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Canuck_Morb

Star Member
Jun 29, 2018
69
79
Ottawa, Ont.
Congrats! It’s a big step)
Can you please share the date when you sent you passport to Warsaw? What post service did you use? And when did you receive your passport request?
I’ve been approved as a permanent resident but Warsaw immigration said that they would start sending passport requests only when visa offices start operating in Russia again which might not be soon.
I wrote them a request asking if I am allowed to send my passport to Warsaw. No reply so far..
You’re lucky!
They will get to you, it took weeks for them to reply to me. We received ppr Sept. 2, and sent it via DHL on Sept. 3. It arrived in Warsaw yesterday Sept. 7 (which is a holiday here in Canada, so they were closed) and they sent it back today.
 

aliseell

Full Member
Dec 13, 2019
26
10
They will get to you, it took weeks for them to reply to me. We received ppr Sept. 2, and sent it via DHL on Sept. 3. It arrived in Warsaw yesterday Sept. 7 (which is a holiday here in Canada, so they were closed) and they sent it back today.
Thanks for your kind reply! So I guess you’re an inland applicant?
Did you have to multiple times ask them to send you a passport request letter or they just got back to you at a certain point?
 

aliseell

Full Member
Dec 13, 2019
26
10
Wow! That’s great! Congratulations! Did they update your ECAS? Did you also send them a link to the petition? This is good they didn’t make you go to Turkey but at the same time it’s strange because they already sent PPR to some of Russian applicants. So no reason to wait for Russian VACs to open. I’ll never understand Warsaw.
There’s no update in my ecas whatsoever. They only sent an email with the message that I was approved. It was last Friday.
I don’t know if the petition worked or anything else because we didn’t get them to open vacs:( but on the other hand they waived my biometrics. Probably they will use the one from my visitor’s visa which is still valid for 9 years..
Yeah, that’s what they said. I want to believe that is just a standard notification and doesn’t relate to me personally. And I’ll get a ppr from them to be able to finally send my passport to Warsaw.
 
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Canuck_Morb

Star Member
Jun 29, 2018
69
79
Ottawa, Ont.
Thanks for your kind reply! So I guess you’re an inland applicant?
Did you have to multiple times ask them to send you a passport request letter or they just got back to you at a certain point?
Outland, my wife is in Russia. I emailed them almost daily since I got DM back in June, and had my MP do the same.
 

armoured

VIP Member
Feb 1, 2015
17,138
8,787
I actually read somewhere that all police certificates for IRCC are good for a year. Maybe you should email them saying that you sent them the certificate 6 months ago and haven’t been to Ukraine since then. If they say they definitely need a new one, just order and send it as requested. IMHO. Probably someone has a better piece of advice.
UPD: Google says the Ukrainian police certificates are valid for 6 months. Maybe that’s the reason why they requested it again. But I would still ask them to clarify this.
I don't know what google says in this regard but wouldn't pay much attention. The police certificates are generally only "good" for showing a lack of criminal history at a moment in time (the time it's issued). It's the user (employer, government agency, whatever) that will decide how old a police certificate will be considered sufficient for their purposes. (That said most 'users' will think one older than a year is not very useful). With IRCC it's a matter of what they ask for when submitted.

At any rate the advice is still good - clarify that you provided one on such-and-such a date, and separately start the process of figuring out how to get a new one.
 
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armoured

VIP Member
Feb 1, 2015
17,138
8,787
I think you got DM as well.
I never did get into ECAS - meant to spend time on the phone last night to try to get through to IRCC and clarify how to get into ECAS, but just couldn't face the long time on the phone.

But - it looks like you were right. At least I assume a decision was made, because...

Just received the passport request! As per others here recently, the email said that VAC Moscow is closed and to send directly to Embassy in Warsaw. It did specify that the visa will be valid to one year from date of medicals.

Now on to stressing about the next stage...quarantine requirement yikes.
 

passenger19

Hero Member
Feb 5, 2020
609
542
Category........
FAM
Visa Office......
Warsaw
I never did get into ECAS - meant to spend time on the phone last night to try to get through to IRCC and clarify how to get into ECAS, but just couldn't face the long time on the phone.

But - it looks like you were right. At least I assume a decision was made, because...

Just received the passport request! As per others here recently, the email said that VAC Moscow is closed and to send directly to Embassy in Warsaw. It did specify that the visa will be valid to one year from date of medicals.

Now on to stressing about the next stage...quarantine requirement yikes.
Congratulations friend!! Great news! So happy for your big family :)
 

armoured

VIP Member
Feb 1, 2015
17,138
8,787
Congratulations friend!! Great news! So happy for your big family :)
Thank you. I thought the interesting thing was that GCKEY account shows no change on any of the line items (most pending), except of course for the correspondence part below.

We had very little idea what to expect in terms of time frame going in. I had no concerns about the relationship part (long relationship, residing together, child together, etc), only about the security check and how long that would take. On the one hand, all family members have long-tenor Canadian visas (so presumably checks have been done before, at least superficially); but spouse's travel history is complicated and a few other minor factors.
 

aliseell

Full Member
Dec 13, 2019
26
10
I never did get into ECAS - meant to spend time on the phone last night to try to get through to IRCC and clarify how to get into ECAS, but just couldn't face the long time on the phone.

But - it looks like you were right. At least I assume a decision was made, because...

Just received the passport request! As per others here recently, the email said that VAC Moscow is closed and to send directly to Embassy in Warsaw. It did specify that the visa will be valid to one year from date of medicals.

Now on to stressing about the next stage...quarantine requirement yikes.
Happy for you! Congratulations on a great news!
How long did it take you to get your passport request from the moment of the DM?
 

armoured

VIP Member
Feb 1, 2015
17,138
8,787
Happy for you! Congratulations on a great news!
How long did it take you to get your passport request from the moment of the DM?
I don't know when the DM happened because I have never been able to get in to ECAS. We received the pre-arrival services letter September 1.
 

aliseell

Full Member
Dec 13, 2019
26
10
I don't know when the DM happened because I have never been able to get in to ECAS. We received the pre-arrival services letter September 1.
Our dates are close actually, I received the pre-arrival services letter on August, 29th :)
I just don't understand why they emailed this to me: "Please be informed that passport Collection letter will be sent to you once Visa Application Centres in Russia are re-opened. No exact date is known at this moment." ... instead of asking to send my passport straight to Warsaw?!
 

armoured

VIP Member
Feb 1, 2015
17,138
8,787
Okay, this is now getting weird.

I mentioned before I was in contact with someone in Moscow after a webinar they held. Out of courtesy let the person know I received the PPR. Here's what came out of this:

Russian law (apparently) does not allow passports to be sent across borders (actually outside the eurasian economic zone). The courier companies should not be accepting them and they could be held up at customs. (But if they do - shrugs?)

Moscow did not seem to be aware that Warsaw was doing this. The usual procedure is that the VAC offices send them to Embassy in Moscow for the visa printing. And the Embassy is currently printing some visas when needed in covid times. (I.e. only for those with the exemptions).

So, situation normal, all screwed up - that Warsaw/Moscow are not aware what each other is doing would be funny in different circumstances. My spouse is out of town so we can't submit right now anyway, so I'll look into this in the interim. (And maybe the VAC will open, seems the only restriction is excessive caution on the part of Canada)

So a question: any Russian (based) applicants sent their passports to Warsaw by courier and received them back? Did the courier companies ask about the passport issue?
 

armoured

VIP Member
Feb 1, 2015
17,138
8,787
Our dates are close actually, I received the pre-arrival services letter on August, 29th :)
I just don't understand why they emailed this to me: "Please be informed that passport Collection letter will be sent to you once Visa Application Centres in Russia are re-opened. No exact date is known at this moment." ... instead of asking to send my passport straight to Warsaw?!
I posted in the interim. If we don't know what's going on, not clear that they do, either. When did you get the email where they referred to the VAC re-opening?

I'll keep this forum advised if I find out.

If you are in a hurry, you might inquire whether it is possible to submit to the Embassy in Moscow to have visa printed.

(I am in less of a hurry because we have a serious set of logistical hurdles to overcome before we could depart to Canada)
 
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passenger19

Hero Member
Feb 5, 2020
609
542
Category........
FAM
Visa Office......
Warsaw
Thank you. I thought the interesting thing was that GCKEY account shows no change on any of the line items (most pending), except of course for the correspondence part below.

We had very little idea what to expect in terms of time frame going in. I had no concerns about the relationship part (long relationship, residing together, child together, etc), only about the security check and how long that would take. On the one hand, all family members have long-tenor Canadian visas (so presumably checks have been done before, at least superficially); but spouse's travel history is complicated and a few other minor factors.
That’s good that your a little bit complicated case is getting closer to the end. Maybe mine is the next then haha. I wish you could put in your envelope a small piece of paper saying “bros please check Passenger19’s app” haha JK.
 
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passenger19

Hero Member
Feb 5, 2020
609
542
Category........
FAM
Visa Office......
Warsaw
Okay, this is now getting weird.

I mentioned before I was in contact with someone in Moscow after a webinar they held. Out of courtesy let the person know I received the PPR. Here's what came out of this:

Russian law (apparently) does not allow passports to be sent across borders (actually outside the eurasian economic zone). The courier companies should not be accepting them and they could be held up at customs. (But if they do - shrugs?)

Moscow did not seem to be aware that Warsaw was doing this. The usual procedure is that the VAC offices send them to Embassy in Moscow for the visa printing. And the Embassy is currently printing some visas when needed in covid times. (I.e. only for those with the exemptions).

So, situation normal, all screwed up - that Warsaw/Moscow are not aware what each other is doing would be funny in different circumstances. My spouse is out of town so we can't submit right now anyway, so I'll look into this in the interim. (And maybe the VAC will open, seems the only restriction is excessive caution on the part of Canada)

So a question: any Russian (based) applicants sent their passports to Warsaw by courier and received them back? Did the courier companies ask about the passport issue?
I know it’s about sending passports but when I tried to mail my work book and birth certificate to Canada PonyExpress and DNL said they wouldn’t accept it because you’re not allowed to send such “strong” documents through the customs, they won’t let them cross the border. But I’ve seen some of Russian applicants who sent their passports without any problems.