March 12 we attended my landing appointment at the Vancouver office. Here is a summary of our experience:
• Required:
o Photos: The letter asks for 2 copies of an immigration photo of the person being sponsored, but they only took 1 copy. The CIC agent said that the dimensions for the face were slightly off, but she accepted the photo anyway. Apparently Shoppers Drug Mart’s settings are off, but she suggested that Costco and London drugs usually are spot on.
o Work permit
o Passport
o Payment receipt
o Sponsor’s photo ID
• They ask the three questions: Committed a crime? Any children elsewhere in world not listed? Deportation order ever received?
• You review the COPR form to ensure your name is spelled correctly and your passport details are right. You initial to confirm these details, then initial next to your answers for the three questions. Finally, you sign your long form signature at the bottom.
• If, at the time of application (on or after Oct 25, 2012), you had been in the relationship with the sponsor for 2 years or less with no common children, then you also receive a document that says you have to stay together in a conjugal relationship from 2 years from the date of permanent residency. You also receive information about what to do in the case of spousal abuse or neglect. You have to sign that you received this information.
• We asked about travel between receiving COPR and PR card. The info shared on this forum was confirmed: that the air carriers require PR card and won’t accept COPR, but if you do a land border crossing then fly from the States (and return the same way), then there shouldn’t be a problem. I did overhear a lady talking about going to Manilla and the agent suggested that she attend the embassy to get some sort of re-entry document. Don’t take my advice on this – I just want to suggest that there might be other options if land border crossings aren’t convenient / possible.
• All in all, it was super easy and very quick.
Thanks to everyone for their advice and shared experiences over the past 19 months and special thanks to Sophieee for keeping the spreadsheet up to date. It’s been quite a comfort, especially during the radio silence that accompanied the 15 months of waiting for stage 1 approval.
Also, for the record, I was on an IEC work visa which expired in March 2014. I continued to work as I received assurances from 2 different CIC agents that I did indeed have implied status. And yes, they did send the boiler plate letter with the red writing at the bottom saying that IEC / working holiday visas are exempt from implied status – but they said that that didn’t apply to me because the OWP application I submitted with my PR application was for a different type of work permit – not an extension of the IEC / working holiday visa (which is not extendable). In November I received my OWP (prior to the start of the pilot program) and updated it with my employer.
Reading the comments on here about IEC / working holiday visas not being considered as eligible for implied status gave me a great deal of stress and many sleepless nights. I believe that I did the right thing, but I’m not an immigration lawyer. I don’t tell my story in order to give advice, just to give a different view. I would, however, encourage others to read everything and make their own decision prior to resigning from jobs.
All the best. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for quick PR for all.
good luck
