Thread For applications Through SYDNEY (AUSTRALIA) Office

[matthew_fitzy]

Excellent, thanks so much!!

I BELIEVE (but obviously haven't gone through it yet) that the COPR comes by mail, I remember a few people in this thread talking about it arriving through the post.



edit: one more question as well, do I include my info (being the wife/sponsor) on Appendix B? I would lean towards no, since it says to just do it for those who are part of your application, but I just want to be sure.

I am in the same situation and did include her information on the form, just in case.

 

[chipits]

I am in the same situation and did include her information on the form, just in case.

Ok, cool. That's a bit annoying for us, since my passport expired like three days ago and I haven't gotten it renewed yet. Oh well, hopefully it'll be fine!

 

[BCRain]

Great to hear there's progress BCRain (even if it's annoying progress). Looks like I'm the last one standing for the August 2012 applications

I'm sure something will come up soon Robhi! And then hopefully no little hiccups to slow down the final process.

 

[jen123]

8) ;D ;D ;D
Hi, we got PPR on Friday ;D ;D ;D ;D
I emailed the forms in as well. I only put my husband on the form as our son doesn't need a visa. It says on the form it is for people getting a visa. In the email I explained that. We are moving so I sent through our new address by email so I hope we get it in time for our move in 3 weeks RObhi you should defanetely be next!!! Hoping for you! Once the ball gets rolling it seems to be quick at least.

Does anyone know if you can just email them change of address or do you have to submit a form? Cheers.

 

[marcopolocan]

Hi Everyone,

Just sharing my experience with you all.

Once you get your PPR:
If you have a passport from a visa exempt country (don't need a visa to travel to Canada) you can scan the photocopies of the passport and Appendix B. (this was my case)
If you don't have a passport from a visa exempt country my understanding is that you will need to send your passport but can scan Appendix B (perhaps someone with a non visa exempt passport can verify this).

The COPR will be mailed to you with two copies (the one with the picture is the CBSA officers copy, when you officially land). you will keep the other copy and Don't Loose It. There is no visa that is placed in your passport. COPR is not valid for travel. If you need to travel before you get your PR card you need to get a travel document.

NOTE:If you are in Canada already and on a VALID temporary resident visa then you do not need to go to the border to Flagpole! You can make an appointment at your nearest immigration office to land. Having said that, it may take awhile to get an appointment, so it may be quicker to head to the border especially if you're only a few hours away. PR card will likely take 6-8 wks we were told to be mailed to you.

IF you are on VISITOR status (ie, 6 month stamp in passport) in Canada while you are waiting, then you will have to head to the border to Land.

We were not asked to complete a goods to follow form. Which I thought was odd but I didn't request one either!
MAKE SURE you have a valid passport!!!!! NOT expired.

NOTE: While we were waiting, I was able to get my partners Drivers License (insurance was a major issue as driving experience will only be counted if your resident country has a recipricol arrangement with your province) and Healthcare (dependent on Province) completed by using the Stage I and II AOR letters as proof.

Hope this helps.
Cheers

 

[matthew_fitzy]

Thanks so much for the information, marcopolocan! So helpful.

So Visa exempt = scan and email PPR?

Also, I am currently on a working holiday (international experience) - would this be considered temporary resident? Not too fussed though, wouldn't mind a shopping expedition across the border for some booze and clothes!

 

[thedreadedpiper]

NOTE: While we were waiting, I was able to get my partners Drivers License (insurance was a major issue as driving experience will only be counted if your resident country has a recipricol arrangement with your province) and Healthcare (dependent on Province) completed by using the Stage I and II AOR letters as proof.

That is a great piece of advice - thank you! When I was on implied status for a while in between temporary resident visas, ICBC wouldn't renew my drivers licence, which was a HUGE hassle. If others have successfully had licenses issued based on the PR AOR letters (albeit possibly in different provinces) then I'll push hard to have mine renewed when I have to be on implied status again next month.

 

[chipits]

Thanks Marcopolocan!

Can we just send the scan as a reply to the email they have sent us, or do we have to send a case-specific inquiry?

 

[Canstralian/Oznadian]

So I sent an email inquiring about my hubby's medical having expired in January. They actually got back to me in a timely manner (within 5 days and 4 of those were a long weekend). I'm assuming that they have extended it as they say the expiry date is Jan 14/14 and that that date is what will be reflected on the permanent residence visa....."when" it's issued. That's right, it said when, not if....we've taken this as a good sign that we may be nearing the finish line in this long ordeal. They also apologize stating the "letter sent to my spouse must have generated the previous expiry date" We haven't received any letters so I replied back and asked if they might email me said letter.........Fingers and toes crossed!

 

[vik403]

Hello Dawn,

I applied around the same time as you. So I reckon our processing times wouldn't be very different. My wife lives in Auckland, NZ. Did you receive your first stage approval yet?

Vik

 

[vik403]

I think you have to have atleast 10 posts before you can update your signature.

 

[marcopolocan]

Hi Guys,

If you are on a valid visa while in Canada (other than visitor status) than you should be able to land at an immigration office near you by making an appointment. If not, than you will have to re -enter Canada. My letter specifically indicated a valid TRV will suffice.

Again, if you are on a visa exempt passport than you can scan the pdf's of passport copies and appendix B AND email them. When you land there will not be a visa foil attached to your passport only a stamp.

If You have a passport that needs a visa to enter Canada then when you land you will get a visa foil attached in your passport.

We just got our Social insurance numbers ( at a service Canada Centre) done with our COPR's (about a 1.5 hr wait). They will check your passport as well for a visa foil if on a non exempt passport or as proof of identity if on a vias exempt passport.

With regards to Drivers License's. The registry depending on the province will request proof or residency ( you will have to give up your foreign license) thats where the AOR letters were used ahead of time to get the provincial license. Once you have your license then you can get auto insurance. Again, some countries like the UK have a recipricol relationship and the driving experience will count when the premium is calculated. Others like New Zealand did not, so expect to pay even if you have been driving for 30 years. Shop around as insurance quotes varied significantly (by about $1,000/year).

I probably shouldn't be saying this but I used the regular sydney VO email to communicate and for the scanned copies of passports. I did not use the case specific email address. My VO was very good at communicating with us, others on this forum have not had the same experience with regards to communicating with their VO.

Good Luck everyone.
Cheers

 

[jen123]

Hi everyone, I sent through email with scanned passport and appendix b on Saturday. I haven't heard back. Has anyone got a reply saying they recieved documents? Cheers

 

[Robhi]

We just got our Social insurance numbers ( at a service Canada Centre) done with our COPR's (about a 1.5 hr wait). They will check your passport as well for a visa foil if on a non exempt passport or as proof of identity if on a vias exempt passport.

Very useful info, thanks marcopolocan!

So I have an interesting story to share. My (Australian) wife and I decided to do some cross-border shopping at the Fashion Outlets in Niagara Falls, NY over the past Easter long weekend. We went with our passports and her US visa waiver in hand.

On the way into the US, as expected, we were sent into a building and asked to wait in a room full of people just like us who were not yet Canadian citizens or PR holder, but were visiting the US. Complete chaos with not enough chairs to seat people and no instructions on what to do or even number to take to wait in line. No receptionist to help people either. Finally after an hour of waiting they called us in and asked why we were entering the US and what her status was in Canada. They then digitally fingerprinted her and charged us $6 for a 90-day visa waiver thing that they put in her passport. Apparently you need this if you are travelling to the US and it has to be renewed every 90 days -- who knew? Plus her last trip to the US was over 90 days ago so we have to keep renewing it while we wait out the PR process. Didn't know this was the case -- anyone else have any experience with crossing the US/Canada border and running into this issue?

Even more interesting -- on the way back in we were sure nothing would stop us at the Canadian border, but we were wrong, and we were asked to go to the CIC desk at the border. This time, however, we were pleasantly surprised with the outcome. They extended our visitor status from 6 months to 1 year and gave us a "visitor" certificate to keep in her passport so that we could freely cross the border without any hassles while we waited our her PR! Has anyone else had this happen? They also said we could apply for a temporary visa extension after the 1 year had expired. So basically, the outcome of this little shopping adventure was that a) we got some great deals at the outlet malls and b) we won't be stopped at the US / Canada border so long as we produce these two documents for at least the next 90 days. Neat eh?

One more thing -- we forgot our marriage certificate and so at the CIC desk they had to look into our file to get our marriage certificate number for the visitor certificate. He said we should really be travelling with it at all times until the PR comes through, but now that we have our visitor's certificate, we didn't need to travel with it anymore. But that got me thinking, maybe he has access to the records and could let me know what the status of our PR application was? So I asked, but he said that he didn't have access to that kind of information. Oh well, was worth a shot!

Just thought I'd share...still no update on eCAS unfortunately. But thanks for the words of encouragement everyone!

 

[chipits]

On the way into the US, as expected, we were sent into a building and asked to wait in a room full of people just like us who were not yet Canadian citizens or PR holder, but were visiting the US. Complete chaos with not enough chairs to seat people and no instructions on what to do or even number to take to wait in line. No receptionist to help people either. Finally after an hour of waiting they called us in and asked why we were entering the US and what her status was in Canada. They then digitally fingerprinted her and charged us $6 for a 90-day visa waiver thing that they put in her passport. Apparently you need this if you are travelling to the US and it has to be renewed every 90 days -- who knew? Plus her last trip to the US was over 90 days ago so we have to keep renewing it while we wait out the PR process. Didn't know this was the case -- anyone else have any experience with crossing the US/Canada border and running into this issue?

Yes, this is normal. The United States is like Australia in that you actually do need a visa even to visit. Normally it has to be done online, but because you crossed at a land crossing (as opposed to by air) you can do it when you get to the border. So yeah, that was all normal. The fingerprinting is normal as well, they've been doing that for years.