1. This year i plan to explore Vancouver. Is there anything i need to do on arrival at Vancouver to log in my arrival or is it automatically done? I had read somewhere that sometimes the airport authorities dont log you in the correct files so that particular entry in Canada can get missed.
No, you don't have to ask anybody to log anything.
2. Do i need to save up my Boarding Passes each time i come to Canada? i think you have mentioned this in some forum.
You should and more importantly your boarding passes from leaving because when it comes to renewing your PR card or applying for citizenship, you will need detailed info on your travels in and out of Canada as well as your complete address history. Canada immigration is likely to log your entries but they may not have your exit info.
3. I stayed last time with some people as a paying guest. This time again it will be the same. I don't get a receipt for the 'rental' that i pay. What proof must i have that i actually stayed in Canada considering that may frauds happen wherein people go back and ask their local friends to make some bank transactions/something to indicate that they actually were in Canada during that period.
It is hard to prove if you are not working, volunteering, taking a course or anything else where some 3rd party can verify you were there. Maybe you should consider taking a course this time.
4. I got my G1 Driving License in Toronto in my last visit. A scanned copy of the Driving License Translation (which i had forgotten to carry with me, despite reading your post about it) was not considered valid.
My query to you: Will this help by allowing me to directly take the Road Test in BC without taking the Written Test or do i need to go the whole hog in BC?
Getting the G1 license may have been a mistake as if you do not get your foreign license authenticated and enter the GDL system, you may have to stay in the GDL system and do the waiting periods. However, because it's already a year since you took the written exam in Toronto, you have already waited for a year so BC should accept your G1 license which in BC would be called Learners, see http://www.icbc.com/driver-licensing/getting-licensed/graduated-licensing and they should allow you to take the basic road test and get a Novice license (in Ontario known as G2) and you would be able to drive by yourself at least.
5. Can i request at the airport to visit the Newcomers' Corner, since i'm no longer a newcomer to Canada but a newcomer to BC, where one can get very good newcomer material, not available elsewhere?
Of course you can request it but will they allow it, no idea.
6. Could you possibly share information/a link about health insurance in BC. I plan to stay in BC a little over 6 months. How should i plan the health insurance?
There is a waiting time of health insurance in BC, 2 months plus the balance of the third so if you arrive on any day in June, you would be eligible on September 1st or if you arrive in July, you would be eligible on October 1st. You should get travel insurance to cover you in the meantime in case of an accident or emergency. You can find the info here on how to register: http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/msp/infoben/eligible.html The monthly rate for BC health is $66.50 for a single person, see http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/msp/infoben/premium.html You can also get Pharmacare, see http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/pharmacare/index.html to help you with cost of medication. BC health eligibility is based on staying in BC for at least 6 months a year so make sure you do stay for at least 6 months this time and if you leave for more than 6 months again, make sure to let them know so you can stop paying the premiums and they can cancel your health care. If you do not stay for 6 months in your first year, they could decide that you were never eligible for it in the first place and cancel it retroactively and backcharge you for the medical services they have covered for you.
8. I'm working towards my citizenship. Just in case i'm unable to complete the required stay for citizenship and i apply for extension of PR, is it automatically given? Or is there a screening process of any kind. I have a fear that since i'm on the wrong side of 50 i may not get an extension. Is my fear justified?
No, your fear is not justified. When you apply to renew your PR card, they will look at if you have spent at least 730 days in Canada in your first 5 years as a PR or the past 5 years if you have been a PR for longer than 5 years. As long as you keep meeting the residency obligation and can prove it and stay away from crime, you can keep your PR forever. However, for citizenship, you must have 1095 days in a 4 year period so if you continue to stay for a couple of or 6 months here and there, you may never get to the point that you meet the requirements because your time spent more than 4 years ago will not count any more. Look at it this way.. over a 4 year period, you can be outside Canada for max. one year. If you want to use your 7 weeks you stayed at the beginning for your citizenship, you must return within a year of having left and you only have the balance of that year that you can be outside Canada for the next 3. Say if you were gone for 10 months now, you would have 2 months you can be outside for the next 3 years.
9. My husband, accompanying spouse in my application, missed his landing deadline and is not accompanying me this visit too. He cannot. The nature of his job is such. Can i be asked about this and what is it that i can say without being dishonest?
Tell the truth. His job prevented him from meeting the deadline and therefore he lost his opportunity of getting the PR. This will not have any effect on your PR because he was the accompanying spouse and it's up to him if he wants to come to Canada or not. If he is also Indian, he will need a visit visa to visit you in Canada. Getting a visit visa when you have a Canadian PR as a spouse can be hard because immigration may think he will overstay. he will need to show ties to his homeland and job. If you want to sponsor him for PR later on, you can.
