What does Eligibility mean for Spousal Sponsorship in the Application Tracker and more...

[tanda04]

Hey everyone, hope everyone is doing well and coming to Canada very soon.

I am a Canadian citizen and I sponsored my Outland wife on December 14th, 2021. We did everything online. Our application timeline is:

1. December 15th, Application Received (Notice).
2. March 9th, Biometrics Letter Received (Requested).
3. March 14th, Biometrics Submitted (Submitted).
4. April 6th, Spousal Eligibility Letter Received (Notice).
5. April 6th, Medical Exams Instructions Letter Received (Requested).
6. April 19th, Medical Exams Completed (Submitted).

As of April 23rd, our Application Tracker says:

Biometrics --> Received
Medical Exam --> In Progress
Eligibility --> Not Started
Background Verification --> Not Started

We were wondering why it says that I was approved for eligibility as a sponsor but the application tracker still says "Not Started"? Is there an eligibility stage for the Principal Applicant? If so, then what does it entail?

We also received another weird letter on April 20th telling us to connect our "paper application" to our online account but the problem is that we never even applied by paper. We are also able to check our application status as well as the tracker using the same credentials we signed up for to apply in the first place. I'll attach an excerpt of this letter as an image here... Does anyone know why we received this even though we applied online?

Thank you very much in advance for your responses!

 

[tanda04]

We were also wondering the following for Outland Spousal Sponsorships:

1. How long does it take for the IRCC to process medical exams after submission (April 19th)?
2. How long does it take on average for the IRCC to process Background Verification?
3. How long does it take on average for the IRCC to process the Eligibility, if the spouse has already been approved for eligibility?

These are in regards to the Application Tracker. Thanks.

 

[DimT44]

We were wondering why it says that I was approved for eligibility as a sponsor but the application tracker still says "Not Started"? Is there an eligibility stage for the Principal Applicant? If so, then what does it entail?

There's a separate tracker for the sponsor and the PA. That's why you can't see sponsor eligibility on the PA's tracker.

 

[DimT44]

We were also wondering the following for Outland Spousal Sponsorships:

1. How long does it take for the IRCC to process medical exams after submission (April 19th)?
2. How long does it take on average for the IRCC to process Background Verification?
3. How long does it take on average for the IRCC to process the Eligibility, if the spouse has already been approved for eligibility?

These are in regards to the Application Tracker. Thanks.

For medical probably a month or a bit more. Generally these specifics vary between each case. All I can tell you is that most likely your application will be done within 12 months of submission (so by Dec. 2022).

 

[tanda04]

There's a separate tracker for the sponsor and the PA. That's why you can't see sponsor eligibility on the PA's tracker.

In that case, what does it mean to process the principal applicant’s eligibility for spousal sponsorship application? Is it to check whether she really is my wife by checking marriage records and whatnot. I couldn’t find any information about eligibility requirements for principal applicants, only found details about sponsor’s eligibility in the IRCC websites.

I know that background verification entails checking for her criminal background history (if any but there isn’t any) but what does eligibility for the principal applicant mean?

 

[DimT44]

In that case, what does it mean to process the principal applicant’s eligibility for spousal sponsorship application? Is it to check whether she really is my wife by checking marriage records and whatnot. I couldn’t find any information about eligibility requirements for principal applicants, only found details about sponsor’s eligibility in the IRCC websites.

I know that background verification entails checking for her criminal background history (if any but there isn’t any) but what does eligibility for the principal applicant mean?

Check this out, it also has a link at the bottom for more details. But generally speaking yes it's about verifying the relationship and their admissibility.

"Eligibility of the people you’re sponsoring"
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/family-sponsorship/spouse-partner-children/who-you-can-sponsor.html#:~:text=Eligibility of the people you’re sponsoring

 

[tanda04]

Check this out, it also has a link at the bottom for more details. But generally speaking yes it's about verifying the relationship and their admissibility.

"Eligibility of the people you’re sponsoring"
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/family-sponsorship/spouse-partner-children/who-you-can-sponsor.html#:~:text=Eligibility of the people you’re sponsoring

Awesome, thanks! That explains it!

 

[tanda04]

Just an update for anyone who might wanna know, I’ll update our application status here as we progress. My wife’s medical results are all in excellent conditions too.

As of April 26th, our Application Tracker says:

Biometrics --> Received
Medical Exam --> Completed
Eligibility --> Not Started
Background Verification --> Not Started

 

[Reetu B]

Hello
My eligibility is in progess n they asked for additional documents so we courier it to Delhi immigration on Saturday
So how much time it takes after submitting the documents??
Please guide

 

[tanda04]

Hello
My eligibility is in progess n they asked for additional documents so we courier it to Delhi immigration on Saturday
So how much time it takes after submitting the documents??
Please guide

As far as I know, if you applied in December 2021 then your application should be approved by December 2022 as long as you don’t need to send additional information. I don’t know how much your application will be delayed because of additional documents request but hopefully another month extra? Maybe someone else can chime in here?

 

[armoured]

As far as I know, if you applied in December 2021 then your application should be approved by December 2022 as long as you don’t need to send additional information. I don’t know how much your application will be delayed because of additional documents request but hopefully another month extra? Maybe someone else can chime in here?

I don't think it's that linear "add x weeks" at all - depends on the nature of the request. If the request is simple or standard, may not add much time at all because may be done in parallel as other stuff if it occurs early (also allowing that for some countries, 'additional requests' are standard for country-specific reasons, like can't get PCC without letter from IRCC).

Some addl document requests though indicate extra scrutiny or something was missing - like provide more info and show your'e a real couple, docs about custody/parentage of children. Those can take longer (although again not always).

 

[DimT44]

Hello
My eligibility is in progess n they asked for additional documents so we courier it to Delhi immigration on Saturday
So how much time it takes after submitting the documents??
Please guide

What kind of additional documents did they ask for?

 

[Reetu B]

They asked for wedding pictures
As we didn’t submitted bcz of corona we did only court marriage
This year we did ritual wedding so we were having pictures we sent them all
How much time it takes?

 

[Anuradha18]

Hi
Can someone give my idea.
That during background check of PA (file in NDVO ) will they do suprise visit at my home address (permanent address) ? We have submitted ADR where in-laws are present with me After marriage because I spent very short duration with my spouse ( we are in a relationship since 2013 ) And will they give prior notice ? I have be present at home all the time ??

 

[tanda04]

We got a ghost update on May 24th. No material changes in the application tracker unfortunately:

Biometrics --> Received
Medical Exam --> Completed
Eligibility --> Not Started
Background Verification --> Not Started