Summary of basic information about the typical process of spousal sponsorship applications at Accra Visa Office:
The process takes approximately 10 to 15+ months and differs from timelines of other visa offices around the world.
Acknowledgment of Receipt - Date the application was received by IRCC in Mississauga, Ontario (and for 2018 applicants, Sydney, Nova Scotia); the 12 month processing countdown starts from this date. After file is received by IRCC it is reviewed. If there are errors it is returned to applicants. This process takes 3 months and adds to the wait time. If there are no errors, the file is eventually transferred to the Accra Visa Office (2 or 3 months after AOR) however the forwarding date is sometimes not provided to applicants and other times it is. If it is they will send correspondence confirming the file was transferred and date it was transferred.
Processing Time - The 12 month processing deadline for 80 per cent of the files, as per the new mandate, does not include the extra month or two months to get the passport/visa back from AVO. Therefore do not make any travel plans until you have your passport/visa in hand. 20% of files will surpass the 12 month processing time due to level of complexity.
Sponsor Approval - This will take place within the period that the file is with IRCC in Canada before transferred to AVO. Once sponsor approval is granted, file is then transferred to AVO. A letter is sent to applicant advising whether sponsor has been approved.
Police Certificate Request (Criminal Record Check/Criminality Eligibility) and Schedule A – Background/Declaration form IMM 5669 - For 2018 applicants, the criminal record check and Schedule "A" have to be submitted upfront with the application. Note that criminal record checks usually are valid 3 or 6 months, or whatever date of expiry is noted on them, and they are not valid for a year. AVO may request a new police certificate when sending a passport request to applicant at resolution of file.
Medical Request (Medical Eligibility) - Medical request is received usually exactly 5 months after application is filed and acknowledged, therefore, medical request is received 5 months of the date of AOR. When the medicals are passed and completed it usually appears as line 4 on the ECAS stating "medicals received", considered passed, usually a week after the medicals are done at a designated medical centre. Note that medicals can only be done at a designated medical facility. Medicals also cannot be done upfront with the application. Applicants have to wait to get the request from AVO. It also shows up as "medicals passed" on GCKey. If medicals are failed IRCC will notify of next steps. Medicals are valid for 12 months from the date the IRCC receives them and usually do not have to be re-done as the process of finalizing decisions on spousal sponsorship appplications is done before the medicals expire, however in some circumstances, AVO may ask for the medicals to be redone, but that is at their discretion, based on the circumstances of the file. In 2018, the rules for the medical eligibility have been amended to be more understanding and inclusive of applicants' medical challenges.
Additional Document Request - Not everyone will get an ADR request from the AVO. They are usually sent to applicants for them to provide more information regarding the genuineness of their marriage but there could be other miscellaneous reasons as well. These requests can be sent by AVO at any time during the process and applicants are usually given 15 to 30 days (including weekends) to submit the requested documents to AVO, either by uploading them on GCKey or providing them directly to AVO via delivery means (VFS, etc.) ADR requests are customized to each person's file, and circumstances, so read the letters received word by word, as instructions may and often will differ from each person as each case is different.
Interview - These are at the discretion of AVO and may or may not be required, again, depending on the circumstances of each person's case.
Passport Request - Passport requests from AVO could be received as early as 2 or 3 months after medicals are completed, or 7 or 8 months from AOR date, however, that is rare. Most passport requests are received 10 months onwards, from date of AOR. Many are received at the 12 month mark and some after the 12 month mark. Sometimes a "pre-arrival" email will be received from AVO setting out services available to PR applicants in Canada when they relocate. The pre-arrival email is followed by the official passport request. The timeline as to how fast the passport request follows varies, from 3 days onwards. This email signals to the applicants that they will receive a passport request. Sometimes however AVO will not send a pre-arrival email, just a passport request or they may send both at the same time, or just send a passport request. Again, it differs for each person's file. Upon receiving a passport request, which also differs for each case, as to what they are requiring from applicants, usually the passport, 2 passport size photos, an updated family information form where you must advise them of any change in your marital status or family composition. All family members must be listed on your Form IMM008 and Additional Family Information forms. Failure to comply may result in a delay in the issuance of your visa. Also, a new criminal record check, medical check and other information may be required however in some cases they will not be requested. Regarding the criminal record check - please keep in mind that the criminal record certificates are only valid either 3 or 6 months, or whatever expiry date is noted on the actual certificates, they are not valid for a year. It is at discretion of AVO to either request a new police certificate with the passport request or not. Regarding the medical check - please keep in mind the medical results are valid for 1 year, however, AVO may request an updated medical check if warranted.
Signs of Update on Files
Note: There are two online portals applicants can follow. ECAS and GCKey. Note however that some applicants cannot access their files online for technical reasons, so not every applicant is privy to this information. The GCKey is where all the letters and communications from AVO will be sent and where you can upload documents. ECAS is where major milestones in the file are recorded. Note that neither of these portals show real-time updates. You cannot see when someone is working on your file. Sometimes these portals are updated at the conclusion or close to the ending of the files. The GCKey account will show updates to the file however often updates are not made in a timely manner. The ECAS page is also often not updated sometimes until after the file is resolved but usually shows significant milestones on the file. An applicant can inquire about their file after 12 months have passed using the IRCC Webform. The Webform is also used to update IRCC with any change to applicant's status and information that needs to be provided. The Webform is also used to upload documents.
GCMS Notes - If you want to track progress of your file more closely you have to order GCMS notes on a regular basis, i.e. monthly. These are internal notes provided by a central IRCC repository. When you order them it takes a month to get them and they are always dated as to the date you ordered them not when you received them. There is a thread on this website that deals with steps on how to order the notes.
Pick up Mail - Note: After applicants submit passports and other documents to AVO, they will receive a Pick Up Mail Notification. Note: As of May 1, 2018, all passports and information requests via passport request from the AVO, must be submitted at a local VFS Centre and passports/visas are to be picked up from the VFS centre. The final step goes through them and no courier service can be used to submit these documents to the AVO. A person can use DHL or other courier service to deliver documents from their home to the VFS Centre, and have such courier return their passport/visas from the VFS Centre to their home. The timeline for receiving passports and visas back varies significantly. Since the VFS Centre submissions/delivery requirement was implemented, the average is about 3 weeks, however, each file is different, and there are different circumstances as to why someone waits 3 weeks or more or 3 weeks or less to get the passports/visas back. Therefore, no travel plans should be made until the passports/visas are in your hands.
NEW - Biometrics - As of July 31, 2018, IRCC has implemented a new Biometrics requirement where new applicants who applied on or after July 31 will now have to attend a VFS Centre, by appointment, and provide their biometrics, a digital collection of a person's photograph and fingerprints. This new procedure is to enhance security measures, along with providing the necessary medical and police clearance certificates earlier in the process.
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The above is a summary of the process for spousal sponsorship applications that are vetted through the Accra Visa Office. Of course, steps and timelines will vary for each file, because each person's file is different from the next, however, it shows a basic overview of how the entire process flows and is always subject to various updates, and changes from IRCC.
We will occasionally update the herein information to add changes or delete old processes and links, in order to provide an up to date source of valuable information.
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