I'm sure others who follow the spreadsheets have noticed a slowdown since November on outland applications. There were lots of AORs sent out during that time, and since then, only a handful. Are the officers working from home again due to COVID? Haven't been able to find any news and appreciate updates from anyone in the know.
Things moving slower on outland applications
- Thread starter Mjg0503
- Start date
I don't think the officers were working from office before November. From my understanding and what i read is that there were teams sent in to scan all the supporting documents that were sent in and piled up since March 2020. The scanned documents were done assigned to officers who worked on the application and the soft copy documents from their home. I do agree that they seem to have slowed down since November. No cases from September 2020 have been processed. They are still working on applications prior to that. It will slow down drastically especially during the last 2 weeks of December due to Christmas and New Year holiday. It sucks for outland applicants as we have to continue living apart from our spouses, but those are the cards we are dealt with.
Many have been working from home and this has not been a good year.
There's a backlog that needs to be prioritized along with other issues and I'm sure they are working as efficiently as possible
given the present circumstances. Yea it sucks and many of us have been there, but those are the cards we chose.
After a year goes by then you will really know if it was worth it. Hopefully you're able to meet up at some point and your application
is not too complicated.
Thankfully, we are living together abroad at the moment, and as a US citizen I'll be able to enter Canada as a visitor in August 2021, when we plan to leave here. So on those notes, no issues. I just hope to be able to work in Canada by that time, or shortly afterwards. If they keep to the 12 month timeline, that would work out fine, but it's not looking like they will....
Living together abroad may help things move along.
If you are able to arrive as a visitor in Aug. I wouldn't attempt to work while on a visitor visa especially while your sponsorship application
is in process. Much safer to have a valid work permit if you really want to stay. Unfortunately it's expensive here and finding work can also
be a little difficult during a pandemic. At this point everyone in my neighbourhood is hunkered down except for those who shop at Walmart.
Hopefully things will turn around by next summer !
Applicant is Outland, they can't get an OWP when they arrive in Canada. Have to wait for PR status before being allowed to work.
Oh yes, I understand the situation and certainly have no intention of working as a visitor. I'm just expressing a general hope that my PR will be processed by that time so I can work in Canada ASAP. We are also planning on pursuing master's degrees at that time, which I understand would make me eligible for a study permit and 20 hours per week of part-time work in the event that my PR is not yet approved. Still, PR is preferable, of course. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I just wish they had a better system.
Why do you think living together abroad would help move things along? Do you just mean that the time will seem to pass faster since we can be together? Or do you mean that it could materially impact the speed of application processing?
Well, if you're married it's good to be together.
There are too many variables regarding the speed of application processing especially now. The government website says 12 months.
I'm thinking if all goes well and no issues within 12 months you might consider yourself lucky.
If you have been living together there is more proof of a relationship. That usually isn't a concern with US citizens. Arranged marriages are still very common so many have not spent much time in person with their spouse while applying for sponsorship.
Don't believe US citizens are able to get SP at the moment at the border so getting and SP could be a lengthy procedure. You would also be an international student if you don't have PR by September so fees would be higher.
I was reading news and due to new variant of virus, Ontario is under strict lockdown (Ottawa and Toronto till 23rd January,2021). I hope it won’t effect on processing of outland applications. It will be difficult for those who are living in different countries
The lockdown is not because of the new virus strain that is out there. The whole province was put under full lockdown for 2 weeks with Southern Ontario being 4 weeks. This is a general measure to try to reduce number of covid cases in the province. It should only have minimal effect if any on processing as most of the IRCC officers are working from home now.
Oh okay. Thank You. I thought it was because of new variant. It was written in article that some cases of new variant are found in Canada
3 people have tested positive for it. All travelers from the UK.