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Travel › Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by SOTAJ: 6:13am On Sep 17, 2023

Fully furnished 2 bedroom walkout basement suite (with separate entrance) available for short term rental in Northwest Calgary for CAD2,000 per month. Suitable for newly landed immigrants, it is close to Walmart, Costco and other shopping outlets you need.

Travel › Re: I Got A Job Offer In Commercial Bank Of Qatar, Is It Advisable To Go by SOTAJ: 10:57pm On Oct 05, 2018

SCAM!
Run as fast as your legs can take you. grin

Travel › Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by SOTAJ: 9:03pm On Aug 29, 2018

Newmum0615:
If I ever wanted to change my mind about landing in Ontario, I'm sorry. I ain't doing any such thing.

Travel › Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by SOTAJ: 7:52pm On Aug 27, 2018

If you are in Lagos, You can go to ''studio 24'' in Ikoyi to retake it. I had the same experience and I was advised to go there for a retake and it worked.

cannybound:
Good day my e-fam!

I recently did a short landing, submitted all documents required for processing my PR card including the PASSPORT and returned to Nigeria.

However, I just received a mail from IRCC requesting that I submit a different pair of passport photos as what I have submitted is non-compliant.

My question is this: where in Lagos Nigeria can I get a professional photographer that will take a photo of me in the required specifications?

(I will indeed appreciate input about tested and trusted photographers; have you used a photographer and was able to obtain a PR Card using the print out they made for you?)

Thank you all.

3 Likes

Travel › Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by SOTAJ: 4:22pm On Apr 26, 2018

KW01:
@Sotaj, can you please confirm if I will be needing the FRSC letters in Alberta? I will be landing in Calgary next month and all my efforts to get the letter has been abortive. I have a valid Nigeria driver’s license. I can get an international drivers license if need be. Thank you in advance.

@KW01, you do not need any FRSC letters to apply for/ take both the knowledge and driving tests in Alberta. You only need your Naija license which will be taken from you for verification to confirm whatever driving years you are claiming (after you must have taken the knowledge test). If you have around 3 years driving experience, you may be eligible to take the full class 5 (advance) driving test upon satisfactory confirmation of your Naija driving experience. Otherwise, you will have to start from the learner (Class 7) then the class 5 (GDL Driver)
Albeit, the FRSC letters could be useful when shopping for your auto insurance premium rates. You could get lower quotes if the insurance company accepts driving experience from Naija (Only few insurance Companies do this).

I guess I was able to answer you to some extent.

13 Likes 12 Shares

Travel › Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by SOTAJ: 4:43am On Apr 25, 2018

@ TEECANN,

I will only answer your first question. Other people may be able to give answers to the rest.

I do not really know about Ontario, but I want to believe it will be same as it is in Alberta. The Nigerian Driver license you submit for the processing of your Alberta license becomes the property of the Province (It will not be returned to you). So, you may want to make copies before dropping it.

TEECANN:
Good people, please help out with this issue that has been on my mind for a while now.

I may not get the gist well, but I read that when one begins the processing of ones driver's license, you will be asked to hand over your Nigerian driver's license.

My questions are these:

1. Will the valid and running Nigerian driver's license be returned to me by the provincial motor transport authority after carrying out necessary verification?

2. If it won't be returned back me, how am I suppose to drive in Lagos without my Nigerian driver's license (when visiting or upon return from a short landing) without having a brush with FRSC?

3. Will it be legal and proper to drive with my Ontario/Canadian driver's license in Lagos while visiting, where i do not have a Nigerian driver's license?

Thank you. It will end in praise IJN!

Travel › Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by SOTAJ: 6:20am On Dec 26, 2017

yettyopy:
Please note that for childcare it varies on family income as stated after filing tax. I pay 525 monthly with government subsidy . I also have a friend that just moved here and pays $0 cos she just started working. With child care it's important to note that there is always a wait list with govt subsidy so try as much as possible to get on the list asap. Cos I had to wait for 4 5 months to get approved.

Wow! Please, which Province are you? In Alberta, the current maximum the govt pays as subsidy on childcare is $310/per month (From grade 1 and above) even for the lowest income and $546/per month up to Kindergarten. They don't pay all, and there's no waiting list.

Your Provincial govt is really trying, I guess that's why you have waiting lists.

Travel › Re: Ethiopian Vs Egyptair Vs Rwandair On International Route? by SOTAJ: 1:22am On Nov 18, 2017

I would go for Ethiopian any day amongst the 3. Although I have only flown Egypt and Ethiopian ( same route).

3 Likes

Travel › Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by SOTAJ: 10:55pm On Aug 20, 2017

Blingyrie:
Hello haus, got a question.

So if one spends 3 cumulative years in Canada, can d person apply for citizenship, before d 5 years elapses? Or must d person wait to complete d 5years b4 applying for citizenship??

Yes, with the new rule that replaces the old one effective from October.

2 Likes

Travel › Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by SOTAJ: 10:50pm On Aug 20, 2017

Nwandy218:
Hi Sotaj, are you currently in Quebec ?

No, I am in Alberta.

Travel › Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by SOTAJ: 4:42am On Aug 19, 2017

Fusion23:
Wooow are you for real , so with my PR if i get a job in Montreal ,I cannot move?

I only thought you cannot land?

But you have a point i think at the point of entry when they ask for an address to send your PR Card. I dont think you can use a Quebec address

You are free to live in Quebec as a FSW immigrant once you complete your landing formalities in any other province aside Quebec.

Travel › Re: Canada Visit/tourist Visa Discussion. by SOTAJ: 9:40am On Mar 18, 2017

OmoBendel24:
Quarrel no dey this one oh, abeg my people! If there's a proper understanding, there wouldn't be misunderstanding, really! Code-share workings makes both of you correct, these are possibilities, I mean the situation you both are supporting. I have missed a KLM flight by whiskers before, was moved to the next available Air France flight of the night, got to CDG and flew Delta to JFK, on my return, I flew Delta from ATL to FCO Milan, from there to LOS it was Alitalia. Why? CODESHARE! Also I've flown United to IAH and came back with Lufthansa via FRA before as a result of CODESHARE/Alliance.... It makes the experience smoother and easily adjustable with miles accrued still being secure, it's a welcome development.

Just really ain't wanting my crew to fly Egyptair to Canada before (na there the wahala be dey), would have loved if codeshare stuff will make AirCanada our lot . But then, if allowed on the North America route, the aircraft sure meets standard and even over. Egyptair from naija to Cairo no be moimoi before self.... Tell me of your experiences with them you both and everyone else that got it, and is reading me here too. Thanks and regards.

@OmoBendel24, thanks for your comment above. It's really surprising the way the poster took the whole issue as if there's a prize for anything here. I mean, nobody knows it all and I really don't like arguing or dragging issues. Not even on a social media.I only comment on issues I have first-hand information on. I wrote what I saw on my flight with them (At least I am 100% sure of that) and I don't know where this " I'd simply advise you do your home work solidly next time before you say somebody's claim isn't correct, or you ask for proofs or clarification if in doubt so you don't end up turning yourself into a laughing stock" came from?

Anyways as regards my experience with them, I would say the Lagos-Cairo leg wasn't really impressive as even the in-flight was just there and nothing to write home about (there were no individual screens attached to each seat). However, the Cairo-Toronto leg (around 11hrs thereabout) was FANTASTIC and I would say it really reflected the fact that some standards have to be met for North-American bound flights. Even up to the seats, meals, in-flight entertainment etc.

Then I would want to also point out that you should however stick to the flight time written on the tickets as you don't want to have to be calling an airline that doesn't run a 24hrs call centre service. And yes, that was the experience we (My family) had on our way back from Calgary. It happened that we got to the airport few minutes late for our Air Canada (pre-arranged) flight from Calgary to Toronto around past 7 in the evening and we were told by the officers that they had shut the checking-in system for the flight and they could not check us in again. We made several efforts to reach Egyptair via their call-centre to see if they could put us on another flight or reschedule us on the onward flight from Toronto to Cairo but was just getting the automated response that they had closed for the day(imagine that).

To cut the long story short, we had to book the next flight from Calgary to Toronto on West-jet (additional cost) so as not to miss our connecting flight from Toronto to Cairo since we couldn't get through to Egyptair to inform them about our challenge.

So, aside from the nasty experience I had as regards their Call Centre not operating a 24hrs service; I would say their service was okay (at least for their price). Although, I don't think I would want to try them again grin

Sorry, this post is a bit long but I just felt I should make it as extensive as I can be.

I guess other people with experiences on Egytpair can also contribute.

Do have a safe trip.

1 Like

Travel › Re: Canada Visit/tourist Visa Discussion. by SOTAJ: 10:54pm On Mar 17, 2017*

awelekiti:
lol. Egyptair doesn't go to Canada direct. When you get to Cairo, you're going to connect Aircanada. Egyptair has an alliance with Aircanada. You'd see the flight details on your ticket, of course. The experience on-board air canada is amazing. Maybe you should give it a try on your next visit.

.

This is not correct please. You are gonna be flying on an Egyptair plane even from Cairo to Toronto. It is only when you are going farther than Toronto within Canada that you would fly AirCanada from Toronto via their agreement. I flew them to Calgary from Naija and back last May.

1 Like

Travel › Re: Canadian Student Visa Thread Part 12 by SOTAJ: 8:42am On Mar 01, 2017

tbaby123:
pls who has the link to the canadian visa lottery, it starts today

https://www.nairaland.com/3647984/canada-cautions-nigerians-against-rumoured

2 Likes

Autos › Re: Free Vin Checks And Reports by SOTAJ: 9:33am On Nov 29, 2013

Thank you very much @inze.

Ur assistance is well appreciated.

Autos › Re: Free Vin Checks And Reports by SOTAJ: 8:30am On Nov 29, 2013

Good Morning inze.

Please I still need ur assistance on the VIN check below.

VIN # 2T1LR32E54C828019

Kindly help.

Thanks

Autos › Re: Free Vin Checks And Reports by SOTAJ: 5:16pm On Nov 28, 2013

Good day people,

Kindly help with VIN check on ds number:

VIN # 2T1LR32E54C828019

Thanks

Autos › Re: Free Vin Checks And Reports by SOTAJ: 4:28pm On Nov 28, 2013

@inze, good day.

Kindly help with VIN check on ds number:

VIN # 2T1LR32E54C828019

Thanks

Travel › Re: General UK Visa Enquiries - Part 2 by SOTAJ: 9:11pm On Nov 11, 2013

@ Asorock 1,

Well, I am not a visa officer and I do not know what ur monthly net pay is (I have not really followed ur story) cos dt goes a long way in forming a VO's decision. If ur monthly pay is anything above 150k with a savings of 1.1mm without any dependant, I think u should be ok with dt budget.

As regards monthly living expenses, it's not dt d VO expects it to be spelt out like dt. What u are expected to write there is d average ( say the range over a period of time).

Then if the person is a bachelor and doesn't have any dependents like sibblings and so on, then I think you are free to put N/A (not applicable ) in dt column.

Those are my views. The gurus in d house can as well drop some lines here. Justwise and Vicjustice, ur inputs are required.

Cheers

Travel › Re: General UK Visa Enquiries - Part 2 by SOTAJ: 6:10pm On Nov 11, 2013

Asorock 1: I haven't got an answer yet on the above quote.

Asorock 1:

Thanks Dis guy for that wonderful contribution, I have checked on flight and Qatar airways to London from 24th to 31st december 2013 cost about 141.539 through wakanow.com and that's about £568. I hope flying Qatar airways to London without there British airways won't cause any problem

Now do I leave the total of that budget at 1382 or make it up to £1400

Please one more thing , shoulda HR stamp the introduction letter with the company seal stamp or the ink stamp, what about the pay slip too, what we have a computer print out pay slip does it require stamp and signature too for the embassy.

Please general advice is needed seriously and If i don't get any contribution from vicjustice here i will feel so bad

I haven't got an answer yet on the above quote

@Asorock, u can fly any airline you like. There's no law dt says u must fly a particular airline.

As regards the letter of introduction, it depends on the usual practice in ur organization. It could either be sealed or stamped,either of the 2 will suffice.

You do not really need to stamp ur payslip (provided u are sure that is the true reflection of ur pay).

As regards rounding up your budget, it doesn't have to be rounded up to a whole number. Just be logical and realistic with ur proposed expenditure.

I hope my contribution helps.

Cheers.

Travel › Re: General UK Visa Enquiries - Part 2 by SOTAJ: 1:56pm On Oct 31, 2013

Asorock 1: Please justwise, what's the best way to send all the neccessary documents from an invitee in UK to Nigeria here like the bio data, invitation letter, bank statement etc, through courier or scan copies ?
Is a clear scan copies of all these documents accepted by the british embassy as that wi be faster

@Asorock, scanned copies of the documents (invitation letter, utility bill, biodata pages etc) will suffice. Just ensure the printed documents are very clear and legible.

That's what I always do.

Cheers

Travel › Re: General UK Visa Enquiries - Part 2 by SOTAJ: 9:20pm On Oct 28, 2013

xarabim: @ justwise. Thank you for response. I had a little over 900k, i intended to spend 700k for 13 days excluding accomodation as i stated my sister whom i was to travel with was paying for our accomodation. The ec0 acknowledged i have sufficient funds in my acct, but was not satisfied with how much i intended to spend. I earn 150k monthly. My question pls- i still have about 900k in my acct, if i'm to reapply again in your opinion, how much is acceptable to spend for 10 days? I just got refused last week. Can i reapply this week? My leave is coming up soon and i'm so looking forward to travelling with my sister. Thank u.

@xarabim, I feel u and I can understand your plight. However, even though the money in your account is yours and you can decide how you want to spend it,you must not forget the fact that the ECO applies a lot of logic before arriving at their decisions. For instance, you said you intend to spend 700k out of your 900k savings (that is like 80% of all your savings or your salary for like 5 months) in just 13 days. The ECO will never want to believe that, rather, s/he would see that as plot by you to impress him/her on your financial capability (although you may really intend to spend that much).

The advice I always give people just like vicjustice said, is for you to have a rough idea of the overall cost of the trip and how individual expense add up to make that. For instance, let's assume airfare (which most of the time accounts for the bulk of your expenses) is 160k, by the time you come up with the likely local transportation cost for the 13 days (and since accommodation, which would have been another major cost has been taken care of) you will see that the amount that would remain for you to play around with out of your planned 700k would still be much that the ECO will think it does not tally with your current income.

As a rule, I always advise people going for between 10-14 days vacation in the UK to write between £1,000-£1,300 as the cost of the trip or the money available to them for the trip. Don't forget that the Brits are conservative set of people. And this has always worked.

So, you can come up with rough estimate of your expenses to serve as guide for you.

I wish you success in your next application.

Travel › Re: Usa Visit Visa by SOTAJ: 1:07pm On Sep 25, 2013

tzetzefly: Do not be in a rush to reschedule your interview date, you can do that by late December 2013 or early January and take your travel date to be the Easter season for 2014.

@Tzetzefly,
Thank you very much for ur response. Will do just dt (ie) wait till Dec/Jan before resheduling again so that one doesn't look desperate to them. At worst, the whole family will just do only UK trip in April 2014. Just dt our people in d U.S wouldn't just stop disturbing us to come on a visit.

Thanks once again. I appreciate!

Travel › Re: Usa Visit Visa by SOTAJ: 12:42pm On Sep 24, 2013

favored gal: @sotaj i don't think the travel date was an issue as i got my visa first week of aug and my travel date was dec ( about 4 and half months away at that time)

On your form did you declare that you'v been refused before?

@ favored gal, thanks for ur comment. Yes we declared. We couldn't have done otherwise.we know d implication.

Travel › Re: Usa Visit Visa by SOTAJ: 12:26pm On Sep 24, 2013

@tzetzefly, thanks so much for ur comment. It is well appreciated. As regards the circumstance for our visa refusal in 2011, the VO asked if my wife was pregnant (she was carrying my boy who is 2yrs plus now although not dt visible) and we said yes. And dt was all.

I think ur submission on our refusal yesterday is correct to a very large extent (especially the extremely cold weather in Dec). As I wrote earlier, I observed it was after we told her our intended travel date dt her disposition changed.

Now, do u suggest I pay for the visa fees again and schedule for another interview immediately (stating our intended date as April, Easter)? My reason for this is to give us ample time to be able to plan our itinery (ticket reservations and so on) on time. I am looking at killing 2 birds with a stone (ie) Do multi destination in April with few days stoppover in the Uk. And all this is better done well in advance to be able to get good bargains.

So, should I just go ahead and reschedule before the week runs out?

Justwise, ur input will be well appreciated as well.

Travel › Re: Usa Visit Visa by SOTAJ: 6:17am On Sep 24, 2013

@Riteaide thanks for ur response.
It was not up to 3 months. We picked our intended date of travel as December 20th and we had our interview on September 23rd. So it's like 3 months less 3 days.

Travel › Re: Usa Visit Visa by SOTAJ: 1:01am On Sep 24, 2013

Hello guys. I really commend the way peoples' issues are resolved on ds forum.
My family went for a US visa interview today and we were refused visas for no particular reason.
Below is how the interview went.

VO: Hello
Me: Good Morning
VO: Where are you going in the US?
Me: Delaware
VO: Who are u visiting and for what?
Me: My sister-in-law on vacation
Mywife: My sister
VO: Who is paying for the trip?
Me: Me and My wife
VO: Have u travelled out before?
Me: Yes. Been to the UK a couple of times
VO: Have you travelled as a family before?
Me: Yes. 3 of us were in the UK for Easter in 2012 except my daughter who was not born as at the time.
VO: Starts to check thru our passports(Myself and My wife both have 5 years valid UK visas while my son has 2 years valid visa)
VO: What do u do?
Me: I am a banker
Mywife: I am a banker as well
VO: what is ur family monthly income
Me: Told her
VO: Do u intend to seek medical attention in d US?
Me: No
VO: How long will u be staying in the US?
Me: 3 weeks
Me: I was thinking at this point we are as good as getting our visas.
VO: How old are ur kids?
Me: My son is 2 years plus and my daughter is 2 months.
VO: When do u intend to visit?
Me: December
VO: Pauses for a while and starts to type for some minutes. Then handed over our passports to us saying we did not qualify for non immigrant visas.

I was annoyed and confused even though mysel and my wife have been refused visas to the US in 2011 (the officer said we didn't have ties then) when there was no kid, I didn't expect to get the kind of decision the VO gave us today.

I am somehow confused now and don't know where I got it wrong.
Could it be because of my baby's age and the fact that we intend to travel in December? Cos I noticed it was after the VO asked about my Kids' ages and our intended travel date that she started to type on her system.

I am thinking of rescheduling for another interview before the week runs out and probably pick April 2014(Easter period) as our travel date.Maybe my daughter would be seen as old enough by that time.

Gurus in the house, please I need your sincere advices and suggestions so that we don't get the same result even when we reapply.

Cheers and keep the good work moving.

1 Like

Travel › Re: General UK Visa Enquiries - Part 2 by SOTAJ: 11:50pm On Aug 19, 2013

Dear All,
Please I have an issue bothering my mind. My wife and my 2 kids intend to travel to the U.K on holiday. My wife and my son (2yrs old) both have valid visas for the trip since this is not their first trip to the UK, but we need to get an entry clearance for my daughter cos she wasn't born the last time we all went to the UK on vacation (she is almost 2 months old).

I would like to ask the gurus in the house if she wouldn't be seen as too young for an entry clearance to be applied for, on her behalf by the entry clearance officer? ( My son was like 8 months old when we applied for his first visa in 2012)

Kindly assist ?

Justwise and Vicjustice, your inputs will be highly appreciated.

Thank you

Travel › Re: Canadian Federal Skilled Worker Program-timelines Here by SOTAJ: 9:04am On May 09, 2013

Thank you very much.

Travel › Re: Canadian Federal Skilled Worker Program-timelines Here by SOTAJ: 7:49am On May 09, 2013

@solomonwis,

Thanks for your response. Of course my transcript has also been forwarded directly by my institution to WES aside from the photocopy of my certificate that I sent by myself.

What I was actually trying to ask about notarizing the documents, I was referring to the documents to be sent to CIO Sydney (ie) do we notarize the photocopies to be enclosed in the package to be sent to CIO in Sydney?

Thanks

1 Like 1 Share

Travel › Re: Canadian Federal Skilled Worker Program-timelines Here by SOTAJ: 10:17pm On May 08, 2013

@solomonwis,

I have sent my certificate for ECA through WES, waiting for it to be evaluated. Meanwhile, please do we still need to notarize all the photocopies to be included in the package since it was not clearly spelt-out in the updated checklist for this year's submission?

Kindly shed more light.

Thank you.

1 Like 1 Share

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