I applied for my second son's study visa on 28th June under general/university category
GIC Paid. 1st semester fee paid.
28-Jun-2018 - Submitted Application in VFS Chennai (paper based) and sent to Bangalore visa office next day.
12th Standard ISC 89%
Medical upfront.
IELTS band 8.
Passport submitted upfront.
University of Windsor.
Given financial proof.
Did not provide any property proof.
VFS Chennai
Processed at Bangalore visa office
28-Jun-2018 - Application submitted at VFS Chennai
29-Jun-2018 - Application sent to Bangalore.
12-Jul-2018 - Ack from Bangalore Visa office Appl No and UCI
12-Jul-2018 - linked application online.
19-Jul-2018 - Status briefly changed to "Application/profile" updated
19-Jul-2018 - Medical updated and status changed to "We are reviewing ..."
26-Jul-2018 - Student acknowledgement letter
07-Aug-2018 10:00 am - Status briefly changed to "Application/profile" updated
07-Aug-2018 01:00 pm - Visa approved
Did not sent any mail to visa office for status enquiry. This is definitely important. Do not send status specific mail unless it is extremely delayed.
I noticed this year that they are processing more visas. That is why it is taking time.
When I applied for my first son in 2014, it took only 18 days to issue the visa.
Good luck to everyone.