FSW 2014 applicants from Nigeria - Let's network

[BabyBal]

Congratulations on your smooth landings CalgaryChic and Pastor Daniel, and thank God for journey mercies!

Our Landing Story.... Started packing our Kaya about a month ago and concluded on Sunday (well not sure u can ever finish packing becos of some last minute things u might need to stuff here and there). Our flight was at 8.40pm on Tuesday so I checked in online and we left de house around 3 and headed for the airport with our 11 bags and 10 carry on luggages (sent some 4 bags on Monday via Nipost) and then began a series of Favour and events. Our bags got scanned and the custom officer scanning asked me what was in de bottle inside one of the bags. I smiled and told him it was peppersoup ingredients. He looked @ me and said okay o. Next stop was weighing the bags. I had an extra bag which weighed 35kg and 5 other bags in excess of the allowable 23kg per bag. I was already prepared to pay becos I no too like tori but God had other plans. One of the guys @ the airline said pay for the extra bag and for only 2 of the excess @ $50 each instead of $80 each. I was saved $300. We moved past immigration and was waiting to board when I got a news alert: Terrorists Strike @ Istanbul Ataturk Airport. My jaw dropped and I said a prayer within me becos our flight was with Turkish Airlines. I didn't tell my husband because his next reaction would have been "Cancel the flight" etc. Surprisingly, we still boarded and after being on de plane for about 45mins we were told to disembark and go back to de boarding area. After waiting for like an hour, the officials mentioned that we would not be flying that night becos of the Terrorist attack at the Istanbul airport and were going to lodge us at an hotel until they were sure we could fly. Some passengers refused to go to the hotel and requested for ticket refunds. My children were visibly upset and husband after much talk said we should go to the hotel. The time was 11.47pm. I was tired, upset but thankful. Just as my husband was coming back with an airport taxi, we were told that we should go back to the boarding area. Passengers that had gone were called to come back. We didn't leave Nigeria until 1.30am or thereabout. The journey was smooth and my children were in cloud 9. My little gal slept throughout the almost 7hrs flight. Fast forward to Istanbul.... The Airport was jam packed. If not for the news and cancellation of some flights, I'd have said nothing happened becos pple just dey waka up and down. Our initial layover of 8 hours had been reduced to less than 4 becos of the initial delay in Nigeria. Our flight to Toronto was initially delayed for an hour but was reduced to about 30mins. We landed on the Canadian soil. We went thru immigration, told them we had some foods which they didn't mind. We signed our Copr and the lady said "Welcome to Canada, You're now a PR". Service Canada had closed so we couldn't do our SIN. By the time we got to the baggage claim, ours was the only load there. We got a porter who wanted to play smart with cart charges but I showed him that me sef be Naija. Got into the car after 150mins at the airport!! Canada is indeed a beautiful country. We're still in hibernating mode but so far so good.......

This is a dream come true for our family and I use it as a point of contact for every expectant applicant. Your dreams will be fulfilled beyond measures and God's mercies, grace, favor will seek us all out.

Hello friends, it has finally ended in praise. My family and I left Nigeria on the 27th June on board Ethiopia Airlines to Edmonton through Addis Ababa then to Dublin, Ireland where we refueled, then to Toronto and finally landed in Edmonton at about few minutes past 3pm.

Canadians are undoubtedly friendly and good people. At Toronto airport after concluding our landing formalities, I observed without fail that we were not asked for our CoPR and more so it escaped my mind to submit it. We had left the immigration desk to reclaim our luggages and then checked them in into Air Canada after getting our boarding pass before it got dawn on me that the landing process was incomplete. I had to go back to the immigration desk to conclude the landing process but was unable to locate the immigration desk where I was initially attended to due to how big the airport is. It was really stressful for me and my wife running around with lugages and the children.

Eventually we were able to get another immigration personnel who assisted and concluded the process within few minutes and we were able to catch our flight to Edmonton.
At the moment we have registered for our SIN, registered for healthcare, registered for library use, gotten accommodation, started the process for our child tax benefits, we have opened an account and also gotten a car to buy, thanks be to God for his faithfulness and more so to KB and hubby for being our host. God bless them for me.

Welcome to Canada

 

[BabyBal]

Congratulations Nameless_Canada on the safe arrival of your little one

Unto us a son is born...........Seniors, please I need direction how to inform AVO about my family addition. I currently awaits MR. Thanks.

Congratulations bigger than on your smooth landing, and thank God for journey mercies

Hello everybody, its been a while since i last posted during the application period in 2014, don even forget username sef , anyways just wanted to thank the house especially d guru himself Pipi's husband for all d help and assistance during that period.
My family and i land in toronto pearson airport on the 1st of July (Canada day ),on board emirates, got our SIN and bank accounts already.
My people, it is indeed a beautiful country filled with so many opportunities and promises, for all those still on queue, God Himself will surely complete that which He started in your lives.

 

[BabyBal]

Hearty congratulations sir! His mercies in your life shall never cease, amen.

We landed yesterday 4th July. This is such a great family. Still on sleeping mode.........details later my lovely folks

 

[BabyBal]

Congratulations on your smooth landing Abim, and thankful for journey mercies. You must have gotten the most workout outside of the gym in quite a while that day, he he. May He be continuously praised for His mercies on us.

Hello everyone trust we are all doing great.

Praise God with me for His mercies. We left Nigeria on July 5, 2016 for Toronto via Emirates. It was a long journey of 7hrs + to Dubai and another 13 hrs + to Toronto. We landed at about 4pm on July 6 and headed to the immigration after which we were directed to the officers reasonable for paper work. The queue wasn't that long as there were just about 6 people before us but by the time we were leaving, the queue had grown very long. The lady who attended to us was quite friendly and only asked some basic questions including how much we had for POF which she didn't ask to see or the evidence of the balance. Service Canada had issues so we were advised to obtain our SIN from anyone close to where we would stay. Next point of call was the customs which had a very long queue but we had to endure the wait as we wanted to get our excel sheet of list of goods to follow stamped, as we had sent 250kg of food & other personal items through air cargo the day before.We got all the necessary paper work and will not be charged any duties when we go and pick them.

We didn't realise that Service Canada was different from Service Ontario so we walked a 30 minutes in the hot sun to Service Ontario and met a very long queue. On getting to our turn at Service Ontario, we were told we had to go to Service Canada which was going to be another 45 minutes walk (the area we stayed in Ajax doesn't have a good transit system). Fortunately we saw a bus and the driver said he could take us but then he wouldn't collect cash for bus fares. We had to beg o and said we were JJC Canada . He allowed us and dropped us off at the stop of Service Canada. The obtaining of the SIN was very simple and short after which we went to the bank. We met very friendly people all the way who were willing to help and provide information even if it's not them you are asking from..noticed everyone we met today talked about the weather.

Onto the next level is our home search in an area that transit is easily accessible and would probably be close to potential work area.

I pray that everyone still awaiting one feedback or the other from CIC will have their testimonies on this forum veryyyyyyyy soon.

Have a pleasant evening.

 

[BabyBal]

Congratulations dewasco on your interesting landing , and thank God for journey mercies!

Hello great house members, the journey that started in 2007 finally became a reality on the 8th of July 2016 when we landed at Toronto Int. Airport. we saw God at work in every step of the way and all glory to His name.
We left Naija on the 30th of June, stayed in the UK for some days, enroute to the maple land. Air Canada took us from the UK and we were told that our baggage will be taken to our final destination- Saskatoon. Alas! after the conclusion of the immigration process at Toronto, rushing to board our connecting flight as we had less than 45 minutes left, we just discovered at a corner all our bags on a trolley close to the customs point. That started another routine delay that took over 1 hour as the queue was long. However the custom lady was very helpful and rushed things up. she only counted the cash on us as we had more than the maximum amount. by then we are 30 minutes late for our flight. As God would have it however, the flight was delayed because of us and could feel all eyes staring at us when we embarked especially being the only blacks, but did it really matter, just glad to make it.
Fast forward to Saskatoon and after about 2 hrs turbulence in the air for a journey of 3.5 hours, family members were on hand to welcome us and though jet lagged its been blissful since then. Canada is indeed a beautiful land, the weather is friendly for now and all things are working for our good
This is dewasco reporting live and direct from Saskatoon.

For house members waiting for one updates or the other, hang in there, the good Lord that brought you this far will not abandon you. There is no record of abandoned project in His hands. your testimony is next.

Pipis Husband and the great guys in the house God bless you

 

[BabyBal]

Wow! Talk about it not being over until it is over! Your perseverance paid off, and He showed Himself superior to all else once again... Congratulations!

Greetings my people!!! I learnt about the FSWP in 2004,but somehow I couldn't apply for it then.In 2011 I was able to apply but my application didn't meet the Cap and was returned. I reapplied in 2013 and got PER,we were so happy, then the waiting game started. We didn't hear anything from 2013 till November 2014 when AVO requested updated POF,we sent it and heard nothing until March 2015.The response we got was devastating it was an outright refusal based on the VO not satisfied with our POF. I sent several emails that we be given another chance but all to no avail.I came to you guys this lovely family to cry out and got so many suggestions. Above all it was clear that if I need to go forward, legal advice should be soughted.With the recommendation from this house I engaged a Nigerian lawyer based in Canada who has handled similar cases. I also immediately requested my GCMS note and read what the VO had as reasons for the refusal.I asked the lawyer what are our chances he said 50/50 but one should always take a chance in life. So the case started, spent additional funds, sent documents etc. In the court case if the Judge doesn't grant leave, then the case is over. We were praying for leave to be granted and it was eventually.Now the next prayer was let the Minister withdraw from the case as it has mostly happened in the past, once you are granted leave then most times the minister withdraws.But no way the minister didn't withdraw, the case got to hearing and physical appearance in court. My lawyer was very surprised but the hearing held and both parties argued their points. The hearing held in November 2015,December the verdict was given..... WE WON THE APPEAL!!!!!!... So we waited to hear from AVO. Months passed no word until May 2016,they requested for other documents and our POF again. We sent what they needed. In June we got MR,PPR.As I write this now we have our visas for my family of 4.Please help me thank this BIG God that we serve, not by our works of Righteousness but His Mercy and Grace. I would have missed out of this if I had given up and didn't take the chance but God showed up for us. My special thanks goes to firstly God Almighty who made this possible, Loofy, Pipishusband, Ma Ig, dada-karma, GentleAndrew,Kollins,Biola,Valentine,Nwamarie,Neyobash(who assisted greatly with the UPS service),Thejacksons,Fatenny,Ennex and so many others I can't even mention.God bless you all.I pray that as many as are still expectant God will not disappoint you, your destiny will not be thwarted by any negative VO decision, your desires according to God's will,shall come to pass. And know this that God will do it because of His love, Grace and Mercy towards you in Jesus name Amen. Thanks everyone.Like we always say, IT HAS ENDED IN PRAISE!!!!!!!

 

[BabyBal]

Congratulations beforecanada2014!!! You must now be in the thick of winding down and packing

Having my Visa and copr handy and thankful to God. Appreciating every member of this forum in a very special way. Special thanks to Pipis Husband and Kollins. Thank U Olaniyi ( neyobash) for coordinating my pick up. I pray fervently that AVO start showering forum members with updates, this week and beyond; surely ending in praise.....Amen

 

[BabyBal]

Wow! Too many reasons to be thankful to the most High for all His mercies... Congratulations to you and your family! Rejoicing with you as a fellow Egba and OAU alum - Greatest Ife! Great!

I am so grateful for how far we have come. When I look at the visa stamped on our passports, I just feel this very special kind of calming...all the processes and stages we went through just flashes across my mind and I just keep repeating 'thank you Jesus'.

In between this application, we applied for a visitor's visa and then I traveled to Canada to have my baby. I remember the CBSA official at the point of entry refusing to grant me entry cos she said and I quote "you have a PR application, you think the application process is too slow so you want to have an anchor baby just to speed up your application". She gave me a form to fill saying that I was withdrawing my application and returning to Nigeria that same night. I was 34 weeks pregnant! That wasn't so much as the problem but the fact that on that form she gave me to sign was my UCI number for the PR application. I knew then that she was trying to sabotage my PR application and not just my visit at the time. I am summarizing a lot here because this is not the right forum for this story, people who plan to have a baby in Canada would benefit more from this. Anyway, long and short, thank you Jesus. I had my baby in Canada and came back and today, I hold our visas and COPR! Na God win.

Thanks to Pipis Husband for starting this forum and to everyone else for keeping it up. Thank you all for the tireless ways you have of answering questions, no matter how many times the question has been answered before. May God reward your selfless service.

Neyobash, my personal brother from Egba and my bro all the way from OAU. Thank you very much for the UPS packaging to and fro. May God remember your service of love.

To everyone else waiting on AVO, keep holding on...and please keep asking your questions. I promise you, someone is always here to answer. More importantly, someone else is definitely going to benefit from that question you think is peculiar to you alone.

May it all end in praise in Jesus name.

 

[BabyBal]

Congratulations Chattery and ijeree on your smooth landings and thankful for journey mercies! Also, congratulations on the job Chattery.

Hi Guys,
Been a very long while that i have been here.Landed in June and God has been faithful ever since.We landed in Calgary and POE process was smooth.We have settled in well and i got a transition job in a major telecoms company here in Calgary.For my Calgary,bc and saskatchewan peeps especially those just coming in pls inbox me for the best deals possible on your cable,telephone and internet services.Help a bro and get good discounts @ the same time.For those still waiting for one update or the other,not to worry He makes all things beautiful in his time.I landed 8 months after i got my COPR and God still came through for me in this present challenging climate.

Hi everyone! Trust we are all doing well.
My family arrived Calgary 2 days ago on Emirates airline from Abuja via Dubai-Toronto for a 6 weeks short landing.
We had the initial landing documentation at Toronto Airport and everything went smoothly.
We did not have time to go to the Service Canada office at the airport for SIN registration as we had a connecting flight to catch.
The landing process is quite straight forward. It helps to have your list of goods/list of goods to follow typed out and handy.
A declaration of over $10,000 cash is also not a problem.
My toddler's powdered milk was taken, during custom checks though, so you might not need to come in with powdered milk from Nigeria.

It shall end in praise for all of us!

 

[BabyBal]

Congratulations on your smooth arrival bebisco, and thank God for journey mercies!

Dear all, such a long time. First to those still waiting for one update or the other, I pray my God will give you a pleasant surprise this week.
My family and I landed at Pearson's Airport via Turkish Airline with a 6hr stop at Istanbul on the 10th July, 2016. It was quite a pleasant experience. The girls loved it. Our host (amazing couples) were already at the Airport waiting for us. We couldn't get our SIN numbers that day because it was a Sunday but the next day we went to a Service-Canada station to get them.
Trying to get an apartment was the most challenging part of our visit, they would not give us accommodation because we had no credit history but thank God we engaged a realtor (very helpful Indian lady). They collected 6 months rentage without looking back after we signed all the papers.
A tip for those of us coming to Ontario, please visit the Rexdale Women Center or the Center for Education and Training. They support newcomers to the max. They helped fill our child tax benefit forms, gave a welcome pack to my hussy and I each. They will give u mattresses if you want too. We bought a dinning table with chairs from Kijiji very nice one. The lady posted it for $150 but trust Naija bargaining power we got it for $100. The people here are very nice I tell u. I really pray something happens for our dear country Nigeria.
I wept for our country Nigeria when I got here. Nigeria can be better... May God punish all our dubious leaders who come here to enjoy with their families and keep our people under abject poverty.

 

[BabyBal]

Thank God for journey mercies and congratulations on your smooth landing Mabertia!

Friends in the house..... My wife, I and our 2 boys landed yesterday Friday 29th July @ Toronto Airport @ 3.43pm local time. We had earlier booked our flight on Emirates, so we departed Abuja for Dubai via Accra for refueling "since the avengers no gree make aviation fuel flow". Because of all that our initially 5hrs layover in Dubai eventually reduced to 50 minutes, so once we landed in Dubai, we quickly located our departure gate and boarded for Toronno. At the the customs desk the lady stamped our passports and we proceeded to the immigration desk, the officer only asked if we had in our possession cash in excess of 10kCAD, we said NO, so he smilingly signed our papers and welcomed us to Canada, we couldn't get our SIN at the airport as we had to catch up with our next flight to Calgary our finally destination. The flight to Calgary lasted 4hrs and by the time we landed we were all so exhausted from the 35hrs movement from Abuja.

We are still recovering from the exhaustion but will take advantage of Monday's work free day here to rest and continue with other stuff by Tuesday. Thank you all for your show of love and support in the house, lets stay in touch.

 

[Delaprix]

Congratulations on your smooth landings CalgaryChic and Pastor Daniel, and thank God for journey

I am just reading Calgary Chic's landing story. Thanks to God for his protection. I say big congrats to Baby Bal and Pastor Daniel as well. May God cause you to eat good in the land. And to all still expecting, may we all share successful and smooth landing and settling experiences by God's grace.

 

[Pipis Husband]

Thanks PH. Appreciate.

Did anyone use Nigerian master card to pay for RPRF? Trying to use it now but it denied the transaction. Could it be because of the daily transaction limit? Or has anyone been successful

Yes some banks have reduced the daily limit per International transaction. I just got a mail from GT that theirs is now $1000 per day and $3000 per month. You can try the card of other banks from your family and friends to see which will go through. Cheers

 

[Pipis Husband]

Friends in the house..... My wife, I and our 2 boys landed yesterday Friday 29th July @ Toronto Airport @ 3.43pm local time. We had earlier booked our flight on Emirates, so we departed Abuja for Dubai via Accra for refueling "since the avengers no gree make aviation fuel flow". Because of all that our initially 5hrs layover in Dubai eventually reduced to 50 minutes, so once we landed in Dubai, we quickly located our departure gate and boarded for Toronno. At the the customs desk the lady stamped our passports and we proceeded to the immigration desk, the officer only asked if we had in our possession cash in excess of 10kCAD, we said NO, so he smilingly signed our papers and welcomed us to Canada, we couldn't get our SIN at the airport as we had to catch up with our next flight to Calgary our finally destination. The flight to Calgary lasted 4hrs and by the time we landed we were all so exhausted from the 35hrs movement from Abuja.

We are still recovering from the exhaustion but will take advantage of Monday's work free day here to rest and continue with other stuff by Tuesday. Thank you all for your show of love and support in the house, lets stay in touch.

Nice landing experience, congrats. Wishing you and your family all the best ahead

 

[adaghogho]

Friends in the house..... My wife, I and our 2 boys landed yesterday Friday 29th July @ Toronto Airport @ 3.43pm local time. We had earlier booked our flight on Emirates, so we departed Abuja for Dubai via Accra for refueling "since the avengers no gree make aviation fuel flow". Because of all that our initially 5hrs layover in Dubai eventually reduced to 50 minutes, so once we landed in Dubai, we quickly located our departure gate and boarded for Toronno. At the the customs desk the lady stamped our passports and we proceeded to the immigration desk, the officer only asked if we had in our possession cash in excess of 10kCAD, we said NO, so he smilingly signed our papers and welcomed us to Canada, we couldn't get our SIN at the airport as we had to catch up with our next flight to Calgary our finally destination. The flight to Calgary lasted 4hrs and by the time we landed we were all so exhausted from the 35hrs movement from Abuja.

We are still recovering from the exhaustion but will take advantage of Monday's work free day here to rest and continue with other stuff by Tuesday. Thank you all for your show of love and support in the house, lets stay in touch.

Congratulations on your smooth and safe arrival, let the land of Canada yield bountiful harvest for you and yours. I just PMed you.




There is ALWAYS a better way with God