My wife and I applied for PR at the end of 2009, waited for 6 months before getting our MR, and got our Visa and COPR in Jan 2011. We made the landing in the Mid of this June. In essence, we have all of the documents, listed in Qorax's super helpful thread : LANDING IN CANADA ??? -All You Need To Know, prepared beforehand, and the immigration officer at Vancouver was very pleased to see that things are well organized - She didn't even ask us to show the $ listed in the POF doc. All in all, we waited for about 2 hours but our paperwork is done in less than 30 mins.
Of course I didn't intend to start a new post to only praise all of the contributions made by the senior members, especially Qorax. I'm also hoping to contribute something back to the forums. Here are what I have:
1. If one has an expired driver's license from a country that's eligible for an exchange - please ask for a driver's record (certified if possible/otherwise sealed in the original envelop) because they may just let you get an exchange without having to retake the written and road tests. I have an expired Texas DL, and they said it's no problem at all.
2. Processing time for the driver's record varies - it's 14 working days for the Department of public safety in Texas.
3. In the event that you aren't eligible for an exchange, but you want to get your DL without owning a car, you can take the road test by contacting the nearest driving academy to 'lend' you a car. It will cost you a small fee.
4. From where we live (Richmond, BC), HSBC appears to offer the best services. Try to get HSBC advance if you can.
Lastly, I want to thank all of the contributors to this forum again, for we may have to go through much ordeals if not for all of the advices you've given in this forum.
Of course I didn't intend to start a new post to only praise all of the contributions made by the senior members, especially Qorax. I'm also hoping to contribute something back to the forums. Here are what I have:
1. If one has an expired driver's license from a country that's eligible for an exchange - please ask for a driver's record (certified if possible/otherwise sealed in the original envelop) because they may just let you get an exchange without having to retake the written and road tests. I have an expired Texas DL, and they said it's no problem at all.
2. Processing time for the driver's record varies - it's 14 working days for the Department of public safety in Texas.
3. In the event that you aren't eligible for an exchange, but you want to get your DL without owning a car, you can take the road test by contacting the nearest driving academy to 'lend' you a car. It will cost you a small fee.
4. From where we live (Richmond, BC), HSBC appears to offer the best services. Try to get HSBC advance if you can.
Lastly, I want to thank all of the contributors to this forum again, for we may have to go through much ordeals if not for all of the advices you've given in this forum.