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LANDING IN CANADA ??? -All You Need To Know.

vpsw

Full Member
Apr 23, 2017
30
8
So how much money were you carrying? I plan to carry around $5000 CAD and rest I have my bank statement for it.
they will just ask you how much you are carrying and they are concerned till the point that it should be less than $10000, I was carrying only $1500 and rest had transferred in bank account. as soon as I told the officer I had $1500 he was fine and did not ask further , although i did tell him that i had transferred some amount in my bank account but he said that 'We just want to know how much you are carrying".
 

frightenedpanda

Hero Member
Sep 12, 2017
425
44
they will just ask you how much you are carrying and they are concerned till the point that it should be less than $10000, I was carrying only $1500 and rest had transferred in bank account. as soon as I told the officer I had $1500 he was fine and did not ask further , although i did tell him that i had transferred some amount in my bank account but he said that 'We just want to know how much you are carrying".
ah great!

You transferred the money in a Canadian bank?
 

vpsw

Full Member
Apr 23, 2017
30
8
yes i transferred the money in an account that I opened online that is meant for newcomers , you can open one online, make a one time tranfer of upto $50000 cad from your own account to this account and get it converted to a checkings or a savings account when you come here.
ah great!

You transferred the money in a Canadian bank?
 

frightenedpanda

Hero Member
Sep 12, 2017
425
44
yes i transferred the money in an account that I opened online that is meant for newcomers , you can open one online, make a one time tranfer of upto $50000 cad from your own account to this account and get it converted to a checkings or a savings account when you come here.
Do you have a link where I can open this bank account? :)
 

sammoe

Star Member
May 20, 2016
188
41
I landed a week ago. It was a straightforward experience. I landed at the Toronto Pearson International airport. We first went to a kiosk, and scanned our passports. My passport info came up on the screen. The camera on the kiosk was trying to take a photo of me by moving up and down. After that, it printed out a blank sheet, saying that it can't process my case and we needed to see a CBSA officer. I then continued, and an officer told me to follow the line. I walked following the sign and found another office who showed us the way.

The first officer took our documents and asked if we carried any cash and food. He wrote on a yellow sheet, gave that to us, and told us to go to the next room. That's where we formally did our landing. The officer asked us to sign our COPR and asked a few questions: whether we were carrying any cash. We said we only had about US $900 in cash and the rest in the bank. I asked him if I needed to show the bank statements. He said no. And then he asked us our address in Canada, and worked on his computer. After he was done, he said, "Welcome to Canada; our PR card will come in the mail approximately in 60 days", and directed us to Service Canada booth nearby.

Someone said hi and asked our address in Canada and wrote down the region. It was for the pamphlets about organizations which helped new immigrants in that particular region. He gave us a lot of pamphlets and a welcome pack. We then had to fill in a short form, which had a queue number. We then waited in the sitting area. Our numbers were called and we went to an agent, who printed out our SIN numbers.

We left Service Canada and got to the baggage claim area. We found our suitcases by the baggage claim belt for our flight. We put them on a cart and continued to Customs. The officer told us to go into a customs office where we stood in line. The officer called us and we gave him our accompanying goods list and goods to follow list. He stamped them and we had to go to the cashier, who gave us a print out, which basically said we owed $0 in duty. We took the print out and came back to the officer. He gave us our copies of both forms along with the receipt from the cashier and we are done. He told us to keep those forms safe since we would need them later. He showed us an exit out of Customs office.

We were in the arrival lounge, where people were waiting. That's it. The whole process took us about an hour.
 
Last edited:

rix_08

Full Member
Feb 12, 2018
41
10
You can head north from Minneapolis passing Duluth on Highway 61 towards Thunder Bay in North West Ontario. There's an old movie (Hollywood/Canadian) about this experience, but I don't remember what the movie title was.

From Thunder Bay, you can drive west on the transcontinental highway to Manitoba or east to Toronto

Notable border crossings between Minnesota and Ontario:
Fort Frances-International Falls International Bridge – Fort Frances, Ontario and International Falls, Minnesota
Baudette-Rainy River International Bridge – Baudette, Minnesota and Rainy River, Ontario
Is Fort Frances-International Falls International Bridge – Fort Frances, Ontario and International Falls, Minnesota, still a valid border to do landing by road using my COPR. I have not seen many people sharing their landing experiences using this land border.
 

steaky

VIP Member
Nov 11, 2008
14,305
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Is Fort Frances-International Falls International Bridge – Fort Frances, Ontario and International Falls, Minnesota, still a valid border to do landing by road using my COPR. I have not seen many people sharing their landing experiences using this land border.
Maybe you should call ahead. You don't see many people sharing their experience with this land border is mainly because of its remote location.
 

LOOKATAMI

Member
May 17, 2018
16
1
Can someone suggest if one should get Ontario Driving license during soft landing from USA?

I've a USA driving license (Massachussets) and I did my soft landing on Sept 1, 2018. As I've been reading in the forums that I'll have to surrender my US driving license if I opt for Ontario driving license. Is that true?

Should I research for a way to get Ontario driving license to build my driving history (lower insurance in future)?
 

sammoe

Star Member
May 20, 2016
188
41
Can someone suggest if one should get Ontario Driving license during soft landing from USA?

I've a USA driving license (Massachussets) and I did my soft landing on Sept 1, 2018. As I've been reading in the forums that I'll have to surrender my US driving license if I opt for Ontario driving license. Is that true?

Should I research for a way to get Ontario driving license to build my driving history (lower insurance in future)?
Yes, I had to surrender my US license when I did the exchange. They will give you the temporary license on paper and the real plastics will come in the mail about 2 or 3 weeks later.

You could exchange your license when you did the real landing assuming that the expiration date will be within a year. Otherwise, it will be a problem. Also make sure you requested your driving record from Masschussets. The driving record has to be within six months when you do the exchange.
 

frightenedpanda

Hero Member
Sep 12, 2017
425
44
About the funds. I am currently in Norway and my bank here has all my funds. I will be carrying around $3000-$4000 with myself and I have a bank reference letter stating that I have the rest of the funds in my bank account. Will this be okay?

My bank won't let me take out more than $3000 in one week and I am supposed to land next week.
 

kuskus

Champion Member
Jun 17, 2014
1,174
149
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About the funds. I am currently in Norway and my bank here has all my funds. I will be carrying around $3000-$4000 with myself and I have a bank reference letter stating that I have the rest of the funds in my bank account. Will this be okay?

My bank won't let me take out more than $3000 in one week and I am supposed to land next week.
As long as you have access to your funds in Norway (your debit card), backed with your bank statement, you should be fine.
 

drjyoti

Full Member
Nov 29, 2017
31
11
Hello Expats, I am doing my soft landing with my family on 13 Oct'18 at YYZ, Toronto. Through the guidance on threads, got to know that I should have a pre filled IM 5444. While filling the same, have query on how to fill fill below points -

Section C 19# -
ADDRESS HISTORY INSIDE AND OUTSIDE CANADA: Your address history for the past five (5) years or if you became a permanent resident less than five (5) years ago, your address history since becoming a permanent resident. List ALL your addresses in chronological order from the oldest to the most recent.

Query - As I am landing for the first time, do I fall in the category of "became a permanent resident less than five (5) years ago"? Then there won't be any address history since becoming a permanent resident as it would be minutes ago. How should I fill this or just put N/A ??

Section C 20# -
WORK AND EDUCATIONAL HISTORY INSIDE AND OUTSIDE CANADA: Your work and educational history for the past five (5) years or if you became a permanent resident less than five (5) years ago, your work and/or educational history since becoming a permanent resident. If you have not worked or studied, provide your other activity history, including location. List ALL your activities in chronological order from the oldest to the most recent.

Query - As I am landing for the first time, do I fall in the category of "became a permanent resident less than five (5) years ago"? Then there won't be any work history since becoming a permanent resident as it would be minutes ago. How should I fill this or just put N/A ??

Section C 21# -
TRAVEL HISTORY: Have you travelled or lived outside of Canada in the last five (5) years (or if you became a permanent resident less than five (5) years ago, since becoming a permanent resident)? Include ALL absences (including those due to employment, vacations, trips to the United States and any other time you left Canada).

Query - As I am landing for the first time, do I fall in the category of "became a permanent resident less than five (5) years ago"? Then there won't be any travel history since becoming a permanent resident as it would be minutes ago. How should I fill this or just put N/A ??

Section D 22# -
List ALL your absences from Canada in the past five (5) years according to the situation that applies to you. If you became a permanent resident less than five (5) years ago: list ALL absences from the time you became a permanent resident to present. List your absences in chronological order from the oldest to the most recent.

Query - As I am landing for the first time, do I fall in the category of "became a permanent resident less than five (5) years ago"? Then there won't be any absences from the time I became a permanent resident as it would be minutes ago. How should I fill this or just put N/A ??

Looking forward to an earliest views from experts as I got to complete these before I board my flight next Fri. Thank you.
 

drjyoti

Full Member
Nov 29, 2017
31
11
My 2 cents...

Did soft landing 2 days ago, I live in US.

I carried with me the below:
1. Passport with stamped Visa. -off course
2. COPR (IMM 5292B)
5. PR Card Application (IMM 5444E). -carried it filled pre-printed - WAS totally NOT NEEDED.
6. Goods to Follow List (Form B4 / B4A). - Officer totally missed this. i had to remind him and asked him to stamp jewelry pictures.
7. Goods Accompanying List. - i said NONE.

After landing:

8. Went and applied SIN at Service Canada centre. - NO NEED to fill any paper forms.

Then opened bank account - monthly fee was waived for 9 months (ask for newcomer discount and show landing papers) on RBC - No limit account.

Hope this helps. thanks a lot to this forum and the extremely helpful people and information I have found here. you guys rock!!
Hi.. Can I ask what did you mean with PR Card Application totally not needed? Don't they ask for it while applying for PRC at the airport? Should we not fill it there also? @qorax please share your point of view as well on this. Thanks.
 
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