₦airaland Forum

Decision to Migrate
In 2015 I was contemplating doing my masters in Canada because of the prospects for international students and the opportunity to stay back and work after graduation. However, I didn’t have the resources to pursue that dream. Later that year with the help of my family, I came up with the funds and since I had relatives in the UK who could assist with accommodation, I decided the UK was a better option as the financial implication seemed quite less in comparison to Canada.

Immediately after graduation, I did all I could to get a Job and switch my Tier 4 visa to a Tier 2 visa but it didn’t happen. While I got some good offers, none was willing to offer me a Tier 2 sponsorship and as such I had to turn down job offers.

When the time finally drew near for me to return to Nigeria, I decided I had to give express entry a shot. That decision was definitely worth it. I finally started the process in August 2018.

ECA
The decision on which evaluation body to use wasn’t a hard one, all thanks to @Mcstan18, @smslive2, @elfmanisback and a couple of others who responded when I asked. I only evaluated my Masters degree. It took just 45 days to complete.

IELTS
I have always been an avid reader on nairaland and it has always provided me with a rich source of information. First thing I did was to gather as much information I needed to start the process and then I simulated my CRS score. One thing was certain; I had to ace IELTS on the first attempt. There was no room for failure, I had very limited resources and couldn’t afford to pay for IELTS more than once.

After simulating my score with different variables I gave myself a target score of LRWS 8.5,8.0,7.5,7.5. Writing was the most dreadful module; I had seen so many people who fell short by just 0.5.

I started practicing; I downloaded every bit of material I could find but IELTSLiz was my favourite. My practice strategy was to use my spare time at the office to practice. For writing all I did was read sample Band 9 essays I copied from www.ielts-exam.net. Tbh, I think I spent more time just staring at the writing samples anytime I was bored than actually writing.

Finally sat for IELTS on December 15th 2018 and aced it.

EE Profile
I created my profile on January 9th 2019 with a CRS score of 448. There was a draw on that day but it was 449. On January 14th 2019 I received an EOI Letter from Ontario; I prayed I would get ITA in the next draw as I didn’t want to spend so much going through the PNP route.

I would like to add that I created a folder on my PC called Canada EE and had a folder for every major placeholder on the CIC account. I found it really helpul in keeping my documents organised and preventing any error submission.

ITA
As God would have it I received ITA on January 23rd 2019. I was elated that the application journey was about to begin.

PCC
I obtained my UK PCC and Nigerian PCC. Both were pretty straightforward. For the Nigerian PCC, Inspector Moshood made the entire process very simple and fast.

Medicals
I called Qlife immediately I got ITA and the earliest appointement date was March 1st 2019. There were quite a lot of people on that day, but suffice it to say that everything went well.

POF
My POF was all lodged with my bank in the UK. I had mailed them asking if I could get a letter of non-indebtedness but they got back saying they no longer offered that service. I searched on NL to find anyone who had used funds in a UK bank for their POF and how they went about it. I found @Fyorgn and she was really helpful. I ended up submitting only my online statement and attached a LOE explaining why that was all I could provide.

Letter of Reference/NOC
I wanted a very simple application and didn’t want to combine NOC’s. So I decided to use my NYSC work experience, all thanks to @Glitteringstar and a host of others who shared in their PPR script.

Then the decision on which NOC was the best fit and our amiable @Newmum0615 was indeed a blessing to me. We exchanged a couple of mails and voila she had helped me with my Job description. I typed it, sent it to my Boss and he got it signed, stamped and printed on the official letter head.

That was all I submitted, No pay slips, nothing else.

PPR
I received a Ghost Update in the early hours of May 16th. I checked my account that morning but nothing was there. It just had “Updated” but nothing had changed.

On the 22nd when I got home I decided to check my CIC account again, Lo and behold the request letter dated May 16th had been sitting comfortably in my account.
I then checked my mailbox and realized I got two mails from CIC on May 16th. Apparently the second mail came with PPR.

Appreciation
I would like to appreciate everyone who has contributed in one way or the other on the Express Entry Threads from Part 1 to Part 8. You all are the true blessings. Most people, including myself would have had to part away with huge sums of monies to travel agents for the information shared here freely.

Thanks to the following people who played a part in my PPR story @Newmum0615 @Mcstan18, @GlitteringStar, @Utonne , @Fyorgyn, @smslive2, @Elfmannisback, @stonecoldcafe, @Tojued, @Ifeoma77, @iaatmguy, @SegunWamiri

To everyone still who is still at one stage or the other, keep pushing, keep praying and keep believing. You shall be celebrated soon. God bless you all.