Another milestone!

Booked my air tickets too!
Main aaya aaya aaya... o kaneda! (punjabi version of Canada)

Got the Student's Permit!

The major task before every student seeking admission overseas is the Student's Visa and I have been successful in getting it. Its such a great feeling now.
It was a surprise call from Blue-Dart informing a shipment from VFS. Since I submitted my passport just 1 day earlier and I have got a shipment in not even 48 hours! But the bottom line is..i got the Visa!!
...whosh...whosh...apun chala..kingston calling!

Race to fly!

Since all other issues are progressing, the air ticket issue is also to be solved...just too many options and too many fares-cheaper but require a transit visa (United Airlines)--cheap but too long a flight ~ 23 hours (Aerofloat) or just waste too much time for the flight change at a intermediate airport.

The 2nd last thing that has to be finalised after Accomodation!

Passport Re-submitted!

I re-submitted my passport after 10 days of my medical tests. Hopefully the reports have reached the embassy!
The wait starts again!

One Step Closer : by Linkin Park or BCP ?

Received my Police Clearance Certificate today! Didn't knew that police and/or government office can work on time. They asked me to collect the certificate on March 14, 2007 and they did give it to me!

One step closer to PR! thanks Bangalore City Police!

Can-Visa Medical done

One more task in the process of acquiring a Canadian Visa is completed with a successful medical check up.
Tests performed during the medical checkup

• Blood-various types-even HIV and STD tests
• Urine
• Chest X-ray
• Physician consulation

Expense: INR 1720
Time taken: 1 hour

So the only work left is wait! yes again!

The medical reports will be sent after 5 days to the Embassy but the doctor. The letter received along with the passport request me to submit passport again (for Visa stamping if successful) after 15 days of medical check-up!

Target date of passport submission at VFS, Bangalore: March19-20

Visa Stage 1 Clear

Received my passport back with a letter requesting me to get the medical check-up. All other things are perfect.

So Visa application stage 1 is clear!!! Only medical check-up left!

Taken the appointment for the medical also!

Login to MBA portal received

Received a mail giving me details of the login credentials for the Queen's Portal.
The portal has lot of information, including links to accommodation sites, details on notebook PC configuration and other program schedule and details.
The official Queen's email has been created too!

Finally!! a visa status change!!

I visited the VFS office where I had submitted my Visa application. The lady told me that the passport was scanned inside the embassy on 20th Feb. So the passport is inside the Embassy and the processing is taking time.
But finally at around 7 pm the visa/passport status on the VFS Visa Tracker changed to "Passport Couriered on 5/3/2007". This was such a relief!
The next tasks were to get the passport at the earliest and hoping that everything else is cleared and a request for a medical check-up is there!

Good luck!

A trip to police station

I went to the local police station to see if my Police Clearance Certificate application has reached there. It had reached there and so I was ready for the next step i.e. the police verification.
Certain documents are required by the police officer. Not knowing about the same, I had not taken them. The following is a list

1. 3 passport size photographs, preferably the ones attached on the Police Clearance Certificate application
2. *Proof of residence-Rental agreement is usually not accepted. Gas connection/phone bill specifying the address is required. One latest and one earliest bill is required.
3. Xerox of passport
   

*The date on this proof is the date which will be taken as your start date of stay in Bangalore for the PCC. Hence check if you can obtain all the proofs starting from your date of arrival here. Rest depends on the police officer working on your application.

The police officer will dictate you a letter addressed to the in-charge of the police station. Once done, don't be surprised if some loosening of purse-strings is required!

Approximate time taken: 15 minutes

A wonderful experience as the police officer was very polite and even got a chair for me ;)

Wait... wait and wait..

"Curiosity kills the cat" is a well-known idiom. But what seems to work in my case is "Uncertainty kills the dog"

Friday and the 10th working day after submitting my visa application has passed. No update from the VFS, no reply from the Embassy, no change in Visa-tracker status.

The only hope is a possible dispatch from Embassy on Monday, 5th March and the passport reaching me on 6th March-thats still 4 days away!