@dumprep congratulations! That was a very interesting landing gist. May Canada favour you

jelmusboy:
I believe that this trying time will pass ❄❄❄. Imagine -28°C

We are freezing in this Edmontin

smslive2:
I welcome myself officially to this thread!
PPR - Jan 3rd
COPR Issued - Jan 4th
Application Approved - Jan 5th
COPR Delivered - Jan 8th

Landing - LOADING

Congratulations

cheromel:
I'm thinking we should open a different thread titled "marrige in Canada as an Immigrant" where those with gift of revelation and prophesy can go and be seeing vision for peoples marriage. Please lets get back on track abeg. Ka Chineke mezie okwu!

Iyamefa:
Meanwhile it seems it’s not gonna be a white Christmas in Toronto this year after Christmas now wge won’t see road for snow. This life...

I have been dreaming of a white Christmas....... Lord do it for us in Edmonton

Nawa.......

Thanks for all the well wishes baby says a big thank you to her nairaland aunties and uncle's God bless you all

Before I get into my epistle, let me just say that 'people who don't come back to give landing gist' don't do it intentionally. There are many many reasons why. Anyway, to the gist:


Landing


Not much to say here because I didn't depart from Nigeria. I flew KLM straight to Edmonton. The flight to Amsterdam was horrific ; terrible aircraft, uncomfortable seats, ancient in-flight entertainment, infact I almost regretted using them. Now to be fair, I was very pregnant during the flight so maybe that contributed to my discomfort . We had a 7 hour layover in Amsterdam which was spent roaming around the nice airport and resting in one of the lounges.

The flight from Amsterdam to Edmonton was a totally different experience The aircraft was newer, more comfortable and all around better. I did notice that most of the passengers were senior citizens.... We were about to land and they had not yet brought the landing declaration form for us to complete , so I went to ask one of the hostesses and she told me they have upgraded and no longer use the form. Landing in Edmonton was smooth, the airport is a bit small but looked newly renovated. They have little electronic kiosks where we completed a form (I think this replaced the landing form distributed in the plane) and from there we were directed to pick our bags and then go to the border control office by the right and that's where it got a little interesting...

Now I was landing alone and, as the PA, I knew that this shouldn't be a problem. But the border officer guy was confused and kept asking for my spouse. I told the bross that he will land after me, dude still wasn't convinced and had to call another senior colleague of his . The lady only asked me 1 question: Are you the PA? I said YES and she told him its fine. So, its good to know your onions so you can stand your ground as no one knows it all, not even the Canadian officials. I gave him the list of my accompanying goods and he was happy about that (saved time of asking plenty questions). I also gave him the address of my hosts, collected my welcome to Canada greeting and package and off I went

NOTE: If you are travelling in a group with more than 1 hand luggage, arrange them in such a way that you are prepared to check in some of them if the opportunity presents itself. During check-in, the lady asked if I wanted to check in my hand luggage (despite already using up my full kilo). Some of them are nice like that, so be prepared to take advantage of the niceness if it presents itself


Settlement

This was fairly easy thanks to God and my wonderful hosts. I spent the next day resting and the following day I got every other thing done. The key was to start early in the morning. I first went to get my SIN and then a Sim (Koodo prepaid plan of 45CAD monthly), then opened a bank account and got a Void cheque. Using the address on the void cheque as proof of residency, I was able to apply for my Alberta health insurance. I received my health card in the mail 7 days later but I called them after 2 days to get the health card number as I needed to see a doctor asap. Getting a family physician was easy as well and she referred me to an obgyn. Oh I had my baby recently as well (If there are any pregnant mamas in the house looking for information let me know and I'll make a seperate post about that experience when I can)

Getting a house was a bit of a challenge due to the lack of work/credit history. However, most of the landlords and rental companies were more willing to rent when I offered to pay 3 months rent upfront.


Advice: Try to get in touch with a settlement agency. I have received so much assistance and advice that it almost seems unreal. They are there to help us integrate easier so please make use of them. For women, I would like to recommend a free 6 weeks integration program (IWIN) offered by the Edmonton Mennonite Center for Newcomers. It is amazing and you get a certificate afterward.


Thats about it for now, let me know if you have any specific question, thanks

.

joo2018:
This is a call out to those who are yet to give their landing gist! Pls do. It is a way of giving back, to boost the morale of and to provide guidiance to those of us still yet to land!

Lol, let me collect my sub with full chest .. Running to start typing my landing/settlement gist....

GlitteringStar:
@Ethelia, how is landing preparations?


@Luffyhaki, how you dey?

Hey sis, thanks for checking on me

Landed a few days ago and still trying to settle in properly before sharing landing gist

agates:
Brief Landing gist:

Arrived in Calgary yesterday.

Hurray! Welcome and thanks be to God for a safe trip

stonecoldcafe:
Hold on. If you dont like long testimony, here is the abridged version

PPR – Received the email September 18th 2018 although letter dated the previous day

Amazing God! Congratulations!!!

mcstan18:
Thank you for the birthday wishes

-5+33=ITA in the end. Eyes on the prize still.

Happy belated birthday dear, hope you had a fun and fulfilled day

mzjennypher:
Hello everyone pls is it wise to book Airbnb for one month? I intend to stay in Mississauga near square one .landing first week Nov

That was my initial plan (at least for 2 weeks) but a family friend offered to house me instead . So long as it's not going to cost an arm and a leg I don't see why not.....

Guitarlife:

Ethelia I still dey wait o.

Lol no vex. Sending a mail now

Barryston:
Good afternoon my good people!

Thanks in anticipation.

The focus is more on your actual duties than the title. So, as long as your duties match the NOC you are claiming, you should be fine.

Ifeoma77:

Hi Sis

Hey darling

Newmum0615:
So, I heard the most bizarre post-PPR rejection story this week.

Jeezzzzz... This one pain me for the guy..

Una well done oh! This pre-landing preparations is not easy at all, phew!

So what's the latest and what have I been missing

agates:


I am waiting for you oo. Loll

Lol, sis have you landed?

chizilulu:


Lol . Yes o. Congratulations in advance

Thanks thanks

chizilulu:


We are all in this boat. I have even decided to land in Ontario instead of Alberta as earlier planned. This is really scary!

Please you people should shift for me in the boat as well. Finally decided to land mid October in Alberta. Na God go help us.

@hotD, thanks for the very detailed landing information I've enjoyed reading every single post. May the land favor you and yours, Amen

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

If the temperature is like this in August, what hope is there for me to avoid freezing in October?

Itsawonder:


So you could spam the thread with silly "congratulations" messages?
As much as we're happy for all successful applicants, a like/share is enough to express this happiness. Unless you have a follow-up question to the shared "testimony", stop spamming the thread with shitty congratulations messages.

Rejoice with others, so that when it's your turn, others will rejoice with you too.

IykeD:


Oh wow...still fresh. Congratulations. London gang I guess? I am about 4 months post-copr already.

I really want to make a permanent move but as things (beyond my control) stand now, I may have to do a short-landing. It's getting me a bit worked-up.

Actually it was Ottawa (took about 4 months for processing). Why not say what challenges you are having (if not personal)? What is a mountain to you might be an ant hill to someone here and you can get reasonable advice.

short landing isn't bad, so long as you have someone very reliable to send your PR Card to you.

IykeD:


Hi Ethelia, I remember you from the sister thread part 2-3. When was your copr? I intend doing short-landing too but I am a bit confused.

Lol, I remember you too . COPR was about 2 weeks ago. What are you confused about?

Godisincontrol:
The below may be useful as well:

Very nice compilation!

Phew, only going for a short landing and yet my head is spinning with all the preparations to be made..... It is well