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Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by A555: 9:03am On Oct 21, 2017
salford1:

The market is still doing okay. Lots of jobs in designs/PM. Nothing is built or constructed without a design from very simple ones to large complex ones. Designs and PM go hand in hand as one takes ownership from the start till project is completed.

To get into this space, you need to know the popular software used in your industry in Canada in addition to your license to practice or EIT. Once you get into more senior roles, then you become more of a people manager plus checking and stamping of designs.

Your job of course would not be solely designs. You would also be required to complete quotations/estimations, conduct site visits, obtain permits, agreements, liase with contractors/stakeholders and attends lots and lots of meetings depending on size of project.

@Salford: Thanks. What you've described is pretty much what my job has entailed over the past 10+ years, excluding stamping of designs in Canada of course smiley. Started off as a process (chemical) discipline engineer, so I've got good working knowledge of the industry wide software, except for CFD specific applications. I am still process biased, but I've been required to evolve into more PM based functions. Looks like I really just need to get my EIT sorted? I'm planning on arrival in Calgary by Jan '18 at the latest. Do you know if the EIT registration process can be started offshore? A quick look shows "current phone number and mailing address" are required, and I wonder if it needs to be local details. Can I start with my Nigerian contact details and change on arrival as required?

2 Likes

Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by Ogundre: 9:23am On Oct 21, 2017
Hello people. So I got my golden email on Thursday October 19th at 4:07am. Best email I ever woke up to. Sent my passport to Accra yesterday. My timeline
AOR:August 1st
MP/IP1: August 15th
NA2: August 17th
IP2: September 7th
PPR: October 19th.

I plan to land sometime between June and July next year though.

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Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by vcole: 9:52am On Oct 21, 2017
Ogundre:
Hello people. So I got my golden email on Thursday October 19th at 4:07am. Best email I ever woke up to. Sent my passport to Accra yesterday. My timeline
AOR:August 1st
MP/IP1: August 15th
NA2: August 17th
IP2: September 7th
PPR: October 19th.

I plan to land sometime between June and July next year though.
Congrats. Great time to land. Good weather.

2 Likes

Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by fabdee: 11:02am On Oct 21, 2017
LONG POST ALERT
MY LANDING GIST.

Got to MMIA Lagos like 3hours to check in. Scanned our bags in and yes we were stopped( I was not surprised, i know what i packed in there grin) 7 check in bag(3 were fully loaded with foodstuff, i still had other foodstuff tucked here and there in the other 4bags. So in total foodstuff alone will be like 4 to 5bags). Anyways, the officials were like oh you have a lottt of items in your luggage that...hubby cuts in Yes we know, they're foodstuff. Meanwhile another was already cutting us eye like just find something give them....omg i almost burst into laughter.... We were like no wahala we arrange una own come....thats the LEAST of our worries. Our focus was cairo after reading about all the binning and trashing...i was so worried, it entered prayer point grin
Back to my gist....check-in was fast and smooth. Our luggage limit was 23kg for check in and 10kg for hand luggage but we had a couple of almost 24kg and a bit over 10kg. The lady was nice enough to overlook and she did not request for any tip. So yes we still got some nice peeps wink. So we were done with check in.....took pictures with family....said goodbyes....chased the tears back into the sockets(you wee not come and mess up my canadian make up hahaha grin).
Ook so reluctantly walked through departure gate(yes reluctantly, my love for naija is on another level infact i almost turned back say i no even commot again sef hahaha grin grin grin
Nexxxxxt is immigration, we declared how much we had (cuz It was over 10k CAD) buh they didnt even count it, just wrote it down. We still had time before boarding.....ook lets goan eat. Settled for rice with snailsssss of life. The snailssss were in memorial of the day i left my dearly beloved country sad . Sooo i was on my first snail when they made the first boarding call...shuuuu I said NO WAY....these snails must enter my tummy with ease and splendour....no rush rush....it is a memorial sacrifice offering ( omg omg cold has entered my brain).
Ooook so we boarded.....take off was ok buh ears starting popping buh not too painful ....when they served food, hmmm i remembered the snails in my tummy, no it would be rude to top it with all this mende mende so i just took the bread and cheese (truth is i no sabi chop them and i dont deceive myself shhhhh). 5hr flight to cairo...twas ok. tho inflight entertainment no make sense. Landing in Cairo was hell for ME....my ears almost burst open..wouldpain was massive cry...did i mention our seat was on the wing but funny thing was, i was the only one feeling that way. Hubby and kids were fine.
Sooo Cairo here we are....the home of trashing and binning the best foods the world can get. We had like 4hrs to the next flight, found a nice sofa to catch some good sleep....set an alarm so we dont oversleep o hahaha. Time to go check in, my heart was doing gbim gbim....wat shall it profit a somebody to pack plenty food from GREAT NIGERIA only to be trashed by an official in Egypt hmmm Apostle must hear this.
We joined the queue.............TO BE CONTINUED........its 4am here biko, i want to go and sleep tongue

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Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by A555: 11:20am On Oct 21, 2017
salford1:

Haha..The cold feet we are talking about is leaving UK when you are settled. Why would anyone want to stay in naija except you are a politician or work in the oil industry like my one of our neighbours who moved his family to Calgary, bought a house in Aspen, and he relocated back to his upstream oil industry job back in naija. grin

@salford: How difficult would it be to make the cross into a similar role in Canada?

1 Like

Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by Ballerz: 12:14pm On Oct 21, 2017
salford1:

I be ogboju ode ninu igbo irunmole grin

Congrats on your drivers license. You must be car shopping by now.

Salford Salford.... You did not give me the specific info I asked via email. I have madam's contact o, don't get it twisted. That Kitchen strike is looming. you will chop your poundo yam in powder (Wa je iyen e ni isu)

@Car shopping... Me wey don buy car, collect insurance quote before DriveTest. Iyen lo n pe ni "I must pass this test at once by faith."
I reached out to the instructor on a Saturday and told him we are going for testing on Thursday. (He did the booking becos I wasn't getting any date b4 19th.) He asked, have you driven in CDN before I said No. He said you can't pass this test. I looked him in the eye and said "I am passing" and we are going for it in 5 days. (That 19th was key becos car seller don dey disturb my voicemail say make I come commot the car from them showroom, and I said give me till 19th. They had said I cannot take delivery of the car becos I don't have a G).

After Day 1, instructor now had confidence in me that your driving is very good, You just need to learn the instructions. Come see MSB Rhythm. Me I changed it to MSTH = Mirror Signal Turn your Head

You know they said once examiner match brake for you, that is the end of testing. My examiner matched brake o. I said It was still orange so I could still go. I asked "have I failed the test" She said "Sir, please continue with the drive test" So test continue o. We got to carpark, did all the maneuvers, reverse packing, straight line parking.... When I hear that word congratulation, omo.... that was a solid nice birthday gift. Everyone had said they won't give you from G1 to G (Since you have never driven in Canada before). I kept rebuking allllllllllllllll of them say I must collect this thing. It was God jare.

Kwasi took four of us there. He picked me up at 4.15am in Brampton, We drove down to Toronto to pick the other 3 candidates before heading to test location. Omo... the place far die. 3 went for G, one went for G2. I was the only obote among the G testers. Other two don dey drive for Canada on G2. I passed, Jamaican Passed, but the other Nigerian lady did not make it.

Those instructors are making stupid money. 30 dollars per session and they can have like 5 sessions in a day. On drive test date, He took four of us there, that is 200*4 = 800 Dollars. cool cash. Nontaxable becos na cash transactions. The first day they told me I was going to pay 200 dollars for test date for him to take me there and use his car, I wanted to have a heart attack. 200 ginni for what? why wasn't I told before we started this whole thing?. I just said, I must not pay this 200 twice. Okay... continue with the process. I will bring you your money tomorrow.

I got a good deal on insurance as a member of HRPA.

Where is Maternal. I don miss my padi of life.

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Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by MummyJaygirls: 2:20pm On Oct 21, 2017
fabdee:
LONG POST ALERT
MY LANDING GIST.

TO BE CONTINUED........its 4am here biko, i want to go and sleep tongue

We are waiting

2 Likes

Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by MummyJaygirls: 2:21pm On Oct 21, 2017
Ballerz:
Guess who just got the word "Congratulations! You have met the Ministry's minimum requirements"
I just passed my G test.
Yippppe
All in all, From Nigeria Licence to G license in 4 weeks cost 500 Dollars.
So put that in the budget.
I dey go celebrate.
Na Baba God do am o

Congrats

1 Like

Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by salford1: 3:46pm On Oct 21, 2017
A555:


@Salford: Thanks. What you've described is pretty much what my job has entailed over the past 10+ years, excluding stamping of designs in Canada of course smiley. Started off as a process (chemical) discipline engineer, so I've got good working knowledge of the industry wide software, except for CFD specific applications. I am still process biased, but I've been required to evolve into more PM based functions. Looks like I really just need to get my EIT sorted? I'm planning on arrival in Calgary by Jan '18 at the latest. Do you know if the EIT registration process can be started offshore? A quick look shows "current phone number and mailing address" are required, and I wonder if it needs to be local details. Can I start with my Nigerian contact details and change on arrival as required?
You can start almost if not all doc evaluation process fron outside the country.
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by salford1: 3:49pm On Oct 21, 2017
A555:


@salford: How difficult would it be to make the cross into a similar role in Canada?
I dont find it hard, but some do find it hard. All depends on your job search/interview skills.

1 Like

Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by salford1: 3:59pm On Oct 21, 2017
Ballerz:


Salford Salford.... You did not give me the specific info I asked via email. I have madam's contact o, don't get it twisted. That Kitchen strike is looming. you will chop your poundo yam in powder (Wa je iyen e ni isu)

@Car shopping... Me wey don buy car, collect insurance quote before DriveTest. Iyen lo n pe ni "I must pass this test at once by faith."
I reached out to the instructor on a Saturday and told him we are going for testing on Thursday. (He did the booking becos I wasn't getting any date b4 19th.) He asked, have you driven in CDN before I said No. He said you can't pass this test. I looked him in the eye and said "I am passing" and we are going for it in 5 days. (That 19th was key becos car seller don dey disturb my voicemail say make I come commot the car from them showroom, and I said give me till 19th. They had said I cannot take delivery of the car becos I don't have a G).

After Day 1, instructor now had confidence in me that your driving is very good, You just need to learn the instructions. Come see MSB Rhythm. Me I changed it to MSTH = Mirror Signal Turn your Head

You know they said once examiner match brake for you, that is the end of testing. My examiner matched brake o. I said It was still orange so I could still go. I asked "have I failed the test" She said "Sir, please continue with the drive test" So test continue o. We got to carpark, did all the maneuvers, reverse packing, straight line parking.... When I hear that word congratulation, omo.... that was a solid nice birthday gift. Everyone had said they won't give you from G1 to G (Since you have never driven in Canada before). I kept rebuking allllllllllllllll of them say I must collect this thing. It was God jare.

Kwasi took four of us there. He picked me up at 4.15am in Brampton, We drove down to Toronto to pick the other 3 candidates before heading to test location. Omo... the place far die. 3 went for G, one went for G2. I was the only obote among the G testers. Other two don dey drive for Canada on G2. I passed, Jamaican Passed, but the other Nigerian lady did not make it.

Those instructors are making stupid money. 30 dollars per session and they can have like 5 sessions in a day. On drive test date, He took four of us there, that is 200*4 = 800 Dollars. cool cash. Nontaxable becos na cash transactions. The first day they told me I was going to pay 200 dollars for test date for him to take me there and use his car, I wanted to have a heart attack. 200 ginni for what? why wasn't I told before we started this whole thing?. I just said, I must not pay this 200 twice. Okay... continue with the process. I will bring you your money tomorrow.

I got a good deal on insurance as a member of HRPA.

Where is Maternal. I don miss my padi of life.
Just wow. To be honest, when dem match break for you, na autofail...you are the only exception i have heard of...
Your driving must have been very good that she waived the auto fail..Still Oluwa is involved. lol.
That amber transition could be confusing at times even to the ones that have driven for years in Canada.
Congrats once again

1 Like

Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by mishooo(m): 4:16pm On Oct 21, 2017
Ballerz:


Salford Salford.... You did not give me the specific info I asked via email. I have madam's contact o, don't get it twisted. That Kitchen strike is looming. you will chop your poundo yam in powder (Wa je iyen e ni isu)

@Car shopping... Me wey don buy car, collect insurance quote before DriveTest. Iyen lo n pe ni "I must pass this test at once by faith."
I reached out to the instructor on a Saturday and told him we are going for testing on Thursday. (He did the booking becos I wasn't getting any date b4 19th.) He asked, have you driven in CDN before I said No. He said you can't pass this test. I looked him in the eye and said "I am passing" and we are going for it in 5 days. (That 19th was key becos car seller don dey disturb my voicemail say make I come commot the car from them showroom, and I said give me till 19th. They had said I cannot take delivery of the car becos I don't have a G).

After Day 1, instructor now had confidence in me that your driving is very good, You just need to learn the instructions. Come see MSB Rhythm. Me I changed it to MSTH = Mirror Signal Turn your Head

You know they said once examiner match brake for you, that is the end of testing. My examiner matched brake o. I said It was still orange so I could still go. I asked "have I failed the test" She said "Sir, please continue with the drive test" So test continue o. We got to carpark, did all the maneuvers, reverse packing, straight line parking.... When I hear that word congratulation, omo.... that was a solid nice birthday gift. Everyone had said they won't give you from G1 to G (Since you have never driven in Canada before). I kept rebuking allllllllllllllll of them say I must collect this thing. It was God jare.

Kwasi took four of us there. He picked me up at 4.15am in Brampton, We drove down to Toronto to pick the other 3 candidates before heading to test location. Omo... the place far die. 3 went for G, one went for G2. I was the only obote among the G testers. Other two don dey drive for Canada on G2. I passed, Jamaican Passed, but the other Nigerian lady did not make it.

Those instructors are making stupid money. 30 dollars per session and they can have like 5 sessions in a day. On drive test date, He took four of us there, that is 200*4 = 800 Dollars. cool cash. Nontaxable becos na cash transactions. The first day they told me I was going to pay 200 dollars for test date for him to take me there and use his car, I wanted to have a heart attack. 200 ginni for what? why wasn't I told before we started this whole thing?. I just said, I must not pay this 200 twice. Okay... continue with the process. I will bring you your money tomorrow.

I got a good deal on insurance as a member of HRPA.

Where is Maternal. I don miss my padi of life.

Ok. I see why it is soo expensive. You are in ON.
Everything there is so expensive.
I was referring to SK earlier. Ours is just $25 for knowledge test and $55 for road test.

Well done man

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Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by oohunt: 6:03pm On Oct 21, 2017
yokus:
COPIED. This may help someone.

"josh's Post" *** A MUST READ for ALL APPLICANTS ****

« on: November 23, 2009, 10:49:35 am »

Dear Friends,

The following is a copy-paste of only 1 of 3 posts* by user 'josh'. It is a Must Read by all of us. As the great guy is busy now-a-days and his 'dil se' write-up might go into oblivion; Thus, I'm taking the liberty of reproducing it here :

*For the original click:http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/this-is-how-you-succeed-in-canada-t29170.0.html

This is how you succeed in Canada
November 17, 2009, 11:09:04 am  
Author:  josh

Hear is my story...  take the time to read it, if nothing you might at least save a few pennies and a couple of sleepless nights.

I have been a silent viewer on this forum, I have read a lot of arguments and I appreciate the zeal of most people. The positive approach some people have displayed in spite of all the negative and discouraging information is really inspiring.

I have been in Canada for over 25 months now, migrated from India, to quickly answer some of the biting questions in your head....

1,  Am I doing well---Yes I am, maybe not as good as I would have liked it but I am happy.
2,  Was I doing well back in India--- Very well.
3,  Am I happy to have made the switch----No doubt about that.
4,  Did I have to struggle and go through hard times----- Very very hard times, I've had to hang on by my tooth and claws.
5,  Would I do it again---Damn sure I would.

BUT
6,  Would I go about it in the same way that I did----NO, This post is to help you guys avoid the same mistake that I made and to give something back to people like me 25 months ago, I would have NEVER been able to do it without the help of many good hearted people, God bless em. 

So here is my story......

But before that I just want to mention that I have met a lot of immigrants, some who have done well some not so well and others worse. The common line among all the immigrants were certain qualifications and these are a must according to me and my experience if you have to succeed, if you don't have these qualifications then you will be putting yourself in deep trouble.

At the risk of sounding dreadfully dull and at a horrible effort at instigating motivation here are the qualification you need to have:

a,   Determination... If you are not absolutely determined its a waste of time.
b,   Perseverance...The heart to go on in spite of all odds, never failing to loose the strength to take another step, NEVER NEVER give up, its your life and you cant give up on it.
c,   Hard work....Try to be the best in whatever you do, don't work hard because you have to or because you are being watched just work hard coz you WANT to. Even if you are polishing shoes and if you are the best in doing that you will achieve glory someday. NOT BORN TO BE A MEDIOCRE attitude.
d,   Good Heart.... A good heart to help people in need, may not just be financially (if that is not possible) but a kind word, a passionate hug, an encouraging line to any fellow in need. A genuine good wish and prayer from someone thankful can even move the Heart of GOD.

So, my story then, My God, its just starting, even I am tired already. I'll make it short.

Got my visa after a long and painful wait...Quit our jobs, my wife and me (first mistake, will explain later) scooped up all our savings, got our children out of school with appropriate planning so that they don't miss out a year. Did our lil research, said our prayers and got on the plane. Landed in Vancouver, some website told us that this was the worlds best place to live and raise a family (mistake number two). Checked into the hotel and began house hunting, looked at all the nice neighbourhoods and selected a house based on our budget (third mistake) so far so good, we thought. Put our kids to school and began the mammoth task of job hunting ( 25-30 days and 2000 dollars down).

Me wife and me are well qualified and based on our experiences we made absolutely wonderful resumes and started applying ( fourth mistake). Amazing responses, calls every day but that was that, stopped at calls after realising we don't have any Canadian qualification or experience. We were not too worried initially but as time passed it started to get a little uncomfortable( down by 3 months and 4000 dollars). We then started trying to get help and advise from the locals, mixed responses, very conflicting as everyone were from different circumstances. We then had to downgrade our resumes (as one of the refusal feedback was that we were over qualified) and start applying, still luck eluded us. Every dollar spent was like fire in the belly growing hotter. Five-six months later we were desperate and ready to take any job that was available to us. A month later, my wife got a job and few weeks later it was my turn to get lucky to get a job.

These were not nearly ideal jobs that we were hoping for but some income was better than nothing. It killed me to see my wife doing data entry who was working for ICICI bank back in India and managing a whole branch and had won many awards for being the best run branch , just typing away 8 hours a day. I never really had the courage to ask how she felt seeing me flip burgers when I had 120 employees working for me at Hewlett Packard back in India.

Though both of us were earning still we were not able to make enough money to stop digging away from our savings. The house rent, bills, travel to & fro to work, food and the most expensive of the lot, child minders for our kids, to pick them up from school and take care until my wife gets back home. I was working over time, nearly 12 hours a day but could not sustain ourselves, we then switched our plan and I took up night shift and weekends while my wife worked in the day, I would wake up cook and get the kids back home and put them in front of the telly and pass out on the couch. I was ready to leave for work and would be waiting at the door to rush out to get the train, sometimes I must admit, with wet eyes while walking to the train station.At all time, I tried real hard to put a brave face for my wife and my two little angels, one kiss at the door everyday was all the interaction I had with my wife. That and kisses from my two little angels is what kept me going.

Even though we had figured out a way to save the child minders costs we were just making enough to live a very limited life. My children deserved more time from us, at least from one of us. I dint want them to grow up without that. I forced my wife to work only part time, moved to a smaller house, took up work for 12 hours every night, 6 days a week. I could not miss a single days work, no work no money. Life seemed a little better for a while, at least for my wife and kids.

When all seemed in control ( at least better than a few months ago ) another blow (forgive me for saying that but that's what it seemed like at that time), I was hardly with my wife a few times since we started working and she was pregnant for the second time ( we had twins the first time)  in spite of all the caution we had taken. The irony was, we had to try for almost a year the first time around to get pregnant.  If that was not all, it was twins AGAIN. The odds of that happening, twins twice, was 10 million to one or so I was told. This was about the time when I could sense my wife giving up. I could not imagine how we could afford the expenses of additional two babies in our present circumstances.

To cut it short, we had to go through more hardships, we had to move again and again until we were in what one would call a single room apartment.

Was this what we left everything and came here? Was this the life in Canada?
How could we have been so wrong in our assessment?
Are we losers and should go back home crawling like one?

BUT WAIT NO, I thought,

If I we had the luck of having two twins which is very very rare then we surely should be blessed. And I will not let all the sacrifices my family and I have made go for a waste, I did not want my kids to see their father give up when I have always told them never to give up. I was even more determined to move on.

Things turned around, of all the mistakes that I made I had done one thing right, I had really put in my best at work, nobody could do stuff in the kitchen like I could. For most people out there this was just a job, for me it was food in my kids bellies and the last straw of hope in keeping my dreams alive.

I got so many appreciations and management started noticing me, My work was perfect no matter there was someone watching over me or not. As a matter of fact I used to perform even better when I was not supervised. the management quickly saw this and moved the night shift supervisor to another branch to save costs. There was no impact on the business even though I was all alone in the kitchen all night. It was barely any time I was made a supervisor and I had enough money now and did not have to work 12 hours and 6 days. But I did, as my wife had stopped working coz of her pregnancy, we took this opportunity to get her to study and get some certifications in her line of work which were recognised in Canada. She came out with flying colours as she was twice as smart than any certification she sat for. She scored 100% in every damn thing.

We had two healthy little angels again, within four months she started applying with the Canadian certifications and she got a decent job, within a very short time her employers realised her potential and moved her to a different role with more responsibilities and more salary as well.

She did not eat for two days until I agreed to quit my job and stay home with my kids and take up some kind of studying myself. The first few days after I quit I slept for 15 hours every day,  it seemed like heaven as I had not had so much sleep in many months. I then started studying at home and taking care of the babies while my wife worked. She was getting paid more than what we had earned collectively so it was fine.

I finished a few certifications and also got decent job. We both feel that we can grow in the companies that we are currently in because of our experience and knowledge and also the effort we have put in to get so far.

We have now moved a good two bed apartment and got ourselves a second-had Ford Mondeo, and now we can see the light at the end of the tunnel and any hope of realising our dreams.

Now let me talk about the mistakes I think I made and what I would have done differently if I had to do this all over again.

1st Mistake -,   Quitting both our jobs. My wife was working for an Indian Company( ICICI) but I was working for a global company (HEWLETT PACKARD). I should have tried to get a internal transfer, Global companies do hire from within. I agree that it would not have been easy but I am sure not as difficult as what I went through. I might have had to go down several levels and wait for maybe a year or two which is still a worthwhile thing to do.

If that was absolutely not possible I would  then quit my job leave my wife and kids behind and go to Canada myself.

2, Mistake -   Trying to settle down with out first getting a job. If I am alone I can get a temporary accommodation and be more flexible to move where ever there is opportunity, even move to different cities, with family it is not possible. this will also keep my costs very very low.

3,Mistake -   Unless you related to tourism and hospitality industry don't go to Vancouver. Calgary is good for people in oil industry but as a 
general rule of thumb there are much more jobs in Toronto that any other place. There are many immigrants there , right, but this is not entirely bad as the employers in Toronto are more used to the Immigrants and are less biased compared to other places. 
4, Mistake -   I expected to get a great job, like the one I had back in India right away. This does not happen with 99% of the people. You cant just pick up from where you left unless you have some kind of Canadian qualification or internally transferred from within your company. 

As soon as you land get yourself some/any job that you can land yourself in and ensure that your monthly expenditure is less that what you earn. Yes you might have to compromise a great deal on where you live and stuff. Make sure you spend as little money as possible from your savings. Immediately get into some kind of course/certification in your line that is recognised in Canada, use your savings for that. Don't waste even one day.

Make sure once you have secured some certifications and you are looking for a job that is in your line of work. You would already have a job, however bad but a job nevertheless. All your focus should be to get a job in your line of work and not towards getting a little more money, this is because if you get to do something in your line of work you will naturally do well.

Once you have set your foot in and fairly confident its time to get your wife..... NOT KIDS, just wife. I know it can be very difficult to leave kids behind but you will have to make some sacrifices to ensure that you do it the right way.

Now that your wife is there, just get her to do some part time work focus entirely on getting Canadian qualification in her line of work.

Always remember there will be totally unexpected things that will come up ( my wife's pregnancy for example ) and make sure you have put away some money for emergencies, however little, something is better than nothing.

Only get a permanent family home when you and your wife are working, in your respective line of work and the get your kids. Things would have been a lot easier if I had done it this way rather than the way I adopted.

THE SATISFACTION YOU GET AND THE WAY YOUR SELF CONFIDENCE IS BOOSTED WILL BE WORTH ALL THE EFFORT. ONCE YOU HAVE SETTLED IN YOU WILL HAVE VERY FEW AND JUST MUNDANE THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT, LIFE IN CANADA WILL SEEM VERY ENJOYABLE THEN. 

Please feel free to ask me any questions that may crop up, I wish this was helpful and God bless you all.

Thanks for sharing this here. I remember reading this story somewhere and was terrified. That was one of the reasons I started this thread. There is nothing as good as researching and planning ahead. Even better, here on nairaland, we have the luxury of contacting people (fellow country members) who's had first hand experience. At least, when you are making the move, you know what to prepare for, plan ahead, not get into trouble and have short cuts.

On this note, I will like to appreciate every single one of you, who have opened your heart to share your personal experiences. You will never know the number of people (families) you have encouraged, improved their lives, guided to make the correct decision.
May God shower his abundant blessings on you and open up doors of favour for you in Canada!

May Canada be green for us as we gain wisdom!!

70 Likes 13 Shares

Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by Ballerz: 7:02pm On Oct 21, 2017
oohunt:


Thanks for sharing this here. I remember reading this story somewhere and was terrified. That was one of the reasons I started this thread. There is nothing as good as researching and planning ahead. Even better, here on nairaland, we have the luxury of contacting people (fellow country members) who's had first hand experience. At least, when you are making the move, you know what to prepare for, plan ahead, not get into trouble and have short cuts.

On this note, I will like to appreciate every single one of you, who have opened your heart to share your personal experiences. You will never know the number of people (families) you have encouraged, improved their lives, guided to make the correct decision.
May God shower his abundant blessings on you and open up doors of favour for you in Canada!

May Canada be green for us as we gain wisdom!!

The dude summarised it all. Planning ahead is key, be nimble, be flexible and be agile.

8 Likes

Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by A555: 8:00pm On Oct 21, 2017
Ehrnie:


I like the sound of that cheesy cheesy ...making lots of money! shocked

Thanks for your response.

Yes to all 3 questions - EIT is Engineer-In-Training, I have satisfied the academic requirements and I require CAN work experience.

No, I'm not yet in CAN. I'm just trying to get all the groundwork going prior to when I relocate. I presume it's not advisable to complete the First Aid and H2S Alive trainings from outside CAN...is that correct?


@Ehrnie: Do I have to wait till I get my passport back from the VO before I start the EIT application? I'm guessing you did yours from outside Canada. I'm particularly looking at the question on citizenship, and want to be careful not to misrepresent myself all for the wont to wait an additional couple of weeks, if that's required.

Also, did you indicate 0 years of experience or 3 years, so it takes you to the Member-In-Training option? I've got 10+ years but all non canadian.
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by juliby: 8:33pm On Oct 21, 2017
Hello everyone, I'm new here and been learning a lot. Please I would like to clarify something. I got PPR and look to land in November. I intend to do a soft landing with my family for two weeks and I head out but my family will be staying back in Canada. Is it okay to have my pr card posted to me or get someone to bring it. I just want to find out if there are any challenges to this arrangement.

2 Likes

Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by teewhy31(f): 8:51am On Oct 22, 2017
Anxiously waiting for the rest of the story...

[quote author=fabdee post=61630710]LONG POST ALERT
MY LANDING GIST.
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by primeson1(m): 9:14am On Oct 22, 2017
teewhy31:
Anxiously waiting for the rest of the story...


Me too
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by cuteguy201: 9:40am On Oct 22, 2017
Haha! This Life!
They will not spoil show for you oooo..... Lol
Oya wake up. We don wait tire.

fabdee:
LONG POST ALERT
MY LANDING GIST.

Got to MMIA Lagos like 3hours to check in. Scanned our bags in and yes we were stopped( I was not surprised, i know what i packed in there grin) 7 check in bag(3 were fully loaded with foodstuff, i still had other foodstuff tucked here and there in the other 4bags. So in total foodstuff alone will be like 4 to 5bags). Anyways, the officials were like oh you have a lottt of items in your luggage that...hubby cuts in Yes we know, they're foodstuff. Meanwhile another was already cutting us eye like just find something give them....omg i almost burst into laughter.... We were like no wahala we arrange una own come....thats the LEAST of our worries. Our focus was cairo after reading about all the binning and trashing...i was so worried, it entered prayer point grin
Back to my gist....check-in was fast and smooth. Our luggage limit was 23kg for check in and 10kg for hand luggage but we had a couple of almost 24kg and a bit over 10kg. The lady was nice enough to overlook and she did not request for any tip. So yes we still got some nice peeps wink. So we were done with check in.....took pictures with family....said goodbyes....chased the tears back into the sockets(you wee not come and mess up my canadian make up hahaha grin).
Ook so reluctantly walked through departure gate(yes reluctantly, my love for naija is on another level infact i almost turned back say i no even commot again sef hahaha grin grin grin
Nexxxxxt is immigration, we declared how much we had (cuz It was over 10k CAD) buh they didnt even count it, just wrote it down. We still had time before boarding.....ook lets goan eat. Settled for rice with snailsssss of life. The snailssss were in memorial of the day i left my dearly beloved country sad . Sooo i was on my first snail when they made the first boarding call...shuuuu I said NO WAY....these snails must enter my tummy with ease and splendour....no rush rush....it is a memorial sacrifice offering ( omg omg cold has entered my brain).
Ooook so we boarded.....take off was ok buh ears starting popping buh not too painful ....when they served food, hmmm i remembered the snails in my tummy, no it would be rude to top it with all this mende mende so i just took the bread and cheese (truth is i no sabi chop them and i dont deceive myself shhhhh). 5hr flight to cairo...twas ok. tho inflight entertainment no make sense. Landing in Cairo was hell for ME....my ears almost burst open..wouldpain was massive cry...did i mention our seat was on the wing but funny thing was, i was the only one feeling that way. Hubby and kids were fine.
Sooo Cairo here we are....the home of trashing and binning the best foods the world can get. We had like 4hrs to the next flight, found a nice sofa to catch some good sleep....set an alarm so we dont oversleep o hahaha. Time to go check in, my heart was doing gbim gbim....wat shall it profit a somebody to pack plenty food from GREAT NIGERIA only to be trashed by an official in Egypt hmmm Apostle must hear this.
We joined the queue.............TO BE CONTINUED........its 4am here biko, i want to go and sleep tongue

4 Likes 1 Share

Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by DatechMan(m): 10:23am On Oct 22, 2017
I got my PPR, Awaiting COPR.

I dey fear Canada winter chaii. But man must land immediately. iduro osi ibere osi fun eni ti o gbe odo mi (There is no rest for the one that ingest the mortar )

Do we have any telecom engineer in the house?

Where can me settle?

9 Likes

Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by Abeehorlar: 12:12pm On Oct 22, 2017
Hi everyone, please I need your help. We are family of 4(husband, Wife with two kids) planing to apply for Canada visa though myself and my son have USA visa but my husband and my daughter does not have, infact we just came back from USA. Please what is our chance with Canada visa before we apply and how can we apply, please advise.
Please note that my husband and daughter was denied USA visa
Thanks in advance
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by Nobody: 1:06pm On Oct 22, 2017
Congratulations man! I dey envy you ooo...


DatechMan:
I got my PPR, Awaiting COPR.

I dey fear Canada winter chaii. But man must land immediately. iduro osi ibere osi fun eni ti o gbe odo mi (There is no rest for the one that ingest the mortar )

Do we have any telecom engineer in the house?

Where can me settle?
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by fabdee: 1:16pm On Oct 22, 2017
Hello beautiful people...sorry for the delay with my gist. grin

Sooo the first official checked our passports and b.pass...... off to the next queue, the guy already had a list. I was like ehen....its about to go down. To God be the gloryyyyy we were not on the list yayyyy my fish, crayfish, ponmo, vegetable, groundnut, egusi, ogbono etc and I started dancing skelewu....we scaled through Pharaoh of Egypt hahaha grin grin
Oook boarded the next flight...we off to toronto...bigger plane (airbus i guess) take off was cool...no ear pains just a couple of blocking and reopening..... Food came....took the bread and cheese jejely as usual.....twas a long 12hr flight, inflight entertainment was much better.....Touch down Toronto.......went through immigration........service canada(got our SIN)..........went to baggage area to get our bags.......got a porter to assist, old man charged 20CAD, i was like wawuu just to push load? Na wa o. grin

Next is customs......
Custom: what foodstuff do you have in your luggage?

We: dried cassava, dried fish.....

Custom interrupts: do you have snails, meat?

We: NO

Custom: ok you can go. Do have a great time.

We: ������ grin grin

Custom: ohh do you have goods to follow?

We: Yes

Custom: sorry go this way

We: �� shocked angry another queue ooo

By the time we were through with all that, we had missed our flight. We were placed on the next available flight to Edmonton which was like 30min so we didnt have to wait for long.

Touch down Edmonton.....we had already rented an apartment before we left naija. We got a friend to come pick us....got to our new apartment and had a lonnggggg sleep.

Next day we went to get phone lines....my dearest Techno fone did not collabo with the sim(koodo) so i had to get a new phone. Wuld be paying 63Caccounthly as opposed to 55CAD if it was just the sim.
Next stop was RBC bank to open an account.

Nextttt we shopping...at first every item i picked had to go thru a mini second multiply by 300naira, shocked drop it...how much we dey buy am for naija grin buh then i realised i will leave the mall without buying a thing oo grin

Next day we went to the registry to register for our health insurance cards. We are yet to go to any of the welcome centers, should do that in the coming week.

Its been ten days now and I've been enjoying every bit of it.
Wishing everyone landing soon a safe trip and those yet to get ppr, success!
Cheers everyone.

96 Likes 11 Shares

Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by Bella123(f): 1:52pm On Oct 22, 2017
grin That's why I'm skeptical about using Egypt air the food trashing scares me. Besides grin You sound like fabdee from Give Birth in USA thread, very funny.....


fabdee:

Sooo Cairo here we are....the home of trashing and binning the best foods the world can get. We had like 4hrs to the next flight, found a nice sofa to catch some good sleep....set an alarm so we dont oversleep o hahaha. Time to go check in, my heart was doing gbim gbim....wat shall it profit a somebody to pack plenty food from GREAT NIGERIA only to be trashed by an official in Egypt hmmm Apostle must hear this.
We joined the queue.............TO BE CONTINUED........its 4am here biko, i want to go and sleep tongue
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by emmasom(f): 2:45pm On Oct 22, 2017
Thanks for sharing your landing experience, it was so interesting. Wishing you a fruitful stay in Canada. We hope to join you soon.

[quote author=fabdee post=61663078]Hello beautiful people...sorry for the delay with my gist. grin

Sooo the first official checked our passports and b.pass...... off to the next queue, the guy already had a list. I was like ehen....its about to go down. To God be the gloryyyyy we were not on the list yayyyy my fish, crayfish, ponmo, vegetable, groundnut, egusi, ogbono etc and I started dancing skelewu....we scaled through Pharaoh of Egypt hahaha grin grin
Oook boarded the next flight...we off to toronto...bigger plane (airbus i guess) take off was cool...no ear pains just a couple of blocking and reopening..... Food came....took the bread and cheese jejely as usual.....twas a long 12hr flight, inflight entertainment was much better.....Touch down Toronto.......went through immigration........service canada(got our SIN)..........went to baggage area to get our bags.......got a porter to assist, old man charged 20CAD, i was like wawuu just to push load? Na wa o. grin
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by Hephgirl: 5:11pm On Oct 22, 2017
Ogundre:
Hello people. So I got my golden email on Thursday October 19th at 4:07am. Best email I ever woke up to. Sent my passport to Accra yesterday. My timeline
AOR:August 1st
MP/IP1: August 15th
NA2: August 17th
IP2: September 7th
PPR: October 19th.

I plan to land sometime between June and July next year though.
But won't ur medical have expired?

2 Likes

Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by FKBZ: 7:05pm On Oct 22, 2017
Hello all, pls I have someone who wants to relocate to Canada...
He has have over 6 years experience working in the media industry in nigeria and almost done with his msc from Uniport studying mgt.
Pls he needs expert advice on how to start the process....
Thank you
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by Abby2017: 7:27pm On Oct 22, 2017
Hi,
Please tell "someone" someone told you to read the pages of the link below from page 0.

https://www.nairaland.com/3999848/canadian-express-entry-federal-skilled

Details of how to start and check eligibility is there.
FKBZ:
Hello all, pls I have someone who wants to relocate to Canada...
He has have over 6 years experience working in the media industry in nigeria and almost done with his msc from Uniport studying mgt.
Pls he needs expert advice on how to start the process....
Thank you

15 Likes

Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by yimiton(f): 8:17pm On Oct 22, 2017
Dear Fam, good evening.

Is it true that we can't get PTA with one way booking?

Zenith Bank just told us that we need a return ticket to get PTA, is it the same with the other banks?
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by Ogundre: 10:48pm On Oct 22, 2017
Hephgirl:
But won't ur medical have expired?

No I did my medicals on August 1st, same day I submitted my application. On a second thought, I might actually go before that July sef. Naija don tire me. smiley

7 Likes 1 Share

Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by flyhigh1881: 12:12am On Oct 23, 2017
yimiton:
Dear Fam, good evening.

Is it true that we can't get PTA with one way booking?

Zenith Bank just told us that we need a return ticket to get PTA, is it the same with the other banks?


You can get PTA from Access bank with your one way ticket and your PR visa.

4 Likes 6 Shares

Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant by Hephgirl: 12:16am On Oct 23, 2017
Ogundre:


No I did my medicals on August 1st, same day I submitted my application. On a second thought, I might actually go before that July sef. Naija don tire me. smiley
it's means u have 6 months from August 1st.

Cc mummyjaygirls vcole and other seniors
U r to land on or before 6 months after ur medical or expiration of ur passport abi?

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