Nicky's Journal

 So

things to do BEFORE you decide to move to another country

start digging for the following data:

every location (address) you have ever lived, period, the start and end dates, and with whom potentially

every place you have ever worked, exact dates, their address, how many hours per week you worked, how much you made annual or hourly, be prepared to call and try and get statements affirming that fact (in the US most company's wont' do this for some damn reason and outsource to 3rd parties which canada says they will not accept, so also be prepared to have W2's and offer letters and possibly even paystubs, yes for 20 years ago)

if you were ever married, the start and end dates and the paperwork

if you got any certificates and degrees, have the original damn papers and you'll need to buy sealed transcripts often mailed directly to someone

keep every single bank account statement of every type every month, forever
-savings
-checking
-investment
-retirement
-anything!
-credit cards

you are going to need to know when you opened each account, the maximum in each account each year, the average in each account each year, and get letters from said financial institutions stating such! plus random statements!

also 100% be sure to snapshot the exact value of all accounts on the date you get your residency as well as the date you get your visa/permit

you'll need to enjoy finding the value of everything you own, fair sale price, and documenting it all if you want it to come with you

i highly suggest selling any property (real or not real) over 100,000$

Oh! and start looking up all your international travel dates (date left, date returned, where you were in between, flight numbers etc)

and as soon as you apply record VERY precise travel log, forever, because as a visa holder they will kick you out if they think you aren't in country enough.

 So - if you are originally from the US - and most of your contacts are in the US can you keep working for US companies?

yes!

Two ways we have done this

1 - a PEO - professional employment organization
2 - start your own company and sign a business to business contractor agreement

in both cases you are an employee of the PEO or your own company and there is a B2B agreement between the company and the company you want to work for and you are a contractor not an employee

it's not perfect but in some cases it's better than what is available locally

In both cases you lose a chunk of money to the overhead, be aware of that

 After getting a drivers license - 

I was able to apply for provincial healthcare as a spouse and that was easy (not sure how hard it would have been if i were not married)

Car insurance

In order to get car insurance I first needed a drivers license - https://amazonv.dreamwidth.org/1193997.html

Once i did that

To get car insurance i needed to pay the USA DMV for a driving record report (had to have date of first issued license etc) and I had to get a statement from my current car insurance provider (a summary?)

So we got insurance for the car, yea!

 trying to import my car, get it insured and registered

apparently i have to EXPORT it from USA before i can import it so i will be taking a trip down to montana

Insurance here wants some kind of summary from my current insurance about how many claims and how long i've been with them but i can't seem to find or get a report like that

Drivers license wants the date i was first ever issued a license, that cost me around 30$ to pull records from a few state DMVs

 Still waiting on my PR card

i think i get my SIN after i get my PR card? I think i may need to apply in person, but i don't know

Also running into problems with . my car

apparently i nee to EXPORT it before i import it, and it has to be notified 72 hours in advance?

and still trying to sort out moving my stuff

and then to sort out healthcaree

sigh

having issues getting work contract because no SIN yet

August 21

Next

In the envelope (prepaid) I mailed I was returned a "CoPR" Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR)

4 pages of instructions

I was instructed to DO NOT SIGN until I landed

It had a date I had to land in canada by (Sept 25) and they could not extend this date

I had no idea what to expect or do

I also freaked out because after landing I had to travel more for work and things, and there is a number of days between when you land and when you get your PR (perminant resident) card

My lawyers confirmed that I could leave the country no problem

getting back in had to be by land (car) non-commerical (drive myself) which actually worked out well

 August 2

Email


I open the portal

In "Messages about your application"
I have a note called "Other"
It's a PDF (below)

I rush to the nearest Staples office store and get
-2 mailing envelopes and postage
-passport photos as requested
-and fill out the form and mail it with the photos
-color photocopy of passport and mail with photos

The hurry up and wait is stressful

I did get confirmation days later that my biometrics were received

I logged in http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/e-services/mycic.asp

I see a table "View the applications you submitted"

Application type, Application number, Applicant name, Date submitted, Current status, Messages, Action

Permanent Residency, [redeacted], [redeacted], January 5, 2019, Submitted, Read, Check full application status
Express Entry, [redeacted], [redeacted], November 12, 2018, Invitation received, Read, Check full application status

I clicked on "Check full application status" for the PR

I scrolled down to the "Details about your application status" section

It read:
Review of eligibility We are reviewing whether you meet the eligibility requirements.
Review of medical results You passed the medical exam.
Review of additional documents We do not need additional documents.
Interview You do not need an interview. We will send you a message if this changes.
Biometrics Completed.
Background check We are processing your background check. We will send you a message if we need more information.
Final decision Your application is in progress. We will send you a message once the final decision has been made.

Key "Biometrics Completed."

wooo

current estimate completion is July 5!

Today was very frustrating

There was a winter storm warning.

I tried to leave the house around 10 am

I should have arrived before 11 am at the application support center, however, due to weather I got there a bit after 11.

On arrival, the door declared no cameras, no cellphones, no recording devices, no food, no drinks, etc.

I entered, and really had to pee, so I looked around for the bathrooms.

the room was laid out with a guard station by the front door, with lots of clipboards.

There was one waiting area behind the clipboards

there was a long line at the receptionist

there was another waiting area in front of the receptionist.

the bathrooms were past the area in front of the receptionist.

I headed to the bathrooms and was stopped and questioned by the guard, which was weird, i explained i needed to pee and then was let go to the bathrooms.

I then returned to the clipboard area, the guard was now there.
She asked when my appointment was. I said I was a walk in.
She said they do not do walk-ins.
I explained that per the website (pulled out printout) between 11-2 they did.
She grunted and I asked if I should fill out a clipboard paper and she said no.
she said she would let me know when to go to the receptionist.

I was still unsure of what was going on, no one was very helpful, nothing was well labeled.

After watching people get yelled at for about 2 hours, I think I figured it out. Would it not have been better to have signage explaining this and/or a person explaining this?

So you arrive, you must remove any head coverings or face coverings.
you then must take a clipboard and fill out the paper
then return the clipboard and keep the paper
if you make a mistake do NOT take another paper, cross off and continue. she got very upset about people taking more than one paper.
depending on your appointment time that group would be called to reception, then and only then do you line up at the reception desk. For example, the line when I arrived a little after 11 was the 11 am appointments.
After being processed by the receptionist you waited in the other waiting area to the front of reception, there was a number display there so I assume when your number came up you went somewhere (I didn't see far enough to see if there were rooms or cubbies or whatever.

By my rough count, there were over a hundred chairs in each waiting area and they were all full.

After waiting 2 hours they made an announcement, because of the weather all government offices were shutting down. Appointments would be rescheduled.

At this time I got to read small print which was taped to the top of the clipboard stack (which I was denied and told to sit down) which seemed to imply all UK and US visa applicants goto reception. I will have to point this out/lobby for it next time I try. Hopefully tomorrow.

What should have been a slightly less than hour drive home became around 2 hours. There were many accidents, plus poor visibility.