PPR to Landing in Canada

Your guide to landing in Canada comfortably and safely

Getting your COPR and IM-1 visa

 There exists a famous guide, AOR to PPR, to help guide PR applicants on the steps they will see and need to take when they apply for a Canadian PR. There is no dearth of information on how to apply for a Canadian PR, study, or work permit on the internet. I will be focusing this post/blog on the parts of the process that don't seem to be well documented, which vary case by case, and on the fun parts of living in Canada. As you may have guessed by now, this focuses on applicants from outside Canada.

You will receive some kind of communication called RFV (Ready for Visa) or OPR (Original Passport Request - also commonly referred to as PPR). You will most likely receive this on your email registered with IRCC, and there is also a small chance you may get it in your GCKey portal itself. In either case, you will need to submit one copy of this email / communication for each family member in your application, along with original passport (make sure you have at least a few pages!), and photos as per specification, along with any consent forms / additional documents the VAC such as VFS in your country will require.
VFS will likely insist on sending height and eye colour for each applicant as well, which I think to be on the safer side can be sent regardless of whether IRCC asks for it. This can just be written on a plain piece of paper like a A4 sheet. I highly recommend submitting it in person in a VFS centre as they can spot any issues with your documents or photos, and they will validate it. You can opt of courier or pick up at VFS for return of your passport with the goodies.

You should get back, somewhere between 3-4 weeks (as of India, early 2024) after it reaches IRCC and is "being processed", your passport, stamped with a IM-1 one time immigrant visa, confirmation of permanent residence (COPR) with two copies (one with photo stuck on it) for each family member in a separate envelope. Congrats! You can now board your flight to Canada.

Booking your flight and landing in Canada

Feel free to book any flight from your country that is either direct or has a connection to Canada - if you are from South Asia like me, there is not much that is likely to make a 20+ hour journey comfortable. If you can afford to, of course, do book business class - it really makes a difference on a flight as long as this one. Do make sure that you aren't traveling through some country that requires a transit visa. Keep in mind that countries that allow Canadian permanent residents without a visa do not allow you yet - you are only a permanent resident once you have landed and cleared immigration in Canada. Likewise, do not enter your category as permanent resident on any flight booking sites. You are landing to immigrate to Canada, not yet an immigrant.

The absolute shithole that is Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ) / Landing in Canada

Toronto Pearson is the airport that receives the most immigrants into Canada. This is a tragedy, because landing in Pearson is a traumatic event for most. The first airport you land in Canada is your port of entry (POE). So, for example, you are flying (your town) -> Qatar -> Montreal -> London. Your port of entry is Montreal, not London.

In the POE, you, along with everyone else who does not have status in Canada, (for ex, new students, new workers, other people with COPRs, visitors) need to be interrogated by the CBSA, a bunch of inhumane assholes (for the most part). In Pearson, you will likely have to wait for a few hours, ranging from 1-6 hours, depending on the number of flights landing, and the number of CBSA officers working and counters open. This is terrible since you are coming from ~20 hour or longer flight, and you have no food (just a vending machine with crisps, and water). The process of waiting is annoying, as the queue will move very slowly, and until you get to the final room. you will not even see it moving.

The CBSA officer will likely not talk to you for more than a few minutes, and just ask you the questions that are present on your COPR. They may also ask you for your proof of funds, so I would generally recommend having a fresh letter from your bank as well as access to your bank accounts on your phone or laptop (there is free WiFi in Pearson). Once they are satisfied, they will sign your COPR, and ask you to sign as well. Congrats! You are now a Canadian permanent resident.

Now there is one critical thing you need to do - to avoid going through this shit again, and to be able to travel in and out of Canada without applying for a visa, you need your PR card. You should provide an address to the CBSA officer on where your PR card can be sent - this is critical, make sure you give the correct address with unit name if any, and please verify. 
This can be your family member or friend's address as well - you will most likely not have a long-term address, and providing your hotel or AirBNB address is very risky as this can take up to two months to arrive. If you absolutely cannot find someone to send it to - worry not - you can submit a form to receive it later, and it doesn't take much longer.

My tips for making your landing experience better: 

• Do not land in Pearson. If you have a US visa, you can take a connecting flight from say JFK or EWR to Billy Bishop. If your destination is not Toronto, this is of course not a problem. I do not know how it is in Montreal, but if you know someone who landed there and had a good experience, then that would be a better option. 
• Enable tap to pay (contactless) on your credit and debit cards, for international usage, and international online. Below is all the food you will have access to while waiting for immigration to complete - the best way to get this is by tapping your card. Your flight may require you to pay for in flight WiFi, where you will need a card enabled for international online transactions. 
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• Carry cash in CAD, say around 200$ if you have your credit/debit card enabled for tap to pay and international. If not, you will definitely need more. Please keep in mind you cannot bring more than $10k in cash and gold to Canada.
• You will NOT HAVE ACCESS TO YOUR CHECKED IN LUGGAGE until you clear CBSA/immigration. Do plan that your checked in luggage will likely wait for a couple hours in the baggage claim carousel and pack considering this. Do not keep anything you will need in there.
• Try to land between 8 AM to noon, Monday to Friday. This is because there is maximum number of CBSA officers working on weekdays, and between 9-5 on weekdays, you can get your SIN (social insurance number) at the airport itself, in ~15 minutes. I will cover this in the next post.
• Outside Pearson there are SIM card providers with attractive offers - such as free international minutes to India/South Asia - would highly suggest getting one here. If your phone does not support dual SIM (for both local and Canadian number) such as iPhone- you can get an eSIM for the Canadian number. You can have multiple eSIMs on most phones - show your phone and ask, they will check and let you know. Do try to get a 5G provider such as Bell or Rogers since this should give you the best network and speeds, if you can afford it.
• There is a queue to get an airport taxi, where your credit/debit card can be used to pay. These cars have huge amount of luggage storage - we had 7 bags and they all fit easily. However, this is expensive - cost us 90$ from Pearson to downtown where our hotel was.
• You can book Ubers, but keep in mind that payment (which happens after the fare) will likely be a bit challenging as Uber does not work great with Indian cards. 
• You can also take the UP train to Union station.
• Depending on when you land, do check the weather and make sure you have access to weather appropriate clothing easily accessible in your luggage - if you are from a tropical country like India, this is likely new to you.