Hey everyone, can't believe the day has finally come. I landed this morning at Vancouver! I was very nervous because I didn't know what to expect, so here is my landing story in detail. Hopefully it will put some of you at ease!
My appointment was at 8:30 am this morning, as I said in the Vancouver office (Service Canada building on Expo Blvd). We were there at 8 when the doors opened, and we sat in the main office while about 30 other people trickled in. A very genial Dutch man came to the front of the room, made a few jokes, put us all at ease, and directed us into what he called the ceremony room.
We each had a "seat number" on our landing letter from CIC, and everyone who was landing sat in the front row of chairs. The chairs were designated by number and had our individual Confirmation of Permanent Residence papers on them. Our sponsors and significant others sat in the chairs behind us. There were about 15 people landing at the same time.
We watched a power point presentation that explained all of our rights and obligations as permanent residents. (The only obligation was that you must actually live in the country for a minimum of 730 days out of every 5 years, as most of us already know).
After that a young woman explained the services that can be provided for new immigrants to Canada, including referrals to job search companies, etc..
After that they asked us to double check that all the information on our Confirmation of Permanent Residence document was correct, because if it was wrong and we signed it, it would be considered a lie/misrepresentation, and that they could only fix the information there and then and wouldn't be able to change anything after it was finalized.
There were 2 people sitting at a desk off to the side, and they called us one by one to sit and sign our papers. Before we could sign they asked
"Do you have any dependants?", "Is this your sponsor?" (sitting next to me), "Have you ever been convicted of a felony?", "Have you ever been ordered to leave the country, or subject to removal proceedings?"
Then they looked at my passport, photos, voided my work permit, asked for my receipts proving that I had paid the right of permanent residence fee, and told me where to sign.
A word of warning- the Vancouver office is the only one that does not have a cashier, and will not accept payment for the ROPR fee. So MAKE SURE you pay beforehand!!
And then the moment came, where the guy said "Congratulations! You are officially a permanent resident of Canada!" He handed me my Confirmation of Permanent Residence, and said I should receive my PR card in 6-8 weeks.
That was such music to my and my husband's ears.
It all took exactly an hour, we were out of there by 9:30.
We are so, so relieved that it is all over, at least until we consider whether I'll apply for citizenship in a couple years.
Good luck to everybody, I'm rooting for you all!!
