- Jan 6, 2015
- 2
- Category........
- FSW
- Visa Office......
- Delhi
- NOC Code......
- 0112
- App. Filed.......
- 04-05-2013
- Doc's Request.
- NA
- Nomination.....
- NA
- AOR Received.
- 07-08-2013
- IELTS Request
- NA
- File Transfer...
- NA
- Med's Request
- 03-12-2013
- Med's Done....
- 05-12-2013
- Interview........
- NA
- Passport Req..
- 02-12-2013
- VISA ISSUED...
- 15-04-2014
- LANDED..........
- 27-05-2014
''To succeed in life, you need two things: ignorance and confidence'' - Mark Twain
With that I wish everyone reading this a very happy new year 2015. My journey began exactly two years from today back in New Delhi when we (Me and my wife) saw a BC ad in Times of India and got very much interested. So we met a few agents and they advised us of this new FSWP quota opening up in May 2013. So we began the process of getting the paper work ready and started to read this forum every once in a while. This is apart from cic, the sea of information on immigration. So getting documents ready getting the minutest details ready for it, sleepless nights calling WES for the ECA. I still remember we must have been the first few who sent our docs for WES for credential evaluation because we got it done within 7 days. It was all those sleepless nights going in it. Making our paperwork spotless making sure the forms are of correct dates, getting the Police checks done from UK and India as well. We printed the forms twice to make sure we did it right recalculating our points for the cut off. I am deeply grateful to my wife because of which we got all the points it was her 95% me just 5% of the points, she gave us the turning point in our lives.
D day came and we sent it 2 days prior to make sure it reached the opening date on time. We were once the application was showing received by CIC were not sure if they still received it and it was shared by many people on this forum the anxiety whether we made the cut off or not. Checking the CIC website every few hours became a habit. Our house only had one discussion did we make it or not. Slowly CIC started updating the numbers in the specific category and we said okay maybe we did make it.
The news started flowing in when we received the first email from CIC and they acknowledged our application that they received it and we got our UCI number. Trust me we got so excited. Thus started the more anxious journey of waiting. I really am thankful to the people on this forum where all shared information and we started relating that okay someone received the medical letters and so ours will follow. In November we got our request for medicals and we were so happy. We did our medicals and sent it back to cic.
Anxiously waiting we were very patient after the results and then the email came for sending the passports to them. Now our lives was completely blessed during this time when we got to know that my wife was pregnant this happened about March 2014 just days after sending the passports the news came. Now going through these forums we saw options of what to do the usual things like where to land to get medical coverage and stuff like that, cause we didn't know when our passports will come and when would we go so we started planning all the situations and reading stuff. Guys we can’t do anything sitting here just get anxious and anxious the best is to be patient and wait for stuff (learnt it during these process). April end week we got our passports and COPR. With the almighty grace we started now planning the journey ahead.
Guys at this point life becomes crazier you are happy but so anxious about how will things figure out now. Most important thing happened was that we attended the CIIP seminar held in New Delhi. This seminar was fantastic made us aware of things to do, they actually told us things to do for settlement which agencies to contact, made our goal and plans ahead. Even for employment they saw our resumes and saw what we can do to suit ourselves to the Canadian labor market. They guided us so well that we felt as if we had been given a stepping stone in India itself to prepare ourselves for the journey to Canada. Please for newbies if you get a chance to attend the CIIP classes. They pre start your work from India as well such as introducing you to colleges and settlement agencies, which are really helpful when you land here and do not cost anything. Trust me no one in Canada wants a single penny from you they want to help you (if you go to the right settlement agencies).
So after attending the CIIP seminar we started finishing things in India and started our paperwork from India for landing. All my pre arrival paperwork was what I read here in the forum and cross checking with CIC website. Me and my wife took exactly the amount of money as mentioned in CIC website, made separate declarations of all our stuff and declared all our money even to the single penny we changed. This part is the most important as this is where u enter Canada and it really reflects what you prepare yourself for. We were appreciated by the CBSA agent for doing an excellent paperwork job. This really sets the morale up since u are new and tired and you don't want the guys to bug you much and uplifts your morale in a good way. It took us about an Hour and a half for the entire process to complete (first time landing documentation). Please make sure you give a reliable address the time of your paperwork as it not only fastens your PR card process but saves you time from sending it again to cic.
We were also blessed to have my wife's friend here as our guide who helped our integration become smooth. Canada - its huge guys, my initial response ( i landed in Vancouver) was its beautiful. We got a travel insurance from India for my wife and me at this moment she was 2 months into the pregnancy journey. We used AirBnb for selecting our house for the first few 7 days. We mostly lived around the bc women’s hospital area as my wife’s safety and wellbeing was a priority and we didn't know the area too well.
Upon landing we straight away searched the nearest service Canada office and got done with the SIN registration. Was a breeze less than 5 minutes and we were done. Next we printed the MSP form and sent them the paperwork. Its 2 months and the remainder of the time since u landed. In our case it was 2 months 3 days from the day our coverage began. Our initial impression about transportation was that it’s not that well connected the bus routes and sky trains are only concentrated to the major areas or major service areas and hubs and having a car is a necessity which also brings up the question of licenses. We were like everyone very much tensed about the left hand drive but let me tell you if you drive in India this is not that much of a task. Lot of people told us to get driving experience letters from India well firstly we tried a lot but there is nothing of that sort in Delhi as such and doesn't make a difference. It’s all transparent here nothing to get worried if u clear your test within 10 days you get license without any hassles. The most impressive things about Canada is that the government is the easiest to deal with and they really look at service standards. Be it service Canada, health BC, identity cards or ICBC everyone's really courteous even if you really ask dumb questions they really don't mind answering you.
About living expenses i was living right in Vancouver about the west end so it was costly and yes overall its really expensive to live here, I don't really know about other places like Burnaby or Richmond maybe a bit less but once u start earning you get to know the expenses. Fuel as of 2015 is dirt cheap so not to worry about fuel expenses. Travelling by bus or sky train costs u about 2.75$ for 2 hours not that much and overall an expenditure of 250 fortnightly on food and other grocery from superstore of course. There are tons of Indian stores here so don't even bother about getting anything from India except for a first few days after that it’s all here.
Medical yes is a free but u are paying premiums for that. I was covered by my employer from the day premiums started so i didn't feel the pressure but it’s about 140-145 for family of 3. Dental, vision and others are not at all covered. Finding a good doctor should always be a priority who accepts new patients.
Job- yes the foremost important part after coming to Canada....I have only done my graduation from India my wives the one who's got the masters but overall it’s an average scenario. We usually did about 50-60 job applications a day and jobs were either similar to our previous positions or a bit lower. Its tense to get work here as u are in competition of many new people who like us are also immigrating to Canada so its about luck and the amount of patience you want to bear. But indeed, work bc, and monster those sites give you almost all the jobs available here.
All in all to summarize our experience:
1. Canada is a beautiful country expanding at a amazing pace.
2. Jobs are there but all you need is patience and luck.
3. Living standard is not low even in India, so its the same in Canada.
4. Health facilities are excellent.
5. Hassle free government contact (that too not much.)
6. Good transport infrastructure.
7. Friendly people.
So i wish all the very best to more people who are applying, want to apply, anxious after submitting their applications and those who are on the brisk of flying to Canada after getting PR.
Thank you for your time and patience to read my journey till now and more to come ahead.
Thank you once again.
With that I wish everyone reading this a very happy new year 2015. My journey began exactly two years from today back in New Delhi when we (Me and my wife) saw a BC ad in Times of India and got very much interested. So we met a few agents and they advised us of this new FSWP quota opening up in May 2013. So we began the process of getting the paper work ready and started to read this forum every once in a while. This is apart from cic, the sea of information on immigration. So getting documents ready getting the minutest details ready for it, sleepless nights calling WES for the ECA. I still remember we must have been the first few who sent our docs for WES for credential evaluation because we got it done within 7 days. It was all those sleepless nights going in it. Making our paperwork spotless making sure the forms are of correct dates, getting the Police checks done from UK and India as well. We printed the forms twice to make sure we did it right recalculating our points for the cut off. I am deeply grateful to my wife because of which we got all the points it was her 95% me just 5% of the points, she gave us the turning point in our lives.
D day came and we sent it 2 days prior to make sure it reached the opening date on time. We were once the application was showing received by CIC were not sure if they still received it and it was shared by many people on this forum the anxiety whether we made the cut off or not. Checking the CIC website every few hours became a habit. Our house only had one discussion did we make it or not. Slowly CIC started updating the numbers in the specific category and we said okay maybe we did make it.
The news started flowing in when we received the first email from CIC and they acknowledged our application that they received it and we got our UCI number. Trust me we got so excited. Thus started the more anxious journey of waiting. I really am thankful to the people on this forum where all shared information and we started relating that okay someone received the medical letters and so ours will follow. In November we got our request for medicals and we were so happy. We did our medicals and sent it back to cic.
Anxiously waiting we were very patient after the results and then the email came for sending the passports to them. Now our lives was completely blessed during this time when we got to know that my wife was pregnant this happened about March 2014 just days after sending the passports the news came. Now going through these forums we saw options of what to do the usual things like where to land to get medical coverage and stuff like that, cause we didn't know when our passports will come and when would we go so we started planning all the situations and reading stuff. Guys we can’t do anything sitting here just get anxious and anxious the best is to be patient and wait for stuff (learnt it during these process). April end week we got our passports and COPR. With the almighty grace we started now planning the journey ahead.
Guys at this point life becomes crazier you are happy but so anxious about how will things figure out now. Most important thing happened was that we attended the CIIP seminar held in New Delhi. This seminar was fantastic made us aware of things to do, they actually told us things to do for settlement which agencies to contact, made our goal and plans ahead. Even for employment they saw our resumes and saw what we can do to suit ourselves to the Canadian labor market. They guided us so well that we felt as if we had been given a stepping stone in India itself to prepare ourselves for the journey to Canada. Please for newbies if you get a chance to attend the CIIP classes. They pre start your work from India as well such as introducing you to colleges and settlement agencies, which are really helpful when you land here and do not cost anything. Trust me no one in Canada wants a single penny from you they want to help you (if you go to the right settlement agencies).
So after attending the CIIP seminar we started finishing things in India and started our paperwork from India for landing. All my pre arrival paperwork was what I read here in the forum and cross checking with CIC website. Me and my wife took exactly the amount of money as mentioned in CIC website, made separate declarations of all our stuff and declared all our money even to the single penny we changed. This part is the most important as this is where u enter Canada and it really reflects what you prepare yourself for. We were appreciated by the CBSA agent for doing an excellent paperwork job. This really sets the morale up since u are new and tired and you don't want the guys to bug you much and uplifts your morale in a good way. It took us about an Hour and a half for the entire process to complete (first time landing documentation). Please make sure you give a reliable address the time of your paperwork as it not only fastens your PR card process but saves you time from sending it again to cic.
We were also blessed to have my wife's friend here as our guide who helped our integration become smooth. Canada - its huge guys, my initial response ( i landed in Vancouver) was its beautiful. We got a travel insurance from India for my wife and me at this moment she was 2 months into the pregnancy journey. We used AirBnb for selecting our house for the first few 7 days. We mostly lived around the bc women’s hospital area as my wife’s safety and wellbeing was a priority and we didn't know the area too well.
Upon landing we straight away searched the nearest service Canada office and got done with the SIN registration. Was a breeze less than 5 minutes and we were done. Next we printed the MSP form and sent them the paperwork. Its 2 months and the remainder of the time since u landed. In our case it was 2 months 3 days from the day our coverage began. Our initial impression about transportation was that it’s not that well connected the bus routes and sky trains are only concentrated to the major areas or major service areas and hubs and having a car is a necessity which also brings up the question of licenses. We were like everyone very much tensed about the left hand drive but let me tell you if you drive in India this is not that much of a task. Lot of people told us to get driving experience letters from India well firstly we tried a lot but there is nothing of that sort in Delhi as such and doesn't make a difference. It’s all transparent here nothing to get worried if u clear your test within 10 days you get license without any hassles. The most impressive things about Canada is that the government is the easiest to deal with and they really look at service standards. Be it service Canada, health BC, identity cards or ICBC everyone's really courteous even if you really ask dumb questions they really don't mind answering you.
About living expenses i was living right in Vancouver about the west end so it was costly and yes overall its really expensive to live here, I don't really know about other places like Burnaby or Richmond maybe a bit less but once u start earning you get to know the expenses. Fuel as of 2015 is dirt cheap so not to worry about fuel expenses. Travelling by bus or sky train costs u about 2.75$ for 2 hours not that much and overall an expenditure of 250 fortnightly on food and other grocery from superstore of course. There are tons of Indian stores here so don't even bother about getting anything from India except for a first few days after that it’s all here.
Medical yes is a free but u are paying premiums for that. I was covered by my employer from the day premiums started so i didn't feel the pressure but it’s about 140-145 for family of 3. Dental, vision and others are not at all covered. Finding a good doctor should always be a priority who accepts new patients.
Job- yes the foremost important part after coming to Canada....I have only done my graduation from India my wives the one who's got the masters but overall it’s an average scenario. We usually did about 50-60 job applications a day and jobs were either similar to our previous positions or a bit lower. Its tense to get work here as u are in competition of many new people who like us are also immigrating to Canada so its about luck and the amount of patience you want to bear. But indeed, work bc, and monster those sites give you almost all the jobs available here.
All in all to summarize our experience:
1. Canada is a beautiful country expanding at a amazing pace.
2. Jobs are there but all you need is patience and luck.
3. Living standard is not low even in India, so its the same in Canada.
4. Health facilities are excellent.
5. Hassle free government contact (that too not much.)
6. Good transport infrastructure.
7. Friendly people.
So i wish all the very best to more people who are applying, want to apply, anxious after submitting their applications and those who are on the brisk of flying to Canada after getting PR.
Thank you for your time and patience to read my journey till now and more to come ahead.
Thank you once again.
