Inland Spousal Sponsorship Tips / Experience

[unforgettableseries]

Below is my experience / recommendation on Spousal Sponsorship (Inland). Your experience might be different but with the below approach we had a successful completion of the process within the stated time frame. I did not want to pay some shyster $5,000 to do this as I think 90% of immigration agents are crooks.

Background

Sponsor is Canadian citizen by birth, military, employed above income threshold, no children, no previous marriage, no criminal convictions.
Principal Applicant is unemployed with no children, no previous marriage, no criminal convictions, currently holding valid 10 year TRV. PA has an existing UCI from the TRV application.

Completion of paperwork

The forms are straightforward. Fill them out exactly as it is described in the sheets. Do not get creative.

Examples:

• "Put pictures on one page and put descriptions/context on another page in a table" - DO EXACTLY WHAT THE INSTRUCTIONS SAY DO NOT GET CREATIVE. IRCC does not want a love story and they really don't care about how you look in the photos and a detailed story. One sentence fragment for each photo is fine. Example: Sponsor and Principal Applicant Dinner with mutual friend (Anna Belle) in Paris, France on Jan 1st, 2024.
• Create file names as "Smith-John-BirthCertificate.jpg do not use things like 23432fds.jpeg
• If you need to scan multiple documents as multiple pages use -1 and -2 at the end
• Do not attach files that are "guides" or a table of contents of all the files that you have submitted. That is what the checklist is for. Do not think you are making the IRCC agents' job easier. The process is the process and they want to have it a certain way.
• If you have lived in any country for more than 180 days after the age of 18. GET THOSE POLICE CERTIFICATES EARLY AND SUBMIT THEM WITH YOUR APPLICATION. In our case we needed to get Singapore, Philippines, Japan, Switzerland. We included those in the application and a signed consent form that IRCC may request more information. The consent form is available as part of the application package. The police certificates can take forever and are very costly in some cases, and no country is under any obligation to give them to you. For example the Singapore COC took almost two months to get and a ridiculous amount in postage. They have since simplified the process but it was not pleasant. Ensure that you are including the right certificates (they need to be FEDERAL and not local).
• For the images and evidence do not include more than they ask for.
• For cohabitation use bank statements, phone bills that show the names and addresses of both.

Fees

• Do the calculation and pay your RPRF up front and get it out of the way. In our case we forgot to pay the biometric fee but more on that later

Submit the application

• Submit the application through the PR Application Portal and the online forms. The online forms are straightforward but make sure the information is consistent. It is very easy to get lost on dates and mixed up. Check. Recheck. Check. Recheck.

Returned application

• Here is the first hurdle we faced. We had originally submitted the application and the Police Clearance we submitted for the Philippines was local and not federal. Entire application was returned. We were given no real set time to resubmit. We expedited the police paperwork and resubmitted through the PR Application Portal and were given a totally new application number. Please make note that this application number changed but the UCI didn't.

Processing Paused

• After resubmitting ~30 days later we received a letter informing us that the application was on hold. It turns out the application fees had increased during the period in which we were dealing with returned application above. The lesson here is to verify that the fees have not increased if your application is returned. This is a pretty rare situation but something to be aware of. Follow the instructions in the letter exactly as they say. Pay the difference, submit the webform, and check a week later. In our case GCkey didn't show anything but we received an AOR about two weeks later.

Running out of status

• Running out of status and had not yet received an AIP. Filed for an extension on the TRV (you're only allowed 6 months). . You can use the same proof of income from the PR application and be sure to include a copy of the AOR.

Link account

• We were unable to link our account to the tracker with an AOR. This is normal. I just called and asked is there anything I need to do. They told me to just wait.

Getting a drivers license

• You absolutely can get an Ontario drivers license with an AOR. DriveTest are mostly privately run and they really won't kick up a fuss. Bring your AOR, your passport with your TRV.

Biometrics

• We received an email to go for biometrics. The previous biometrics from the TRV were not used and they wanted new biometrics. This is normal.

Medical

• When we applied for the extension they requested a medical. We then submitted a copy of these documents online via webform for the PR application. You can quote your UCI and PR Application number and ensure the IME is visible on the scan and documents that you submit. This was updated on GCKey in less than a week. This medical had a 1 year expiry. So it doesn't matter when you submit it the expiry date won't change. If your application is a complex one (criminal, political, military, children, divorce, etc) then it doesn't make sense for you to use a previous medical it makes more sense for you to wait for IRCC to ask for a medical. Example, if you submit a medical that is expiring in 6 months and your application is complex, you'll have to do another one anyways if the medical is expiring before the COPR is issued. There was a program to extend outland-inland medicals to five years but I believe that has ended.

AIP

• We received an AIP to the sponsor's email. Up until this point the IRCC tracker (link: https://ircc-tracker-suivi.apps.cic.gc.ca/en/login) was not working, and we were able to successfully link create an account / login about 20 days after the AIP was received.

OHIP

• Contrary to popular believe you absolutely can get OHIP with an AIP. NOT WITH AN AOR. Bring the AIP letter with you. The letter should start with the text "This refers to the Application for Permanent Residence you made under the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada Class. It has been determined that you meet the eligibility requirements to apply for permanent residence as a member of the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class. " The ServiceOntario people can be a bit surly and they scrutinize all details when applying for OHIP. You absolutely can get OHIP with this letter, you just need to make sure you are at a full service ServiceOntario office. Go to the ServiceOntario website and make sure you go to the correct location. There is a simple checker on the website.

OWP

• We didn't apply for an OWP so I can't help here.

Pre-arrival services

• Around the same time as AIP we received a pre arrival services email. This is an automated email meant for outland applicants.

Request Letter

• At this time we received a request letter saying that we did not pay the biometrics fee. The error I had made was originally assuming that the biometrics from the TRV would be used, and this is not the case. IRCC informed us that they were deducting it from the RPRF and we would be required to pay and submit proof via GCKey. There is a link provided in the emails. It was $85 and I paid it immediately through the link, downloaded the PDF and sent a message via GCKey. The payment portal requires its own registration and login. The link is provided in the letter and then you save the PDF and submit it through GCkey. Two days later it was updated on the IRCC Tracker.

IRCC Tracker vs. GCKey vs. PR Application Portal

• At this stage both IRCC Tracker and GCKey were receiving updates. IRCC Tracker was more timely and informative.

P1 email

• The instructions were in the email and it was straightforward. Don't get creative. Don't try to be special. You can use the same email for everything.

P2 email

• You can log into the PR Application Portal and there is a new tab created for your to answer a few questions and upload your photo. Yes you CAN use the same photo you submitted with the first application. The photo will turn to black and white, this is normal.
• The website tends to more often than not tell you there is an issue with the brightness or colour. In this case what you need to do is put it in a photo editor and raise the brightness. If you don't see the brightness setting look for "exposure" or "Gamma". Try uploading it again and avoid submitting it with errors.

eCOPR

• You will receive an email that starts with "congratulations...." You log into the PR Application Portal and your eCOPR is visible after you click view. Download a copy and sign the client portion. Your PR Card is on the way. In the email it says that an IRCC Caseworker will be in touch with you but we never received anything.

PR Card

• Automatically triggered and processing time for receiving it is currently around a month (February 2025). You can check the processing time on the IRCC Processing time website .

 

[armoured]

Good guide overall, should be useful to others. And I mostly concur on your comments about immigration agents.

Minor comments (mostly additions):
-If principal applicant expects to travel outside Canada for anything except (quite) short trips, you should probably be applying outland. If in doubt - outland. Yes, you can apply outland from within Canada. If you travel for longer as inland - your application can be delayed or cancelled. If you get 'stuck' outside Canada (and eg can't renew a trv or other) - that's your problem (see 'should have applied outland'). There are currently few disadvantages to applying outland - but ability to get OHIP coverage may be one of importance (don't know about other provinces), so do your own research to see if those (few) differences matter to your case. (E.g. if you already are in Canada and have OHIP coverage by other status, outland might actually be more appropriate).

-Upfront medical: don't do it. The instructions say don't do it, they're not required to accept them. It's more likely than not going to delay your app, not speed things up (you have to request that they link the medical you did before to your file and that can take an unpredictable amount of time). If they accept it, it may not be valid for sufficiently long anyway. It is rare for files to be delayed because of the medical being done after application (the normal way). (If you have hired an agent and they suggest this - it's more likely a sign that you should fire that agent and not take that advice. This seems to be common advice in some countries; it's usually bad advice.)

-Are there exceptions to this "don't do upfront medical" advice? Possibly. Rare. Only two I can think of: 1) If you know/expect you will get pregnant before the medical is requested AND do not wish to do x-ray while pregnant, sure. (Might be better to plan differently, but I allow it could make sense; and who 'knows' they will get pregnant in advance). 2) If principal applicant lives in some place where there are no 'medical panel' approved centres for the medical test/very complicated or expensive travel, it might make sense. (This still doesn't exempt one from having to do another if IRCC requires). Note that since biometrics will need to be given, same issue may arrive for the biometrics anyway.

-Fees: make sure to pay the biometrics in advance. This can/does cause needless delays. Everyone has to give biometrics. Do not believe anyone who tells you different (eg because you gave them recently, etc). If it's an agent that tells you that - fire them.

 

[unforgettableseries]

Good guide overall, should be useful to others. And I mostly concur on your comments about immigration agents.

Minor comments (mostly additions):
-If principal applicant expects to travel outside Canada for anything except (quite) short trips, you should probably be applying outland. If in doubt - outland. Yes, you can apply outland from within Canada. If you travel for longer as inland - your application can be delayed or cancelled. If you get 'stuck' outside Canada (and eg can't renew a trv or other) - that's your problem (see 'should have applied outland'). There are currently fairly few disadvantages to applying outland - but ability to get OHIP coverage may be one of importance (don't know about other provinces), but do your own research to see if those (few) differences matter to your case. (E.g. if you already are in Canada and have OHIP coverage by other status, outland might actually be more appropriate).

-Upfront medical: don't do it. The instructions say don't do it, they're not required to accept them. It's more likely than not going to delay your app, not speed things up (you have to request that they link the medical you did before to your file and that can take an unpredictable amount of time). If they accept it, it may not be valid for sufficiently long anyway. It is rare for files to be delayed because of the medical being done after application (the normal way). (If you have hired an agent and they suggest this - it's more likely a sign that you should fire that agent and not take that advice. This seems to be common advice in some countries; it's usually bad advice and a sign you should fire your agent.

-Are there exceptions to this "don't do upfront medical" advice? Possibly. Rare. Only two I can think of: 1) If you know/expect you will get pregnant before the medical is requested AND do not wish to do x-ray while pregnant, sure. (Might be better to plan differently, but I allow it could make sense; and who 'knows' they will get pregnant in advance). 2) If principal applicant lives in some place where there are no 'medical panel' approved centres for the medical test/very complicated or expensive travel, it might make sense. (This still doesn't exempt one from having to do another if IRCC requires). Note that since biometrics will need to be given, same issue may arrive for the biometrics anyway.

-Fees: make sure to pay the biometrics in advance. This can/does cause needless delays. Everyone has to give biometrics. Do not believe anyone who tells you different (eg because you gave them recently, etc). If it's an agent that tells you that - fire them.

Yep. Exactly my experience. My motivation for sharing this was so people can stop paying thousands to agents. Those guys are all crooked.

 

[thanhtam23]

just one concern for police certificate, not all country is required before submitting the application, you should refer to the instruction provided by IRCC website
for Singapore, you should only apply for it after getting a request letter from IRCC (https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/medical-police/police-certificates/how/singapore.html)

in my case, i submitted an old (more than 6 months) Singapore CoC with my application and they requested for a new one
the longest part of it would be the timing to send your fingerprint to Singapore and it took me a week via DHL
then if you have a friend who can help you to submit it to Singapore Police in person they can issue CoC on the spot too

 

[unforgettableseries]

just one concern for police certificate, not all country is required before submitting the application, you should refer to the instruction provided by IRCC website
for Singapore, you should only apply for it after getting a request letter from IRCC (https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/medical-police/police-certificates/how/singapore.html)

in my case, i submitted an old (more than 6 months) Singapore CoC with my application and they requested for a new one
the longest part of it would be the timing to send your fingerprint to Singapore and it took me a week via DHL
then if you have a friend who can help you to submit it to Singapore Police in person they can issue CoC on the spot too

You're 100% correct. If the COC is stale then submitting it with the initial application would be moot.

SPF no longer requires a request letter in order to process a COC. You can submit the request along with your fingerprints right away and you don't have to do the stupid petition crap. Singapore was a total pain in the ass to do and then too many people were complaining so they changed the process around May/June of this year.

 

[thanhtam23]

let me add some experience from my own application, which caused a little delay for me I guess

Paperwork

• It's good to have another set of eyes to review your application before submitting. I prepared the application all by myself and was very confident. However, I still found some mistakes after that and I did raise some webforms to correct them. Not sure if they got it but fortunately there was no negative impact.

Police Certificate

• In general, it's valid for 6 months so if you submit any certificate that's is older than that, there is high chance you will be requested with a new one. I didn't live in my home country since 2017 and my police certificate was issued after that. I assumed I shouldn't have to request for a new one since I didn't live there anymore but they still ask for it. Took me a month to get that and delayed my application a bit. A piece of advice, don't assume anything and always make sure your police certificate is issued within the last 6 months.

Medical

• There is a temporary public policy to exempt medical if you're living in Canada since your last medical within 5 years. You just have to submit it with your application. I didn't know it at that time and didn't submit my previous medical even though it was still valid at that point (less than a year). They issued a new medical request and took me multiple webforms only to request them to review my previous medical result.

OWP

• I applied it right after receiving my AOR. I was on a CWP so I thought it should be straight-forward since security check was done before. It still took me more than 3 months. It was completely silent until approval which was few days after my PR approval. So, you should apply for OWP only if you're working or want to start working asap.

 

[Whatever1]

Good guide overall, should be useful to others. And I mostly concur on your comments about immigration agents.

Minor comments (mostly additions):
-If principal applicant expects to travel outside Canada for anything except (quite) short trips, you should probably be applying outland. If in doubt - outland. Yes, you can apply outland from within Canada. If you travel for longer as inland - your application can be delayed or cancelled. If you get 'stuck' outside Canada (and eg can't renew a trv or other) - that's your problem (see 'should have applied outland'). There are currently few disadvantages to applying outland - but ability to get OHIP coverage may be one of importance (don't know about other provinces), so do your own research to see if those (few) differences matter to your case. (E.g. if you already are in Canada and have OHIP coverage by other status, outland might actually be more appropriate).

-Upfront medical: don't do it. The instructions say don't do it, they're not required to accept them. It's more likely than not going to delay your app, not speed things up (you have to request that they link the medical you did before to your file and that can take an unpredictable amount of time). If they accept it, it may not be valid for sufficiently long anyway. It is rare for files to be delayed because of the medical being done after application (the normal way). (If you have hired an agent and they suggest this - it's more likely a sign that you should fire that agent and not take that advice. This seems to be common advice in some countries; it's usually bad advice.)

-Are there exceptions to this "don't do upfront medical" advice? Possibly. Rare. Only two I can think of: 1) If you know/expect you will get pregnant before the medical is requested AND do not wish to do x-ray while pregnant, sure. (Might be better to plan differently, but I allow it could make sense; and who 'knows' they will get pregnant in advance). 2) If principal applicant lives in some place where there are no 'medical panel' approved centres for the medical test/very complicated or expensive travel, it might make sense. (This still doesn't exempt one from having to do another if IRCC requires). Note that since biometrics will need to be given, same issue may arrive for the biometrics anyway.

-Fees: make sure to pay the biometrics in advance. This can/does cause needless delays. Everyone has to give biometrics. Do not believe anyone who tells you different (eg because you gave them recently, etc). If it's an agent that tells you that - fire them.

I thought one can apply for an OHIP outland but living in Canada, no?

 

[armoured]

I thought one can apply for an OHIP outland but living in Canada, no?

I hope I haven't misstated; my understanding is that the approval in principle is needed and the outland doesn't consistently get this.

I should rather have flagged that eligibility for medical MAY be different for outland and inland depending on province, and let people figure it out.

 

[armoured]

Paperwork

• It's good to have another set of eyes to review your application before submitting. I prepared the application all by myself and was very confident. However, I still found some mistakes after that and I did raise some webforms to correct them. Not sure if they got it but fortunately there was no negative impact.

It's good advice, but since many people don't have someone to look over the application (who knows anything about the procedure and forms) and it's less convenient to have someone do this online (I think), may not be easy.

Best I can suggest in this case is:
-prepare the application package iteratively - that is, go over the whole thing answering what you can easily, read the bits you don't know, note the things you need to get/attach, and repeat until it's all done; AND
-during this process do research here and in the guide and CHECK WHAT YOU DID BEFORE every time you iterate through it.

By checking here and elsewhere I mean - check that your understanding of what you did before and thought was easy was in fact correct, i.e. that you understood right the first time you did it (even if it seemed easy).

Example: what do they mean by family members? Answer, it turns out that IRCC not always 100% consistent in terms - mostly family or 'immediate family' means sponsor + principal applicant + other dependents (usually only unmarried children < 22 yrs), and 'family' can mean broader but usually parents/grandparents/applicants/children/stepchildren not cousins aunts etc. Sometimes extended family (cousins aunts etc) may be relevant, but not often. In iteration important to make sure you've used the right family members in the right areas.

 

[armoured]

Oh, one additional comment: letters of explanation.

It is quite common there are things that are not clear in the questions or the sponsor/applicant situation is a bit different in ways that cannot be answered in the forms. Or ANYTHING the sponsor/applicant needs to add or clarify.

Hence, the LOE or letter of explanation: it's just a short letter explaining something that wasn't clear. It can vary from something trivial to quite important.

It is literally just a short letter. Stick to facts, refer to what you're explaining (eg 'parent info - mother's name') and what the issue is. E.g. "My mother [full name] has her name shown as [info] in her passport, but she usually goes by [short name]. In her birth certificate this was shown as [x] but in my birth certificate as [y]. There are no name change certificates available as this type of change or error is considered routine in [country.]" (Note I'm not saying this is always needed, just an example of form).

And for context: disclose ANYTHING you want to be explained, but most importantly disclose EVERYTHING that might be important. Leaving out important information can be considered misrepresentation (lying) with bad consequences.

Obviously don't do this for things that clearly don't matter (no-one cares that your public school changed its name from public school to junior elementary). But if in doubt, lean to disclosing - use your judgment.

Date and initial, usually. In almost all cases, these types of letters do not need to be notarized or sworn as affidavits. (An affidavit is just 'he/she said in front of me', so it's still something you just said.) You including it is your statement.

[A separate point but I'm going to state that IMO statements or letters from third parties don't need notarization or similar either. If IRCC doesn't believe the info you're providing from a third party, a stamp from a notary or lawyer usually isn't going to convince them - the formal affidavit mostly only different in court contexts. There may be exceptions when it's needed but I don't want to waste time on that here.]

 

[Hemit]

I want to contact MP if he can expedite process after the mark of 10 and half month, but not sure how to find contact information and what to write. @unforgettableseries Can you please help regarding this?

 

[armoured]

I want to contact MP if he can expedite process after the mark of 10 and half month, but not sure how to find contact information and what to write. @unforgettableseries Can you please help regarding this?

First step is use the internet to find your MP. I mean, I'd tell you, but type 'find my MP' in your browser should do it.

Then just write or call the MP's office and explain.

Personally I think it's a bit early to contact MP's office, but no harm in doing so.

 

[Hemit]

First step is use the internet to find your MP. I mean, I'd tell you, but type 'find my MP' in your browser should do it.

Then just write or call the MP's office and explain.

Personally I think it's a bit early to contact MP's office, but no harm in doing so.

I see thanks for the help.

I will contact them after the 10-month mark as it is too early and they might even advise waiting.

 

[alnimisogutuyorum]

Hi, I am going to summarize all my experience from my own application, hope it will be helpful for someone else.
SUBMISSION
1- If your application is plain and simple as mine (no dependents, no complicated background-work and/or country wise-, no criminal/political history), do it yourself. Do not let consultants either fear monger or give false hopes to you, if you know how to use a computer and a smart phone, do it yourself with a little help of Google searches and Youtube videos. Only two reasons you go with a consultant should be: 1-A complicated case. 2-Either your time is too valuable, you make more money an hour than you pay to consultant, or you can not deal with the stress.
2- List all your submissions/attachments named as the same format: name-surname-file title. Make a neat look on your case, do not give any room to case officer to be like "O this is a sloppy one, I will deal with this later." They are going to be more prone to work on neat/easy to process looking cases.
3- I have not notarized anything I needed from my country, if it is either already originally in English, or translated to English, thinking translators are already legally obligated to translate everything truthfully, so that should give me benefit of doubt. Also, what is Canadian government going to do someone across the ocean, even if they do have any ill will right... In contrary, I notarized any reference letter I got from people in here to make it solid.
4- Do not sweat yourself to provide/submit an exact document, if you can not have that exact document. Write an understandable explanation letter and back it up with your other best option. Example: I did not have a birth certificate, hence explained it in an explanation letter, attached my national id and family booklet, it worked for me.
5- Do not overshare, do not make it more complicated than it has to be. Submit at least what you were asked for, better a tad more, do not submit every single day of your relationship history. 20 photos with a single sentence to explain and mutual financial information-including only pages has both of our information nothing more-(mutual account, phone bill) was enough for me.
6- Nature of my last three sentences above to sum up is: Keep it simple, firm, do not overload information, do not create extra work to process for case officer.
7- If you are planning to leave Canada in process explain it, notify them before hand to avoid any complications. We planned to spend two weeks in my country, was planned for after four months of application. Submitted tickets and bookings with an explanation letter, had no problems during the process.
8- Pay your full fees in the beginning/submission for the same reasons above (firm case and saved time).
9- You can get a cheaper biometric photo in most of Shoppers Drug Marts, just make sure they do proper lighting. You can use the same photo, when it comes to final stage(P2), uploading your photo for PR card.
PROCESS
10- If you are asked for any additional document/explanation, submit them promptly. I am not sure how much time that would save you, since they give a set deadline, yet at least it will show the case officer you are on top of your game.
11- Connect your application to your GCKey, keep an eye on your notifications and emails. Can not remember exactly which update comes just as a notification in GCKey, which comes as an email, but you are going to need to check both periodically. It will be the applicant having all updates/requests in process(except sponsor eligibility).
12- You can search for Facebook/Whatsapp groups to join to have a grasp of how the whole process is going in general based on your application time. As far as I observed they generally process them in batches.
13- The two above is said though, to keep your mental health balanced find a sweet spot to do all those. Do not spend your every minute refreshing the same screen. In the end it all comes down to that: Once you submit it you have no control over it, it is a waiting game, like an investment allocate and forget it.
14- Similar to above, I have witnessed many cases going from A to B, some goes from B to A, some stops at C some does not on the way. Which means, officers do things on their own way, do not panic if you see someone else is getting something, but you do not, someone else sees something updated in the system, you do not or verse versa. In the end, all cases are finalized in pretty much similar average times.
15- There would be medical and biometric steps. There is nothing you can do for biometrics, it is standard, but you can do a Google search before your medicals. Check designated clinics list first, then Google them. Some clinics charge more some charge less, some does a faster job, some does sloppy job, who knows.
16- Usually the process would go in cycles. A wait time/quietness in the beginning, then bam bam bam every one month or two you would have an update bio, med, eligibilities another wait time/quietness-the longest one in whole process- for background and another bam bam bam final decision, P1, P2 then another wait time/quietness-the last one- before your Ecopr.
17- If your total process time is not above average processing time, or your updates are going similar with people in the same batch(by batch I mean people applied in same/similar time, hence cases being processed same/similar time) with you using webforms, calling them or reaching to your MP is pointless. None of them is going to help you, all are going to advice to be patience and wait. That would also make you use your ammunition unnecessarily. Keep it until you see your case is exceptionally left behind during a phase, compared to other cases in your batch or your total process time is above the average time. During the phases you can start with customer care calls, escalate it to webforms, if it comes to above average total processing time include your PM and/or use the first two more aggressive. Then it might work, but you would never know basically.
18- If you have exceptional wait time between your final decision/P1/P2, like around/more than two months, Google KAI method or ask in groups, you might want to try it. You will find it, I am not going to go into details.
19- I remember seeing in Reddit, requesting your GCMS notes costs you time, since they stop the whole process just to gather the info you requested, so do not make a habit out of it/do not do it unless it is necessary. Otherwise, you will be the one digging your own hole.
AFTERMATH
20- Physical card is just red tape, the moment you have Ecopr you can do everything with it, so do not wait for physical card. The next day you got your Ecopr, get your OHIP, get your permanent SIN(in case if you have not done it yet with your Eligibility Letter, which is a slippery slope some place accept it some places does not), inform your employer, banks, credit bureaus, insurance/benefits company with your new SIN and update any profile you have with it (like CRA, you need to open a new profile, they are going to transfer your previous info). Keep your Ecopr softcopy/hardcopy, you are going to need it in the future(citiszenship days calculation, senior pension days calculation etc.)
21- Above said, that does not mean you are not going to need the card. Keep an eye on your mail box. You can also download the Canada Post app and trace your card, after you see it shipped in your GCKey. It will appear as a Canadian Bank Note Company delivery in the app.
I think that is all. None of them are magic, you can find them all in internet. Just wanted to gather them all, reflect my experience. Like I said, all of them are my personal experience, any case would be subjective and I am not licensed/formal consultant in any sort.

 

[canuck78]

I see thanks for the help.

I will contact them after the 10-month mark as it is too early and they might even advise waiting.

You can contact your MP but they will just tell you your application is being processed. 10 months is the goal but far from a guarantee. If you get to around 1.5 year then I would start asking questions. Would suggest comparing processing times to someone with a similar profile as you. Country of origin of spouse being sponsored is one of the things that can cause a lot of variability in processing times.