Hello,
I have been lurking on the forum, and thought I should give back by sharing my experience through the Express Entry process - start to finish.
In March 2017, I decided to take the leap and move to Canada. I needed some things to get started:
1. IELTS score
2. Educational equivalency certificate
3. PCC - India, and the US (I am an Indian living in the US)
4. Work experience letters
So, I thought it was super easy to apply. And it really was a straight forward process.
Preparing the application
1. IELTS score
I applied for the exam sometime in March, and got the earliest date available, which was in July. Gave the exam, got close to perfect scores.
2. Educational equivalency certificate
This was a giant pain in the @#@. I used IQAS, they were not bad - but not good either. Took a lifetime to get the certificate, and this held up my original application
3. PCC - India, and the US (I am an Indian living in the US)
I applied for the PCC at the Indian embassy. The embassy gave me the PCC the same day. Indian missions and embassies outside the country are really good in my experience.
4. Work experience letters
This one wasn't necessarily required at the outset, but I started getting them. Ran into trouble where an employers couldn't give me a letter. I wrote a small self certified letter, attached some paystubs, and that worked out fine.
The score and the wait
On applying initially, my score was in the 450 range. I got extremely lucky and got an ITA in the drawing a week after applying!
ITA done! Next step
Now, you'll see that I began collecting all my documents when I decided to apply. I strongly urge you to do the same. It helped me get ready for the formal application post ITA. Basically, once I got my ITA, I waited till all my documents were ready. Once everything was in order (it took an other 45 days post ITA), I applied. Please note that the day I got my ITA, I scheduled a medical, and was able to provide the form to the Canadian authorities as part of my package.
The Passport Request
Now comes the surprising part. Canada says an express entry application will take 6 months to process from receiving all documents. They managed to process mine in about a month. JUST ONE MONTH. Seriously, I was amazed at how efficient the country is. The second this happened, I knew I'd made the right life decision to move there. Once the processing is done, they require you to send in your passport.
The COPR, and stamp
After sending in my passport, 2 photos and 'Appendix A' (don't worry, you will know what this is when you get your passport request), I waited about a month to get my passport back with an Immigrant visa on it and the confirmation of permanent residence documents.
Now that the documents are ready - lets land!
With all the documents in my hand, I needed to pick a good day to land. I was going to do a soft landing via peace arch in my personal car. I picked a weekday that worked for me.
I had:
1. Goods to follow list
2. COPR
3. Passport
4. Proof of funds
When I got to the first gate, I told the officer that I was landing. He asked if I intended to stay in Canada for a while, and I said that I did not. Here's a tip - be honest. They know what soft landings are. They also know when you're not being honest about doing a soft landing.
Anyway, I was redirected into the building, and the officer inside took my COPR and goods to follow lists. He told me to wait for 10 minutes. 10 minutes later, I was handed the lists all nice and stamped.
Officer: "You are now a landed permanent resident"
Me: "Thank you"
And back to the US
Following the landing, I got some poutine in Vancouver (yes, I needed to have the national food of canada as my first meal), and got back into the US and home.
I am tracking each day in a Google sheet, so that I can reach my 730, and hopefully 1050 in the next five years.
That's all folks!
PS - If you ask me questions below, I may edit the post to either include more information, or to make it more readable
I have been lurking on the forum, and thought I should give back by sharing my experience through the Express Entry process - start to finish.
In March 2017, I decided to take the leap and move to Canada. I needed some things to get started:
1. IELTS score
2. Educational equivalency certificate
3. PCC - India, and the US (I am an Indian living in the US)
4. Work experience letters
So, I thought it was super easy to apply. And it really was a straight forward process.
Preparing the application
1. IELTS score
I applied for the exam sometime in March, and got the earliest date available, which was in July. Gave the exam, got close to perfect scores.
2. Educational equivalency certificate
This was a giant pain in the @#@. I used IQAS, they were not bad - but not good either. Took a lifetime to get the certificate, and this held up my original application
3. PCC - India, and the US (I am an Indian living in the US)
I applied for the PCC at the Indian embassy. The embassy gave me the PCC the same day. Indian missions and embassies outside the country are really good in my experience.
4. Work experience letters
This one wasn't necessarily required at the outset, but I started getting them. Ran into trouble where an employers couldn't give me a letter. I wrote a small self certified letter, attached some paystubs, and that worked out fine.
The score and the wait
On applying initially, my score was in the 450 range. I got extremely lucky and got an ITA in the drawing a week after applying!
ITA done! Next step
Now, you'll see that I began collecting all my documents when I decided to apply. I strongly urge you to do the same. It helped me get ready for the formal application post ITA. Basically, once I got my ITA, I waited till all my documents were ready. Once everything was in order (it took an other 45 days post ITA), I applied. Please note that the day I got my ITA, I scheduled a medical, and was able to provide the form to the Canadian authorities as part of my package.
The Passport Request
Now comes the surprising part. Canada says an express entry application will take 6 months to process from receiving all documents. They managed to process mine in about a month. JUST ONE MONTH. Seriously, I was amazed at how efficient the country is. The second this happened, I knew I'd made the right life decision to move there. Once the processing is done, they require you to send in your passport.
The COPR, and stamp
After sending in my passport, 2 photos and 'Appendix A' (don't worry, you will know what this is when you get your passport request), I waited about a month to get my passport back with an Immigrant visa on it and the confirmation of permanent residence documents.
Now that the documents are ready - lets land!
With all the documents in my hand, I needed to pick a good day to land. I was going to do a soft landing via peace arch in my personal car. I picked a weekday that worked for me.
I had:
1. Goods to follow list
2. COPR
3. Passport
4. Proof of funds
When I got to the first gate, I told the officer that I was landing. He asked if I intended to stay in Canada for a while, and I said that I did not. Here's a tip - be honest. They know what soft landings are. They also know when you're not being honest about doing a soft landing.
Anyway, I was redirected into the building, and the officer inside took my COPR and goods to follow lists. He told me to wait for 10 minutes. 10 minutes later, I was handed the lists all nice and stamped.
Officer: "You are now a landed permanent resident"
Me: "Thank you"
And back to the US
Following the landing, I got some poutine in Vancouver (yes, I needed to have the national food of canada as my first meal), and got back into the US and home.
I am tracking each day in a Google sheet, so that I can reach my 730, and hopefully 1050 in the next five years.
That's all folks!
PS - If you ask me questions below, I may edit the post to either include more information, or to make it more readable
