canadianwoman said:
Rachel and Christy - could you post your examples on here, so we all could see them? I'm sure lots of people would like an example of what kind of letter to write.
Thanks.
Hi Berti / canadianwoman: Here is a short sample from our doc (which was nearly 2 pages in length, once we finished typing out all the action points in detail). Sorry about the formatting. Originally, 'Time Period' and 'Action Point' were in two separate columns.
TIME PERIOD ACTION POINT
February 2010 Begin collecting Common-Law Partner Visa Application documentation.
March 2010 Submit Common-Law Partner Visa Application to Mississauga
March 2010 Begin assessing the job market in Toronto and prepare a list of potential employers (we will add to this list over the coming months). Begin making initial enquiries and register on online job boards (e.g. Monster.com)
April 2010 SPONSOR NAME: Begin contacting network to let people know that he's returning to Canada, to
a) re-establish ties with friends and acquaintances
b) begin sounding out ex-colleagues, family and friends about job opportunities in Toronto for NAME / NAME
April 2010 APPLICANT NAME:
Continue to maintain contact with people she met in Canada (SPONSOR'S family and friends), to continue building a good relationship with them. This will make settling into Canada a lot easier
May 2010 Begin searching for a shipping company to forward our possessions from Germany to Toronto.
May 2010 Continue applying for job opportunities in Toronto.
June 2010 Continue applying for job opportunities in Toronto.
July 2010 Continue applying for job opportunities in Toronto.
August 2010 If X's visa is well in progress (or has been processed) in VISA OFFICE, we will book flight tickets (fully realizing that the ticket date may need to be changed / cancelled, depending on VISA OFFICE'S current processing times / decision) and notify the airline that our cats will be travelling with us. The cats have valid ‘cat passports' and we will ensure they have updated shots, if required, at this point.
August 2010 Begin lining up and confirming job interview appointments to attend when we arrive in Toronto
September 2010 Begin actively searching for rental accommodation in Toronto. SPONSOR is from Toronto, so he's familiar with the various residential areas, rental costs and leases, etc. Should we find something via the internet, once a Toronto-based family member has visited the property on our behalf and confirmed its suitability, we will make arrangements to immediately pay for and secure the accommodation. We plan to rent a pet-friendly, reasonably sized apartment within reasonable distance of a subway station. SPONSOR'S parents have a good-sized house in X, Toronto and offered us SPONSOR's old room (a large room in the basement, with its own bathroom / shower facilities) to stay in until we settle in, especially if we haven't secured an apartment before our arrival. This will allow us time to search for our own place. However, we hope to find our own place before we arrive (or as soon as possible after), to make it as easy as possible for us and the cats to settle in.
September 2010 SPONSOR and APPLICANT’s job contracts in Germany expire on 30 September 2010. We’ll begin applying for a tax refund (which we will add to our savings) and give notice to our rental agency, (our lease expires at the end of October)
September 2010 Sell possessions that we can’t take with us to Canada (dishwasher, washing machine, oven, steam oven and stove, bookshelf, sofa, kitchen unit, food processor, iron, hairdryer, lamps and APPLICANT’s small writing desk).
September 2010 Purchase air travel-suitable travelling cages for our cats (we’ll seek the guidance of the airline – we’ll probably fly with Air Canada). SPONSOR brought one of our cats from Toronto several years ago, so he’s familiar with the process.
September 2010 SPONSOR: Cancel mobile phone contract (APPLICANT has a pay-as-you-go phone, so has no contract)
October 2010 If APPLICANT’s visa is issued prior to this time, we plan to fly to Toronto at the beginning of October. Our possessions (excepting check-in / hand luggage) will be shipped ahead.
October 2010 Arrange for the refund of our 2 months’ rental deposit (c. €1250 / CAD 1720) from our rental agency
October 2010 Move to Toronto. Initially stay with SPONSOR’s parents until we find a place of our own, if we haven’t found an apartment already. Immediately begin attending job interviews and personally visiting recruitment agencies, English language schools, etc. (we’re both Business English Trainers)
In total, we have 19 actions points. Even though it was originally to show our visa office our intentions, it's also been useful as a 'to do list' because there are so many things to do when you're moving, and we've found it's hard to remember everything without some sort of list
I really hope this helps someone. We've found this forum so very helpful and reassuring and we'd love to give something back somehow!
