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PR Landing process - Our experience

nbpb

Member
Sep 21, 2015
18
2
Hello,

Firstly, I would like to thank you all for answering our questions regarding the whole PR process.

Secondly, I thought it would be good to share our experience so far and hope it will be helpful to people who are looking to apply or are in the process of applying.

I am a Canadian citizen applied for a spouse sponsorship for my husband who is British (and we both currently live in London, UK). We submitted our application early December 2015 and by mid- December 2015 we got a letter from CIC asking us to submit a missing document (which we did very promptly). By the end of February 2016, I got a letter confirming my eligibility as a sponsor. From then on, we kept checking our application status using client id (which was provided with my sponsor approval letter). Finally, mid-September 2016 the status changed online to 'Decision Made' and we received a letter confirming my husband's PR by late-September. We were asked to make his official landing before mid-November and so off we went last week for few days to get his document stamped.

It is perfectly normal to go to Canada for few days to get your PR status active and return to organise your move properly. In our case, we are looking into moving officially by April 2017.

The overall process was were quick and smooth (maybe because it was not a busy period).

At the immigration desk, we let the officer know the purpose of our visit (i.e. PR landing), so he did some marking on the customs declaration card (a big 'Z' to be precise) and asked us to go through an entrance before we went to collect our bags etc. The lady officer at the desk was chirpy and very helpful - she asked to see our passports and my husbands letter of PR confirmation (2 copies). Within 5-7 minutes she stamped the copies and officially welcomed him to Canada. We were then asked to pick up a welcome package (with lots of useful information to prepare for the move) and then were sent to get my husband's Social Insurance Number (took us 5 minutes to get it).

We then collected our luggage and on our way out we let the officer know that we were here for PR etc. He asked us to go through a separate room. This is where you would need to show 'list of goods accompanying' and 'goods to follow'. We only had 'goods to follow' list (2 copies each - 'returning resident' and 'settler). If you have goods accompanying you then be prepared for thorough inspection of your bags. We got our copies stamped (one copy stays with the officer and the other was returned to us for our records) and were free to leave. From what the officer told us, when we return to settle permanently, we will be asked to provide the list of goods which will then be marked by an officer before we leave the airport etc. (seems pretty straightforward).

Overall, the experience was quick and smooth and now we are looking forward to our move to Canada, eh! :)
 
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zacklib

Star Member
Jan 29, 2016
77
2
nbpb said:
Hello,

Firstly, I would like to thank you all for answering our questions regarding the whole PR process.

Secondly, I thought it would be good to share our experience so far and hope it will be helpful to people who are looking to apply or are in the process of applying.

I am a Canadian citizen applied for a spouse sponsorship for my husband who is British (and we both currently live in London, UK). We submitted our application early December 2015 and by mid- December 2015 we got a letter from CIC asking us to submit a missing document (which we did very promptly). By the end of February 2016, I got a letter confirming my eligibility as a sponsor. From then on, we kept checking our application status using client id (which was provided with my sponsor approval letter). Finally, mid-September 2016 the status changed online to 'Decision Made' and we received a letter confirming my husband's PR by late-September. We were asked to make his official landing before mid-November and so off we went last week for few days to get his document stamped.

It is perfectly normal to go to Canada for few days to get your PR status active and return to organise your move properly. In our case, we are looking into moving officially by April 2017.

The overall process was were quick and smooth (maybe because it was not a busy period).

At the immigration desk, we let the officer know the purpose of our visit (i.e. PR landing), so he did some marking on the customs declaration card (a big 'Z' to be precise) and asked us to go through an entrance before we went to collect our bags etc. The lady officer at the desk was chirpy and very helpful - she asked to see our passports and my husbands letter of PR confirmation (2 copies). Within 5-7 minutes she stamped the copies and officially welcomed him to Canada. We were then asked to pick up a welcome package (with lots of useful information to prepare for the move) and then were sent to get my husband's Social Insurance Number (took us 5 minutes to get it).

We then collected our luggage and on our way out we let the officer know that we were here for PR etc. He asked us to go through a separate room. This is where you would need to show 'list of goods accompanying' and 'goods to follow'. We only had 'goods to follow' list (2 copies each - 'returning resident' and 'settler). If you have goods accompanying you then be prepared for thorough inspection of your bags. We got our copies stamped (one copy stays with the officer and the other was returned to us for our records) and were free to leave. From what the officer told us, when we return to settle permanently, we will be asked to provide the list of goods which will then be marked by an officer before we leave the airport etc. (seems pretty straightforward).

Overall, the experience was quick and smooth and now we are looking forward to our move to Canada, eh! :)
Thanks for sharing , very useful
 

jeff198901

Champion Member
May 7, 2016
1,817
261
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
29-03-2017
AOR Received.
18-04-2017
You got your sin number in 5 mins?!
 

profiler

VIP Member
Aug 10, 2016
9,456
2,846
Category........
Visa Office......
CPC-Mississauga
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
02-MAR-2016
AOR Received.
13-MAY-2016
IELTS Request
Upfront
Med's Request
Upfront; Passed
Interview........
Waived
LANDED..........
05-MAY-2017
jeff198901 said:
You got your sin number in 5 mins?!
Yeah my wife got hers in less than 5 for sure.. It took them longer to enter the data into the computer.
 

mr-moose

Star Member
Oct 10, 2016
68
10
Waterloo, ON
Visa Office......
Sydney
App. Filed.......
31-12-2016
AOR Received.
09-01-2017
Med's Done....
Upfront
Interview........
Not required
VISA ISSUED...
15-07-2017
LANDED..........
27-08-2017
Thanks so much for sharing the information. It is really helpful to get real world experiences of what to expect throughout this whole process.
 

profiler

VIP Member
Aug 10, 2016
9,456
2,846
Category........
Visa Office......
CPC-Mississauga
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
02-MAR-2016
AOR Received.
13-MAY-2016
IELTS Request
Upfront
Med's Request
Upfront; Passed
Interview........
Waived
LANDED..........
05-MAY-2017
mr-moose said:
Thanks so much for sharing the information. It is really helpful to get real world experiences of what to expect throughout this whole process.
Hey moose... yeah even on visitor visas with OWPs it's no time. You spend more time waiting in line, than it takes it issue a SIN.

Some CIC offices, like Etobicoke in Toronto, have Service Canada reps literally 1 seat away, so those landing can do the SIN swap immediately and can work when they leave the office. For inland of course.

Kitchener, has SC, CIC and Service Ontario in the same city block, on the same street, steps apart. That way you can do landing, SIN, and OHIP in one block of time..
 

Smearingo

Star Member
May 17, 2016
178
8
Montreal
Category........
Visa Office......
Sydney, NS / Ottawa
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
04-01-2016 (received on 06-01-2016)
Doc's Request.
21-07-2016 (RPRF and PCC from Hong Kong)
Nomination.....
CSQ-PEQ-étudiant, issued: 23-12-2015, received: 30-12-2015
AOR Received.
17-03-2016
Med's Request
30-06-2016
Med's Done....
04-07-2016 (submitted 13-07-2016)
Interview........
waived
Passport Req..
05-01-2017 (photocopy of passport pages [visa-exempt country] + 2 recent photos); documents sent: 05-01-2017, delivered: unknown (always "out for delivery" since 09-01-2017)
VISA ISSUED...
Visa Exempt Country, CoPR issued: 16-01-2017, GC-key/MyCIC account finalized: 19-01-2017, return envelope activated: 20-01-2017; CoPR received: 23-01-2017
LANDED..........
24-01-2017
nbpb said:
It is perfectly normal to go to Canada for few days to get your PR status active and return to organise your move properly. In our case, we are looking into moving officially by April 2017.
Hi nbpb, thank you for sharing! and congratulations for becoming Canadians!
I have a question: I plan to go back to my home country for holidays after I get the PR (which I believe is coming around the end of the year). But I am aware that for PR, we need PR card to enter Canada (unless we enter by private vehicle, such as driving from the US).
I wonder how you are going to arrange that for the PR cards.
I believe PR cards can only be sent to a Canadian address. I wonder if it is a good idea to ask someone to send it by courrier (but I heard that the US customs may seize it)... Another option will be: to apply for the permanent resident travel document (PRTD)... but this sounds troublesome and costs 50CAD....
or maybe I should postpone my trip until I get PR card....
 

mr-moose

Star Member
Oct 10, 2016
68
10
Waterloo, ON
Visa Office......
Sydney
App. Filed.......
31-12-2016
AOR Received.
09-01-2017
Med's Done....
Upfront
Interview........
Not required
VISA ISSUED...
15-07-2017
LANDED..........
27-08-2017
profiler said:
Hey moose... yeah even on visitor visas with OWPs it's no time. You spend more time waiting in line, than it takes it issue a SIN.

Some CIC offices, like Etobicoke in Toronto, have Service Canada reps literally 1 seat away, so those landing can do the SIN swap immediately and can work when they leave the office. For inland of course.

Kitchener, has SC, CIC and Service Ontario in the same city block, on the same street, steps apart. That way you can do landing, SIN, and OHIP in one block of time..
That sounds great profiler! We've just received the last document we needed, so I am trying to get everything together now in order to submit before Christmas. As strange as it sounds, I'm looking forward to the waiting phase where we will be able to focus on preparing ourselves here to get ready to move in anticipation of experiencing the "landing process" for ourselves :)

If we land in Toronto, do we need to get a SIN at the airport before clearing immigration, or is it something that we could potentially do in Kitchener at the offices you refer to?
 

jeff198901

Champion Member
May 7, 2016
1,817
261
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
29-03-2017
AOR Received.
18-04-2017
Do all spouses that are sponsored to move to Canada get their sin number this fast?
 

profiler

VIP Member
Aug 10, 2016
9,456
2,846
Category........
Visa Office......
CPC-Mississauga
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
02-MAR-2016
AOR Received.
13-MAY-2016
IELTS Request
Upfront
Med's Request
Upfront; Passed
Interview........
Waived
LANDED..........
05-MAY-2017
mr-moose said:
That sounds great profiler! We've just received the last document we needed, so I am trying to get everything together now in order to submit before Christmas. As strange as it sounds, I'm looking forward to the waiting phase where we will be able to focus on preparing ourselves here to get ready to move in anticipation of experiencing the "landing process" for ourselves :)

If we land in Toronto, do we need to get a SIN at the airport before clearing immigration, or is it something that we could potentially do in Kitchener at the offices you refer to?
Last time I tried, your inbox was full...WTG bloke ;)

You know forms changed Dec 15 and they are way easier now, with a 12 month "guarantee" on processing for in and outlanders, eh?

Pearson I don't think (members please prove me wrong) has a SC office. So literally Kitchener, SC the SO, bring all the goods and you're done.
 

profiler

VIP Member
Aug 10, 2016
9,456
2,846
Category........
Visa Office......
CPC-Mississauga
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
02-MAR-2016
AOR Received.
13-MAY-2016
IELTS Request
Upfront
Med's Request
Upfront; Passed
Interview........
Waived
LANDED..........
05-MAY-2017
jeff198901 said:
Do all spouses that are sponsored to move to Canada get their sin number this fast?
SIN is really a burden to the person. Yes it enables working, but that's a CRA (taxation) account number.

So, absolutely, show up as soon as SC opens and you're out in seconds. Then you're payin' the man :)
 

jeff198901

Champion Member
May 7, 2016
1,817
261
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
29-03-2017
AOR Received.
18-04-2017
profiler said:
SIN is really a burden to the person. Yes it enables working, but that's a CRA (taxation) account number.

So, absolutely, show up as soon as SC opens and you're out in seconds. Then you're payin' the man :)

This is good news! For some reason I thought it was a wait of a few weeks to get it. Do I just take the copr to service Canada and get the sin then?
 

profiler

VIP Member
Aug 10, 2016
9,456
2,846
Category........
Visa Office......
CPC-Mississauga
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
02-MAR-2016
AOR Received.
13-MAY-2016
IELTS Request
Upfront
Med's Request
Upfront; Passed
Interview........
Waived
LANDED..........
05-MAY-2017
jeff198901 said:
This is good news! For some reason I thought it was a wait of a few weeks to get it. Do I just take the copr to service Canada and get the sin then?
COPR or something that states you can legally work.
 

jeff198901

Champion Member
May 7, 2016
1,817
261
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
29-03-2017
AOR Received.
18-04-2017
profiler said:
COPR or something that states you can legally work.
Okay thanks! For some reason I was under the impression that it took weeks or even months to get the sin number. This is good news for us!
 

mr-moose

Star Member
Oct 10, 2016
68
10
Waterloo, ON
Visa Office......
Sydney
App. Filed.......
31-12-2016
AOR Received.
09-01-2017
Med's Done....
Upfront
Interview........
Not required
VISA ISSUED...
15-07-2017
LANDED..........
27-08-2017
profiler said:
Last time I tried, your inbox was full...WTG bloke ;)

You know forms changed Dec 15 and they are way easier now, with a 12 month "guarantee" on processing for in and outlanders, eh?

Pearson I don't think (members please prove me wrong) has a SC office. So literally Kitchener, SC the SO, bring all the goods and you're done.
Haha. Some of your previous messages contained very useful info, so I hadn't deleted them. I'm only allowed 5 messages in my inbox :(

I did see that the forms have changed now, but I'm still thinking of applying through the old process. We already had our up-front medicals. I have my police clearances from both here in Australia and in the United Kingdom, and we have everything else I need. I think it states you can use the old process up until the end of January.

I will try and find out more about timelines between approval and required dates to land as we get notification of milestones of the application. I'm getting excited now :)