Migrating from Philippines to Canada via Family Class - Spousal Sponsorship

More than 200 days here in Canada and slowly experiencing the colder weather; I could not believe that our more than four years of waiting to be literally together as a couple and as a family just fly by and in December we will be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary!

I had been perusing the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada website when we got engaged last 2014. A month after we got married, I started to get familiar with the forms and required documents.  That year 2015, the forms were quite ambiguous and I could not still put a fine thread to sew my thoughts on them.  However, in 2016 when Canada had a new prime minister, Justin Trudeau, the forms and requirements changed.

First, Sponsoring Applicant (the one who is in Canada) only had to provide his/her financial documents to prove financial undertaking. Second, the relationship document requirements become very comprehensible. As an outland applicant (Principal Applicant) living outside Canada, I only had to provide 10 pages of proof of communications as well as 20 photos establishing the development of the relationship. Meanwhile, I had to capture our old conversations and scan our letters to each other as well as the letters of those who know about our relationship and print them.

To understand further the application process, I will illustrate the flow that we had been through. This is also the general pattern of the cases that I have gathered on my research and social media pages that cater to this kind of endeavor.

1. Acknowledgment of Receipt - This arrives as an email or in some cases through post stating that they have received your application. Usually, the Sponsoring Applicant (SA) gets this one. Upon receipt, it signals that the application package has passed the primary intake stage - preliminary documents are complete and forms are filled out properly. Our waiting time was about 35 days before we received our receipt. It was our second attempt since our application was returned after 53 days the first time. This time you can also link your application with the Gckey or eCas. All you need to key in are the details of the Principal Applicant/PA (the person being sponsored to come to Canada) for Gckey or in eCas you can key in the details of the SA or the PA. Just follow the instructions as they are quite straightforward.

2. Medical Request - It arrived as a notice in Gckey about two weeks after receiving the acknowledgment of receipt.  In some cases, if the application is not linked with the Gckey, the PA receives it just the same in the email.  You are given 30 days to comply and have your medicals done at any IRCC accredited panel of physicians.  In the Philippines, the accredited ones are IOM, St. Lukes, and NHSI. You can find the respective payment schedule on their websites. Once done with the medicals, Gckey will update and indicate the status of whether one passed or need to undergo treatment. We did our medicals last June 8 and the status updated after two days. 

3. Sponsor Approval - This signals that the SA is eligible to sponsor the PA considering the criminal and financial statuses.  The SA will be responsible for the PA for two years. An email to the SA and a status update in eCas will reflect. Sponsorship Approval received on June 2, 2018.

4. Transfer to Local Visa Office email - An email stating that the application package has been transferred in our case to Manila was received last June 9, 2018.  Other application packages sometimes will be transferred to visa offices wherein the PA is usually situated.  Some will be transferred to London, Hong Kong, etc. Processing times also vary depending on the volume or sometimes complexity of the case.

5. Local Visa Office Processing - A status update in eCas will reflect as "....processing..." indicating that they have started to review the application locally. Ours updated last June 13, 2018.

6. Request for Additional Document - This happens when the Visa Office needs a newer or corrected document. In our case, I (PA) need to furnish them with an NBI clearance that has my maiden name and not the married name. Good thing, getting an NBI clearance has never been a hassle. It only took me a few minutes (I got mine in Baguio City). Then using the mobile scanner, I uploaded the document through GCkey after two days upon receipt of the request letter. I received the request letter on September 13, submitted on September 16, and got a status update that it has been uploaded successfully after 24 hours.

7.  Background Check in Progress/Process - Status update in GCkey will reflect that a background check is on the process. This process takes days, weeks, or even months. In our case, it took about a week after I complied with the additional document request. It was September 20 when I got a status update.

8. Pre-Arrival Invitation - This is an invitation for newcomers to Canada.  It's a one and a half-day seminar to give participants an idea at the same time setting expectations and helping new immigrants settle.  In my case, I attended in Cebu City at a hotel and it was an interesting experience.  The Pre-Arrival is not compulsory though and I think it's only Canada that is providing such seminar of the like other than the regular PDOS that the Philippine government is giving and making it mandatory. Our Pre-Arrival invitation was received through our GCkey the day after our passport request.

9.  Passport Request - Finally the much awaited! Received ours on September 27, 2018.  This is an email informing the PA of his/her eligibility to come to Canada as a permanent resident. You have 30 days to comply as you need to send your passport and other document needed by the Visa Application Center, which is VFS Philippines. They function as the middleman because the Visa Office will only stamp the passport with a Canadian visa if everything is complete and VFS takes care of it.  One has to be very wary because the photo needs to be correct following the photo specifications. Ours was returned because we submitted a different spec. But it was very quick since I sent the package prior to the cut-off time and it was also returned back before the cut-off time. You can send your passport through the courier or submit it to VFS personally.  Of course, the walk-in submission is faster than the courier submission as it took ours 10 days to come back with the visa.

All in all our process was from April 13, 2018 to September 27, 2018, few days shy of six months but a much shorter wait time than the processing time stated in the website slated at 12 months.  There were some cases that only lasted for about four months! Waiting time for sure is dreadful yet one just has to believe in the process coupled with lots of prayers. Then unexpectedly, your time will come and it will surely be worth the wait.

How to determine a Blog Title

This will be my fourth time to change the title of my blog.  It was in 2004 when I learned what a blog was. I did not give any thoughts about it though since I just write my bio logs in a handy-dandy diary/journal notebook. Besides, who would want to let the whole world know what you think, feel, dream, and whatnots.  It came to a point that it became easier to put my thoughts and feeling in a computer by just keying in the words in QWERTY mode other than scribbling with the pen to my notebook. As time passed by, I became friends with the computer and writing in this platform becomes smooth as Korean glass skin!

The first blog title I had was CatchyWackyLucky. I had it for about four years until I relocated to Baguio City, Philippines and changed it to Life in Bag You. After two years, I relocated again to my hometown, Butuan City, Philippines and named my blog, It's a Bag Life.

CatchyWackyLucky. I thought of naming it like that as I kind of like the way it sounded. It reminded me of a friend who liked to play with words. His name was Dominic and he had MickMackMoe.

Life in Bag You. It was just another play of words for me. Blog that time was like a reflection-filled posts from a book that I bought.

It's a Bag Life.  I thought of naming it as such because I have always been traveling. That time, it became clear to me to have a sorta direction of my blog.

Finally, Rants and Praises.  I consider myself to be a positive person to the point that somehow I forget to acknowledge that there are really times that not-so-positive things or events happen and you meet not-so positive people as well.  Nevertheless, I understand that if ever I get to write in this blog, I will be writing on both aspects - my rants and praises. After all, life has its own blacks and whites, and sometimes gray.

So to determine your blog title, one has to keep in mind its purpose and direction. You can use humor, idioms, and puns, too!

Day 146 of our Canada Spousal Sponsorship Journey

Today marks the 146th day of our four months and twenty-four days in our journey.  We just received much good news because 9 of our previous batchmates (applicants from January 2018) already got their PPR (PassPort Request) emails! I could not help but be sincerely happy and excited because I know it means that there is a movement of applications.  So far, I have maintained 6 group chats all in the name of spousal sponsorship! These chat groups fueled and inspired me a lot knowing that I am not alone in this journey.  Our important life project, as what the Hangouts voice prompt tells us truly gave me this opportunity to be more patient, positive, and driven especially in my relationship with my husband.  We both feel the distance but felt united in this endeavor as well as in the waiting game.

How to get a Philippine Multi-Purpose NBI Clearance for Travel or Visa

Getting an NBI(National Bureau of Investigation) clearance has been easy-peasy!  It is now a multi-purpose clearance and only costs 150Php ( 130Php for clearance and 20Php for online fee).

Here are the steps that took me a total of 30 minutes, travel time going to the NBI office included.

Disclaimer:  The time frame may vary to factors such as location, queue, and efficiency of your local NBI staff.

1. Go to NBI clearance website. It looks like this :

2.  Register and create your username using your email address and a password for this site.

3.  Once you are logged in, you fill up the form. After that you can click on APPLY FOR CLEARANCE.

4.  You will be directed to this page where you will get to choose the location of the NBI office and the mode of payment for your clearance.  For me, I chose the option using Bayad Center.  When I went to LBC the next day was told that it will take time for the payment to reflect thus was directed to Western Union instead.  Making a payment at WU was very quick. I was the only client so there was no queue.  I only paid 3Php service charge for it, so all in all paid 153Php to get an NBI clearance. 

5.  Finally, got myself to ride a tricycle to go to the NBI office.  It was around 1pm so was lucky that I was the only client, again! Just my luck indeed.  I gave my payment receipt as well as my indicated ID which was my PRC card. I was told to take a seat then after just a few minutes was asked to look at the camera so they get a snap then asked me to have my digital fingerprints. Then, was told again to take a seat to wait for the printing.  It did not take long to warm my seat when I was told to go to the next window to get the printed NBI clearance. Voila! NBI clearance on hand in just 10 minutes!  Thanks to the NBI staff on duty that time as they were very courteous and efficient.  By the way, NBI Clearance is the Police Certificate asked when applying for Canadian Spousal Sponsorship Visa. 

I hope in one way or another this blog entry will help you,too, and would love to hear how your securing an NBI Clearance experience was for you. 

Our Canadian Spousal Sponsorship for Permanent Residence Adventure Continues

It was only last January 2018 when we finally submitted our application for our Canadian Spousal Sponsorship visa.  We got married last December 2014 however due to unforeseen circumstances---my husband was out of a job for almost two years. We put our application on a halt as it would be difficult for us to start a life together when I was also on the way to family life.  Although lately, we realized that after all, it was all okay to have processed our papers even if he was out of a job as long as he was not under the social assistance of the Canadian government.  During those two years, he was under EI (employment insurance).

Nonetheless, I have started to read and re-read the guidelines and be familiar with the forms to be used when packaging our application since January 2015! 

We submitted our application last January 16 to CIC Mississauga and it was received last January 18, 2018.  While waiting, I was researching and found a forum like the Canadavisa for those in the same boat and was directed to FB pages for applicants like me vying for a spousal visa or wanting to migrate to Canada. Through those encounters, I found new friends and great support where I can freely ask or even rant when I felt that waiting for the update was agonizing.  I realized I was not alone after all! We encourage each other and keep each one updated on the feedback received from CIC.

To equip me with more knowledge and skills that could aid me in my life as a full-time mom and life in Canada in the future, I enrolled in Alternative Learning System courses. This semester, I enrolled in a Bookkeeping class and was lucky to have a very effective teacher.  While in class, I get to check my mobile and was appalled when my husband messaged me that our application was returned!  It was our 53rd day since the day it was received.  Imagine the agony that my husband and I have been through checking almost every minute of our emails.  Yet, it was a sign of relief and gave us somehow peace of mind because we were given the reason why after all those weeks that passed we did not receive any updates at all.

Why was it returned?  Simply because there was a birth certificate lacking--- my birth certificate.  How could it be when I submitted all three (my husband's, my son's, and mine)!  Most likely CIC lost it or what, who knew!  Moreover, we need to send a police clearance certificate (NBI clearance for us Filipinos) as well as additional payment for our son which is $150 CAD.  You can check the updated application package at this site, Sponsoring your Spouse and dependent child/children.  Here is the list of all the forms as an overview:

Forms for the sponsor to fill out

• Application to Sponsor, Sponsorship Agreement and Undertaking (IMM 1344) February 2018
• Sponsorship Evaluation and Relationship Questionnaire (IMM 5532) April 2017
• Use of a Representative [IMM 5476] September 2015

For the person being sponsored (principal applicant):

• Generic Application Form for Canada [IMM 0008] February 2018
• Additional Dependants/Declaration [IMM 0008DEP] August 2014
• Additional Family Information [IMM 5406] February 2018
• Schedule A – Background/Declaration [IMM 5669] February 2018
• Use of a Representative [IMM 5476] September 2015

I could not help but still be thankful just the same even if it means another two months less our timeline.  The processing timeline for Filipino applicants is 12 months from 17 months.  We are just thankful that they have another round of updates that happened last February 2018.  So since we will be submitting the updated forms.  

Tomorrow I will be getting a new birth certificate from PSA (Philippine Statistics Authority) and get my clearance from NBI. Getting a birth certificate has been easy now. You can go to the nearest PSA office and fill out the gray form for the birth certificate.  For the NBI clearance, you need to sign up online and get an appointment. You can go to the NBI Clearance online application site. As for the payment, you will be given options, too.  The online tool is very easy to use which is a good thing for tech noobs like me. So hopefully, we will be able to pass our application within this month or early next month.

Will be making an update blog as to how we packaged our application this time.  Who knows we will be seeing the maple leaves before the year ends!

Zia's Home-made Goodies (ZHG)

It's been a year since I attended a bread and pasty class every Sunday here at a local school, Butuan City School of Arts and Trades.  Alternative Learning System of every learning institution here in our country makes it possible for those who graduated high school or even professionals to gain knowledge and skills in whatever area they wished to enroll.  After resigning from work in 2015, I have already finished two classes --- hairdressing and bread and pastry.  Currently, I am enrolled in Bookkeeping.

What used to be just a passion for baking cakes now seems to be a sort-of business.  Lately, I have been receiving cake orders and this has prompted me to at least create a page of my creations.  I don't seem to really believe that I have a talent for this but I think God has also given me this skill (at least) to be able to make others happy and have an alternative celebration cake that is easy on their budget without compromising aesthetics and taste.

There were many times that my cakes looked like an overflowing volcano because the cake batter would already flow from the baking pan or would look like a meteor crater because the oven is not too hot when the cake batter was placed inside.  I would have wanted to give up but my 'fans club', like my son and our family friend Louis would still want to eat even the sides of the cake! So this gave me an impetus indeed to go ahead and I still believe that nothing is without reason.  I have had many help and assistance too from my friend Marissa, Kuya Jay, my classmate and friend Ninia of Niniaty Bakes, and of course my teacher Sir Louie who has been patient and understanding in helping  and mentoring us out during our classes. During my spare time, I would also check on some recipes and techniques online and watch videos on how professional bakers do their thing and somehow emulate them.

So here are some of my creations and my fb page, Zia's Home-made Goodies (ZHG).  Hope I would grow and learn more in this craft.  I don't only bake cakes, I also make lasagna and ice cream of different flavors.  But that would be a different post soon.

Do you also have passion that just came out at this point in your life?

Frozen Themed chocochiffon cake with whipped cream frosting.

Reflection on Today's Password from Chiara Lubich's writings - January 27, 2018

Today's password is ... Trust in the power of God's love.  As Chiara Lubich puts it, "Whether we suffer or whether we rejoice, always believe that God loves us immensely."

The past days I have not been feeling well because I have pains in my finger joints and it did not really bother me that much.  But this  morning, I was awaken by a terrible pain in my stomach that would reach to my back.  I felt that even in that moment, I was suffering somehow.  I was blessed that my mother was there to give me a massage and I felt better.  Truly, God loves me immensely!