Hi to everyone.

I have only just learned about this site in the Canadian news. We (me, hubby and son) are due to land on 15th Jan in Toronto. It has taken us three and a half years to complete the immigration process and we had almost given up!!

Although very excited i am also anxious, nervous and a little scared!!!!

Can anyone tell me what happens at the airport when you land?? We have our visas and paperwork but it doesn't really tell you what to expect when you arrive. Is it a long process and what other documentation are they likely to want to see. All we have been told is to make sure we have an inventory of all our goods which will be arriving after us??

If anyone has been through this let us know. We would like to be well prepared when we land so we are not held up for too long. I am sure by the time we get there my three year old son will be over tired and over excited!!!!

Thanks

Wendy

Hello and welcome.

Landing is pretty straightforward. Theres loads of info on peoples experiences in both the lifestyle and Canadian immigration areas. Goods to follow list is also well covered (and probably easier to search for)

Really by that time, the actual landing itself is a formality, usually there not even too much waiting around involved, unless you happen to get there just after a flight from the Indian subcontinent or China arrives.

You goods to follow list should be fairly detailed, but not insanely so. Many people write it out on a spreadsheet or whatever and just hand that printout over.

Canada Janes blog has a nice description of her landing...

I'm sure others will give advice about the GTF list if you ask

Goods Luck!

Welcome to the forum Wendy.
Landing was a breeze for us, albeit at Calgary Int, not Toronto. Depends how may flights have come in at once as to how long you are in the queue at immigration, and of course if your documentation is all in order. We were 20 mins max.
Hope you soon settle and any questions you need answering, then post on here, you'll find MOST people very helpful and informative.
Good Luck

Hi Wendy, we landed, well the plane did in Toronto. Not sure how much different it is, I am sure ours took longer as we are initially here on work visas (going through the immigration process now). It seemed for us to take ages whilst others were in & out in a breeze. Canadian immigration are much friendlier then the American immigration, which was good as I was so stressed out as there was myself, my husband, my son who was 8 at the time & my daughter was 6 months, but what stressed me out the most was the fact that we had no idea how our Rhodesian Ridgeback had coped with the flight or where he was. In the end of the other immigration officers took a walk down to find out for us which was nice, but we were still stressed trying to recover all baggage & vehicle big enough. Ended up ditching the dog crate with Air Transat to fix as they busted a wheel & we all squeezed in to a Yukon, which is a very large truck, which my husband took one look at, yelped & handed me the keys & I have never seen a column shift car let alone drive one. All fun, by the end of the 3 days of having that truck I wanted one, but they are gas guzzlers, so I will wait until I retire or win the lottery & buy a Hummer or Escalade.

Sara
PS Don't crap your pants on the 401, it has something like 16 lanes we counted at one point & people cut you up & tail gate you. You get used to it or like me, I use the 407 toll road as it is quicker & has less lorrys on it.

Hi Wendy

We landed on June 8th, 2006 in Toronto.

Once you get to passport control just have your passports ready and say that your landing they will check your passports and the forms you got from CHC and direct you to the immigration department which is directly behind passport control.

We stood in a little queue, we told the guard we were landing and he directed us to the left and we just went and sat down. There didn't seem to be any system but we were seen very quickly (perhaps when passport control scan your passport it prompts the immigration people as we didn't get a number and there was no queue). We were called into a booth, they checked our visa's and had a look at our forms from CHC, we both had to have our photo' done again. Were weren't asked any questions it took about 10 minutes.

We were directed to a lady near the exit who gave us booklets about child benefit and all the other services available and then we were off to clam our luggage.

Whereabouts are you going to stay?

Jo x

Hi Jo,

Thanks for your reply.

My hubby, Lee has a cousin in Oakille and we will be staying with them for a couple of months. Neither of us will have jobs when we land so we will be job hunting straight away!! Lee has started applying for jobs from here but it is difficult.

I am not yet sure what i will do - i have just found out that my son who is three has got a nother two years at pre school in canada, rather than the one year he would have had here!!! I was a childminder here so i may look to do the same.

Do you feel settled there now? Is it all what you thought it would be?

Wendy

oakville is very nice!!! your lucky like we were in the fact we have family here who picked us up at the airport and we stayed with them for 2 months while we got our bearings.

Hubbie has yet to find a job, he is in the IT field and its really hard to get your foot in the door for a variety of reasons.

I think depending on your field and how sought after it is, is how easy it will be to find work.

what does yor husband do?

Jo x

Lee works in logistics here but he also has his class 2 HGV licence. The company he works for now does business with a company in canada called Thermo so they have put him forward to see if there is any chance they would take him on.

I know he will always get driving work at worst but it is usually long hours and not that well paid.

I am happy to work evenings in a supermarket if necessary - i've done it here before - so i am hoping i will get something fairly quickly.

We are hoping to only stay with family for three months as we are eager to get our own place back. The lease on our place here expired last month so we are staying with friends until we leave which is hard as most of our stuff is in storage waiting to be shipped. I want to get some normality back for us all - especially my son - before we all go a bit mad!!!

These last few weeks are dragging now and i can't wait to just arrive and start getting on with things!!!!

Wendy

know that feeling, good luck!!!!