CSQ spouse sponsorship inland timeline 2024

[elallen]

Hi everyone!

I'm an American principal applicant, with a Canadian spouse sponsoring me inland (living with him in Quebec after entering as a visitor earlier this year). We applied under the family class at IRCC first on February 29th, and received our AOR from IRCC on March 19th. I applied for the spousal OWP on March 21st.

Yesterday, my husband received an email from CPC Mississauga inviting him to apply for a request for undertaking with MIFI. We've filled everything out including the credit card form for the fees and plan to physically mail the package tomorrow once we have printed and signed everything. My questions for this group (thank you so much in advance!):

1) Is the timeline for receiving and OWP the same for Quebec applicants as for other provinces? I have a job lined up (my American company has legal registration in Canada so could localize me as soon as I receive the OWP); I'm trying to get a sense of how long that process will take.
2) My understanding is that once Quebec processes your undertaking application (and approves your sponsor) they'll send you the CSQ to fill out? Is this correct? How long did this process take?

Thank you!

 

[SkyEarth]

1) Is the timeline for receiving and OWP the same for Quebec applicants as for other provinces? I have a job lined up (my American company has legal registration in Canada so could localize me as soon as I receive the OWP); I'm trying to get a sense of how long that process will take.
2) My understanding is that once Quebec processes your undertaking application (and approves your sponsor) they'll send you the CSQ to fill out? Is this correct? How long did this process take?

Thank you!

Hi there! I'm also an American PA living with my Canadian spouse/sponsor in Quebec. I had a similar situation to you with my employer, but they decided to lay me off instead of relocate my role even though I had discussed the relocation and work permit with them -- so just be careful with that.

1. Yes. What province you are traveling to doesn't really have any impact on the OWP timeline. The OWP is usually processed through the Edmonton VO. For me, from the time I submitted to the time I received the physical permit took just under 2 months (50 days). My full timeline is in my signature, but I'll put the most relevant pieces for the OWP here for reference:

- Nov 9, 2023: Submitted Inland Spousal PR Application
- Dec 1, 2023: Received AOR
- Dec 10, 2023: Submitted OWP Application
- Dec 20, 2023: PR Biometrics Instruction Letter (applies to the OWP as well)
- Dec 27, 2023: Biometrics Appointment
- Dec 28, 2023: Biometrics marked Completed in trackers
- Jan 22, 2024: OWP Application Status Changed to "Final Decision"
- Jan 23, 2024: OWP Approved
- Jan 29,2024: OWP Received in the mail

2. The CSQ isn't something you fill out, it is a document that essentially says Quebec has authorized you to immigrate to the province, and the Undertaking -- similarly -- is basically a letter that states Quebec acknowledges/approves your sponsor's eligibility and commitment. We received ours in about 2 months (roughly 55-60 days) from the time that the office received our application.

One thing that drove me crazy with Quebec was the lack of transparency in their processing (no trackers or ways to measure updates). For us, the CSQ process was particularly nerve-wracking because my husband is disabled (we had submitted a bit of extra paperwork as proof). My timeline is also a little bit wonky because our credit card failed with the first application we submitted. So for our second one, we did a money order, which had no problems (and tbh was probably easier). We had to resubmit, but we just got the Sponsor Approval and CSQ recently!! I'll condense my CSQ timeline so that you have an idea of how long the processing might take

- Jan 19, 2024: CSQ + Undertaking mailed (included the Postal Money Order with the application -- we also scanned the Canada Post receipt to send it to IRCC via web form as "evidence" of the submission)
- Jan 23, 2024ish: CSQ + Undertaking delivered (not 100% sure on this date since I didn't have tracking details)
- Feb 7, 2024: Payment Accepted (this means they opened the envelope and "cashed" the money order on this date)
- Feb 13, 2024: Confirmation/AOR received in mail (we scanned this letter and sent it to IRCC via web form)
- Feb 19, 2024: email from IRCC acknowledging they received the web form submission
- March 18, 2024: CSQ + Undertaking approved
- March 22, 2024: Received 2 copies of CSQ + 1 copy of CSQ approval letter + 1 copy of Sponsor Approval letter +1 copy of approved application in the mail (all arrived in the same envelope) We also scanned the CSQ and the Sponsor Approval letter (3 pages total) and submitted those to IRCC through web form as well
- March 25, 2024: email from IRCC acknowledging they received the web form submission

If you have any other questions about the CSQ or anything else, let me know! I'm happy to help with any info I can

 

[elallen]

Hi there! I'm also an American PA living with my Canadian spouse/sponsor in Quebec. I had a similar situation to you with my employer, but they decided to lay me off instead of relocate my role even though I had discussed the relocation and work permit with them -- so just be careful with that.

1. Yes. What province you are traveling to doesn't really have any impact on the OWP timeline. The OWP is usually processed through the Edmonton VO. For me, from the time I submitted to the time I received the physical permit took just under 2 months (50 days). My full timeline is in my signature, but I'll put the most relevant pieces for the OWP here for reference:

- Nov 9, 2023: Submitted Inland Spousal PR Application
- Dec 1, 2023: Received AOR
- Dec 10, 2023: Submitted OWP Application
- Dec 20, 2023: PR Biometrics Instruction Letter (applies to the OWP as well)
- Dec 27, 2023: Biometrics Appointment
- Dec 28, 2023: Biometrics marked Completed in trackers
- Jan 22, 2024: OWP Application Status Changed to "Final Decision"
- Jan 23, 2024: OWP Approved
- Jan 29,2024: OWP Received in the mail

2. The CSQ isn't something you fill out, it is a document that essentially says Quebec has authorized you to immigrate to the province, and the Undertaking -- similarly -- is basically a letter that states Quebec acknowledges/approves your sponsor's eligibility and commitment. We received ours in about 2 months (roughly 55-60 days) from the time that the office received our application.

One thing that drove me crazy with Quebec was the lack of transparency in their processing (no trackers or ways to measure updates). For us, the CSQ process was particularly nerve-wracking because my husband is disabled (we had submitted a bit of extra paperwork as proof). My timeline is also a little bit wonky because our credit card failed with the first application we submitted. So for our second one, we did a money order, which had no problems (and tbh was probably easier). We had to resubmit, but we just got the Sponsor Approval and CSQ recently!! I'll condense my CSQ timeline so that you have an idea of how long the processing might take

- Jan 19, 2024: CSQ + Undertaking mailed (included the Postal Money Order with the application -- we also scanned the Canada Post receipt to send it to IRCC via web form as "evidence" of the submission)
- Jan 23, 2024ish: CSQ + Undertaking delivered (not 100% sure on this date since I didn't have tracking details)
- Feb 7, 2024: Payment Accepted (this means they opened the envelope and "cashed" the money order on this date)
- Feb 13, 2024: Confirmation/AOR received in mail (we scanned this letter and sent it to IRCC via web form)
- Feb 19, 2024: email from IRCC acknowledging they received the web form submission
- March 18, 2024: CSQ + Undertaking approved
- March 22, 2024: Received 2 copies of CSQ + 1 copy of CSQ approval letter + 1 copy of Sponsor Approval letter +1 copy of approved application in the mail (all arrived in the same envelope) We also scanned the CSQ and the Sponsor Approval letter (3 pages total) and submitted those to IRCC through web form as well
- March 25, 2024: email from IRCC acknowledging they received the web form submission

If you have any other questions about the CSQ or anything else, let me know! I'm happy to help with any info I can

Thank you so much for this detailed reply--its helpful to hear from someone else in a similar position! I'm so sorry to hear about your former employer. If you don't mind me asking, do you know what led to the decision to lay you off? Was it because Quebec's employment laws are so complicated? My company is based in the US but does international development work, we actually already have 2 or 3 employees based in Canada but they're all in Toronto. My boss and my division VP are both supportive of the move but it's currently with Legal/HR as they figure out the specifics of Quebec employment law so of course I'm worried.

Also, now that you received the OWP are you starting the process of applying for health insurance? I understand that there is a 3 month delay, but wasn't sure if that was from the time you get the OWP or from the time you start employment.

Thank you again!!

 

[SkyEarth]

Thank you so much for this detailed reply--its helpful to hear from someone else in a similar position! I'm so sorry to hear about your former employer. If you don't mind me asking, do you know what led to the decision to lay you off? Was it because Quebec's employment laws are so complicated? My company is based in the US but does international development work, we actually already have 2 or 3 employees based in Canada but they're all in Toronto. My boss and my division VP are both supportive of the move but it's currently with Legal/HR as they figure out the specifics of Quebec employment law so of course I'm worried.

Also, now that you received the OWP are you starting the process of applying for health insurance? I understand that there is a 3 month delay, but wasn't sure if that was from the time you get the OWP or from the time you start employment.

Thank you again!!

My former employer is based out of Vancouver, so they are a Canadian company and they do already have a branch in Montreal, specifically. I wasn't the only employee that was laid off, but I think it was just easier for them/their payroll to include me in the lay offs since I was moving between countries. I worked for a game company and the industry is struggling hard right now as a whole. It was just exceptionally poor timing for me. I have also, subsequently, been finding it difficult to obtain a job in the province due to my limited/non-existent French language skills (because there is a "right to French" in the province for business purposes -- meaning no one is ever under any obligation to speak to you in English when interacting with you).

In order to get Health insurance, my understanding is you need to have received AOR letter, CSQ, AIP letter, and present 2 photo IDs. Alternatively, you can also qualify for health insurance if you have an OWP and have been employed with a company for 6 months -- aka would take 9 months to get health insurance with the 3-month delay.

I haven't received the Approved In Principal letter yet, and I haven't obtained a job yet. So while I do plan on starting that process as soon as I am able to, I'm currently not eligible.

 

[elallen]

My former employer is based out of Vancouver, so they are a Canadian company and they do already have a branch in Montreal, specifically. I wasn't the only employee that was laid off, but I think it was just easier for them/their payroll to include me in the lay offs since I was moving between countries. I worked for a game company and the industry is struggling hard right now as a whole. It was just exceptionally poor timing for me. I have also, subsequently, been finding it difficult to obtain a job in the province due to my limited/non-existent French language skills (because there is a "right to French" in the province for business purposes -- meaning no one is ever under any obligation to speak to you in English when interacting with you).

In order to get Health insurance, my understanding is you need to have received AOR letter, CSQ, AIP letter, and present 2 photo IDs. Alternatively, you can also qualify for health insurance if you have an OWP and have been employed with a company for 6 months -- aka would take 9 months to get health insurance with the 3-month delay.

I haven't received the Approved In Principal letter yet, and I haven't obtained a job yet. So while I do plan on starting that process as soon as I am able to, I'm currently not eligible.

Oh wow! I am so sorry you've been going through that--hopefully you can find something here soon. The right to French thing is interesting--I speak decent but not perfect French. Not sure if it will end up being a legal requirement for me given my company is US based but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

The health insurance thing is insane especially given it takes 2+ years to get permanent residency in Quebec. What do they do if the PA is pregnant? (I'm not, but this seems like a consideration that could easily come up for many couples). I had been reading the 6 month requirement as you had to have a job contract that was at least 6 months (ie. A temp job or something super seasonal wouldn't count), not that you had to wait 6 months. But I might be reading that wrong.
I hope you get the AIP soon and I'll be curious to hear how long that takes from the time you first applied. Thank you!

 

[123applicant]

Oh wow! I am so sorry you've been going through that--hopefully you can find something here soon. The right to French thing is interesting--I speak decent but not perfect French. Not sure if it will end up being a legal requirement for me given my company is US based but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

The health insurance thing is insane especially given it takes 2+ years to get permanent residency in Quebec. What do they do if the PA is pregnant? (I'm not, but this seems like a consideration that could easily come up for many couples). I had been reading the 6 month requirement as you had to have a job contract that was at least 6 months (ie. A temp job or something super seasonal wouldn't count), not that you had to wait 6 months. But I might be reading that wrong.
I hope you get the AIP soon and I'll be curious to hear how long that takes from the time you first applied. Thank you!

There's a lot of people on private insurance. I wasn't eligible when I came as an international student so had to pay >$1000 for private insurance with Blue Cross. There are quite a few insurance companies that will offer healthcare for recently landed. You can also see if you are eligible to be placed on your partner's insurance through work, sometimes they will allow non-RAMQ eligible spouses/common-law to be added to their group plan. This may have to go through special circumstances and your partner might have to fight with HR for this.

For some companies language will be more important than others. It also depends what industry you work in as well as who the company deals with.
I know certain companies will only refer to French as being important on paper (so they don't get dinged by the language police) and they hire non-French speaking people, but some companies are super strict with this. The trend with my anglo only friends seems to be that either they get a job that is highly specialized or remote jobs based in the US or rest of Canada. With that being said, most of my non quebecois friends have left the province for greener pastures.

For us, we currently cannot leave Quebec. I got burnt out and so I quit in December and have been looking for a job (and career change) ever since.... My husband keeps telling me it's a process, but I can't help wonder if I would have the same issues in say Ontario or back in Europe.

 

[Bellicose67]

@damientian well, thank you for the suggestion, I called and learned that our CSQ has been approved on Monday, same as you! Now we're also waiting to receive it but it's half the stress out.

So you did not get an email and status was treatment on your MIFi portal and you called MIFI and on phone they confirmed, it's approved...M is missing anything in this ?

 

[elallen]

My former employer is based out of Vancouver, so they are a Canadian company and they do already have a branch in Montreal, specifically. I wasn't the only employee that was laid off, but I think it was just easier for them/their payroll to include me in the lay offs since I was moving between countries. I worked for a game company and the industry is struggling hard right now as a whole. It was just exceptionally poor timing for me. I have also, subsequently, been finding it difficult to obtain a job in the province due to my limited/non-existent French language skills (because there is a "right to French" in the province for business purposes -- meaning no one is ever under any obligation to speak to you in English when interacting with you).

In order to get Health insurance, my understanding is you need to have received AOR letter, CSQ, AIP letter, and present 2 photo IDs. Alternatively, you can also qualify for health insurance if you have an OWP and have been employed with a company for 6 months -- aka would take 9 months to get health insurance with the 3-month delay.

I haven't received the Approved In Principal letter yet, and I haven't obtained a job yet. So while I do plan on starting that process as soon as I am able to, I'm currently not eligible.

Hey there! One additional question if you see this--I realized we were supposed to submit proof of sending the undertaking application to MIFI--we sent this March 26th but my husband didn't get tracking. No updates in gkey on my OWP (other than to say the application was received on March 21) and no updates on my PR application since the AOR on March 19. I haven't had biometrics or medical requested. Should we resend the undertaking application with tracking? Could that be what's holding it up? They haven't charged my card for the undertaking application either.

 

[SkyEarth]

Hey there! One additional question if you see this--I realized we were supposed to submit proof of sending the undertaking application to MIFI--we sent this March 26th but my husband didn't get tracking. No updates in gkey on my OWP (other than to say the application was received on March 21) and no updates on my PR application since the AOR on March 19. I haven't had biometrics or medical requested. Should we resend the undertaking application with tracking? Could that be what's holding it up? They haven't charged my card for the undertaking application either.

I personally don't recommend resending the CSQ/undertaking application if there are no known issues with the application itself. My recommendation is to upload the receipt that you received from Canada Post (with or without tracking) via the webform as the "proof". This worked for my application.

If you don't have the receipt anymore, I still wouldn't send a new application. IRCC wants "proof" submitted to them within 30 days, but what they're really looking for is the Confirmation/AOR. They shouldn't completely halt your application if "proof" isn't submitted in a timely manner, but it might delay things a bit-- and of course, you still want to submit whatever proof you might have as soon as you can/are able.

The processing with MIFI doesn't technically have anything to do with the other areas of your PR application or OWP, so those things can still see movement while your PR application is in progress. Typically the next step for a non-Quebec application is going to be eligibility for both applicant and sponsor -- which is assessed twice for Quebec applications, once by Quebec and then again by IRCC. Receiving the invitation to apply for the CSQ/undertaking usually indicates you've met the requirements at the federal level and now they need the input from Quebec at the provincial level. Once Quebec approves the CSQ/undertaking, the IRCC reviews your eligibility again to put an official approval on it and send you the Pre-arrival Services letter, the Approved in Principle letter, and the Sponsor Approval letter. (My husband and I just got these this past week! ^^)

MIFI usually estimates 1-3 months for an application to be fully reviewed from the time it is delivered to them. You might see money withdrawn from your bank account when MIFI accepts your credit card payment, but since I used a postal money order, I didn't have any indication from MIFI that progress was being made until about a week later when they sent me the Confirmation/AOR via the mail.

If I were to give you a ballpark estimate, I would say that if you sent the application for the CSQ/Undertaking on March 26, you will probably see the credit card processed before the end of next week, and then the Confirmation/AOR might arrive in your mailbox before May 10. If it doesn't, then you can call MIFI and see if they can let you know if there is an issue or any delays.

I am personally still waiting on the medical request (not started) and background check (in progress). For you, since you submitted an OWP, IRCC will probably ask for your biometrics soon

 

[Bellicose67]

Hello Everyone..

Can anyone suggest what is the average time to get CSQ after you get acknowledge of recipt of your documents . I am bit anxious now.

Documents acknowledgement receipt date : February 5, 2024. ( inland applicant )

No update till than , status is En Treatment .

Kindly share average time after receipt of documents ?

Any one got CSQ who received acknowledgement of documents in February, 2024 ??

Thanks .

 

[SkyEarth]

Hello Everyone..

Can anyone suggest what is the average time to get CSQ after you get acknowledge of recipt of your documents . I am bit anxious now.

Documents acknowledgement receipt date : February 5, 2024. ( inland applicant )

No update till than , status is En Treatment .

Kindly share average time after receipt of documents ?

Any one got CSQ who received acknowledgement of documents in February, 2024 ??

Thanks .

This is my timeline, hope it helps!

- Jan 19, 2024: CSQ + Undertaking mailed (included the Postal Money Order with the application -- we also scanned the Canada Post receipt to send it to IRCC via web form as "evidence" of the submission)
- Jan 23, 2024ish: CSQ + Undertaking delivered (not 100% sure on this date since I didn't have tracking details)
- Feb 7, 2024: Payment Accepted (this means they opened the envelope and "cashed" the money order on this date)
- Feb 13, 2024: Confirmation/AOR received in mail (we scanned this letter and sent it to IRCC via web form)
- Feb 19, 2024: email from IRCC acknowledging they received the web form submission
- March 18, 2024: CSQ + Undertaking approved
- March 22, 2024: Received 2 copies of CSQ + 1 copy of CSQ approval letter + 1 copy of Sponsor Approval letter +1 copy of approved application in the mail (all arrived in the same envelope) We also scanned the CSQ and the Sponsor Approval letter (3 pages total) and submitted those to IRCC through web form as well
- March 25, 2024: email from IRCC acknowledging they received the web form submission

 

[Bellicose67]

Hello,

thanks for replying..

It seems some confusion..Have u tried applied through regular skilled worker program?

 

[Logk]

Hey @Bellicose67 if you're looking for the skilled worker program this might not be the right place as we're focused on spouse sponsorship inland.

If you are indeed looking for spouse sponsorship inland, it's about 4-8 weeks between MIFI AOR and MIFI Approval. Take it with a pinch of salt, there's always faster/slower exceptions but that's a good average from what I've seen out there this year so far. You can always call MIFI to ask about it, they have been quite helpful in my case.

There is also no communication from the AOR from MIFI to their approval as far as I know and it's sent directly by regular mail. It's a patience game but it will come sooner or later, hang on until then.

PS : just to clarify, I'm considering your question only for the MIFI part of the application, not IRCC. If you're asking how long it took from IRCC AOR to the CSQ approval but you didn't receive yet your CSQ invitation, then you are not yet at the point I'm mentioning above.

 

[damientian]

Hi everybody, we got an update today, medical is passed since I did it on 2019 on study permit. So no need to redo it again.
Eligibilty and Background is still in progress.

 

[Zaraguy]

AOR Jan 26 2024
BIL. Feb 20 2024
CSQ from previous Outland application
Medical March 1 2024 (extended by IRCC)
Background in process
Eligibility not started

silenceeeee. Are they gonna request for another CSQ from us?