₦airaland Forum

moyin29:
It is the highlighted for me,
congratulations, may the land favour you

Thanks so much. Amen! Wishing you success in your endeavours too!!

REDBULL1:
Booking on the website isn't working. I can't select departure and arrival city. that one suprise me. And I'm in the East, I don't think they have an office in this part of Nigeria.

I couldn't book directly on their website and the app was asking for dollar payment so I used Wakanow to book them instead. Just search for the route you want to use and pick the date you like and I'm sure Egyptair will come up as long as they fly that route.

Eggovic:
HI. I sent you a pm

I have replied you boss.

ednut1:
https://www.nairaland.com/6177671/true-reality-migrating-canada/2#96064814 u can try remote customer service in the link. Also try arise platform

Thanks boss!

Bambam4life:
Hello everyone.

Those who travelled to Canada recently with EgyptAir, please, did you book round trip or one way?

Travelled with them on the 8th of June. Booked only one way.

Good day guys. Just landed in North York as a PR. I'm currently in Airbnb till the end of the month but I was hoping to to get some tips on how to get survival jobs and accommodation. Any tips would be appreciated. Please I already know about kijiji and rentals.ca. I mean like "don't live in Ajegunle or Iloabuchi down" or "you should be looking for an apartment that has heater etc etc" and "run from ogoaja work". Any advice will be appreciated. Strictly survival jobs cos I'm already fed up of my old job type and I hope to transition into tech by January. Thanks in advance.

SHEEP IN THE BIG CITY: A SHORT LANDING GIST
Please read this report through the lens of a first-time International traveller and ignore any of my JJC observations
I filled ArriveCAN (more on this later) and printed out the receipt on Tuesday 07/06, in preparation for my Wednesday 08/06 flight. I booked Egyptair exactly 8 weeks in advance and it cost 257k which was around 112k less than the price offered by the next cheapest airline (for those on a budget like Yours Truly ) .
I barely slept that Tuesday night, such was my excitement + trepidation over this journey into a new land with no real support structure.
Muritala!
At check-in, I was asked for ArriveCAN receipt, COVID vaccine card, passport and COPR. Check-in lady spent close to 5 mins advising and encouraging me before giving me my 2 tickets, (God will continue to bless you ma cos in spite of my "hard guy"-"hard guy" things, I was very, very scared and I needed to hear those kind words from a stranger).
Immigration was a breeze and I submitted the yellow card at that point. Ditto customs. There was some bambiala stuff but I had no cash on me so ojoro cancel ojoro
At the boarding gate, I was asked for the same things except COPR. I had some naira that I had forgotten about in my back pocket so I had to use that one to encourage the officer that did physical search. We started boarded at 2pm and the plane too off for Cairo at exactly 2:40pm.
ABOUT MONEY - I had less than 10kUSD and about 200 CAD in cash. I kept both bundles in my backpack and nobody asked me anything about it. In the declaration card, I just ticked that I had less than $10000 and that was that.
Cairo
5-hour flight to Cairo was smooth. They gave us water, jollof rice and chicken,tea/coffee, guava juice, cake, bread and salad. They had some new movies sha. I sat with a great naija conversationalist and time flew by with pure gist. We got to Cairo at night, and all I could see was lights. As we got closer to the landing I could see well-planned structures, street-lights etc etc. I couldn't appreciate the beauty because it made me realise just how unfortunate the political class of Nigeria is. A few of us were stopped and our visas were inspected by Egyptian customs before we were allowed to go to our boarding gates. Layover was for 5 hours. Please travel with like $50, ( They accept USD and CAD) , preferably in small bills in case you need to buy something. I had to buy WiFi cos my phone couldn't access the airport's free WiFi. At check-in, we were asked for boarding pass, arriveCAN, vaccine card, copr and passport. We boarded at 1:30 Egyptian time and flew immediately.
P. S. EGYPT AIRPORT PEOPLE NO DEY TOO HEAR ENGLISH AND DEM DEY QUICK VEX SO HAVE YOUR DOCUMENTS READY!
P. S. 2 - If you use the toilet in Cairo airport, you'll see 2 taps attached to a WC. One knob above and one below at about knee height level. You see that one below, DO NOT TURN IT! It sprays a powerful jet of water vertically and soaked my jeans in 2 secs! Opelope change of clothes ninu handluggage.
Toronto
We arrived by 8am or so after 11hours on the air. Flight was smooth. I followed the signs and they led to one machine like that. Follow the prompts on this machine. When I filled ArriveCAN, I used the web version because it gives you the option to fill your CBSA declaration form beforehand. If you, like your brother in the lord, use this option, you'll be done with the machine in like a minute and it'll print out a receipt. Otherwise, you'll do the CBSA declaration at the machine. I followed the line and landed at CBSA desk. I was asked for the copr, ArriveCAN receipt and passport. COPR was stamped and I signed. Sha, sha the entire process was seamless.
I got a sim card at the airport cos I didn't want to be without Internet access for any extended period of time as I have no one in this Toronto. Took a taxi to Airbnb, dropped my luggage, then went to open account and make deposit. Bank rate was 1.246 CAD to 1USD. Went to Service Canada at 4900 Yonge Street for SIN.
Final thoughts
There are port-holes on the road and the weather is harsh (it's 12 degrees in summer as I type this). Transportation by taxi is expensive as hell. This context is important for my next statement to make more sense: Even if my life depends on it, I will not live full-time in Nigeria again.
In theory, I know what a working system means but to experience it in flesh.. There are no words to describe it. I went to a road as busy and big as Abeokuta Expressway in Lagos or Aba road at certain points in Port-Harcourt. No policeman in sight, yet all the cars on both sides of the stopped for this immigrant to cross road because traffic light said so. Naija street-life was pushing me to run in case that big truck fails brake but I refused to embarrass my ancestors and I cat-walked like a local Toronto boy. Walahi, if you see my confidence yesterday you no go believe say I be the freshest JJC for Canada. Once I get my PR card, na to join police or politics cos I need to do my part in ensuring this system continues to work. As for naija, when better men than myself sanitise the system, I can consider coming back to settle. For now o, as my aunt would say, "Blind man wey get agbalumo, e dey hold am strong cos if the agbalumo fall..."
I'm not a devout Christian but every night and day I will say a prayer for this dream to become a reality for every single person on this journey. Make ona come use ona eyes see wetin working system mean even if there are portholes, the weather is harsh or transport by taxi is very expensive!

Okattamgbee:
Greetings all.
Trust you all are doing good?

My uncle called me to tell me that he got mail from orlacaolan.fswp@gmail.com with a Federal Skilled Workers Program PDF application form.

I want to ask, is it advisable to apply through the attached PDF form?

In their second response he was asked to fill and send the assessment e-form to assessment@skilledworker-ca.com

Finally, we want to ascertain the genuineness of the email.

Thanks

Run ooo

Pascal122:
Thank you. I've extensively read on the self-employment proof of work experience. The contract with the Asian company listed me as a third-party content writer.

Also, most of the people who opted for self employed proof of work experience used CAC documents, and tax documents. Thing is... I don't have any. I have work with my friends small business and done short term content marketing gigs for them.

What kind of documents do I need then?

Referrals from your customers will help. I remember one PPR story in a previous part on this thread of a self-employed dude who repaired computers at Computer Village (?). If I remember correctly, he used references from his customers. Sadly, I can't remember the moniker or the part but if you've got a few hours to spare, why not skim through all the PPR's linked on page 1 of previous threads for that story because it might be relevant to your experience? I mean, what's a few more hours in this journey going to cost you? I'd suggest you focus on parts 2 - 7. Good luck.

Immortalregis:
Disclaimer: This post is not meant to invalidate the personal experiences of people or downplay the inefficiency of AVO. It's very likely my case is an outlier but I just want to share my timeline so that people can weigh the risks before making a decision.
April 7th - Dropped passport at DHL for transfer to VFS Lagos.
April 8th - Passport delivered to VFS Lagos.
April 13th - Passport dispatched to VFS Accra.
April 22nd - Passport received by VFS Accra and dispatched to IRCC Accra.
April 25th - Passport received by IRCC Accra.
April 28th - Decision Envelope received by VFS Accra from IRCC for dispatch to VFS Lagos.
April 29th - Application approved and counterfoil generated.

That's exactly 22 days but the journey hasn't ended. I'll inform the house when passport and COPR are in my hands.

Update as promised.

May 6th - Decision envelope received by VFS Lagos.
May 6th - Decision envelope dispatched to me via DHL
May 9th - COPR and passport landed in my custody

It took 32 days from submission at DHL to delivery by DHL.
Once again, I want to thank every member of this thread for their contributions over the years, as without this community I would never have ventured on this journey. I am naturally very cautious, so I tend to avoid things that are too good to be true and that was my first reaction when I was prodded to look into EE. It seemed totally crazy that just by submitting the right documents in the correct format, an eligible applicant would be granted PR so I came to Nairaland to search for evidence. It's safe to say I found much more than evidence on this thread. I read all the PPR testimonies. They were heartwarming, and the experiences were varied (e.g. the lesbian common-law partners, first time travelers, single people, couples, married post ppr etc etc) but the most important thing to me was that people with different backgrounds and experiences eventually got their PPR's mostly by following information that was readily available on this thread. This is what made me undertake this journey. There were times when despair set in, I even came to let it all out here once with my old moniker, but the members of this thread kept me going with their actions - helping newbies by answering questions, giving advise to complicated situations (and we all know that some of the situations are truly complicated!!) and providing words of encouragement to both pre-ITA and Post-AOR people. I salute everyone who has contributed to making this thread active. Thanks so much! Na landing gist remain o! I pray this Canadian dream comes to reality for all of us on this thread and the land favours us!!

Andyosifo:
6/5/2022 5:17pm
It's PPR!!!

This Canada journey started 2016

I applied for study visa in 2016 and 2017, both were rejected, so I decided to try EE, but my score was around 340. In 2018, I started a masters program at the national open university of Nigeria and I graduated January 2020, in between, I took several IELTS exam, however; writing and listening prevented me from getting my desire score, until August 2020.

October 2020, I got ITA , and November 21, AOR.
May 6, 2022, PPR


Special thanks to everyone who contributed in one way or the other to this success, especially @Graciouswords and Mr pein.

Congratulations and sorry for your loss. I wish you fortitude to bear this loss. I also pray that in this trying period you can still look forward to, and prepare adequately for, new beginnings.

Berle:
Try with a different email/account. I think I had same issue even after I had cancelled the first booking.

Yeah, a different email address did the trick for me too.

Disclaimer: This post is not meant to invalidate the personal experiences of people or downplay the inefficiency of AVO. It's very likely my case is an outlier but I just want to share my timeline so that people can weigh the risks before making a decision.
April 7th - Dropped passport at DHL for transfer to VFS Lagos.
April 8th - Passport delivered to VFS Lagos.
April 13th - Passport dispatched to VFS Accra.
April 22nd - Passport received by VFS Accra and dispatched to IRCC Accra.
April 25th - Passport received by IRCC Accra.
April 28th - Decision Envelope received by VFS Accra from IRCC for dispatch to VFS Lagos.
April 29th - Application approved and counterfoil generated.

That's exactly 22 days but the journey hasn't ended. I'll inform the house when passport and COPR are in my hands.

It’s PPR guys!! I thank members of this thread who have contributed over time because my testimony today is possible ONLY because of Nairaland. I especially want to thank opelia, danfad, rali123 and mamaroon, graciouswords for their support at various times (you might not even remember the help you rendered). Please forgive my grammar, spelling and imperfect story structure. My emotions are all over the place right now!!!!!!

SUMMARY
Upfront Medicals: 26th December 2019 (IOM Lagos)
NOC’s: 4031 (primary, paid in cash), and 2174
ITA: 8th July 2020
AOR: 17th July 2020
MEP/BIL: 31st July 2020
RPRF: 31st August 2020

Long silence

ADR: (Re-Medicals, Schedule A, PCC) 8th and 9th March 2022
Remedical: 30th March 2022 (IOM Abuja)
MEP2: 1st April 2022
PPR: 5th April 2022
VO: Ottawa (From GCMS notes of January 2021)

THE GIST
On the 4th of November 2016, I received a standing ovation after my presentation at the colloquium of the National Association of Mathematical Physics (NAMP), MOUA, Umudike. I felt like a rock star! Here I was, with my M.Sc.-In-view., getting commended and advised by some of the big names in the Nigerian mathematical/physics scene. I had fellow M.Sc’s come to take selfies with me and I even had the paper I presented accepted for publication in the NAMP journal. I went back to my base feeling like a king because life was looking up. In spite of the fact that my first degree was a distinctly mediocre 2 2, my department was interested in retaining my services as a lecturer, based on the strength of my performances in my M.Sc. As I had no formal work experience (unofficial graduate assistant duties made up the bulk of my experience), my supervisor advised me to take any teaching position to build my teaching experience while waiting for my university’s offer. I took her advice and got a job teaching mathematics at a secondary school that paid #36,000 per month. Even if things didn’t work out with my alma mater, my employment prospects looked very bright: M.Sc. In Applied Mathematics, just turned 26, programming experience, solid references, 2 academic papers in reputable journals (1 international) and conference presentation experience.
Imagine my disillusionment when by January 2019 and I was still at my 2016 job as the offer from my alma mater never came. To worsen matters, I had gotten invited to exactly 3 job examinations/interviews in the two years since Umudike, even with my very solid profile. I had submitted CV’s to many places in academia and in industry but the offers just weren’t coming.
At this point, I was tired of Nigeria. I wanted out. I began applying to schools in Europe and Australia but it was difficult without an English language proficiency test result.

JAPA MOVES
I realized that I needed IELTS to open up more travelling options for me but I was earning peanuts from my job and side hustles so raising funds for passport and IELTS was a big issue. My parents, concerned about my seeming lack of progress, reached out to me and I explained my plans and limitations to them. They sent me money for IELTS and passport. I got the passport in January 2019 and picked the first available date in April for the exam. I began preparing.

APRIL 2019 (A GLORIOUS MONTH)
IELTS (Academic) results came out LRWS: 9,9, 8.5, 7.5. I used Liz and Jay throughout. That same month, my employment and money troubles dissipated instantly, as I got a job at an international school in Nigeria. (See ehn, money dey international schools). The pay was awesome and I immediately began equipping myself by paying for professional development courses. I needed to make even more money to make my japa plans become a reality. Life was back on track. Out of the blue, I got a call from my aunt who went for Omugwo in Alberta to look into ‘this Canada thing because many people are doing it o’. I didn’t take her seriously because I assumed a teaching license was necessary (Australia’s 189 had put those ideas in my head).


SEPTEMBER 2019 (TREASURE NAIRALAND!!!)
My aunt is one of those people who simply cannot exaggerate. She doesn’t mince words and is as honest as they come, so when she says something is achievable, you best believe it is achievable. She kept disturbing my mother about my migration to Canada and my mum eventually got moved by her persistence and reached out to me. I assured her I would look it up and I decided to come to Nairaland as it was (still is) my go-to place for verifying information. I stumbled on part 5 or 6 of this thread and my mind was blown!!! I couldn’t believe what I was reading. My profile was perfect and the amount of information on this thread was simply incredible. There was only one obstacle: POF. My pay was great but there was absolutely no way I’d save USD10,000 in one year on a teacher’s salary! Once again, my parents came through for me. They sent the money together with the gift deed and I converted everything to dollars (in the days of 360 to a dollar). I read all the landing gists and celebrated all the PPR’s towards the tail end of 2019 and early 2020. I evaluated just my M.Sc. with WES in November 2019, wrote IELTS and did upfront medicals in December 2019. The LRWS (9, 8.5, 8, 8 ) gave me a CLB 10 which put my CRS at 481. WES took longer than usual but eventually came out on the 6th of March 2020. I dove into the pool but COVID happened. We all felt the effects of COVID so I’m not going to talk about that. I followed all the guidelines on this thread (LOE, cash salary certificate etc). Since MEP on Friday, I've been refreshing my inbox cos I felt PPR was coming. I woke up from an afternoon nap and refreshed my mail and there it was.. the golden mail! It has been a real ride and I want to thank the members of this thread. I've waited for 2 years to finally say this so here it goes.... "AND NOW MY WATCH HAS ENDED!"