Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Draven]

I posted this question in the FAQ Forum, but given that there's more traffic in here, I think I'll try again.

The wife and I are preparing to make the move back to Canada and want to apply for permanent resident status for her. We've put together our package of documents and forms and are ready to ship them off, but we're not sure where to send them because we've come across some conflicting information from the Embassy, CIC, and even here on Dave's. Of course, the Embassy refuses to answer any telephone inquiries and over a week on, they haven't responded to an email.

Anyways, if anyone is in the know, please share.

[Shooter McGavin]

I would contact Immigration in Ottawa. The website is a good place to start www.cic.gc.ca. There's some information there on Family Class Immigration. They give the address that you must ship the forms to as:

Case Processing Centre – Mississauga
P.O. Box 3000, Station A
Mississauga, Ontario L5A 4N6

I'm not sure how it affects the application if your wife is in the country though, as I think you have to be there, and she has to be here in Korea at the time of application.

Hope this helps.

[Draven]

Maybe I should be more specific. We've been to the CIC website. They have a toll-free call centre that I can't access from Korea. They advise those living outside of Canada to phone the embassy, which refuses to answer telephone inquiries about immigration.

Our confusion comes from the fact that the Immigrant's Guide, downloadable from the CIC website, has a Korea specific section which has a list of documents that should be sent directly to the embassy in Seoul. The embassy uses these documents to obtain a police certificate for her. However, my Sponsor's Guide, also downloadable from the CIC website says that everything has to go to Mississauga. The CIC website clearly says that an incomplete application will be returned.

Thanks anyway, Shooter.

[anae]

We did our applications in 2000, so keep this in mind. Because we both were living in Korea, my sponsorship papers and his permanent resident application both went to the Seoul embassy. My understanding was that applications only went to Mississauga if you were residing in Canada.

HTH

[Draven]

Thanks for the information, anae.

[matesol]

Draven,

Don't send the paperwork to the Canadian consulate. I just got a letter from Missauga confirming that the paperwork has been received there. The first time I sent the paperwork to Seoul, they just sent it back. Maybe that's how it was done in 2000, but not anymore. It's really a pain, because you have to have the family register notarised and translated - also with notarization - and it has to be received within 10 (?) days of the notarization date. They recommend you do all the paperwork first, then do the family register and notarization last, a very good idea. Don't fill any of the dates in untill all the paperwork is done and you have the translated family register. The go over the documents again and fill in all the dates. You can get the family register notarised and translated near the US embassy in Seoul. There are signs (in Korean) that read "Visa Bun-Yeok", i.e. Visa Translation, all over the place. They can do it and notarise it for you.

Also, you should know that you can't send it to their PO BOX in Missassauga by courrier, if you want confirmed delivery. (It would be a pain to do all the paperwork and then have it lost!) However, EMS can deliever to PO Boxes and you can track it online. They only have a PO BOX. There is no other physical address that you can have it sent to. Also, you wife will need X-rays. Guess what? The hospital won't send the X-rays to a PO BOX. You should have them send directly to the Canadian Immigration Center in Manila, yes the Phillipines and then indicate on the application that that is where the hospital sent the X-rays. The Seoul consulate confirmed that this was acceptable, but only after having a heated discussion with them: "The hospital REFUSES to send confidential medical records by regular mail. You only have a PO BOX in Mississauga. There must be some physical building where this paperwork is done. Where is it? Answer: We can't tell you." (Canada outsources many government functions to the Phillipines. For example, BC driver's license databases are in computers in the Phillipines.)

Use the checklist here:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/applications/fc.html

The document checklist is: IMM5491E.pdf.

I agree. They are NOT helpful. Their website is very confusing and it's hard to get to just the right page unless someone tells you how to get there. You can't use the 1-800 number outside of Canada. You can't phone the immigration department at the consulate in Seoul. You can only e-mail them or fax them and they will get back to you, usually a week later. Also, even though you can't contact ANYONE directly, one of the forms asks you to sign a statement, something to the effect that you understand all parts of the form, and have sought information and now understand any parts that you didn't previously understand. That's beaurocracy for you. I finally got it all worked out, but only with a great deal of hassle. The page above gves you all the info you need. Go through the checklist VERY METICULOUSLY. If you make any mistakes, they will just send it back to you and not process the application. Nice, eh? I recommend you open a new folder on your desktop called "CIC" and download all forms into that folder.

You can fill out most of the forms on the computer, and then print them out. I recommend it, as neater, easy to read applications usually get processed first. Also, if you make a mistake, you can just print out the one page you made a mistake on, after you correct the error.

Hope this helps!

[ucfvgirl]

I know that if I use a calling card, I can access 1-800 numbers in Canada. You should try it...

[Draven]