Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 2:11 pm-
Hey there,
I just went through the Ancestry route last week. I had read lots about it online but for me at least, it turned into a bit of much ado about nothing!
Maybe I was just overprepared for once in my life. Heh.
I went through the Edmonton office; submitted it last Monday, received an email confirmation that it arrived in Ottawa on Friday (I used regular post as I'm too cheap to pay to courier it, oops), got an email back on Tues after the long weekend that it had been accepted and the next day (i.e. today) my passport has apparently been sent to my house and is ready to be picked up at the post office.
So 2 thumbs up for quickness!
The Edmo office was fine, it's pretty tiny but it gets the job done. It took all of 10 mins to get fingerprinted and sign some forms.
What I submitted:
- 3 birth certificates (mine, dad's, grandfathers)
- application form
- 2 pictures
- letter I wrote stating that I had been in the UK prior on a Working Holiday, so had a NIN and bank account; and how I'd be looking for work
-3 months of bank statements from online just to show I wasn't broke; also threw in some hard copies sent to me from about 2 months ago to present
- letter from a relative saying I could crash with them if it all goes to hell
- couple of pay stubs from current job to support the not-being-broke part (probably not necessary but people here did it and it didn't hurt)
- resume & copy of degree
That's it! Ohh actually that does sound like lots but it wasn't really so bad. I spent more time trying to track down birth certificates than anything else. But I procrastinate.
Anyways, it wasn't bad at all, in and out pretty quick, I'm impressed with Ottawa. For once. And I work for the Feds!