Settlement Fund, Airfare and Accomodation

Please note that I have written this post on 20 March 2016 at 9:57 PM but due to security reasons I am posting this just today.

After receiving a PPR and waiting for PP to be returned with PR visa stamped on it, I thought the next stage will be easier. Preparing for landing is a much tougher work to do. So many in our to-do-lists especially that we are going to another country with no relatives or friends to help us during the starting stage. Adding to our agony is that we will be exiting our dear home country in just 1 month and 13 days. 

Anyhow, I know we can do this. We have prayed for our Canadian dream to come through and no backing out this time nor thinking of negative things. We can do our landing, settle in NB, find a job and eventually get pregnant (giggling, I can't wait for little R) all by God's grace.

So, let us discuss this one by one. First of all, our settlement fund. After going through senior Pinoy forumers who already landed in different provinces of Canada, my husband and I decided to take with us our settlement fund in cash (US Dollar or Canadian Dollar, we will update you soon). We declared a CAD$21,000.00 as settlement fund for a Family of 2 during our NBPNP and CIC applications. So, this is the amount that we will report at the port of entry.

Why? We have options on whether to order for a demand draft, bank draft or traveller's check. There is no traveller's check and bank draft in our Philippine bank, PNB, so crossed out. Demand draft there is but it will take 45 days for it to be cleared in Canada plus additional cost so crossed out too. There is a Startright Program offered by Scotiabank for newcomers. PNB confirms they can do the wire transfer if we go with Scotiabank but with additional cost of more than a thousand pesos. We do not like additional costs so we decided to just bring our CAD$21,000.00 in full cash. We just need to secure properly said cash.

UPDATE: We decided to buy CAD$ with a Money Changer. Sad part is CAD$ went high already unlike during our application stages CAD$ to Php is around Php35 something versus the CAD$. Now it is Php36.50 to Php37.50. Thus, we ended up having a settlement fund of CAD$20,000.00 because we bought CAD$ for Php37.00. Short of CAD$1,000.00 in our declared settlement fund but still more than the required fund for a Family of 2. My soon to be NB neighbor, fjd2011, confirmed that this is okay for as long as we do not go down the required settlement fund. 

Secondly, our airfare tickets. We have purchased our tickets at Flight Network. We tried canvassing first time immigrant ticket offers from different Philippine travel agencies but most of them do not allow us to pay in credit card (if and when they do, there is an additional minimum 3% additional cost for the transaction). Also, getting a connecting flight from Toronto Pearson Airport (our port of entry) to Fredericton NB Airport will give us an additional cost on our luggages.

We also checked on different online booking websites recommended by my fellow girltalk member of Female Network, my highschool friend and that of my fellow NBPNP Pinoy Applicants. We checked on Expedia, CheapOAir, One Travel, FlightHub, AsapTickets and Flight Network.

After, so many comparison of a much affordable tickets, we booked our flight with Flight Network. Thank you again to my future neighbor in NB, neilyong7, for confirming the legality of Flight Network especially that it is based in Ontario, Canada. Also, for confirming that we can use our Philippine international credit card, PNB Visa, to do the transaction.

We have chosen Flight Network because aside from it is the cheapest (P34,763.01 all in one-way fare for one passenger or a total of P69,526.02 for my husband and I) and after waiting for 2 days, I finally finally got the 11:55 AM arrival time in Fredericton through said site for 2 May 2016. It easily become sold out with the said time. We wanted to see the beauty of Fredericton that is why I waited for the 11:55 AM to come out again and it did. Our trip has a total of 41 hours travel time from Manila to Shanghai, China to Toronto and to Fredericton. We have 9 hours layover in Shanghai and 13 hours 15 minutes in Toronto. Haggardness, LOL.

There is a story about our airfare. So I booked here in the Philippines and what I got is a "reserved" status only. I have given my credit card numbers though but here in the Philippines we provide the code found at the bank of our credit cards for our transaction to be confirmed as paid. In Flight Network, they do not ask for the codes. So how on earth will they do the swiping of my credit card. Thus, I was stress the whole night praying for our e-tickets to popped out in my email. The morning came and still no email. There is no PLDT landline at home so good thing I remembered my friend google. I asked google how to call from the Philippines to an international toll free numbers. It says I can use skype. I logged in to my skype account, followed the instructions of my friend google and viola, I am talking to there customer service via skype toll free, LOL. I honestly do not know this can be done. Then, the agent emailed our e-tickets with a "confirmed" status. I felt so relieved. Who will not be when I was just charged a P70,000.00 or more to my PNB Visa.

As of 25 March 2016, PNB Visa charged us a total of P71,470.95 for our airfare. An additional P1,944.93 to the original price. How expensive a 1-way ticket is. Good thing, PNB gave me a credit card because of our savings account with them. Problem solved with the airfare, LOL.

Lastly, our accomodation. We were actually choosing between UNB Fredericton Accommodation (which is very near Population Growth Office [NBPNP]) and Howard Johnson Fredericton (which is 1 long straight way to Dundonald St [Population Growth Office]) and both are walking distance to Odell Park (our soon to be jogging place, LOL). However, my husband told me to better send a message to our Filipino Community in Fredericton at their FB Page. Eversince we attended the information session and out of curiosity, I asked google how NB looks like and it always, always directed me to the Filipino Community of New Brunswick (FCNB) so I have liked their page since then.

Good thing, I message them because they replied hours from when I sent them a message in FB. Ma'am Gina was very kind enough to reply on all our queries. All our worries from our landing to Frederiction just fades away. Ma'am Gina told us to not get a hotel room and just wait for her next message to me. Oh my, she even offered to pick us up at the airport. This is where I felt very happy because of my frustration on the "Welcome to Canada" hahaha with matching cake, teehee. Why? Because I always see this with my FB friends, LOL. Funny me. And of course, Ma'am Gina's welcoming really pacifies me. Imagine going in another place with no friends and families, only me and my husband. The adjustments are just terrible. Thank you, as in, thank you Ma'am Gina. One more thing, Ma'am Gina does not want to be addressed as Ma'am, she wants us to call her "Ate" (an elder sister), because there is no Sir and Ma'am in Canada. Either way, she is still so very kind.

UPDATE: We will be picked up by Ate Gina at Fredericton airport and will be staying at their house for the meantime while we go check on apartments. We told her that we wanted to check on apartments personally so we planned to stay on a hotel but Ate Gina offered that we stay at their house first. So happy here. God really sends angels when we needed Him the most.

Thus, I told my NBPNP friends and future neighbors to report to FCNB before landing. We will try our very best to go with FCNB and welcome each and everyone of you in NB. My husband and I cannot wait for our grand EB. We started as strangers but, strangers we are to each other, we found new virtual friends to forum friends to whatsapp friends to FB friends to NB neighbors and soon a NB family from each other. We may land on different dates and time but we will surely treasure our friendships brought about by NBPNP EELMS program. See you soon 2015 Pinoy NBPNP EELMS neighbors. Now, let us do the landing stage one by one.

P.S. If I cannot reply on your comments, please bare with me as 

I am looking for Jon Snow at Kingslanding. :) :) :)