Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

It's been quite a long road but we're finally almost at the end of our move to Vancouver, so I thought it might be helpful to outline my experience in case it helps anyone! Feel free to ask questions, I may still have some a lot...

The beginning
We started our journey by lucking into my husband working in the UK for a Canadian tech company, who agreed to support him to voluntarily office transfer from one of the UK offices to the Vancouver office. Helped by him switching jobs within the company, so the rest of his team are actually in Vancouver. After investigating we decided that going through the BC Provincial Nomination Programme would be the best route, as we met the criteria for Express Entry PR, but with too few points to get an ITA. We also lucked into timing as a tech pilot had just started, which fast tracks applications for certain NOCs.

Timeline
September 2017 - complete IELTS tests and request education credential assessments
10th November 2017 - create EE profile and register for PC PNP
17th November 2017 - get invitation to apply for BC PNP
21st November 2017 - receive confirmation of PNP and work permit support letter, update EE profile
December 2017 - receive ITA to apply for PR via Express entry (provincial nomination gave us 600 extra points) - 3 month deadline. Start gathering police check and other information.
January 2018 - complete medicals for PR application
February 2018 - submit PR application

At this point our intention was to move to Vancouver on temporary work permits as is allowed under the PNP route, while we waited for our PR application to be processed. We had actually booked flights for the end of April, unfortunately my husband's chest x rays at the medical flagged the need for further investigations as they suspected TB! Which he doesn't and never has had, but we had to go through three months of extra tests/examinations to confirm this. We rebooked our flights for the 21st June (which cost about £700!), crossing our fingers that we would be able to use them and not need to cancel or rebook again.

February 2018 - get request for further medical information, and informed that an eTA would not be approved until medicals passed.
12th-14th March 2018 - TB tests completed
30th April 2018 - we get a provisional all clear on the medicals (no TB stuff found) and I hand my notice in at work
2nd May 2018- Final X ray
11th May 2018 - Consultant review - all clear given
22nd May 2018 - results uploaded to the system
29th May 2018 - status on MyCIC changed to medical passed
4th June 2018 - Receive letter saying PR is nearly processed and requesting passport photos
6th June 2018 - Receive confirmation that we will receive COPR prior to 21st June and will not need to apply for temporary work permits

Phew! Quite the process. If the medical stuff hadn't got int he way the rest of PR seemed to be processed pretty quickly, I was expecting it to take the full 6 months if not more! We were also really unsure of how long it would take to get the medical results processed and what would happen after that, as there is basically no way to get a timeline from anyone official.

Logistics
Once we decided to try and use our 21st June flights, it's been all go getting everything sorted. Fortunately we had already made a lot of provisional plans when we thought we were going in April. Luckily I had decided to hand my notice in in preparation, which paid off! The main things we had to get sorted to make sure we could go were:

• Accommodation: we had provisionally booked and paid a deposit on a serviced apartment in Downtown Vancouver for the first month. NOT CHEAP but we got a discounted deal as it's a new building, and they agreed to honour the price for up to 12 months. We confirmed they still had availability on 21st June.
• Pet travel: Again, we had provisionally booked and paid a deposit on using PetAir to transport our two cats. We're not enamoured by the idea of our kitties being in the hold and travelling for hours without us, but actually we decided it will be easier for us and them to use this company, who will do all the vet checks and paperwork and get the cats to the airport for us. It'll definitely be less stressful for them in the hold (and less stressful for fellow passengers who won't have to listen to any yowling!).
• Shipping: We hadn't done anything about this in April, but had seen some good reviews and experiences for White & Co. Given the limited time we didn't bother getting lots of quotes, we're not shipping huge amounts of stuff as we're going from furnished rented accommodation. Received a quote and confirmation they could pack up before 21st and booked it in!

So that's where we're at now, in the midst of packing, organising etc with two weeks to go!

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

Well that was quick, just got our COPR via email! :thumbsup:

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

Congratulations :)

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

Thanks so much, milly_m. I have my own move to Vancouver coming up, so I'll certainly be interested to hear any further stories of establishing your life there.
Cheers
MelVan

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

I'm so glad we don't have to faff around with temporary work visas now!

With three weeks to get our whole lives organised we've had a lot to do over the past week, I'm so glad I'm not working that's for sure. As well as organising all the 'big stuff' we set up a shared spreadsheet of all the tasks we needed to organise. I did use the departure-to do list from here that was helpful for ideas, and we went through our bank direct debits to identify who we needed to contact and cancel services with. So far we have:

- Closed down extra bank accounts
- Arranged an appointment with HSBC in Vancouver to open an account (I've been with HSBC for years so they can use my UK history which may be helpful in the short term, not sure we'll stay with them though)
- Informed all utilities
- Put in notice with our landlords, and obtained a landlord's reference
- Scrapped our cronky old cars (husbands to be scrapped the day before we leave)
- Got phones unlocked
- Cancelled subscriptions and gym memberships
- Requested proof of no claims from recent car insurers
- De-registered from HMRC self assessment/informed HMRC
- Arranged for cleaners to scrub up our house for us after we leave
- Got extra prescriptions (my husband is T1 diabetic, so put in a big order for his usual stuff)
- Set up mail redirection to a family address

We've still got to shut our joint account and inform our GPs. We are currently in the midst of making shipping and insurance lists of all of the stuff we are taking, which obviously means deciding what we are taking, and then a lot of trips to charity shops/the tip etc. for the items we aren't. That will be our next week of fun... Every time I move house I tell myself I'm going to become more minimalist and have less stuff and it never works :lol:

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

There is so much stuff to get rid of. but shpok , facebook & car boots helping to get rid. I don't think you have that kind of time however.

Wishing all best.

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

What we have isn't worth a huge amount, we might get a couple of hundred quid from selling bits and bobs, but at the moment I just want rid of it!

Anyone want a mini doughnut maker by any chance? :cool:

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

An advanced welcome to Canada, BC and Vancouver. You may want to take a look at a post I put up a few years ago now, I cant find it for some reason, on tips for renting in Vancouver. It was bad two years ago and it has only gotten worse. Any ideas on areas you are looking at?

get a copy of your Equifax credit report as well to bring with you. It is a name Canadians recognize and when you have little to no credit history in Canada it can make a huge difference when renting apartments as a newcomer.
Please make sure these meet ICBC's requirement. Standard proof of no claims letters will not be considered. They must state that you have had no accidents not just that you have a no claims bonus.
Insurance discount for new and returning residents

Be aware that it is notoriously difficult to find a family doctor in the lower mainland of BC. Most of use walk-in centers and see who ever is available. For those without ongoing care needs this is ok but with your husbands diabetes this may prove more difficult/frustrating at first.

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

Thanks for the advice! I'll make sure we have sets of documents ready to go for apartment hunting, we do have credit reports as well from Experian and Equifax.

My husband's diabetes is generally well controlled but he usually gets 6 monthly checks here and yearly for retinopathy/podiatry so I guess he'll have to investigate how to get referrals for those, or if they don't do them. He will have health insurance through his work but honestly I've no idea how it all works yet! Do you get what you need and claim back, or give the pharmacy/GP/whoever your insurance details at the time and they only charge you for whatever percentage you pay?

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

It may work differently province to province but the family doc may refer to diabetic centre or check themselves. Mine does it both ways. Annual eye check at specialised clinic and foot check too but foot care if needed likely to be private, but probably covered by employee insurance.

Yes, about the co-payment.

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

After the waiting period (approx.. 3 months in BC), health insurance through the employer , other referred to as group benefits, is for coverage over and above that provided by the provincial Medical services plan. Most normal care will be provided by the province with extras like dentistry, optical care, prescription drugs etc. being handled by insurance. Make sure you register on day 1 of arrival for MSP with the province as this is the start of the waiting period.

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/h...betes-supplies
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/h...ation-benefits
:)

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

You guys are full of helpful advice, thanks!

Today's task, ring esure who ignored the email I sent them with very specific information about what I needed and just sent me a standard NCB letter... just got to get over this hangover from the first of quite a few leaving do's :drinkwine:

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

Yes we are, looks like we can both keep our current and a savings account open. We also have a help to buy savings account which we'll keep just in case we do end up coming back to the UK in a few years and want to use it to help us buy somewhere. If not we can just close it down and transfer the money at some point. I'm hoping that I'll be able to transfer between my UK and Canadian HSBC accounts without too much trouble but we'll see!

I need to sort out my Equifax credit report though as I just received it and it has super old and out of date address details on it (although the financial details are up to date/correct) and my sister's credit history as well as mine! Not sure she'll be too happy to know I can see her credit card balances for the past few years...

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

Landing

So we landed in Vancouver as permanent residents yesterday, via a flight into YVR. The flight was delayed by almost an hour, so it was around 8pm by the time we landed. We were helped by staff to figure out how to proceed - there are these new terminals where you do your customs and entry declaration rather than filling out a paper form, so we used those to state that we were new immigrants and had goods to follow, which printed out on a bit of paper. We then got into the line for UK passports and were asked some basic questions by the initial border staff. This is where some confusion then happened. We were told to collect our luggage and proceed to the exit and we would be directed from there. There was however a big section and sign pointing to the immigration area and a line for new immigrants. We collected our luggage and checked with a member of staff who said that we should go to the immigration section. We showed a staff member our COPR and he provided us with a welcome to Canada booklet, took some details and then directed us into a line to get everything stamped etc. We were waiting about 45 minutes I'd say, to then be told that we should in fact have gone to the exit and secondary immigration!

So off we trotted to the exit line, and our paper customs form that was printed from the terminal directed us to the customs section, where we handed over our goods to follow lists and got our COPR signed and activated. They didn't provide us with the welcome pack that we got from the main immigration section though, so I'm still confused about what the procedures should be. They didn't ask us for proof of funds, and said that they didn't need a goods accompanying list although we brought one. That part took around another 45 minutes.

It was about 10.30 pm by the time we were done and through, and we then just had to pick up the cats! This was the most stressful part, as the cargo people kept calling us as they were supposed to close at 10.30pm. My husband had to go to the cargo office, obtain the paperwork, come back to arrivals, get it stamped by customs and then we went back to collect them, not long before midnight. It was busy and there was a huge queue for taxi's initially, but luckily it quietened down, and for the last trip we asked the taxi marshal to flag us a big taxi which would fit all our cases/cats, which luckily only took a few minutes. The cats were fine and happy to see us (e.g. noisy), luckily we'd arranged for some cat supplies to be delivered to our temporary apartment. We had specifically chosen a serviced apartment with a concierge for this purpose as they could accept and keep the parcels for us.

Today has been full of other practical things which I'll summarise another time as I am knackered! Jet lag has been rough today - we woke up at around 4am, again at 6am and have been on the go since. Desperately trying to make it past 8pm before going to bed :) It's a very weird (but nice) feeling being here as a resident not a tourist!

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

Congratulations - and welcome home to Canada!!!

:thumbsup::thumbup::thumbsup:
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...f09b01ad94.jpg


With regards to your Goods to Follow list, it's very important that you go and get it stamped at the Customs Office - else you may have issues when your shipments arrive. :)

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

Thanks Siouxie and Engineer Abroad (I think.... haven't seen any beavers yet, very disappointing!!) We'll go find our local customs office, I'm assuming as long as we get it stamped before we try and get the shipment released it'll be fine?

Day 1 in Vancouver

After waking up at 4am and then 6am, we dragged ourselves up for a day of getting the essentials done. Obviously the essentials came first - coffee and a croissant - and then we did a bit of wandering around the neighbourhood, found where our local shops were and went to a pet store to grab a few extra bits and bobs for the cats. We then made our way to the nearest Service Canada centre for our SINs, it was dead quiet so we went straight in and it just took about half an hour.

Next on the list was getting Canadian sim cards. From some investigating (and a thread on this very forum, thanks guys!) we had decided to go look at Koodo prepaid plans. When we got there we had initially planned on getting the $15 monthly plan with a $30 1GB top up which would last around a month, and a $30 call minutes top up which would probably last ages. However, as we were bringing our phones we both ended up getting a $45/month sim only plan. Unlimited international texts and Canadian minutes, and 2GB of data per month, plus we did a referral between us so will get $10 off per month for 5 months. It's probably around the same as I was paying in the UK (was on £27/month which included an employer discount for 1GB/month) but I had to sign a 24 month contract, so this is much more flexible.

Finally, we opened a bank account at HSBC. It was a bit confusing due to the differences in requirements for UK and Canadian accounts, but we ended up on a new immigrant option that lets us have an advance account for a year without any fees if we don't make the usual requirements, and that gives us access to global transfers from my UK HSBC account. We may well go for other accounts later on, but this will be good until we get all our UK money over at least.

This weekend we're just going to do some exploring and acclimatising. We're staying in Yaletown which is lovely but wow so expensive. I wish we were rich enough to live here permanently but we really want a 2 bed place, and could only afford a 1 bed in this area. We're fitting in fairly well into the 1 bed temporary place but then I remember we've got 20 boxes being shipped over in a couple of months hah!

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

You have been busy! Sounds like you are finding your way around :) Well done you! That seems a lot for your phone plan - did you look at Freedom - no contract with them and they have lots of wifi hotspots in the Vancouver area (and LTE). Did Koodoo also give you a discount for bringing your own phones and bonus Gb of data? Freedom do. https://www.freedommobile.ca/plans-a...special-offers

Regarding your goods-to-follow list. Don't wait - get it done early next week, the sooner after landing the better. You were misinformed at the airport and it should have been stamped as you were establishing residency. You'll probably find this thread by Beckiwoo very useful as she had to do it as well (after an Inland landing). taking special note of the posts by Former Lancastrian ..thttps://britishexpats.com/forum/immi...anding-880474/

https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/do-rb/menu-eng.html


:)

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

There's one freedom plan for $40 that would have more data with a bonus but a weird home/away plan? Didn't see much else for less than that with decent data.

We printed out and took B4 forms of some kind and I'm sure they got stamped/signed at customs, just not the goods accompanying lists that we also took. It was 10pm ish by that point though and we'd been travelling for 12 hours so my memory is a bit fuzzy!

Yaletown is very yuppie-esque ;) it's nice to be close to lots of stuff, false creek, Granville island etc. If we can find something we can afford we might stay here for a bit, but we're pretty flexible where we live. As long as the space is ok, close to good transit towards gastown for hubs work and lets us bring the cats! We may look around Kits, Commercial or whatever the area is around West Broadway... Or possibly over in Burnaby. Someone suggested Chinatown to us earlier as it's cheaper although I know why given the proximity to Hastings!

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

What's the commute like to downtown, if you know? It's hard to pin down where will be best before I know where I'll be working, and my husband may also move jobs in a few months. I think it's likely he'd end up working either downtown or Burnaby as that's where the bigger tech companies seem to be.

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

Day 4
We attempted to get a few more things organised but didn't really get anywhere!

Medical surveillance: Due to the suspected inactive TB my husband needs to undergo medical surveillance and was told to report to the local health authority within 30 days of landing or his PR may be inactive. After scratching our heads trying to figure out exactly who we needed to speak to, we figure out it's the BC center for disease control (the border agent told us to contact a panel physician!). However when we call them up they say that they have been informed already and we just need to wait 6-8 weeks and they will contact him.

Registering for MSP: We can register for the BC healthcare plan online, however it needs us to upload scans of our COPRs so we'll have to do that tomorrow when my husband starts work and can access a scanner. The website also mentions needing a BC ID to enrol which you can get at the ICBC drivers licencing so off we trotted to get that sorted.

Exchanging our driving licences: After initially forgetting our COPRs and needing to go back to the apartment to get them, we go back to the drivers licencing place to ask about exchanging our licence. We are told that we can do but will only get issued with a paper licence and not a proper ID, until we get our PR cards. They confirm that we can still register for MSP but won't get our health cards until we have the PR card/BC ID. So again, we just have to wait now until we get the PR cards. They did say that if we don't get the PR cards within 90 days we can inform them and they can extend the period we can exchange our licences.

So with all of that stuff not really done, we took ourselves off for a wander around Stanley Park. Last day of freedom before my husband start's work tomorrow and we start getting into a normal routine and not feeling so much like we're on holiday! Hopefully that will also mean we spend a little less... we have been stocking up on things over the past few days that will last us a while (cleaning supplies, toiletries, groceries, cat stuff) but also eating and drinking out a fair bit. We are still using Monzo cards from the UK which are fee free, and show us the exchange rate as we spend which is quite useful to keep our eye on what we are spending and prices compared to the UK. Obviously things cost what they cost, but it's interesting to see what is cheaper and what is more expensive. Our local supermarkets seem pretty expensive but they are the more local markets rather than big superstores. I did raise an eyebrow at raspberries being $8 but there's a local stall selling 3 punnets of local fruit for $15 which isn't too bad.

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

You are not a 'Yaletown Yuppie' without the obligatory french bulldog or in my partner's best friend's case, a Boston Terrier! That and you require a yoga mat strapped to your bag everywhere you go!

I moved downtown in May after living in South Vancouver for 2 years (previous to that I was in East Vancouver). It is def not where I want to be but as a starting point for someone new its great!

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

I was given wrong information at my inland landing at IRCC office (as Siouxie has stated). Def go and get it signed and stamped. There is a CBSA office on Main and 1st avenue (by Main Street/Science World skytrain station)

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

Eeek! Start shopping on Commercial Drive. I used to live in Yaletown many years ago and it will rob you. My recommendation is to take the Skytrain to Broadway-Commercial Drive while hubby is at work and shop at Donald's, the little indie markets like Norman's. It's so much more affordable. Yaletown's as expensive as it gets. Or walk east down Davie Street from Yaletown past Burrard Street and do some shopping at that supermarket "Independent Grocer". Good luck and welcome! :)

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

There are loads of cute dogs nearby! I could try walking my cats outside to fit in, but last time I put a leash on them one just crab walked everywhere and yowled, and the other flopped down on his belly and refused to move... I do however have a very snazzy yoga mat - I love yoga, although not the hot yoga that seems to be nearby. I'm also not the typical slender yoga type that seems to be most prominent!

Oh thanks for the suggestions! We haven't ventured too far in terms of shopping outside of the choices market, just the home sense and IGA up on Robson. Mind you we've been eating out most days! Now Mr Milly is back in work I can do some wandering and scoping out different places and trying to get back into a cooking routine.

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

Yea don't use 'lack-of' choices most their products are organic or the like so are marked up pretty heavily. IGA is a better choice. You can also get home delivery from Save-on-foods and there is one across the Cambie bridge just up from the police HQ.

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

You know, I love how you are embracing all the experiences - and even the frustrations - without resorting to moaning or saying detrimental things about Canada / BC / Vancouver and the way things are sometimes (stupidly) done here.


Well done both of you - wishing you happiness in your adventures :D

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

I mean, yes government bureaucracy is frustrating but that's not Canada specific! There is bound to be a bunch of boring paperwork to do when you move anywhere...

We submitted our MSP application today, and our health insurance through Mr Milly's work kicks in today as well. He's going to give them a ring tomorrow to check if they need a doctor's prescription for his diabetes stuff or whether he can just order from a pharmacy once he gets the card. They should cover 90% of his medication which is good as a couple of refills for his glucose meter cost $100!

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

And downtown is where I want to be...lol..

We are in East Van right now on E Hastings between Clark and Commercial and eh its not my cup of tea.

We are going to be looking to South Vancouver in the fall, so I can get a shorter commute, assuming we find something decent.

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

We've started our house (well apartment) hunting search properly this week - I went to view a place in the Cambie area yesterday which was quite nice. Seeing all the huge detached houses for blocks and blocks around the area was weird, I mean have they never heard of a terrace? It's crazy that all you get is detached homes or massive apartment blocks.

It feels like a lot of pressure to find somewhere to rent, like if somewhere is OK then you should probably apply to rent it as everywhere gets snapped up so fast! I'm not super fussy and the place was pretty nice so I submitted an application. It's through a lettings agency and the online application process was quite a mission! There was space to add a cover letter though which I did to explain our circumstances and I also uploaded a UK landlord reference and credit report. I'm not sure we'll get it anyway as it's available from 1st July and we don't really want it until after 26th July but it was good to go through the process. Apparently there's one month's notice for rentals in BC so a lot of new rentals should be coming up after the long weekend as notice gets given at the end of this month.

Next task, figure out what to do for Canada Day! I'd better get buying something red and white huh?

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

It's a mix of industrial and residential depending on what street its on. We are just east of Clark and West of Commercial, Pender St W of McLean is industrial, but east of McLean is residential on one side and commercial/light industrial on the other.

Francis is similar.

It's an interesting area especially when leaving for work at 3:45am when the more colorful characters are out and about.

Property crime is a problem though, anything not bolted down will vanish, luckily we are not on ground floor, so its not too bad.

Downtown appeals to me mostly because I can walk almost everywhere, don't have to drive or fuss with crowded hot buses, pretty much everything I need is downtown.....

Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
 

If you like crowds head downtown to Canada place. If you don't head out to some of the areas around Vancouver. Port Moody always does a nice event at Rocky Point Park and there are 4 breweries in a row.


Best place to watch the fireworks is in north shore, at the end of the shipyards pier. Much less crowded than downtown. Seasbus runs late as well.