Has anyone tried Landing by arriving by Land / Sea in Vancouver?

Post PPR
1

I’m thinking of heading to Vancouver from Seattle to establish my Permanent residency & complete the formalities that are needed.
Taking a train or a ferry (to Victoria) would be a lot cheaper option than flights.

Has anyone done that before ?
If yes, can you share your experience and link to more information on this ?
Most of the information that’s available online on landing procedure seems to be for airports/flights.
So, any useful info is much appreciated.

2

I drove from Seattle to Vancouver and back on 18th Sep through the Peace Arch bridge. It was a smooth experience.

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3

Why don’t you drive instead of train/ferry?

4

Thanks for your reply.
I’m worried about the traffic that gets backed up at land crossing on weekends and also having to sort our car insurance and stuff, as this would be a soft landing for me .

How long did it take you to complete the landing procedure and take care of customs related stuff ?
Though I may know the answer to this… Were you able to apply for SIN there or did you have to go in to some office in Vancouver to apply for one ?

5
  • I went there on a weekday because I wanted to complete SIN and bank account opening
  • I picked a rental car and purchased third party liability. For other insurance, I just assumed that my USA insurance is good enough and took a leap of faith.
  • Reached Seattle at 9:30AM
  • Started journey after picking up the car 10:30AM
  • Reached Peace Arch Crossing at 1:30PM
  • Completed landing formalities 2:30PM
  • Completed SIN application 3:30PM (any Service Canada center should be fine, I went to the one at Surrey, because that was the closest from the border per Google Map)
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6

Thanks Shat, for the detailed response.
Did you have to give a Canadian Permanent address to open Bank account ?

Unrelated question, when are you planning to move to Canada permanently ?

7

@Gj45-eoh
You have to give an address (permanent or temporary) to get the SIN and open the bank account.

About the movement, I am not sure about the date but we definitely want to use this option. I don’t want to be in a position when I don’t have H1B and enough time to complete two years for PR.

8

" About the movement, I am not sure about the date but we definitely want to use this option. I don’t want to be in a position when I don’t have H1B and enough time to complete two years for PR."

Do you mean to say you will move in less than 3 yrs of landing, but not immediately ?

9

I am not exactly sure what I mean by that :slight_smile:
I have a family, so I just cannot move in tomorrow even if I wish. So, let’s see how things turn up. I don’t want to cut it too short either.

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10

I totally understand !