₦airaland Forum

Silversurfer1:
Your post is misleading and will lead to further confusion. There's no "technicality" about government work. It's either you work for the government or you don't. NYSC is a government program not government work. If you worked in a non-governmental organisation during NYSC, you didn't work for the government. If you worked for the government, agency or parastatal, then you worked for the government

Dare002:
Hey,
I got ADR on Dec 20th to fill enclosed Government Employment Form. I had filled NYSC as Government. Is that the case with you as well? I also see you got PPR already.

nairalandbuzz:
How will u fill NYSC as govt job? Oversabi

Lansky:
Started from Part 5…now we’re PPR!

Me (PA): 22, PhD (Uni of Toronto) L: 9, R: 9, W: 9, S: 9
Wife: 22, PhD (Havard), L:9, R: 9, W: 9, S: 9
TEF Canada - L: 360, R: 300, W: 450 ,S: 450
Sibling in Canada
LMIA Job Offer secured
CRS: 645
ITA – Dec 19th
AOR – Dec 25th
PPR – Jan 1st
Passport Submission/COPR – Jan 2nd (home service aka VIP option)
...
Thanks for coming to my standup special…will soon be on Netflix for those that missed it.

My actual story now...no jokes again

God is Good!

Summary:
ECA: MSc. 21st July, 2018 - 17th Sep, 2018
IELTS: 29th Sept, 2018 – L 9, R 9, S 8, W 7.5
Family: We be 3, later become 4, none go solo…Me, wifey, 2yr old kid, baby.
ITA v1: Oct 29th, 2018
Medicals: Nov 8th, 2018
Used POF for business
…
...
God bless!

Falexchi:
Hi,

Thanks to everyone who have contributed meaningfully on this subject. It has really helped me on this PR journey. So I am in a dilemma and I need anybody to please provide relevant clarification. While waiting to receive PPR, I recently got a new job which pays much better than my old job. Was not expecting PPR anytime soon but as God would have it, PPR came on Dec 24, 2019. The plan was to do a soft landing around August 2020, return to naija, work till mid-2021 (to make more money) and leave permanently to Canada in 2021.

However, I was reading about PR status and landing on the Canadian website and I see a part that says that one must stay for a period of 730days in the last five years to maintain one’s PR status. Just to clarify, can I stay outside Canada after soft landing for a period of 6months to 1 year? Yes.

Would this affect my PR status? If you eventually meet the residency requirement, no.

Please I would appreciate your advice on this issue.

Thank you so much. You are welcome, and congrats on the job. God bless you.

ify2016:
Please,Help! I want to go for a 3 days training and is going to cost me 150k. At the end of the training,we will be issued international certificate. My question is, can I add it as two certificate with my first degree inclusive while doing my ECA(WES)? Thanks

ebixxx:
Very sorry for your loss godG!

May God give you the strength to keep keeping on and may the Holy Spirit (Comforter) comfort you and your family!

I lost my eldest brother (in his 50s) last month also, so I understand your pain. I also feel for your parents too, cuz I know my Dad (who is ordinarily a very strong man) has been severely pained (more than everyone else). I guess my faith in God's perfect will and my profession have made me able to deal better with loss and appreciate life more.

Please try to be there for all other members of your family, as they might not be as strong as you are (be their pillar of strength).

Again, please accept my condolences.

jjohndoe83:
godG
Congratulations. Your story just dey touch me for heart and for bone. I admire your relationship with the Lord. It is such a beauty to read your prayers to Him and the precision with which He is leading you. I pray that this will continue and will get better and sharper. You will continue to see the finger of God charting the course of your life and his breath drawing you right into the orb of His will for your life. Amen.

I pray that the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, will do his perfect work of healing for your broken heart and strengthen your family to cope with the transition of your brother. It is well brotherly. Amen.

Congratulations and see you on that side.

Jaybye:
...You guys are celebrated!

Ebixxx... Your testimony is so uplifting. You had it planned out to happen in weeks, it landed within days. Hallelujah!

godG... Though I do not have the luxury of having someone I could call either a senior or junior brother, I can feel your pain of losing one. May the almighty remain your strength. Thanks for all the wonderful tips and for indirectly supporting my view on a certain issue here sometimes in the past. We followed each other thereafter.

Arya.. We dey await the gist o.


Whew! E just dey rain PPR... You no even know which gist to edit and quote sef after that long jacking.. The question now is who's next in line?

AryaEgugu:
PPR!!!

Guys I literally just got out of the shower and i saw ready for visa email!

Aor: August 8 2019

Ppr: Dec 17 2019

I was literally asking for IRCC’s contact this evening.

Thank you

ebixxx:
Let somebody shout HALLELUJAH!!!
It's PPR eFamily!!!

TIMELINE:
NOC: 4032
IELTS (Accompanying Spouse) [2nd Feb, 2019]: LRWS = 8.5,8,7,8.5 (8.5,8,7,7.5 before EOR) British Council
IELTS (PA) 1st attempt [2nd Feb, 2019]: LRWS = 7.5,8.5,7,8 (after this, Wifee refused to write IELTS again... It took months of begging to convince her to write again, so I chose to pay for 2 tests back to back so she would not be under too much pressure)
2nd attempt [27th July 2019] British Council: 8,7.5,7.5,8
3rd attempt [1st August 2019] IDP: 8,9,7,7.5 (Never bothered to collect the TRF)
ECA (PA): Master’s degree (WES – January 14, 2019)
ECA (Accompanying Spouse): Professional degree needed to practice in a licensed profession (MCC – October 26, 2018)
ITA: 12/08/2019 (CRS 468)
AOR: 05/09/2019
MED PASSED/BIL: 19/09/2019
BIOMETRICS DONE: 25/09/2019
PPR: 16/12/19
FAMILY SIZE: 4

ITA:
Created our profile on the 11th of August immediately I picked up my wife’s IELTS Test Report Form. We got ITA the following day (12th August 2019)

...!

Sorry for any typos. I was just in a hurry to share my joy.

sesan01:
Your story is so touching. Congrats and God bless you bro.

Stencil:
YES YES YES!!!!

godG:
This is the day, this is the day, that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made…I will rejoice, I will rejoice and be glad in it…and be glad in it. Hallelujah, this is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it…this is the day, this is the day that the Looooooord has made!

Passport Request mail came in!

**Please quote responsibly.

Timeline
ITA: June 12
AOR: June 26
MEP: July 24
BIL: July 27
Bio Given: Aug. 1
Silence: August 2 - December 16, no ADR
Ghost Update: December 16
PPR: December 17
VO: Ottawa
Waiting Period: 5 months, 21 days
Single applicant. Till now, not a single change on my account since after medicals passed in July.


**
October 30th
So, today –– October 30th –– at exactly 12:06am, I decided to start journaling my PPR journey. Partly because I can't sleep and partly because I know I will be too busy to write this when I finally get PPR in November(?). Yes, I'm thinking I'll get the email sometimes in early November.

It's been a very rough October for me. I lost my brother, my egbon, on October 6th. I don't know if this should be a part of this narrative, though. But then, it's my story. And I want to make this as real as possible. Frankly, I am eagerly waiting for October to end. I have been through a lot this month. Oh, I should add, I clocked 28 on the 25th of October, the day my application became 4 months old.

I wasn't happy on my birthday, I was grieving. But I was thankful still. For life – knowing that it's short and fleeting. Vanity. Anyways, I'm looking forward to the months ahead. I know God is in control. I miss you, bro. I honestly do. I wish I could tell you this the last time we talked.

Good People, when you are done reading this, do me a favor: tell the people you cherish you love them. I know some of us would prefer to let our actions prove our love. That’s fine but saying it would be good as well. Please, tell them.

The Beginning of The PR Hustle
I got to know about EE sometimes in 2016, I think. But then, I wasn't really into leaving my life in the United States. Plus, I got to know about EE when I was in the MA phase of my PhD. I decided I should at least get my MA, take my prelims, and be a dissertator before leaving. Plus, I would need the MA to get a good CRS score.

Sometimes in May 2018, I completed the MA requirements. However, for some reason, I wasn't really keen on moving again.

Then came my friend in March 2019. Let's call her M. M really wanted me to move to Canada. In mid-March, M mentioned the EE process to me again and I told her that I would think about it. I used the next two days to think through the process, financial and academic implications, and to read this thread. I was quite familiar with the thread because I was frequent on the US Student Visa thread from 2014 - 2016. Back then, I would wander into Canada threads just out of curiosity. I was always like "what is happening in this their Canada thread sef?!"

Anyways, I called M after making my decision and told her that I would be applying. M was happy.

(Well, I should add, being a single graduate student, the money to finance the PR hustle wasn't really a concern. I will write about this later. I'm grateful to God for this privilege.)

ECA: WES
Almost 4 days after M told me about EE, I registered for WES evaluation. My MA transcript was sent to WES within 3 days. Everything about my transcript was done online and was free -- I didn't pay a dime. Transcript got to Canada in 5 days. All free.

Evaluation became ready sometimes in April. I think 25th. It should have been earlier, but I made a mistake: Because I had evaluated my credentials with WES USA before, I told WES US to transfer my file to WES Canada. My thinking was that since the file was already evaluated, I won't need to go through the WAEC wahala. Na so I received an email from WES say they were waiting for my WAEC o. For where?! I just called them to delete the damn undergrad credential from Nigeria and proceed with my MA from the US.

IELTS
Evaluation is done. Now let's face IELTS. To my surprise, however, the earliest available date in my city was in June. "Too far," I thought. Don't blame me, the EE spirit don possess me by this time. I decided to do the test in Indianapolis. So, I called my friend in Indy:

"Baba o, booni nkan, ọrẹ mi? E be like say I dey come your side next week Friday o. I be wan come write an exam."

My padi told me he would be expecting. I signed up for the exam. I think I paid some extra fees because I was registering too close to the exam date. In hindsight, I should have just chilled! I blame this on two things: first, I'm the kind of guy that likes to go all the way once I made up my mind on something. Second, because of pride and arrogance. I took TOEFL twice, I had above 100 on both instances. I took GRE as well, I had 160 in Verbal. I'm a PhD student in Humanities, I was like, nothing dey happen. Shior!

Anyways, armed with my coffee, grilled drumsticks, cashew nuts, bread, water, and juice, I drove for 9 hours a day before the test. I got to Indianapolis around 10pm on Friday. Test was the following morning. Mind you, I hadn't done any studying. Pride goes before destruction.

My padi drove me to the test center and I took the test. Oh dear, the listening section humbled me. No wahala sha, I won't kill myself. Sunday morning, my padi packaged some gizzard and fried fish for me, picked a can of soda from his fridge, napkins, then I drove back to my base with my disappointment. I was stopping occasionally on the road to chill and pee.

The result came out, I had: 7.5,9,8,8. Not surprised. I considered remarking for a few minutes but eventually decided it wasn't worth it. I needed to turn in my passport (means of ID for the test) at a consulate for visa to Europe.

At this stage sha, I already knew the listening was going to be a monster if I didn't face it head-on. I devised a plan: drill the listening module for a few days.

It was already late-April. The semester was coming to an end. I would be doing lots of grading. I was traveling to Europe for a Symposium during the first week of May. 2 days after getting back from Europe, I would be traveling to Nigeria for some preliminary research. So, I knew that my best bet would be to register for IELTS in Nigeria.

Second IELTS
I signed up for the second IELTS the day I got the result of the first. My second test was scheduled for May 23rd. I got to Nigeria on May 14th. I didn't do anything about IELTS until May 18th. My studying this time was devoted to drilling the listening module. I practiced with Cambridge. I took like 10 listening tests in 5 days or thereabouts. I decided to take the paper-based test because I naturally excel in paper-based exams.

I took the exam in Ibadan. The result came out and I think I had: 8.5,9,8.5,8. This was already June.

CRS/The Pool
I entered the pool and CRS was 481.

ITA
This came on June 12th. It was a public holiday in SW. I was happy. This is looking like a reality. Although, my plan was to get ITA by the first week of May and get PPR in October/November. That was before the listening module humbled me.

Work Experience
I combined 3 NOCs and claimed 3 years of work experience.

Lecturer: 1 year, NYSC, (Primary NOC)
I couldn't get a reference letter in the format specified by IRCC.

Here is the thing. I got a letter just before I left my PPA. The letter contains some details like just one job role: "taught Use of English". It also had the duration of employment. I knew that won't cut it. I tried reaching out to people in the polytechnic to help me with a new letter; but, trust Nigerians, na so so story. Plus, because they changed the management, getting a letter in IRCC format was a pipe dream. I gave up after a while. I had to use the letter I had and asked a friend (we served there together) to write a supplementary one for me. I used those two along with my NYSC allowee account statement, PPA posting letter, discharge certificate, and the letter I got when the Registrar's office deployed me to teach English. I also attached a screenshot of the management crisis at the polytechnic to buttress the fact that it was almost impossible to get the letter in IRCC format. I uploaded all these to the relevant placeholder.

Teaching Assistant: 1 year
I claimed another one year as a teaching assistant. It was straightforward. The chair of my department wrote the letter for me in IRCC format. I'm a bit worried about this though: the chair's signature is in black ink. But I submitted my tax documents as additional docs na, so no yawa. Amen.

Operations Supervisor: cumulative 1 year
After college, before NYSC, I worked at a very small family business (owned by my oldman and hin egbon). After NYSC, I worked there for some months before I got a Fulbright Scholarship to Yankee. Everyone in my family kinda goes through the company to prepare us for life and put some money in our pockets while we figure things out as graduates. It's a registered company. But no online presence. Getting the letter (stating both work periods) was pretty easy. I was paid in cash and added a cash salary certificate.

PoF
One good thing about my graduate program is that we are given roughly $5,000 at the start of every semester for 2 years, I think. For some reason, I did not do the paperwork for a year's worth of the fund back then. I just didn't care. Because I didn't do the right thing when folks in my cohort were doing theirs, I gave up the idea of me being able to get my own money.

But the Nigerian in me won't let me be. I tried my luck. As God would have it, the time I was filing the paperwork and the time it got approved coincided with the time I started the EE process. You see why I said the financial implication wouldn't be a problem earlier? My money eventually came through! See God! A lump sum of almost $10k entered my account. Because I really did not want to be explaining this, I wanted to keep my application quite simple, I transferred the money to my mum in Nigeria. Make e dey rest there.

When it was time to turn in my application, she transferred the money to my Nigerian account since I was in Nigeria. Of course, with a gift deed. I wrote about the problem I encountered while I was trying to notarize my gift deed here. Ended up not notarizing it. I put the money in Stanbic IBTC Mutual Funds. I got the investment letter. Very efficient bank. Everything was done electronically. All this was around June 19th.

Then came First Bank. Very ridiculous bank. It took them almost two weeks to get me a letter of non-indebtedness. They said the guy that would assent the letter at the regional office went on Hajj. Ha! Imagine. Anyways, the Hajj man got back. I got my letter.

All along, I was looking through my documents and making sure everything was airtight.

Medicals
IOM. I chose IOM because they let me do it upfront and they had dates that fitted into my schedule. I booked this from the US. Medicals in the US would cost me quite a lot. The closest physician to me would charge roughly $600 to run the medicals. And my insurance wasn't ready to pay for it. I decided to do it in Nigeria instead.

Whenever I am in Nigeria, I'm usually with my brother in Lekki. So, on the day of my medicals, because I don't want to be stressed before the tests – driving in Lagos traffic may trigger stress – I decided to take Uber to IOM. I got there around 9am and left around 3pm. IOM could use some help with organization and crowd control though. Other than the ridiculous organization, the process was smooth.

PCC (Nigeria and FBI)
Oga Moshood to the rescue. I called him while I was still at IOM. Asked if he was in his office. Took another Uber to Alagbon from IOM. And from Alagbon, I took another home. Stressful day. Later that night, we went to HardRock Cafe to unwind. By the way, Oga Moshood struck me as a nice guy. Customer-friendly. Paid 4k.

I also did the US (FBI) clearance. I ended up doing this twice. Because the 1st one I had was done before I left the US. Thanks to folks on this thread for telling me I needed to. I had to pay 25k to for DHL to send my fingerprinted forms to FBI.

AoR
I used ilovepdf to do all the resizing and mergers. For my photo, I followed my sister to one of their usual photoshoots (ladies and pictures! Smh) and decided to take one picture for my Canada waka. I used an app like that I downloaded from Playstore to resize it into IRCC format. I finally turned in my application on the 25th of June. I got an acknowledgment letter dated 26th.

I got two ghost updates 3 days after AoR. Don’t know what those meant.

Medical Passed/Biometrics
Passed my medicals on July 24th. The biometric request letter came 4 days or so after.

I did my biometrics on the 1st of August. Pretty straightforward. I drove to VFS from my brother's house – 10 minutes’ drive with traffic. The whole process took around 2 hours. My account got updated the same day. I spent the whole day sleeping. And later that day, we went to Circa to unwind. You guys should check it out. Amazing place.

Post-AoR
June - August
The first three months went by so fast. I raised a CSE one week after my AoR. I honestly can't remember what it was for. I raised another CSE (2 months post-AoR) for my visa office. They told me it was Ottawa. I also raised another CSE to update my address and passport page when I got back to the US in late August. I had a fulfilling summer in Nigeria.

September - October
Nothing seems to be going on with the application. I ordered GCMS notes on the 2nd of October. I got notified days later that it would take 90 days. LOL. Just LOL. Anyways, I know God's got me.

Then my brother passed away. It was a Sunday. I talked to him on Independence Day. He didn't show any sign of dying soon. His lasts message to me on WhatsApp was: "I will update you as things go through." He never did.

If you're reading this, no death in your household in Jesus' name. I decree protection over you and everyone around you. And if you have lost someone, I won't tell you to be strong (my brother's death has taught me this doesn't help people grieving), may you find peace and meaning in your grief. Amen.

Moving on, sometimes in mid-October, I started getting anxious. Panic attacks. I was having something close to an existential crisis. I wasn't sleeping. The few times I slept, I found myself waking up suddenly. Not necessarily because of my application. It was just me trying to cope with grief and make sense of the meaning of life. I decided to send an email to Ralph, hoping that would brighten my spirit. He replied the same day: only criminality passed. I was indifferent. No wahala, we move. Still.

Also, in October, there was this white girl. We had something going on. She was there for me. I told her I felt like going home to be with my family. Just what I felt o, na a so she dey cry. She couldn't think of the idea of me leaving. She told me that we should take what we had to another level. Introduce her to friends and family? Whatever it's you want, Love, you have to calm down o. Anyway, I tell am say I get her point but that the time no be am. I needed some time to process the things going on in my life.

She started giving me attitude. Sad. Here I am, lost a brother, getting calls from home almost daily, and one of the good things going in my life is putting me under unnecessary pressure. Being under any pressure is the last thing I need now. I know God's in control.

So, here I'm. Not able to sleep, 30th October. Thinking about the things that happened to me this month. Still thankful to God for His mercies and promises of peace, though. While it's sometimes hard to understand how, I know God is in control. My faith in Jesus is stronger. I will not faint during adversity.

I need to try to sleep now. It's 1:37am. I'm teaching tomorrow morning. And I have meetings, too. Further, I have an appointment with my therapist. He's helping me make sense of what I'm going through.

November 26 (Status Bar Says 30 Says Remaining)
Here I'm again. Well, I didn't get my PPR in early November as I guessed. The events of the past couple of weeks have been one hell of a ride. But I think I'm in a better place now. I was out of town yesterday. I got back home tired. Been a while I drove for that long. After getting home, I ordered some Buffalo Wings and fries, had dinner, took some paracetamol (I always bring them from Nigeria), then slept. I slept around 8pm. I guess this explains why I'm now awake - 4:40am.

Two days ago, Nov. 23, I had the urge to call these people to know the status of my application, but I asked myself: "To what end?" Calling them won't really change anything about the process. So, I'm just going to wait it out. But I have a very strong feeling that I will get my PPR during the first two weeks of December.

I won't update this journal again until I get my PPR. The semester is coming to an end, I have got a lot on my plate.

Oh, about the babe? We hung out a couple of times after her wahala. But the truth is that we are growing apart. Ko le work.

December 15
Well, I decide to update this today. I call this prayer for the people.

Heavenly Father, hallowed be Your name. People are getting PPR o, their AoR dates are even after mine. But as You expect Your children to do, I was genuinely happy for them. Thank You for making the dreams of these people a reality. As they begin to think of the journey ahead, be their light. Strengthen them. And if there is anyone among them who doesn’t believe in Jesus, Lord, touch their heart. Also, when they get to Canada, be with them just as You have always done for me.

But, Father, as You have remembered these people, remember me too. Thank You for being dependable.

December 16
Hi, there. Good morning. God told me I will get PPR in a day. The dream was too detailed to be a lie. Plus, God doesn't lie. This is a confirmation.

December 16
Hello, I’m here again. I just noticed a ghost update on my profile. It’s 6:53 pm. I’m not surprised, God already told me PPR cometh soon.

December 17 (And So It Came to Pass)
Today, I got my PPR. If someone told me this in January 2018, I would laugh it off. Look at God!

(Thank you, Jesus! This wouldn't have been possible without you. You keep bringing opportunities my way. This is beyond me. Heavenly Father, I really don’t know what Canada will bring because You have been teaching me not to be rigid with my plans. However, let this be the beginning of a fulfilling journey for me and mine. When the road gets rough, please straighten me, hold me, and abide with me. I put my trust in You. Plug me into Your purpose for my life there. In Canada, let only Your will for me be done. I'm going to Canada by the power of Your might. You are my hope. You are my all in all. No lack. No loss. No limitation.)

What a ride this has been — a ride of laughter, uncertainties, hope, and – finally – thanks!
If you are still on this journey, I decree peace, speed, favor, and clarity over you and your case officer in Jesus' name.

Thanks, everyone. Let's keep being supportive. God bless us all. We move!

QueenJoeffrey:
Please post on the other thread too. I’m sure you mistakenly posted this here. Congrats tho �

weirdarkhitekt:
And I don't even think dicelson needs waec verification if he has higher degrees

Dicelson:
Please I need information on how you went about your WAEC verification. Please

adanac13:
I can't believe I'm finally typing this but GUYS!!!!!

IT'S PPR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOOK AT GOD OOOOOOOOOOO

kpnick:
And the golden email arrives, Ppr story coming up soon

Eraytee:
You are getting it as xmas gift ... just remember this post. Congratulations in advance

Stencil:
Very soon!

COPR2020:
e go come, nor worry

DrAngie:
Drum roll please....�����
It’s PPR!!!
Very silent reader of this Canada Express Entry forum. My first ever post here was just a few days before I received the Ready for Visa mail.
I’ve always had it in mind to leave Nigeria one day for the abroad. While I was still in university, I had researched migration to various countries including Australia and Canada, however I preferred Canada, Australia to me is just too far. Lol
...
I woke my husband up with the good news and we started praising God
This is the first ‘serious’ visa we would be applying for, the only travel history we have is Dubai.
This has been one of our major prayer points for a while now
It has indeed ended in praise

Misi16:
You are correct on the bills seeming to take a huge chunk of your income. However its not limited to canada, its how most developed countries work. (plus tempting u with credit and if you are not careful you get into serious debt and are trapped in the rat race) I can attest to the same for the UK and have friends in the US also lamenting on bills, health insurance etc. Your acess to basic amenities and advanced facilities come at a cost.
On the canadian dream, the question that should be asked is whats the purpose or motive behind coming to canada. Is it because others are doing...