thankful ako sa lahat ng mga taong nagbigay ng information sa forum. malaking tulong talaga.
to others who are in the process of applying, here are my random tips:
1. in some NOC like 0213 (previously), cooks, chefs, plumber, etc. you don't have to be a college graduate - preferred but not required, I guess. konti lang ang points but you can make it up sa IELTS.
2. even if you have been denied tourist visa before, you can still flawlessly apply. I was stunned during the interview for a US tourist visa. the visa officer denied me a tourist visa but he recommended me to apply as an immigrant to the US. I told him, sorry but I don't like to live permanently in your country. sabay talikod! come to think, I was not eligible for tourist, but for immigration pwede? I got denial din dati after applying for canadian tourist. Actually, this what motivated me and my wife to apply for FSW kasi grabeh yung disappointment noong denied (last 2008) ng tourist both for US and Canada.
3. proof of funds kahit na naka "OR" yung time deposit with your name and a name of another person (not your spouse, but kung kanino ka nag borrow), basta malaki laki lang yung amount, pumasa!
4. basta mag ask si doctor if you have this?, if you have that?, do you do... ?, just say NO. The doc did not ask my wife if she has cysts or something but when the doctor asked her to open up, she then told him immediately about it... hinipo talaga, buti nalang sabi ni doc "looks benign" and it is! pinatanggal talaga nga namin right after sending the passports. awa ng dyos, after the biopsy - benign nga talaga! thank you Lord!
5. IT-related vendor certifications helped.
6. they honor stocks/bonds as settlement funds. yung sa aking naka indicate sa isang letter that once i resigned from my work, the company will give me $x,xxx for my stocks. In my case i presented a certificate holding a US privately-held company stocks. I believe that helped as well. -- but parang yari yata sa CBSA, problema ngayon eh yung last day ko is the day before the flight.
7. be extra careful on what you write sa form. we paid the price on this heavily when my wife - who stayed only for 5 months in the US, back to PH for a few months, then another 5 months ulit, bago bumalik sa PH... wrote that the entire time she was in the US, staying for 1.5 years! buti nalang hindi sila nag hanap ng travel papers, FBI lang yung hinanap! nag comply lang kami, ayos!
8. if you have been to Japan, you can apply for a Japan Police Clearance even if you don't have a demand letter from the visa office yet. You can e-mail the Canadian visa office after the AOR and once they reply back that they require you nga, you can show that e-mail printout to the Japan consulate/embassy and hopefully they will grant it. a month or so, they'll give you the clearance as gratis.
9. employment certificates kahit na for the recent years lang, ayos nah. the employment certificate under that NOC must be submitted. In my case 10 years IT experience, I only submitted 6 years from the present company im working where 3 years lang sa NOC 0213. I did not bother to include the previous employments because it is not related to 0213. binangit ko lang sa form. but no employment cert - close na yung company eh, yung may-ari ay si airmats ko.
10. binalik lahat ng docs maliban sa bank certs. lahat maliban sa certificates/diploma ay may butas.
11. they don't call any of the banks or the employers.
those are my random tips. i have more, but i need to finish this up kasi i need to compose a resignation letter pa. One for me and one for my wife. =)
hindi pa rin ako makatulog ngayon nandito na visa namin... the anxiety of waiting for the visa is over, but the actual migration thing is getting into my nerves!!!
Thanks!
