email from the embassy a week ago it said I have time till August 24 2013. Don't know what determines the deadline but in this case you'd have 7 months instead of 6.
And if you don't want to speed things then take your time with the passport scans etc. coz after you send these expect the "oh happy ending" answer most probably in 2 weeks max. :

 

[lioha]

One quick question, and I apologise for not searching the forums deeper for this . . . Since this process has been so fast, we actually don't want things to go too quickly or we won't be ready to move in time! When they issue the residency permit, do you have to land in Canada within 6 months, or is the time frame a little longer than that?

The date you are given to "land" in Canada is usually one year after your medical exam. The exam is valid for one year, and you have till the date one year from the exam to come to Canada.

I have some great news from Warsaw too today. My wife got that magical email that we are waiting . I just sent Warsaw an email asking if I can arrange pickup to go to Canada to me the sponsor. My wife has our new born daughter to take care of and can not really do anything esle like going to UPS or Fedex in Riga.
Now we just wait a little bit for my daughter's Canadian Passport to be ready and we are set to go!!!

 

[grzybek]

Thanks Ryathe and iloha for the answers! Our medical was done in August, so that's great to hear that we should have until then to move to Canada. So much to do!

I have to admit I'm a little confused still about this passport issue. Maybe I'm missing something or I just have totally understood this process.

We've just been asked to send scans of my wife's passport. No problem. Then after that at some stage, doesn't the Warsaw office need her physical passport to actually put a stamp or sticker or something in it? Or do they just give you the famous 'paperwork' you need to show when you land in Canada? But I've gone through this thread and can't seem to see any mention of any of you actually sending or bringing your actual passport into the Embassy.

Just a little confused . . . forgive me! And three cheers for the speedy Warsaw office.

 

[Ryathe]

My partner was thinking about the same thing the other day and we concluded that it must depend on whether you're actually in Poland or not. As it's impossible to send the actual passport by mail (illegal as far as I know) then for ppl who are still in Poland they ask the passport while you go to pick up the papers. While ppl who are abroad have to do everything at the entry point/border.

That's our logic at least, correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[grzybek]

Thanks for that. It's all a little mysterious I guess. I guess there's no point reading other threads about it because it probably really depends on the visa office.

In any case, it doesn't really matter for us, I'm just curious. I'm like a 15 minute bus ride from the Embassy so I'll do everything I can in person anyway.

 

[lioha]

Got my wife's COPR tonight with Fedex. Warsaw VO actually also returned a lot of the supporting documents and all the pictures we sent them. It was so funny holding this piece of paper, the most presious piece of papaer in my life.

Hopefully my daughter's passport will be ready soon and I will be able to pick them up. The passport seem to be taking forever also. It is already passed the usual time

 

[grzybek]

Iloha - congratulations! We're hopefully not that far behind you. Must feel a strange feeling to have the actual document in hand. And getting some supporting documents back - think of the frequent flier miles those docs have accumulated!

What I wonder is what the offices do with all the paper clips and folders. They must have a warehouse full of exotic discarded stationary supplies from all over the world . . .

 

[Ryathe]

Got my wife's COPR tonight with Fedex. Warsaw VO actually also returned a lot of the supporting documents and all the pictures we sent them. It was so funny holding this piece of paper, the most presious piece of papaer in my life.

Hopefully my daughter's passport will be ready soon and I will be able to pick them up. The passport seem to be taking forever also. It is already passed the usual time

Congratulations!!! ))) and fingers crossed for your daughter's passport!

 

[andwella]

I'm an official permanent resident since 1 week!!! I already got my SIN and in the process with medical card and free french course application!!
It all went so quickly - It took us less than 6 months since sending all the papers.
I know I wrote only once before, I found this site way to late in the process. But I still would like to share my experience :
I'm Latvian, applied from outside Canada through Poland. Previously lived with a Canadian citizen (my fiancé) for a year with a international Experience visa.
The story backwards, hope somebody finds it useful.

2013-01-30 : FedEx billed me what I was expecting : only 58.95 CAD!!! And this is just for 50 hours from pick-up from Poland until my door! Incredible!

2013-01-23 : FedEx letter with confirmation arrived from Poland! - I was in Montréal already (in visit until March, not expecting that the process will be that fast). We went to the border with USA by car (it's 60 minutes). You are suposed to "activate" your confirmation through "landing". And if you are "in", you need :
-to book an Appointment with MICC (there is one in Mtl), but it take up to 8 weeks before you get it,
- another way, that Immigration Canada officially told us on the phone and even send an official e-mail is to go to the border with USA, explain the situation to the US officer (they are very used to it), get a paper with a fake "refusal" and turn around and re-enter in Canada. It took us about 1 and a half of waiting between "border" and "border". Everybody was crazy nice and smily and saying Congratulations and stuff!
So I got the stamp in the passport and on the second copy of the confirmation of the residence, and sending me the real card in 6 weeks. Yey!

2013-01-15 : Panic! I received an e-mail from Poland, saying IT'S READY for... pick up... I had never organized a courier from nowhere, especially Poland. I called 3 different numbers of UPS, registered myself all for nothing, it was VERY not clear how to do it. They even told me to send money to the Embassy in Poland, so it pays UPS directly...
Final decision : FedEx!!!
Lady on the phone explained me that she can do it by phone for 130 CAD, but I can try to do it myself online, it would cost less. The only particularity is that you need to have your VISA or Master card. I had it, so I had no problems. You organize shipping first (after have spoken with embassy in Poland sometime they close their offices without putting it on their we site) and after that organize the pick up for the next day. I found it very easy to do. And it's not prepaid, the bill you 10 days after, with a precise weight etc.
The only thing that delayed everything was that Embassy was closed, or they had some event those days, and they were totally out of service until the 21st. I sent the label via e-mail and it was picked-up without any confirmation from Embassy...

2013-01-03 : We received the CSQ ! Sent the scan to Poland... just in case.

2012-12-03 Embassy in Poland asked me to scan my passport, send 4 photos by normal mail and asked just in case to sent me the scan of Certificat de Selection du Quebec, as soon as my common-law partner receives it . (they usually get it automatically, but just in case)... And then total SILENCE for more than a month.

2012-10-06 : Poland sent my boyfriend an e-mail for the Certificat de selection. So via scanners I filled it in and he sent it to Quebec!

2012-07-26 : We have sent all the needed documents to Mississauga. It took me 2 months to gather all the stuff, but it's just because I had traveled too much and needed extra certificates.

Well, sorry everybody it was long Good luck!