Canada Visitor Visa Application

Hello everyone

I am so happy because I've gotten back my passport with the Canada visa in it! My friend and I will be traveling to Canada next month during the Spring break. My visa application went smoothly and it took me about 3.5 weeks to complete everything. If you're planning to go to Canada, I hope this post will help you with your visa application. You can apply for the visa online directly from this website. For Malaysian passport holders, you will need to give your biometrics and pay the biometrics fee.

Biometrics fee: CAD $85

Visitor visa fee: CAD $100. 

Courier fee for passport submission (USPS): USD $15

Step 1: Create a GCKey account

You need to remember your GCKey username and password to manage your online application. After logging in, you will be asked some questions about your background and the reason why you want to visit Canada.

Step 2: Application Form

You need to download the application form with the latest Adobe Reader. After that, you just need to fill up the form on your laptop and click the validate button. Please make sure that you read the instructions and questions thoroughly before providing your answers. You have to upload back the document after completing it. 

Step 3: Supporting Documents

a) Family Information form (required)

You can download and fill up this form on your laptop. This form will ask you to provide some basic information about your parents and your children (if any). 

b) Travel History (required)

This can include the scanned copies of your:

• previous passports and/or visas (used within the last 10 years to travel outside your country)
• entry and exit stamps
• study and/or work permits that indicate your duration outside of your country expired or valid visas
• boarding passes (I did not include this)

c) Passport (required)

• the page that shows your birth date and country of origin, and
• any pages with stamps, visas or markings.

d) Proof of Financial Resource of Supporter (required)

If you depend on someone financially, that person can provide proof that they have sufficient funds to support you in Canada. If you're a sponsored student, you may want to submit your financial affidavit for this part. These are some options that you can submit:

• proof of a student/education loan from a financial institution
• bank statements for the past four months
• a bank draft in convertible currency
• proof of payment of tuition and accommodation fees 
• a letter from the person or institution providing you with money
• proof of funding paid from within Canada if you have a scholarship or are in a Canadian-funded educational program

e) Proof of Means of Financial Support (required)

If you are visiting Canada, you must prove that you can support yourself while you are in Canada. Provide as many of these documents as you can:

• your bank statements for the past four months
• a bank draft in convertible currency
• pay stubs
• an employment letter
• proof of assets or business
• proof of payment of tuition and accommodation fees
• tax reports, declarations or statements
• proof of a student/education loan from a financial institution
• a letter from the person or institution providing you with money
• proof of funding paid from within Canada, if you have a scholarship or are in a Canadian-funded educational program
• proof of a Canadian bank account in your name if money has been transferred to Canada

For this part, I just sent my bank statements for the past four months.

f) Digital Photo (required)

g) Purpose of Travel (required)

Examples of what you can provide as proof. This can include a scanned copy of:

• Your flight ticket departing Canada,
• Your travel itinerary (e.g. places you will visit or stay, such as hotel booking),
• Proof of a medical appointment.

I've bought the flight ticket before getting the visa, so I just sent my flight ticket departing Canada and my rough travel itinerary. My friend only sent the travel itinerary without the flight ticket and that was fine. 

h) Application for a Temporary Resident Visa 

You have to download this form and fill it up. This form is different from the first application form in Step 2.

Step 4: Pay the Application and Biometrics Fees (CAD $185)

Step 5: Give your fingerprints and photo (biometrics) 

You can give your biometrics at the nearest Application Support Center (ASC) in the US or visit this website for more information about where to give your biometrics. 

You can only complete this part after receiving the "biometrics collection letter" from the IRCC. They will notify you through email if you get that letter. Please bring that letter together with your passport to the biometrics location.

Step 6: Passport Submission

You can only submit your passport after getting the "original passport request" from the IRCC. To find out where to send your passport, please click here.

If you're applying from the US, you will have three options:

i. Submit your passport by courier to the Case Processing Centre (CPC) in Ottawa, Ontario (FedEx)

ii. Submit your passport by courier to the Visa Application Centre (VAC) in New York (I chose this option)

iii. Submit your passport by courier to the Visa Application Centre (VAC) in Los Angeles

The second and third options are cheaper than the first option because if you're sending your passport through the VACs, you will only need to pay for the domestic shipping (UPS or USPS). I spent about USD $15 for the priority 2-3 days shipping from USPS (return shipping is included). You may spend almost a hundred dollar if you choose the first option. 

If you choose the second or third option, you need to submit all these documents:

• Valid passport
• Passport request letter you received from IRCC;
• Passport transmission fees charged by the VAC (USD $19.99). They only accept money order or banker's check (not the regular check).
• full contact information (name, email, phone number, and full return address)
• the VAC consent forms (available on their website)
• a pre-paid return courier envelope (only UPS or USPS)

Please ensure that all these documents are complete before submitting them in order to avoid any delays. I submitted my passport on Feb 8 and received back my passport on Feb 24. I read so many bad reviews about the VAC as some applicants did not get their passports back for more than a month. This happened because they missed one or two documents. However, my visa application went very smoothly and I would recommend you guys to submit your passport through VAC in NY. I hope this post helps! All the best in your visa application!

Regards,

Aiza

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Best Tak Belajar di US?

Assalamualaikum & hi!

So harini aku tiba tiba rasa nak share apa yang aku lalui sepanjang tahun pertama aku di Minnesota. Aku kongsikan berdasarkan soalan-soalan yang biasa aku dapat dari kawan or family kat Malaysia. 

Best tak duduk US?

Ni adalah soalan yang paling common aku terima dan jawapannya in general adalah, "Best!". Walaupun aku bukannya all the time happy tapi aku suka environment dekat Minnesota and I got my freedom there! But that makes me become wiser to think what's good and what's bad for myself.

Wujud tak Islamophobia dekat Minnesota?

Islamophobia tu ada tapi aku tak pernah alami apa-apa kecaman sebagai seorang Muslim lagi alhamdulillah. Cuma aku dengar cerita daripada senior jelah. Minnesota ramai Somali-Muslim, jadi orang pakai tudung tu ramai je. Tak susah untuk aku adapt & mengamalkan cara hidup Islam di sini sebab ramai orang macam faham je. Dekat campus pun ada tempat solat. Tapi kalau jauh nak pergi tempat solat, boleh je cari tempat tertutup sikit untuk solat seperti celah rak buku dalam library. Aku duduk luar campus & ada surau yang agak dekat dengan rumah aku. Bila rasa homesick/ stress study, pergilah masjid tu tenangkan hati. Tapi tak bermakna time happy tak ingat Allah. Hmm biasalah manusia bila diuji, mulalah letak extra effort untuk cari Tuhan. Ouch!

Susah tak nak dapat makanan halal dekat sana?

Fyi, Minnesota is one of the states that has a large Muslim community (Somali-Muslim) and searching for halal food is not that hard. Dalam campus pun ada kedai makan halal. Jadi, kalau minggu exam & aku malas nak masak, lunch kat luar je. Tapi sebagai student haruslah berjimat cermat kan? Nak tak nak kena masak jugak. 

Frankly speaking, masa awal-awal datang tu aku macam tak confident sangat nak masak sendiri. Masa first time beli groceries dengan housemates pun aku ikut je apa diorang beli, aku beli. Contohnya, Syahirah beli tomato, aku pun beli tomato padahal aku tak makan pun tomato hahaha! Oh by the way, aku dengan housemates masak asing-asing sebab kitorang ada duduk dengan american dalam satu rumah & Syahirah ada pengalaman duduk kat California (Community College) setahun so dia kata dia prefer masak sendiri. Aku pun okay je sebab aku takut aku masak tak sedap waktu tu hehe! Alhamdulillah, aku tak rasa terbeban masak sendiri sebab ikut sukati akula nak masak apa & bila-bila aku rajin. Paling malas pun aku masak sekali banyak & simpan 3 hari. 

Ramai kawan Malaysians tak dekat sana? 

Kawan tu ramai je tapi aku pilih untuk tak clingy dengan orang sangat. Aku tak suka depend dengan orang. Contohnya, kalau aku nak keluar pergi Mall & aku ajak sorang dua, kalau takde siapa free, aku pergi je sorang. Being alone does not equate to being lonely & honestly aku happy je buat benda sendiri. Bila aku rasa aku nak jumpa orang, aku pergilah jumpa orang yang boleh buat aku tenang & happy, antaranya Mas & Tia. Aku selalu share masalah dengan diorang & kadang-kadang tak minta nasihat pun, just nak suruh dengar je haha! Tapi kalau ada gathering or usrah, aku selalu je join.

Plus, among all Malaysians dekat sana, aku & husna paling muda (98's). Yang lain kebanyakkannya student Mara & JPA batch '97, '96 & diorang dah kenal rapat dekat Community College/ Intec sebelum datang Minnesota. Kadang-kadang rasa macam ada barrier sikit tapi most of the time okay je & aku happy kawan dengan diorang. 

Susah tak nak get along dengan Americans?

Kalau nak tahu culture US ni sangat Individualistic, Asian pulak collectivistic. Personally, I think I need to put effort to really make friends with Americans. Masa aku sem 1, aku excited tau nak kawan dengan Americans especially white americans and pernahlah bercita-cita nak ada geng dengan Americans macam dalam movie tu. So, sebelum start kelas aku borak-boraklah dengan orang sebelah aku. Nama dia Jake and he is a White guy. Aku memang suka duduk depan & Jake pun suka duduk sebelah aku. Eh I mean Jake pun suka duduk depan so boleh ngam gitu. Lepas dah rapat sikit, aku follow IG dia, lepastu tiba tiba dia tunjuk post dia yang lama, lepastu dia kata 'oh this was just a joke'. Aku pun fikir mungkin dia ingat aku nak stalk dia lepastu nanti aku judge dia pulak. I'm not a judgemental person la. 

Dalam kelas tu jugak aku rapat dengan Gabriala! I met Gabriala during the Orientation day and we're still contacting each other till now. Masa sem 2, kitorang dah tak sama kelas tapi still make time untuk lunch sama sama. Aku suka kawan dengan dia sebab dia sangat baik & bukan jenis yang huha sangat.

Oh by the way, sorang housemate aku, Melody is a Latino American. Common sense dia tinggi jugakla. Aku tak pernah nampak dia bawak balik lelaki atau balik dalam keadaan mabuk sebab dia pun faham kitorang Muslim. Dia baru je 21 & dah graduate haritu dalam Psychology major. 

Lunch date with Gabriala @ McDonald's

Housemates. (from left: Melody, Syahirah, Me). Husna takde waktu ni. Time ni aku pakai baju kurung songket sebab jadi wakil Malaysian untuk fashion show dalam College Day event.

College Day Event: fashion show (Me and Hau Xiang). 

Dari segi akademik pula, susah tak?

It really depends on the individual and the course/major. For first-year Economics student, alhamdulillah aku rasa terurus lagi akademik & kehidupan aku. Mungkin aku jenis kiasu sikit. (Tia cakap) hahaha. Grading system memang lagi tinggi dari Taylor's ADP tapi kalau score quiz/ test insyaAllah okay la. Masa first sem aku cam struggle sikit Intermediate Microeconomics sebab banyak pulak calculation dia. But surprisingly, I'm doing good in Intermediate Macroeconomics masa second sem. Masa second sem ni kelas Intermediate Macro direct 4 jam, petang (4.30-8.30 pm) sekali seminggu. Mencabar weh nak kekalkan focus selama 4 jam. Tapi instructor aku baik & dia akan bagi balik awal setengah jam kalau sempat cover topik minggu tu. 

Sebenarnya classmates untuk Econ class aku majority second and third year students tapi disebabkan aku dah ambil basic micro & macro dekat Taylor's dulu, so aku boleh transfer credit je. University aku pun ada offer swimming class, dancing class, cooking class etc. Okay aku nak cerita ni, masa second sem, aku dengan Kima kononnya nak ambil satu easy A subject & ada senior recommend kelas 'Intimate Relationship'. Kelas ni macam kelas psychology. Belajar pasal attachment style, Intimacy Killer, Intimacy Healer, Long Distance Relationship, LGBTQ dll. Plus, aku kena tulis final paper 20 pages pasal personal story & kaitkan dengan topik dalam syllabus and I got 95/100 for my final paper! Tapi aku & kima mungkin tak recommend kelas ni dekat orang lain sebab workload dia banyak & quiz dia kalau tak study betul betul susah jugak kot. 

Pergaulan lelaki perempuan ada batas tak?

Pandai-pandailah limit our own personal boundaries kan. Senior ada cakap, batch yang baru sampai (sponsored students) ni semua alhamdulillah baik-baik belaka cewah! Apa yang aku perasan, budak lelaki & perempuan Malaysians buat hal masing-masing. Terserempak dalam campus jarang sekali. Jumpa waktu ada gathering atau main Volleyball kat gym jelah. Aku pun segan nak borak dengan budak lelaki sebab semuanya senior. Batas pergaulan tu masih terjaga, alhamdulillah. Bila kau muslim woman & bertudung, Americans pun takdelah sesuka hati nak sentuh kau. 

Macam mana aku survive time Winter dekat Minnesota?

Ramai orang maklum dengan extreme weather dekat Minnesota. Bulan October dah turun snow & bulan April masih snowing! Aku tak sempat nak merasa Spring sangat. Midterm Econ aku pernah cancel sebab snowstorm. Aku suka snow sebab nampak cantik. Tapi dah asyik snowing je siapa tak bosan. Lipbalm & moisturizer sangat penting untuk survive time winter. Pakai jacket yang betul-betul tahan sejuk macam Columbia and The North Face. 

Mana dapat duit banyak-banyak pergi travel?

Dari awal-awal masuk sem 1 aku dah kerja & aku budak baru paling awal start kerja. Sebelum aku fly lagi aku dah plan apa aku nak buat dekat sana, tempat mana aku nak travel etc. Alhamdulillah aku berjaya la jugak travel dalam 10 states yang aku target untuk first year. Aku pun jenis yang suka simpan duit & guna untuk benda yang aku rasa penting je. Tapi aku cuba amalkan sikap jangan berkira dengan orang lain especially dengan orang yang aku sayang. Doakan aku dapat travel Europe next year InsyaAllah.

Macam mana boleh berani travel sorang?

Aku pun tak percaya aku pernah travel solo pergi Chicago & Jepun. Aku berani bila kawan dengan Tia la ni. Tia ni senior yang aku paling rapat and dia jugak kakak usrah aku. Dia jenis yang berani & sukakan cabaran cewah! Masa sem 1, aku ni sangatlah semangat dalam semua benda. Aku ada plan untuk diri aku sendiri termasuklah plan travel list. Masa sem 1 aku takde kelas hari Jumaat, so aku plan nak pergi Chicago before winter sebab orang kata travel Chicago time winter tak best sangat. Aku ajak Syahirah & ada beberapa orang lagi tapi semua busy & ada kelas jumaat. Tapi semangat punya pasal, aku plan itinerary dengan bantuan Syahirah (roommate) memandangkan Syahirah dah pernah pergi Chicago. Tia pulak kenalkan aku dengan sorang akak dekat Chicago & akak tu bagi aku tompang rumah dia. Bila tiket bus & settle. Sebenarnya best tau travel sorang sorang ni sebab aku boleh kenal diri aku sendiri & tahu kemampuan diri. Aku enjoy sangat dekat Chicago.

Masa balik Malaysia baru-baru ni, aku dah beli ticket since October last year sebab aku tahu memang aku nak balik Malaysia cuti summer ni & dapat ticket murah jugak. Waktu tu ramai tak decide lagi nak balik bila so aku beli jelah dulu. Lepastu bila ada kawan aku nak beli ticket balik sekali, dah jadi mahal. So itulah kali pertama aku naik kapal terbang jauh-jauh seorang diri & long layover dekat Jepun. Since Tia balik a week earlier than me with the same long layover in Tokyo, so dia guide la nak pergi mana & macam mana nak keluar airport untuk jalan-jalan Tokyo. Aku pun ada tanya kakak aku tempat yang best dekat Tokyo sebab dia pernah pergi Tokyo. Orang Jepun sangat helpful. Walaupun tak berapa fasih English, tapi dia still try untuk tolong aku bila aku tak sure nak naik train mana. Aku dah siap screenshot direction dalam Google Maps sebelum keluar airport sebab dekat luar takde internet. Alhamdulillah aku selamat and dapat cover dua tempat dekat Jepun dalam masa separuh hari.

Improve English tak duduk US?

Ramai orang pesan, duduk US jangan bergaul dengan orang melayu je, nanti sama je macam belajar dekat Malaysia. Ye, betul. Mungkin ini salah satu sebab aku tak clingy sangat dengan Malaysians sebab tu akan buatkan aku stay in my comfort zone. Setiap orang berbeza & itu cuma pendapat aku. Alhamdulillah aku rasa aku lebih confident untuk cakap English lepas duduk US sebab most of the time aku dekat campus & jumpa non-Malays. Plus, aku join National Assembly of Malaysian Students in America (NAMSA) and dari situ aku belajar banyaklah dari segi professionalism & public speaking.

I think that's all for now. I hope I can be a better version of myself every year. Please pray for me! Thank you for reading!

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Volunteering at Hidayah Centre Foundation

Assalamualaikum and hi!

Last Saturday I volunteered at Hidayah Centre Foundation, Bandar Tasik Permaisuri to guide our new Muslim friends to read the Quran/Iqra'. The program was called 'Kelas Bimbingan Saudara Baru'. I made new friends and learned new things from them. It was a rewarding experience for me as I got to know some challenges that our Muslim friends have been facing throughout their process of learning about Islam. This has made me realized how grateful I am to be born as a Muslim. 

The program started at 5.30 pm and I arrived on time! I was assigned to guide Kak Lily with reading the Iqra' 1 & 2. She just reverted to Islam five weeks ago. By the way, if some of you are wondering why did I use the term 'reverted' instead of 'converted' is because every child is a Muslim by birth. I learned this from my Ustazah in Seseri.

Prophet Muhammad said, "No child is born but upon Fitra (as a Muslim). It is his parents who make him a Jew or a Christian or a Polytheist." (Sahih Muslim, Book 33, number 6426)

Kak Lily told me, "Tak sabarnya nak pandai baca Al-Quran. Teringin sangat". I was intrigued by Kak Lily's enthusiasm to learn how to read the Al-Quran. She also mentioned that her husband asked her to write each letter (Alif, Ba, Ta) for hundreds of time and she did it. Now, she can recognize and pronounce all the letters accordingly with only a minor mistake. Since that was my first time volunteering at this place, I didn't ask any personal questions although I was really curious to know how they actually got the 'hidayah'. I just be open and listen to whatever Kak Lily tells me about her experience. 

The Iqra'/Quran lesson was ended at 7 pm. There was a short tazkirah by an Ustaz before Iftar. I also got to know some other new Muslim friends during the Iftar. The total participants and volunteers who came to the program on that evening were around 30 people. Plus, our iftar was sponsored by one of our new Muslim friends. May Allah bless him and his family. The program was further continued with Isyak and tarawih prayers. This 'Kelas Bimbingan Saudara Baru' is a weekly morning class but the schedule has changed to the evening session only during the Ramadan. 

I know this program from Makcik Umi, a former program director of IKRAM Teens Bandar Tun Razak (BTR). Back then when I was in high school, I used to join the biweekly usrah conducted by IKRAM Teens BTR at Masjid Al-Mukhlisin Alam Damai and yes, I met Makcik Umi there. She is so kind and adorable. Makcik Umi and her husband have been actively involved in humanitarian activities since I know them in 2012. They really inspire me!

Photo courtesy from the Facebook page of Hidayah Centre Foundation BTR

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Spring Break 2018 (NYC-Boston-DC)

Assalamulaikum

Here's the itinerary of my east coast trip during the spring break. The total cost for this trip was around $700 exclude the accommodation. :)

Day	Time	Places / Attractions	Remarks
Sun	0300	LaGuardia Airport, New York City	My flight from Minneapolis was delayed for 4 hours. Thanks Uni and Ida for your patience.
	0400	Roosevelt Island	Uncle’s apartment. Thank you uncle for the great hospitality.
	1000	Rode a cable car from Roosevelt Island to Manhattan	We also bought a Metro weekly pass for $33.
	1030	Battery Park
	1100	Wall Street
	1200	World Trade Center & 9/11 Memorial
	1400	Lunch	There were so many halal food trucks around the city.
	1600	Empire State Building	General admission: $37 I highly recommend you to go there during the evening and wait till the sunset. (Day and Night view were awesome)
	2000	Times Square	Night
Mon	1000	Statue of Liberty	Cruises walk-in ticket: $18
	1200	Ellis Island
	1400	Lunch @ RASA Malaysian Restaurant	Nasi Kerabu was so yummy
	1600	Washington Square Park	Ala-ala France
	1630	New York University
	1700	Brooklyn Bridge	Prepare some cash to buy cheap souvenirs here.
	1800	Dumbo	Nice place for taking photos
Tue	1100	Rockefellar Center (Top of the Rock)	General admission: $39 We didn't go up to the Top of the Rock because the visibility was 0 due to the bad weather.
	1130	Grand Central Terminal
	1300	Malaysia Permanent Mission to the UN
	1320	United Nations
	1340	Iron Building
	1400	Buffet Lunch @ Haandi	$10 per person.
	1600	Central Park
	1700	American Museum of Natural History	Free admission for the last hour from 4.45-5.45 pm. Some scenes of Night at the Museum movie were shot here.
	1800	Laduree Macaron	Based in Paris
	2000	Magnolia Bakery	Based in NYC
Wed	1440	Depart to Boston by MegaBus
	1900	Arrived in Boston
	2100	Arrived @ Aisyah’s place	A student at Boston Univbersity
Thu	1000	Boston University	A day-pass: $12 (subway+bus)
	1200	Lunch @ In-House Café	Halal cafe
	1300	Harvard University
	1500	Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
	1600	Toscanini ice cream
	1630	Quincy Market	should try the clam chowder there
	1800	Dinner @ Holy Crab	I ate lobster for the first time
	2345	Depart to Washington DC by MegaBus	10 hours journey beb
Fri	1000	Arrived in Washington DC
	1100	Breakfast
	1200	The White House
	1300	Lincoln Memorial
	1400	Washington Monument
	1430	National Mall
	1500	United States Capitol
	1530	Lunch
	1700	Washington Cupcake	6 pcs/ box: $20
	1900	Check in @ Days Inn Hotel
Sat	0900	Embassy of Malaysia	Attended the Annual General Meeting of National Assembly of Malaysian Students in America (NAMSA)
Sun	2200	Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport	Depart to Minneapolis
	2330	Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport	End of Spring Break

Day 1 - Wall Street

Day 1 - World Trade Center

Day 1 - Empire State Building (Day view)

Day 1 - Empire State Building (Sunset)

Day 1 - Night View @ ESB

Day 1 - Times Square (Aiza, Ida, Uni)

Day 1 - Times Square

Day 1 - Brooklyn Bridge (Night view)

Day 1 - Brooklyn Bridge

Day 2 - Statue of Liberty

Day 2 - DUMBO

Day 2 - RASA

Day 2 - Washington Square Parl

Day 2 - New York University

Day 3 - Rockefeller Center

Day 3 - Grand Central Terminal

Day 3 - Iron Building

Day 3 - Central Park

Day 3 - Central Park

Day 3 - Museum of Natural History (Night at the Museum)

Day 3 - Magnolia Bakery

Day 3 - Boston University

Day 3 - Harvard University

Day 3 - Harvard University

Day 3 - MIT

Day 3 - Quincy Market

Day 6 - National Mall

Day 6 - Travel Buddies

Day 6 - US Capitol

Day 6 - The White House

Day 6 - Lincoln Memorial

Day 6 - Georgetown Cupcake

Day 7 - National Assembly of Malaysian Students in America (NAMSA) Annual General Meeting

Day 7 - Embassy of Malaysia

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