A minor update that may only apply to us, but FYI -
-We received our COPR/visas over a month ago, but with a short validity date. After much debate and agony, both due to organisational issues, commitments outside Canada, and not least of all covid, we decided to not create huge problems for ourselves and not travel before the validity date. Obviously we were a bit concerned that we might have to redo medicals and police certificates and all that, but just wasn't realistic to travel.
-In the meantime I got organised to put together a request for them to 'extend' the COPR/visas (they don't call this an extension on the web-page instructions for what to do if you have an expired COPR (immediate family travel exemption).
-Submitted that request and supporting documentation directly to Warsaw. (I also submitted through webform just in case)
-To my surprise, heard back from warsaw fairly quickly that they would 'reissue' copr/visas with a longer validity date (one full year after the original validity, i.e. two years after the medical). They also noted we'd get a new passport request letter soon, and sure enough, not long after that got the new passport request through GCKey.
I have no idea whether this is a new policy or just a one-off or what, but there we are.
Now to steel myself to do battle with VFS once again.