Visa Processing Time - Temporary Foreigner Worker Program

[caioparazzi]

Hello all,

My wife was offered a job in Quebec under the Temporary Foreigner Worker Program (PTET) and she already got the CAQ and EIMT (LMIA) approved, so we both applied fot a WP.

She applied for a closed work permit, and I applied for an open one.

We started our application on Sept 20th, and we had our biometrics and medical exams done on Sept 25th.

On Oct 2nd there was an update on the platform saying we passed our medical exams, but since then, nothing has changed or any message was sent.

How long does it usually takes after the medical exams message to receive an update? They haven't asked, but is it normal for them to ask for more informations, and can this delay the process?

By the way, my wife applied under the Global Talent Stream (Volet des Talents Mondiaux)

 

[ncat99]

Hello all,

My wife was offered a job in Quebec under the Temporary Foreigner Worker Program (PTET) and she already got the CAQ and EIMT (LMIA) approved, so we both applied fot a WP.

She applied for a closed work permit, and I applied for an open one.

We started our application on Sept 20th, and we had our biometrics and medical exams done on Sept 25th.

On Oct 2nd there was an update on the platform saying we passed our medical exams, but since then, nothing has changed or any message was sent.

How long does it usually takes after the medical exams message to receive an update? They haven't asked, but is it normal for them to ask for more informations, and can this delay the process?

By the way, my wife applied under the Global Talent Stream (Volet des Talents Mondiaux)

Global Talent Stream is advertised to be a fast process. But it can also depend on security and background checks. If your application is beyond GTS timelines probably it is under security screening.

A piece of advice is if you do not know French, Permanent residency process from Quebec can be very very difficult to impossible as Quebec do not follow Express Entry and the current Quebec government is very anti immigrant. They are also planning more strict immigration policies in the future which will adversely affect candidates who do not know French.
I hope you are making an informed decision by choosing to work in Quebec on a closed temporary work permit visa. After 2 years, if you do not get a CSQ, you will have to go thru the same LMIA process again. If you managed to get CSQ before 2 years, you can renew your work permit easily. The permanent residency process thru Quebec in Federal stage (after getting a CSQ) is currently 23 months and might increase. Express Entry is only 6 months, but Quebec do not follow Express Entry. This is the current situation. But the Quebec govt is planning to make this process even more strict so you can expect more hurdles and delays in an already delayed & broken Quebec immigration system.

 

[ncat99]

@caioparazzi Just updated my timeline in my signature for your info.

 

[caioparazzi]

Global Talent Stream is advertised to be a fast process. But it can also depend on security and background checks. If your application is beyond GTS timelines probably it is under security screening.

A piece of advice is if you do not know French, Permanent residency process from Quebec can be very very difficult to impossible as Quebec do not follow Express Entry and the current Quebec government is very anti immigrant. They are also planning more strict immigration policies in the future which will adversely affect candidates who do not know French.
I hope you are making an informed decision by choosing to work in Quebec on a closed temporary work permit visa. After 2 years, if you do not get a CSQ, you will have to go thru the same LMIA process again. If you managed to get CSQ before 2 years, you can renew your work permit easily. The permanent residency process thru Quebec in Federal stage (after getting a CSQ) is currently 23 months and might increase. Express Entry is only 6 months, but Quebec do not follow Express Entry. This is the current situation. But the Quebec govt is planning to make this process even more strict so you can expect more hurdles and delays in an already delayed & broken Quebec immigration system.

Hi, thank you for your response.
The timeline they provided was 2-3 weeks, and we're currently entering the 4th week so it may be the background check issue you mentioned.
Have you seen this delay often?

As for your other comment, I do know French and even though I'm still on intermediate level, I expect to have it improved after we move

I was not aware, though, about the "anti-immigration" policy you mentioned, my wife was hired by a company in the "Quebec en Tete" process, and everything went pretty smoothly and no obstacle created to get the LMIA and CAQ.
The company mentioned the 2 year lifespan, but they also said they would help with extending the Work Permit if needed, and also on the PR process as it's the idea for my wife to work there as long as possible - granted if we achieve the acceptable level in French.

I know people living in Quebec and they were able to get the PR normally (with the regular delays and stuff, but still..)

 

[ncat99]

Hi, thank you for your response.
The timeline they provided was 2-3 weeks, and we're currently entering the 4th week so it may be the background check issue you mentioned.
Have you seen this delay often?

As for your other comment, I do know French and even though I'm still on intermediate level, I expect to have it improved after we move

I was not aware, though, about the "anti-immigration" policy you mentioned, my wife was hired by a company in the "Quebec en Tete" process, and everything went pretty smoothly and no obstacle created to get the LMIA and CAQ.
The company mentioned the 2 year lifespan, but they also said they would help with extending the Work Permit if needed, and also on the PR process as it's the idea for my wife to work there as long as possible - granted if we achieve the acceptable level in French.

I know people living in Quebec and they were able to get the PR normally (with the regular delays and stuff, but still..)

My work permit was processed with normal LMIA process which took 6 months. Yours is GTS and should be faster. You know sometimes these visa officers delay the file for reasons unknown to us applicants. If everything is ok with your application, the only other delay I can think of is background check and security checks which you will have to wait. I might be totally wrong too.

In case of GTS, the supporting organization can also make inquiry on your file as this is a special category. Your organization "Quebec en Tete" can makes inquiries about the delay.

Good that you know French to start with. Things in Quebec immigration has changed since the CAQ govt took over. The people that you know in Quebec who got PR were probably pre CAQ govt where things were processed relatively faster than now. After 1 year of work experience, you can apply for CSQ in PEQ category and then Federal after that. All the best !

 

[caioparazzi]

My work permit was processed with normal LMIA process which took 6 months. Yours is GTS and should be faster. You know sometimes these visa officers delay the file for reasons unknown to us applicants. If everything is ok with your application, the only other delay I can think of is background check and security checks which you will have to wait. I might be totally wrong too.

In case of GTS, the supporting organization can also make inquiry on your file as this is a special category. Your organization "Quebec en Tete" can makes inquiries about the delay.

Good that you know French to start with. Things in Quebec immigration has changed since the CAQ govt took over. The people that you know in Quebec who got PR were probably pre CAQ govt where things were processed relatively faster than now. After 1 year of work experience, you can apply for CSQ in PEQ category and then Federal after that. All the best !

Thank you!
I guess things may be a bit slower than normal on the Federal stages because of the elections? Anyway, thanks for the informations, I might as well just wait, I'll post an update as soon as I receive one.

As for the PR, we'll definitely work hard and start the process it as soon as we can gladly both of our work fields seem to be improving in Quebec, but I will keep studying French everyday until then.

 

[caioparazzi]

If anyone's wondering...no updates since October 2nd

Still the same as it was on the beggining of the month:

Review of eligibilityHelp - Review of eligibility

• We are reviewing whether you meet the eligibility requirements.

Review of medical resultsHelp - Review of medical results

• October 2, 2019 You passed the medical exam.

Review of additional documentsHelp - Review of additional documents

• We do not need additional documents.

InterviewHelp - Interview

• You do not need an interview. We will send you a message if this changes.

BiometricsHelp - Biometrics

• September 25, 2019 Completed.

Background checkHelp - Background check

• We are processing your background check. We will send you a message if we need more information.

Final decisionHelp - Final decision

• Your application is in progress. We will send you a message once the final decision has been made.

 

[Jms_16]

If anyone's wondering...no updates since October 2nd

Still the same as it was on the beggining of the month:

Even we are waiting to hear back from them. Applied on Oct 4th under GTS. medicals requested and submitted on Oct 25th.

 

[caioparazzi]

Even we are waiting to hear back from them. Applied on Oct 4th under GTS. medicals requested and submitted on Oct 25th.

Yeah, another week went by and still no updates here

An acquaintance of mine applied for Quebec immigration under the GTS this year as well, and he said it only made a difference when requesting CAQ and EIMT, but for the visa itself, the process lasted 3 months.

He didn't do the biometrics and medical exams upfront but I'm not sure if that helps at all. We're on the 45th day now and we did everything upfront so let's see if it will make a difference.

 

[Jms_16]

Yeah, another week went by and still no updates here

An acquaintance of mine applied for Quebec immigration under the GTS this year as well, and he said it only made a difference when requesting CAQ and EIMT, but for the visa itself, the process lasted 3 months.

He didn't do the biometrics and medical exams upfront but I'm not sure if that helps at all. We're on the 45th day now and we did everything upfront so let's see if it will make a difference.

Hmmm..Hope you get a response soon. Keep us posted. Where have you applied from? We have applied from India and it says 8 weeks processing time. Don't think GTS makes any difference. Some people get it within 2 weeks too though.

 

[caioparazzi]

Hmmm..Hope you get a response soon. Keep us posted. Where have you applied from? We have applied from India and it says 8 weeks processing time. Don't think GTS makes any difference. Some people get it within 2 weeks too though.

Thank you, I hope you'll also get a response soon

We are applying from Brazil, it seems the processing time is the same as India - 8 weeks for WP
I was hoping GTS would decrease this delay but I guess it doesn't always happen, I'll post an update here as soon as I have one

 

[caioparazzi]

Hmmm..Hope you get a response soon. Keep us posted. Where have you applied from? We have applied from India and it says 8 weeks processing time. Don't think GTS makes any difference. Some people get it within 2 weeks too though.

Hi friend, we just got our Passport Request today, we're really happy
It took 48 days since the beginning of the process.

I believe soon you will receive your request as well!

 

[Jms_16]

W

Hi friend, we just got our Passport Request today, we're really happy
It took 48 days since the beginning of the process.

I believe soon you will receive your request as well!

Wow that's great news. I just logged in half an hour to see if you have any updates. Congrats and really happy for you.

 

[ncat99]

Hi friend, we just got our Passport Request today, we're really happy
It took 48 days since the beginning of the process.

I believe soon you will receive your request as well!

Congrats, cya in Quebec

 

[Jms_16]

Hi friend, we just got our Passport Request today, we're really happy
It took 48 days since the beginning of the process.

I believe soon you will receive your request as well!

Hi friend,

We finally got the passport request today after 40 days. . Really happy and relieved.