My timeline - I am a May'11 applicant, was sent MR in Oct' 12 by postal mail which unfortunately got lost, got an email from LVO in March'13 stating that MR was sent and I never responded, I replied saying that I never got the post and request that a fresh MR be sent. VO was kind in considering my request and sent an updated forms request immediately. Got MR in July'13, PRR in Oct'13, sent PPs and got visa stamped on Oct 23' 2013 precisely. Landed at Pearsons International on Nov 28'2013 for a short stay.
Must say this forum had been a source of great help and fellows like pittabread, devilhimself, badar14, itsbeenlong, kbQureshi, nashe31, awai ali, coolguy,Matties, PMM, Wilson, aspire, Mr Engineer and many others whom i could not name here, have always been there to help me out during various stages of the process, i am grateful to all of them and have lot of duas for all they have done for me.
Travelling - Travelled both ways through British airways and air canada with one stop over at Heathrow. Both the airlines are good and and punctual, but very particular about the baggage rules, baggage that needs to be checked in and the one to be hand carried should strictly be as per their specs. Secondly, I doubt if air canada flight from Heathrow to Toronto will serve you halal foods. However British airways flight from riyadh to Heathrow and vies versa will be serving halal food. There is another issue while coming back from Toronto through this route for which I will recommend either to take a non stop flight or choose airlines which don't have stopover in any of the western countries. I will explain at the end why .
Landing at Persons International - Landing was smooth and took me around two hours to pass through all the formalities. PR cards and SIN cards were done at the airport. At SIN cards counter, we were asked too many questions, like mothers name, grandmothers name, date of births of my sons,...so better be little prepared in advance. Then headed for baggage collection, inserted a five dollar bill and got three dollars back, which released the trolley. No body dare even look at the goods to follow and accompanying goods lists that I had prepared with lots of effort, only the gold pics and funds declaration forms were stamped and copies kept.
Staying at short term rental - I had booked a furnished suite in Mississauga at CAD 110 per day, and my friend who had come to pick me up took us there, around thirty minutes drive from airport. Flat was very close to square one (a big shopping centre from where you can get everything ). Next day I took a car on rent, CAD 40 per day and and it helped me not only in roaming around with my family but also improving my driving skills in line with Canadian rules.
Driving license - Appeared in G1 written test and had to re do the rules part, gave CAD 15 and succeeded this time by securing 18/20. Secured 19/20 in the signs part. We need to secure 16/20 in each part in order to get G1. I had taken my Saudi driving license record and got it translated from an office in Mississauga, probably the only office whose translation is accepted. They kept the original at the time of G1, saying that after passing the G1, I can directly book for G road test. Though I had full plans to go for G road test, but couldn't get dates that match my plan, so had to drop it.
Roaming around - Besides got good time to explore Ontario cuz I had gone for two weeks. Been to Toronto couple of times, visited CN tower, Toronto square, Eaton Centre and lot more. Also visited Niagara falls, a true wonder indeed. Went to Brampton and Richmondhill to see my friends.
Bank Account - opened joint account in TD, took us hardly 30 minutes to complete the process. It is a check in account in which I am supposed to maintain minimum CAD3500 at all times. CAD 2 will be charged for the paper bank statement that shall be mailed to me and I will have to intimate to the bank if I don't require any paper bank statements in future. Online statements are free of charge. They have also given me option to maintain a US dollar account besides Canadian Dollar account.
Health card - Tried twice for OHIP at two different Service Ontario Centres with bank cheque book that was mailed to me, but they insisted on bank statement. Just in order to understand the difference between a bank statement and cheque book with regards to proof of residency, went into little argument at one counter, lady was convinced with my point but could finally say that since we have to dispatch these docs to the head office, so they have to be only one of those listed in the required documents lists, and there it only says that a bank statement mailed to our address and no cheque books and SIN cards. Wish either they change the rules and include bank cheque books atleast if not SIN cards ( cuz SIN cards only bear our names and not address on the cards) or give a better reasoning why a bank book mailed to our address can't be accepted as a proof of residency while a bank statement can be !
Job hunt - What I have learnt about the jobs is that in order to start job in your profession, which is engineering in my case, I must get my resume trimmed to the Canadian standards from some good office who do this job, they also train you for the interview and provide complete help in finding a job of your profession. It may cost around CAD500 but as per my friend, it's worth. He told while sharing his job hunt experience, that he kept floating cvs for one year without any positive result, but when got engaged with one of such offices, got job in two months. Another important thing while looking for a job of your profession is that " be flexible to work anywhere in Canada" and reflect it clearly at the bottom of your CV. It helps in getting you job far quicker. Otherwise getting survival jobs is not a big deal, you can easily earn between CAD1500 to CAD 1800 per month through such jobs. Jobs at Walmart, gas stations, Tim Horton and other big stores can be found without much effort. Security jobs may take some time as you need to get some certification for that. Driving blue cabs can also get you good money as it is considered bit relaxed compared to working on cash counters at stores or gas stations.
Long term rentals - For living, walk in basements are quite reasonable and cheaper, one can get it between CAD 800 to CAD 850 in Brampton and Mississauga, no idea about downtown Toronto.
Schools - schools within communities are not considered so good as compared to ones which are located in neighbourhoods with well mixed nationalities. My kids were so happy to know that there are no exams upto class 8.
Now coming to a little embarrassment that I had to face while returning at air canada counter,.... I was asked at the air canada boarding counter (cuz my flight was Toronto-Hearhrow-Riyadh, if I was a resident of Canada. When I said yes, she asked me to show the PR cards. I told her that PR cards are under process now and because of an emergency i have to travel without collecting PR cards, and that i shall be back within couple of weeks. She said that she is not interested in listening all this but just wants to see PR cards so that she could place me as a Canadian resident otherwise she will put me as a Pakistani resident based on the passport I am holding. I didn't argue much and asked her to proceed as she wishes. Just want to know how critical is her asking for the PR cards and putting me as a Pakistani resident afterwards. I am supposed to get my PR cards soon through courier inshAllah. Can i be questioned at immigration next time i travel, that how did i get these cards ! i know a lot of people do it this way, but have not heard about anyone being asked while returning to show the PR cards. I have also seen seniors saying that it is not illegal to get PR cards this way as it is no where mentioned on CIC web site. I also discussed the matter with air canada steward who said that it is just a formality, air canada wants to make sure that people dont travel on incomplete or fake docs to Heathrow otherwise their bills get stuck. I would request the seniors or guys who have experienced such a scenario to please clarify and suggest whether for me getting PR cards through courier and travelling back to Canada would be ok or I may face issues with immigration while travelling on PR cards next time.
Good luck and do keep us posted of any further updates in this regard.
