Landed!

My day trip to Burlington finished successfully - I landed at the St-Armand border post at around 2pm on February 12th. It was a breeze, took about 15 minutes, nothing special to report about. I even managed to get a SIN later during the day. On Monday, I should be able to apply for a carte soleil (health insurance card) and will probably get it around May 1st. The immigration officer at the border told me that I will be getting the PR card in about 3 weeks.

All in all, from the first letter to get a CSQ to the landing procedure, it took exactly 8 months. It could have been 7 months in all if they didn't suddenly require a new document (proof that I passed my PhD qualifying exam) in order to give me a CSQ and maybe even 6 months if I had all the police certificates right after I got my CSQ. In any case, I cannot complain, as it was much faster than I had expected.

In any case, the journey is now over! Btw, today my eCas was updated: "You entered Canada at the Saint-Armand office on February 12, 2009 and became a Permanent Resident."

Passport, CORP and visa received!

Yey, the voyage is almost over! Fedex delivered the envelope containing and passport+visa and the Confirmation of Permanent Residence. The visa's all shiny and new, albeit a bit crooked :)

The COPR is an official document which I will have to sign in the presence of an immigration officer when doing the landing. I plan on landing in Philipsburg / Highgate Springs, on the way back from a sightseeing tour of Burlington (VT). Tomorrow :)

The wait is almost over!

eCas updated

Two new lines have appeared on my eCas:

Medical results have been received.
A decision has been made on your application. The office will contact you concerning this decision.

The first one is usually there once the PPR is ready and the second one is supposedly there once the visa itself is issued (i.e. once the case is finalized). No sign of the return Fedex envelope.

PS: Btw, I had written a small script in Python/twill that would log itself automatically to eCas once every 30 minutes (at 10 past and 40 past) to check what's written in the eCas file. The update happened between 6:40am and 7:10am today (Monday, February 9th). So Mondays at 7am seems like a good candidate for when eCas updates itself!

How long does it take to get the passport back?

According to the reply to my email inquiry: "Once a passport is received, a visa will be issued in 2 to 3 days, and the passport mailed out within 4 to 5 days later".

My passport's been there for 2 business days, so I'm still waiting. Fedex tracking shows no sign of the return envelope being posted so I guess they're still printing that visa :)