amindondee:
Good day people,

lacreamAB:
Wow no response for me o. seems like everyone here is all about 'the white collar'. It is well. there's always a way out.lol. It will definitely end in praise. Cheers!

XX01:
Please, how do you stop a bus when you are running to the bus stop but not yet there. Can you flag it down? I've missed my connecting bus because Google maps 4 mins walk is faster than my walk. I get there just as the bus is pulling away or not even stopping at all.

EglintonWest:
I am new here,wish I came across this site sooner, I have an issue and I need advise on the best action to take,I putting my application for PR on the 5th of December 2017, I got my PR through the CEC on the 18th of February 2018...

EmmyToluwa:
LONG POST ALERT!!!

Hello all!!! I have been a silent follower of this thread though I have posted a few times in the past. I just felt it is important I share my landing experience so far so that people can learn from our experience. my time line follows:

1. Bought tickets October 3rd (please note not a mistake, na faith and good deal)

2. Got PPR November 8th 2017 (after 8 months of wait)

3. COPR and passport returned November 27th (I had sent out our passport November 13th).

4. Landed in Toronto 17th February with my wife and son via Ethiopian Airlines, and received by my friend who took us to his place in London (we are still in his house at the moment), Ontario. The landing procedure was a bit slow as we landed on a Saturday and the customs officials were not so fast. Because of this we couldn't get our SIN and our PR card was not processed also as we couldn't remember the friend's postal code. The customs officer we met was a nice woman, she even gave us her phone to call my friend who had been waiting outside. They didn't check our bags and she asked us to sign Goods to follow forms as I was sending food over from Naija. To cut long story short, we reached London, ON around 2:16pm as it is a 2hr drive from Toronto.

5. On Sunday 17th February, we followed my friend to his church, a white dominated church, and after the service we were introduced as first-timers, this was where our miracle began. The woman (my angel actually) that attended to us, also an immigrant (from El Salvador) happened to be an HR manager at one of the Top 5 banks in Canada and while we were talking about our induction process in church got to know that we just arrived in Canada the day before asked about our employment status and I told her we will start to look for jobs once we are settled. Well na so she told me her bank would be having a career fair for job seekers and she will want to me to attend. I was like wetin I dey do wey I no go fit go?? I don reach there self!!!

6. Monday 19th was a public holiday (Family day, please note no be only naija we like holiday o....dem get holiday pass us for here sef).

7. Tuesday, 20th February, my friend drove us to Service Canada. We got our SIN and the woman we spoke with gave us the procedure to submit address for PR card. We went from there to Scotia bank to open account and got $3000 in credit card immediately to start credit history.

8. Wednesday 21st, we went to get phones. This we did under my friend's plan as those ppl didn't want to give phone to a newcomer on plan. Well I didn't mind, I sha got iPhone 8 to pay over 24months.

9. Thursday 22nd February, I was home all through applying and reading for my CPA conversion. I had aready started this from Naija. We also got a a very good laptop at a crazy price from Kijiji, for here kijiji and Facebook market place are your friends. I know there are other good ones too! We did not really look for house as my friend said he will introduce us to a friend who is an expert at settling new comers, including house and other things.

10. Friday 23rd, I attended the TD bank Career fair and it was fun, I told my interviewer I willing to start with them but they have to know that I am more qualified than the entry level job they are recruiting for. The woman said she understands, but that if selected, I have to be patient with them because they have a 1-yr period of assessing new intakes before determining if you can move up the ladder. Come and see me as I dey speak phone wey I no say na lie. I come dey dictate when I neva even do test let alone interview. The woman said they will get back if they feel say my skills and experience allign with their available roles.

11. Saturday/Sunday, we were home applying for jobs and adjusting CV. Oh I missed out the part where the my angel said I should send her my CV so that she can fine tune it to the way TD bank likes candidate's CVs to be like. So this was the CV i took to the CF on Friday.

12. Monday, 26th I received an email that I should complete an online assessment which I did like 36 hrs later as I was visiting friends and still dropping CVs to companies and also visited Access Center for bridging programs (another story).

13. Wedneday 28th Febraury, I received a call fro TD bank HR inviting me for an interview on Friday. I called my angel immediately and she immediately sent me their interview format to use, She said I should practice many times infront of a mirror. Well I did.

14. Thursday, we went to check our first house and the agent/lanlord were very willing to give us the apartment because of the friend of my friend. The only issue was that we have to wait one month for the current tenant to vacate and for repair works to be done. For my mind, I was wondering what was there to repair, everything looks good!!!

15. Yesterday, March 2nd, I was at TD bank with 6 other candidates, infact na then I know say naija peeps dey waka. of the 7, 3 of us were Nigerians. The interview was in 4 stages, role play, group assignment, assessment and a one-one interview. At the end, I was drained but yet fulfilled in a way I couldn't explain. The HR lady told us to expect feed backs and possible appointments by next week.

16. This afternoon, my friend and I went to drop another friend who was travelling to the US and on our way back I was telling him our my confidence has dropped since the interview and I was feeling they might be calling to tell me no. See Satan!!!

As we got back home, my phone rang and it was the HR recruiter with her nice voice. She asked me what I tot about the interviews and I how tot I performed. My heart wan cut, i tot this is it, maybe they have rejected me. I told her I learnt alot and also that I am confident my skills and experience are well aligned with the role. And then I heard, WELL I AM HAPPY TO INFORM YOU THAT WE ARE OFFERING YOU A CONDITIONAL EMPLOYMENT!! I shouted!!! The thing just be like say I dey dream. I was like I neva even get house, I don get job. All the things the woman dey talk I no even hear, I was just too happy.

So my peeps, na so our tory be so far so. Na so God show say Na HIM be the REAL GOD oooo. Much as this is an entry level job, I am happy I can quickly have my CV updated with a Canadian Experience.

I pray we all have good stories to tell in this Canadian dream!!!

40manlappy:

*modified

So you are thinking about BC too?

We have given it some thoughts too but we want PPR to land first before making a final decision.

While waiting for Gymme to share practical insights, see what I came across below.

http://www.surrey.ca/6554.aspx

http://www.surrey.ca/community/3609.aspx

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrey,_British_Columbia

vcole:
welcome. Yes, I would advice you get a stroller and a bunting bag which looks like the photo below. Also, a snowsuit for your baby is recommended. You can also get a car seat cover as shown in the photo since she can't sit upright in a stroller just yet but personally, I prefer the bunting bag because it could fit in both a car seat and stroller.

Dapt16:


If you are in Toronto, you can try downloading triplinx app or you can just visit the website to plan your trip. I found out that it's more accurate than Google maps and it also tells you how much each trip will cost.

bigfido:
Timeline:
ITA August 23rd
Aor-Sept 14th
Ip1- Sept 21
Mep- Sept 23
Adr- Sept 23 travel history
Na2- Sept 29
Job mail- Nov 2
Ftd- Nov 3. London
Cse for mistake in not declaring visa refusal for spouse Nov 7
Adr- Nov 29 schedule A
Ip2- Jan 18
Adr-Jan 19
PPR- Jan 29

i am now a bona fide member here

vcole:
@amindondee, that must have been some BP raising wiat period. I may ne wrong but you could have landed with your old passport. The validity period is intended for the point of submission of your PR app and point of issuing the visa. As long as your passport was valid for travel as at when you intended to land, you would not have had any issues.

rainazoe:
Thanks vcole. Landing is June.

amindondee:
Yeah, the prob was airlines were refusing to let you fly with the 6 months validity in question. You know Naija and our own ways of interpreting things. Make person no reach airport come dey hear story. BP is back to normal now

amindondee:
Which airline would you be using? some airlines like Ethiopia i think doesnt fly once passport is less than 6 months, thats what i was told, you can also make inquiries.

onyi888:
HI. CONGRATS!!!!!
about the visa refusal for your spouse, what country did she get a refusal into?

i have a question, we just applied for this 2 weeks ago. anyway, so my spouse was refused visa into the US in December 2017, but i didnt state that in my application neither did i upload her refusal letter. will that be a problem?

YES!!!! Raise case immediately. Here info biography will flag it.

Awemo:
Hi everyone. I just want to know how easy is it for a family of 3 to live in Canada without a car for the first year/beginning considering the rules of licence and not having a valid driver's licence from Nigeria

Awemo:
Hi everyone. I just want to know how easy is it for a family of 3 to live in Canada without a car for the first year/beginning considering the rules of licence and not having a valid driver's licence from Nigeria

Blackbuddy:


Hi, it depends on where you will be living. If you will be staying in a dense neighborhood, with fully developed public transit system like in Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton etc, all you'll need is a Presto card which you load with funds and with which you can take buses, trams and trains across the GTA. where their transit systems are linked. Once you know the bus schedules, you can plan any outing you might have. With winter soon coming to an end, you wont have to combat the cold while waiting at bus stops and stations.

On the other hand, if you settle in a city/town or neighborhood that does not have a robust transit system, you may depend more on taxis/Uber in some areas to get around which could be pricy. I met a family last year with 2 young kids who landed and stayed with the PA's older brother for a while to settle in. The brother just moved into a nice, new house but on the outskirts of town where farmlands are being converted into residential estates so public transit does not yet get to that area. No public bus or train goes there yet, only those people who own cars can move around in that area and drive to downtown. The couple spent good money on taxis until they moved closer to mid-town and got a basement with a bus stop just down the street from them. With their move, they were able to cope better and reduce transport costs till they got a used car.

So if you're not getting a car for a while, your search for accommodation will have to consider getting a place in mid-town/mid-city so that you can take advantage of public transport access being close to you and keep costs down as transport costs can add up. If you're considering coming to the GTA, kids under certain ages ride for free here. All the best

http://www.ttc.ca/Fares_and_passes/Prices/Prices.jsp

https://www7.mississauga.ca/documents/miway/fares/MiWay_Fares.pdf

http://www.brampton.ca/EN/residents/transit/Fares/Pages/Fares.aspx

http://www.oakvilletransit.ca/fares.html

http://www.miltontransit.ca/en/fares/Fare-Prices.asp

maternal:


It'll be very tough. It can become expensive as well.

Awemo:



Thank you for a detailed response. I appreciate it. I was just wondering if you know much about living in Calgary without a car

onyi888:
HI. CONGRATS!!!!!
about the visa refusal for your spouse, what country did she get a refusal into?

i have a question, we just applied for this 2 weeks ago. anyway, so my spouse was refused visa into the US in December 2017, but i didnt state that in my application neither did i upload her refusal letter. will that be a problem?

AZeD1:

I landed in Montreal so the answer is yes. I'm not sure if you are allowed to actually stay there though.

kachikapor:

Thanks for your response. but what if i already got a job there?

elbanks1:
Good day house.

Please who has travelled from Nigeria and landed with their passport having less than 6 months validity, or with a renewed passport. Please how did you do it?
Kindly share.

Ballerz:


Mrs O. They will only accept the original of the letter.
The kind of screening she gave letter pass the one bank tellers check when customers present cheques.
Kept reading the three document line by line.
She finally asked " what is a class B" . I simply said equivalent to your Class G. I think it is higher sef cos with class B in Nigeria you fit drive lorry.
She tore off the bio data page attached and returned to me that she doesn't need it.
Gave the documents to her supervisor to sign off on it.
Get someone to DHL it to you.
Or, If you send me an email, I can speak to my colleague who is on secondment there to get your letter for you.
Cheers

I am currently working on a number of Developer and Front-End Developer roles at the moment which may be of interest.

If you are currently looking for new opportunities or know of anyone who is available, please feel free to contact me for additional details.