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ginsengsamurai

Full Member
Jan 29, 2012
34
0
125
Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
Category........
Visa Office......
Vienna, Austria
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
2015 July 30 (Outland)
AOR Received.
2015 August 28
File Transfer...
2015 September 28
Med's Request
Upfront
Med's Done....
2015 July 6
Interview........
None
VISA ISSUED...
Visa Exempt, 2016 January 7 [DM], January 12 [COPR received]
LANDED..........
2016 May 11
Hi everyone...

The people here at CanadaVisa.com was able to help put a lot of my worries away in the last year, as my wife (in Germany) and I (in Metro Vancouver) went through the whole PR process. It has been nerve wrecking to say the least. It took CIC just a bit over 5 months to approve her application. That's really amazing, since the official time frame said 16-17 months.

So my wife's application got a DM a week ago and received an envelope from CIC with our photos and an 8 page letter, 4 of which will be brought along with her passport to be signed in front of an Immigration Officer at the port of entry.

Now I have two questions:

1. Since she has her COPR form and has been approved for PR, can she just buy a one-way ticket or will she need to buy a two way ticket?

2. She will be bringing a dog. The dog already has the certified vaccinations. Is there anything else she needs to do/bring along with the dog?
 
Congratulations!

1. Although she won't need to show a return ticket at the POE, she should at least consider having a (fully refundable) ticket, in case the airline gives her a hard time. It is the commercial carrier that sometimes needs to see a return ticket.


2. Doggie should be good to go!
 
You may find the info you need about your dog here:

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/animals/terrestrial-animals/imports/policies/live-animals/pets/dogs/eng/1331876172009/1331876307796

Also, dogs may enter Canada as excess baggage (but must be accompanied by you (or somebody at least). Transporting a dog as excess baggage, where permitted by the airline, is usually a huge amount cheaper than sending them as cargo.

I brought my three dogs in from the Middle East in June so don't hesitate to PM me if you think I can give more info.
 
ginsengsamurai said:
Hi everyone...

The people here at CanadaVisa.com was able to help put a lot of my worries away in the last year, as my wife (in Germany) and I (in Metro Vancouver) went through the whole PR process. It has been nerve wrecking to say the least. It took CIC just a bit over 5 months to approve her application. That's really amazing, since the official time frame said 16-17 months.

So my wife's application got a DM a week ago and received an envelope from CIC with our photos and an 8 page letter, 4 of which will be brought along with her passport to be signed in front of an Immigration Officer at the port of entry.

Now I have two questions:

1. Since she has her COPR form and has been approved for PR, can she just buy a one-way ticket or will she need to buy a two way ticket?

2. She will be bringing a dog. The dog already has the certified vaccinations. Is there anything else she needs to do/bring along with the dog?

Hi. I'd like to ask you a quick question since both of our applications were processed in Vienna and we have a similar timeline. DM showed up in my CIC account on the 9th of January, but I still haven't received my common law partner's COPR delivered to our home address here in Toronto. I was just wondering how long did it take you guys to receive yours after DM?

Thank you!
 
Ponga said:
C ongratulations! 1. Although she won't need to show a return ticket at the POE, she should at least consider having a (fully refundable) ticket, in case the airline gives her a hard time. It is the commercial carrier that sometimes needs to see a return ticket.

Thanks Ponga. Unfortunately, I checked the airplane tickets that fly from Hamburg to Vancouver and they are SUPER MASSIVELY expensive if we do two-way fully refundable tickets. For some reason, even when we choose a flight time months in advance, it costs around $3200+ cdn for a two way. A one-way non refundable ticket costs about $850 cdn and a two way non-refundable is $1400 cdn. It's strange why the airline would give her a hard time, if all they're doing is provide a flight service and not have to handle the border services stuff.

[quote author=Taddy]Also, dogs may enter Canada as excess baggage (but must be accompanied by you (or somebody at least). Transporting a dog as excess baggage, where permitted by the airline, is usually a huge amount cheaper than sending them as cargo. I brought my three dogs in from the Middle East in June so don't hesitate to PM me if you think I can give more info. [/quote]

Thanks for the information Taddy. We looked at that link you provided and everything is good.

We also had a look at the Lufthansa site and unfortunately, seems her dog is a bit too heavy. He weighs in at 11kg and is a bit larger than a Boston Terrier. The Lufthansa site says it will cost to put the dog in the cargo hold 150 Euros or about $240 cdn. Ah, so expensive.

[quote author=akrstic4]Hi. I'd like to ask you a quick question since both of our applications were processed in Vienna and we have a similar timeline. DM showed up in my CIC account on the 9th of January, but I still haven't received my common law partner's COPR delivered to our home address here in Toronto. I was just wondering how long did it take you guys to receive yours after DM?[/quote]

It took 5 days from DM to receiving the letter. Mind you, my wife received the letter in Kiel, Germany through FedEx priority mail.
 
No worries. No need at all for a two-way ticket. The airline only needs to see your wife's visa.
 
truesmile said:
No worries. No need at all for a two-way ticket. The airline only needs to see your wife's visa.

She's from a Visa exempt country (Germany). Would her COPR suffice?
 
Great to hear, congrats. We're about to go through the process ourselves, but through the outland application process.

One question: we're wondering how long your wife's been given to come to Canada? Once approved is there a specific time frame? 3 months, 6 months or does it depend on the individual? Obviously we'll need to plan accordingly, but a time frame for how long the visa is valid for would be very helpful in planning our move.

Cheers
 
Oh if visa-exempt, they shouldn't even need to see her COPR.
 
PO78 said:
Great to hear, congrats. We're about to go through the process ourselves, but through the outland application process.

One question: we're wondering how long your wife's been given to come to Canada? Once approved is there a specific time frame? 3 months, 6 months or does it depend on the individual? Obviously we'll need to plan accordingly, but a time frame for how long the visa is valid for would be very helpful in planning our move.

Cheers
Sort of specific. The visa will be valid up until the applicant's medical expires, exactly one year from the date the medical was done.
 
concerning the visa, that makes sense. Thanks for the info!
 
Even as excess baggage the dog has to travel in the hold (which is heated and pressurised) unless its carrier can fit under the seat (some airlines allow this, some don't allow pets in the cabin at all).
150 Euros is the excess baggage cost and is very cheap. To book your dog as cargo means the dog will still travel in the same part of the aircraft as excess baggage but will probably cost 4 times the price.
 
One ticket. I am from Germany as well and completed my landing procedure at the airport in Montreal yesterday without a return ticket. The airline didn't even ask any questions. Everything will be smooth, trust me. ;)