Mr. Maple Leaf promised me a visa!

[Daveman]

Your kind words are greatly appreciated 

Today my mother and I will be packing my luggage all day.

Best wishes for a safe journey, Lily, and good luck in your new environment.  I'm actually in Canada at the moment, in a little small town south of Calgary (ahhhhh Alberta steaks..).  A little place called Claresholm.  I love coming up this way. I think you'll find that the Canadian people are some of the most friendly people in the world.  Probably not during hockey season between rivals, but any other time.   

Have a great trip!
Dave

[Maniac999]

  Good luck, brave girl Lily!!!
 Where are you from originally( I mean,that seacide coast you mentionned somewhere)
 Are you going to take your Mom to Canada , if everything will be all right in  there?
 Keep us posted !!!

[Lily]

Hello everyone from a new Canadian!

I landed safely, and ordered my permament resident card at the immigration section in the airport.

Am still under some jetlag, but had a good sleep tonight. However, I woke up right at 6 am Moscow time

Maniac999, originaly I am from Samara, a city about 800 mile to the east from Moscow. There is no sea there but a biggert river in Europe, called Volga.
By immigration rules, I cannot take my Mom to Canada yet, because parents are not considered to be family members. But I can and will sponsor her later, when I meet the sponsorship criteria. She is eager to come to Canada.

[BillyB]

Hello everyone from a new Canadian!

Welcome neighbor! I wish you happiness in your new home and if ever the Canadians treat you poorly, we'll happily take you off their hands. We do not discriminate against beautiful women! 

[SANDRO43]

Heartiest congratulations and best wishes on your starting a new life under the maples, Lily . First impressions?

[Blues Fairy]

Молодец Lily!  Best wishes for your new life.

I've recently (Oct.'2009) been to Toronto with my little girl, to visit some old friends; a very nice and comfy town, a bit Soviet-style in some ways so acclimatization from Moscow should be easy.    But seriously, I am sure you will do just fine.  What are your plans?

[daveyj]

Welcome to Toronto Lily! I'll look forward to meeting for lunch

[CanadaMan]

Welcome to Canada Lily!
I'm sure you will love your new home, eh? 

[UTRO]

Hi Lily Welcome and Happy to have you now join us in Canuckstan!!
If you're feeling a little homesick, make sure you visit Yummy Market at 4400 Dufferin Street. You'll be served in Russian by the store clerks and be surrounded by folks from the Motherland.
Give us a shout sometime

Dave and Svetlana 

[Lily]

Hello again everyone!  This weekend I am busy looking for furniture for my new empty apartment and everything else for my Torontonian home!

Of course I'd be delighted to meet EVERYONE of you, my dears!!!

Homesick? can someone explain to me what is it? 

Hugs and kisses

[TwoBitBandit]

Good luck, Lily.

[Lily]

Out of curiosity, today I summed up my immigration related expenses. I'd divide them into direct costs of getting one person in the West, and related costs that nay vary from person to person.

Immiration costs come first. Approximate figures in CAD are as follows:

Initial filing 590,-
Police certificates from the U.S. and Germany, Russian one is free 70,-
French language test (TEF), 4 preparatory lessons 187,-
TEF exam 384,-
IELTS exam 240,-
Translations into English, documents certification, and related consultation fee done by Int'l Migration Organization 516,-
Medical exam 336,-
Immigration visa 500,-

Total visa related expenses would therefore be about 2823,-

Related expenses:

Airfare Moscow-Toronto 733,-
Luggage ransportation, incl. export permissions 550,-
Apostiles on my Russian diplomas 334,-

Total related 1617,-
 

[possum]

Out of curiosity, today I summed up my immigration related expenses. I'd divide them into direct costs of getting one person in the West, and related costs that nay vary from person to person.

Immiration costs come first. Approximate figures in CAD are as follows:

Initial filing 590,-
Police certificates from the U.S. and Germany, Russian one is free 70,-
French language test (TEF), 4 preparatory lessons 187,-
TEF exam 384,-
IELTS exam 240,-
Translations into English, documents certification, and related consultation fee done by Int'l Migration Organization 516,-
Medical exam 336,-
Immigration visa 500,-

Total visa related expenses would therefore be about 2823,-

Related expenses:

Airfare Moscow-Toronto 733,-
Luggage ransportation, incl. export permissions 550,-
Apostiles on my Russian diplomas 334,-

Total related 1617,-
 

$4,500 = 140,000 RR, a year's salary for many Russians.. How much are you paying for rent? Is public transportation expensive?.

[Lily]

Do you mean how much was I paying for rent and transportation when I was in Moscow?

It also should be noted that these expenses were all born not all at once, but during the year, one amout after the other, depending on when they were due or needed, therefore it didn't made any significant impact on my budget.

[possum]

Do you mean how much was I paying for rent and transportation when I was in Moscow?

No, I mean the place you currently rent in Toronto, how much did you pay upfront?.

[Ade]

Do you mean how much was I paying for rent and transportation when I was in Moscow?

It also should be noted that these expenses were all born not all at once, but during the year, one amout after the other, depending on when they were due or needed, therefore it didn't made any significant impact on my budget.

I may have missed it but how long was it since you started the process?

[possum]

I may have missed it but how long was it since you started the process?

+1 Also, exactly how many trips to the embassy did it take?. For someone who lives in the Asian part of Russia travel costs can add up fast.. Might even surpass all other immigration-related expenses..

[Lily]

No, I mean the place you currently rent in Toronto, how much did you pay upfront?.

I am just going to start my first rent in Toronto since June, and it would cost to me for 6 months about CAD 900,- .

+1 Also, exactly how many trips to the embassy did it take?. For someone who lives in the Asian part of Russia travel costs can add up fast.. Might even surpass all other immigration-related expenses..

You are correct, if an applicant lives outside Moscow, he or she would need to calculate travel expenses at least once if called for an interview, and once to pass the mandatory medical tests, if there are no authorized doctors in the city. Other contacts with the Embassy may be made by courrier, if I correctly remember it now.

I may have missed it but how long was it since you started the process?

On April 02, 2009 I have sent my initial application set to Canada. On November 12, 2009 thery called me and invited for a visa.

As I was living in Moscow at the time of application, I could make any trips to the Embassy or wherever else, like to International Migration Organization, in order to arrange any things related to my process. In Moscow, I used to have an annual metro pass for unlimited number of trips within the city, for about USD 194,- per year. In addition to that, I bought some bus passes t transport myself on the surface for about USD 13-15,- pro month. That were my transportation expenses in Moscow.

[possum]

I am just going to start my first rent in Toronto since June, and it would cost to me for 6 months about CAD 900,- .

You are correct, if an applicant lives outside Moscow, he or she would need to calculate travel expenses at least once if called for an interview, and once to pass the mandatory medical tests, if there are no authorized doctors in the city. Other contacts with the Embassy may be made by courrier, if I correctly remember it now.

On April 02, 2009 I have sent my initial application set to Canada. On November 12, 2009 thery called me and invited for a visa.

I assume you filed everything on your own, with no outside help?. Are you staying in a hotel right now?

[Lily]

I assume you filed everything on your own, with no outside help?. Are you staying in a hotel right now?

I am staying with friends at the moment. Right, I filed everything on my own, and composed my applications just the way I thought they will be winning. However, I still used some minor consultations about proper filing from the International Migration Organization in Moscow. I met them in a seminar that was arranged by the Embassy for prospective immigrants, and learned that IMO is an authorized partner of the Embassy for some things that I may need.

[Gator]

Lily,

Welcome to North America!  Best wishes! 

Who would have thought three years ago when we had tea and tort....

[Ade]

On April 02, 2009 I have sent my initial application set to Canada. On November 12, 2009 thery called me and invited for a visa.

Oh. For some reason I thought was 3 or 4 years ago. Not really very long at all then. I considered Canada myself at one point 9 years or so ago (as well as New Zealand and Bermuda) but I realized that on the whole, I wouldn't really gain anything more than I had here in Norway and I was a little tired of moving just for the sake of it even if moving to a new country is usually exciting and fresh.

Congratulations and all the best on starting your new life there.

[possum]

I am just going to start my first rent in Toronto since June, and it would cost to me for 6 months about CAD 900,- .

$900/6 = $150 a month = very reasonable!. In Moscow you couldn't rent a corner in a bedroom that cheap, as they say..

[Lily]

Sorry, I didn't put it well. I meant that during my first 6 months of rent, it will cost me $900,- pro month.

[possum]

Sorry, I didn't put it well. I meant that during my first 6 months of rent, it will cost me $900,- pro month.

That's another $5,400 to be added to the total cost of immigration..