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omstar

Full Member
Jun 27, 2015
31
4
legalfalcon said:
I have shared this in the past and wanted to put it here for your benefit. Hope you find it useful:

As per the trends, your eligibility is cleared within the first 5 months and then what is left is the security and criminality. This is for the FSW (outland). For the inland applicants, the process is different, their BGC goes in progress within a few days after they receive the AoR. So its is difficult to predict if it is just a technical issue, or the BGC is initiated sooner in the application.

The anatomy of a standard application is as follows:

1. Enter the EE pool.

2. Receive the ITA.

3. File application and supporting documents.

4. AoR - Automatically acknowledged, usually on the same day as submission.

5. The first step is to check for completeness. This usually triggers the application review "IN PROGRESS." This is done at the Centralized Intake Office (CIO).

6. Next stage is the R10 review. This is the first stringent check of the application against the EE profile you created. The Regulation 10 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations imposes a strict liability on the applicants to account for all documents uploaded, satisfy what was stated in the EE profile, and ensure that there are no gaps. If you do not provide the documents or they are filed incorrectly, your application can be rejected due to the strict liability on the applicant under this regulation. However, a lot depends on the agent reviewing the file. Under the R 10 review your IELTS, ECA are checked against the websites to ascertain that there is no misrepresentation. (R10 review is done within the 1-3 months of filing the application). If an applicant's age has changed from EE profile to ITA, then the same is recorded and his score determined. There is an exception clause for when the age changes, it keeps the CRS score intact. This is also done at the CIO level. Most of the applications are rejected here because they are incomplete.

7. At the R10 review, if you have any documents missing, the application is rejected, or more time is given to file the document if there is a Letter of Explanation (LoE). It largely depends on the agent reviewing it. Some are brutal and will reject the application even for a minor error.

8. Usually, by this stage, the medicals are also passed. Recently some applicants received request to re-access their medicals when the file reached the Local Visa Office (LVO). I have a theory for this, but in most cases, once the medicals are passed, they are good until the final review stage. The applicants who received a reassesment for the medicals could be because of two reasons:
a. The doctor or the facility which examined them had a complaint against it, or the CIC found something fishy about how things were being conducted there; or
b. The medicals did not disclose the required parameters, or the applicant had an underlying medical issue, which the CIC wanted to get re-assessed.

8. Now the next stage is to determine eligibility, i.e. whether the application meets the program prerequisites under which it is filed. For FSW, your experience, letters of reference, education, etc are in order. For the PNP, FSW and your nomination is present, for CEC, your Canadian experience is on file. And, so on so forth for the other categories. The objective here is to review whether you meet the program threshold and what you claim is correct. If there is any suspicion, or things don't sound good, the agent can send your application for further review. Which includes an interview, extra doc request etc. If the applicant meets the requirements, and his score is over the cut off for the ITA she received, his eligibility is passed. If there are issues, they will be addressed. This usually happens at the LVO. This stage happens when the application is usually 4-5 months into the process. At this stage, if the eligibility is met, the chances of refusal considerably go down, unless there is a criminal history. However, if your score goes down due to CIC not acknowledging your experience, NOC and reference letters not matching, or a change in age, the application is rejected.

9. As soon as the eligibility is met, next comes the security and criminality (or background check). Usually the criminality is met through the Police Clearance Certificates (PCC) uploaded with the application. If the applicant has been to a country which is suspicious, or your travel history does show frequent visits to a country without any explanation, the same are recorded and evaluated. If things look good, your criminality is passed. A lot of applicants receive a request for Schedule A at this stage to ensure no gap time is present and the history is clear.

10. The last and the final stage is the security. This is a serious & time-consuming stage, involving many agencies, including Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), International Police (INTERPOL), Criminal Database Checking & touch-base with Local Police. Many things are considered here. Number of countries visited, Applicant coming from 'certain' countries, past law enforcement or military record, Prolonged stay in a country w/out sufficient docs to prove cause, frequent traveling to certain nations, your *Name (?), Inter-Religion/Nationality Marriages etc. If everything is simple & straight, the file soon gets into the 'final review' stage. If there are any 'red flags', the case goes into a 'spin'. Then the file might go to the local Police/intelligence agencies; the outcome/timeframe of which is beyond the control of CIC. And thereby the timeframe can be anything [sometimes beyond 1yr]. But, usually this stage should be over within 1-2 months. However, a point to be noted is that the applicant can also be called for an Interview [at this stage], due to this reason. For some people the security has a quick turn around. But in the last two weeks a lot of applicants are stuck at this stage.

11. At the final review, when the security results come in, the PPR is issued.

Now, this is NO way is a generalization of the process. Some applications are processed much faster, some are slow. This is what I could gather from my GCMS notes, my experience with dealing with the immigration authorities in US on behalf of my clients and my personal EE application, which was filed in Sep 15' and approved in April 15.

This is only for information to provide a picture about the process, but CIC has never disclosed their processing procedure. However, looking into some immigration cases, and the information through the GCMS notes available on the forum, this is the best generalization I could come up with. Albeit, for some applicants the criminality is done before the eligibility is checked, for other after. So please don't debate as to how one case you saw was different from what I have stated.

This is just an overview. If you do not find it appealing, just ignore it. If it was up to me, I would process all applications much faster.

But, this is a long wait and probably the most important decision you will make in your life. Be optimistic, helpful and supportive of others. This forum is an excellent resource for many, so even when you receive your PPR, please hang on for a few more months and update your timelines and answer any questions other applicants may have. Don't be a parasite.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Right on, and how would you say this would differ from say...an inland PNP applicant?
 

thadichikutty

Star Member
Oct 31, 2015
90
1
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
Doc's Request.
14-Apr-2016
AOR Received.
06-Apr-2016
legalfalcon said:
I have shared this in the past and wanted to put it here for your benefit. Hope you find it useful:

As per the trends, your eligibility is cleared within the first 5 months and then what is left is the security and criminality. This is for the FSW (outland). For the inland applicants, the process is different, their BGC goes in progress within a few days after they receive the AoR. So its is difficult to predict if it is just a technical issue, or the BGC is initiated sooner in the application.

The anatomy of a standard application is as follows:

1. Enter the EE pool.

2. Receive the ITA.

3. File application and supporting documents.

4. AoR - Automatically acknowledged, usually on the same day as submission.

5. The first step is to check for completeness. This usually triggers the application review "IN PROGRESS." This is done at the Centralized Intake Office (CIO).

6. Next stage is the R10 review. This is the first stringent check of the application against the EE profile you created. The Regulation 10 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations imposes a strict liability on the applicants to account for all documents uploaded, satisfy what was stated in the EE profile, and ensure that there are no gaps. If you do not provide the documents or they are filed incorrectly, your application can be rejected due to the strict liability on the applicant under this regulation. However, a lot depends on the agent reviewing the file. Under the R 10 review your IELTS, ECA are checked against the websites to ascertain that there is no misrepresentation. (R10 review is done within the 1-3 months of filing the application). If an applicant's age has changed from EE profile to ITA, then the same is recorded and his score determined. There is an exception clause for when the age changes, it keeps the CRS score intact. This is also done at the CIO level. Most of the applications are rejected here because they are incomplete.

7. At the R10 review, if you have any documents missing, the application is rejected, or more time is given to file the document if there is a Letter of Explanation (LoE). It largely depends on the agent reviewing it. Some are brutal and will reject the application even for a minor error.

8. Usually, by this stage, the medicals are also passed. Recently some applicants received request to re-access their medicals when the file reached the Local Visa Office (LVO). I have a theory for this, but in most cases, once the medicals are passed, they are good until the final review stage. The applicants who received a reassesment for the medicals could be because of two reasons:
a. The doctor or the facility which examined them had a complaint against it, or the CIC found something fishy about how things were being conducted there; or
b. The medicals did not disclose the required parameters, or the applicant had an underlying medical issue, which the CIC wanted to get re-assessed.

8. Now the next stage is to determine eligibility, i.e. whether the application meets the program prerequisites under which it is filed. For FSW, your experience, letters of reference, education, etc are in order. For the PNP, FSW and your nomination is present, for CEC, your Canadian experience is on file. And, so on so forth for the other categories. The objective here is to review whether you meet the program threshold and what you claim is correct. If there is any suspicion, or things don't sound good, the agent can send your application for further review. Which includes an interview, extra doc request etc. If the applicant meets the requirements, and his score is over the cut off for the ITA she received, his eligibility is passed. If there are issues, they will be addressed. This usually happens at the LVO. This stage happens when the application is usually 4-5 months into the process. At this stage, if the eligibility is met, the chances of refusal considerably go down, unless there is a criminal history. However, if your score goes down due to CIC not acknowledging your experience, NOC and reference letters not matching, or a change in age, the application is rejected.

9. As soon as the eligibility is met, next comes the security and criminality (or background check). Usually the criminality is met through the Police Clearance Certificates (PCC) uploaded with the application. If the applicant has been to a country which is suspicious, or your travel history does show frequent visits to a country without any explanation, the same are recorded and evaluated. If things look good, your criminality is passed. A lot of applicants receive a request for Schedule A at this stage to ensure no gap time is present and the history is clear.

10. The last and the final stage is the security. This is a serious & time-consuming stage, involving many agencies, including Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), International Police (INTERPOL), Criminal Database Checking & touch-base with Local Police. Many things are considered here. Number of countries visited, Applicant coming from 'certain' countries, past law enforcement or military record, Prolonged stay in a country w/out sufficient docs to prove cause, frequent traveling to certain nations, your *Name (?), Inter-Religion/Nationality Marriages etc. If everything is simple & straight, the file soon gets into the 'final review' stage. If there are any 'red flags', the case goes into a 'spin'. Then the file might go to the local Police/intelligence agencies; the outcome/timeframe of which is beyond the control of CIC. And thereby the timeframe can be anything [sometimes beyond 1yr]. But, usually this stage should be over within 1-2 months. However, a point to be noted is that the applicant can also be called for an Interview [at this stage], due to this reason. For some people the security has a quick turn around. But in the last two weeks a lot of applicants are stuck at this stage.

11. At the final review, when the security results come in, the PPR is issued.

Now, this is NO way is a generalization of the process. Some applications are processed much faster, some are slow. This is what I could gather from my GCMS notes, my experience with dealing with the immigration authorities in US on behalf of my clients and my personal EE application, which was filed in Sep 15' and approved in April 15.

This is only for information to provide a picture about the process, but CIC has never disclosed their processing procedure. However, looking into some immigration cases, and the information through the GCMS notes available on the forum, this is the best generalization I could come up with. Albeit, for some applicants the criminality is done before the eligibility is checked, for other after. So please don't debate as to how one case you saw was different from what I have stated.

This is just an overview. If you do not find it appealing, just ignore it. If it was up to me, I would process all applications much faster.

But, this is a long wait and probably the most important decision you will make in your life. Be optimistic, helpful and supportive of others. This forum is an excellent resource for many, so even when you receive your PPR, please hang on for a few more months and update your timelines and answer any questions other applicants may have. Don't be a parasite.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Hi,

Thanks for such a wonderful explanation. Can I check at which stage, they check regarding proof of funds? Is it at eligibility stage or R 10 stage?
 

legalfalcon

VIP Member
Sep 21, 2015
19,048
9,916
Montréal, Quebec, Canada
Category........
FSW
Visa Office......
Ottawa
NOC Code......
4112
App. Filed.......
03-09-2015
Doc's Request.
01-10-2015
AOR Received.
03-09-2015
Med's Done....
17-08-2015
Passport Req..
05-04-2016
VISA ISSUED...
12-04-2016
LANDED..........
05-05-2016
omstar said:
Right on, and how would you say this would differ from say...an inland PNP applicant?
The stages remain the same. The only thing that differs is its timing when it comes to the background check. For a lot of inland applicants the BGC goes in progress fairly early as the CIC needs the RCMP to do the search. Apart from this, everything else remains the same. So an inland PNP might see his BGC go in progress within the first 2 months and will remain in progress until he receives the PPR. Also his criminality might be passed fairly early.
 

legalfalcon

VIP Member
Sep 21, 2015
19,048
9,916
Montréal, Quebec, Canada
Category........
FSW
Visa Office......
Ottawa
NOC Code......
4112
App. Filed.......
03-09-2015
Doc's Request.
01-10-2015
AOR Received.
03-09-2015
Med's Done....
17-08-2015
Passport Req..
05-04-2016
VISA ISSUED...
12-04-2016
LANDED..........
05-05-2016
thadichikutty said:
Hi,

Thanks for such a wonderful explanation. Can I check at which stage, they check regarding proof of funds? Is it at eligibility stage or R 10 stage?
R10, as explained above is only a completeness check. i.e. whether an applicant has included the PoF. After the R10 an analyst reviews the file and he will check whether the applicant has sufficient funds. This would be after R10 and before eligibility.
 

wenfeizh

Hero Member
Feb 10, 2016
655
6
Vancouver
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
Hey guys according to what's posted above, I am wondering, for an inland CEC applicant (no pnp or lmia) like myself, my status hasnt changed AT ALL. Not even background check to "in progress" since aor 22/May/16, is this normal at all? Please find below my status:

Application/profile details

Application/profile status Open
Review of eligibility Review in Progress
Review of medical results Not needed at this time
Review of submitted documents (this is blank)
Scheduling an interview Not needed at this time
background check is needed Not needed at this time
Final decision Not Started
 

legalfalcon

VIP Member
Sep 21, 2015
19,048
9,916
Montréal, Quebec, Canada
Category........
FSW
Visa Office......
Ottawa
NOC Code......
4112
App. Filed.......
03-09-2015
Doc's Request.
01-10-2015
AOR Received.
03-09-2015
Med's Done....
17-08-2015
Passport Req..
05-04-2016
VISA ISSUED...
12-04-2016
LANDED..........
05-05-2016
wenfeizh said:
Hey guys according to what's posted above, I am wondering, for an inland CEC applicant (no pnp or lmia) like myself, my status hasnt changed AT ALL. Not even background check to "in progress" since aor 22/May/16, is this normal at all? Please find below my status:

Application/profile details

Application/profile status Open
Review of eligibility Review in Progress
Review of medical results Not needed at this time
Review of submitted documents (this is blank)
Scheduling an interview Not needed at this time
background check is needed Not needed at this time
Final decision Not Started
This is normal. I won't be too concerned at this stage. My analysis above is just a trend, not a one size fits all analysis.
 

wenfeizh

Hero Member
Feb 10, 2016
655
6
Vancouver
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
legalfalcon said:
This is normal. I won't be too concerned at this stage. My analysis above is just a trend, not a one size fits all analysis.
Thanks for your reply. Man i have a long way to go.....
 

Ns@2016

Full Member
May 20, 2016
26
1
AOR: April 22 (PNP)

Request for Schedule A:2016/06/08
Schedule A submitted: 2016/06/13

Application/profile status Open
Review of eligibility Review in Progress
Review of medical results Passed
Review of submitted documents Provided
Scheduling an interview Not needed at this time
A background check is needed Not needed at this time
Final decision Not Started

Approaching 60 days milestone within a week since AOR. Usually PNP gets PPR request around this time.
Finger crossed.
 

legalfalcon

VIP Member
Sep 21, 2015
19,048
9,916
Montréal, Quebec, Canada
Category........
FSW
Visa Office......
Ottawa
NOC Code......
4112
App. Filed.......
03-09-2015
Doc's Request.
01-10-2015
AOR Received.
03-09-2015
Med's Done....
17-08-2015
Passport Req..
05-04-2016
VISA ISSUED...
12-04-2016
LANDED..........
05-05-2016
Ns@2016 said:
AOR: April 22 (PNP)

Request for Schedule A:2016/06/08
Schedule A submitted: 2016/06/13

Application/profile status Open
Review of eligibility Review in Progress
Review of medical results Passed
Review of submitted documents Provided
Scheduling an interview Not needed at this time
A background check is needed Not needed at this time
Final decision Not Started

Approaching 60 days milestone within a week since AOR. Usually PNP gets PPR request around this time.
Finger crossed.
It is true that the PNP application are processed the fastest, but every application is different. In your cases the BGC has not started yet, so it will take a little longer. If you are concerned order GCMS notes, that is the best way to figure out what is happening with your application. Also remember that the processing time given by IRCC is 6 months, you have time. I am not saying that it will take that long, but do not stress over it.
 

omstar

Full Member
Jun 27, 2015
31
4
legalfalcon said:
...

8. Now the next stage is to determine eligibility, i.e. whether the application meets the program prerequisites under which it is filed. For FSW, your experience, letters of reference, education, etc are in order. For the PNP, FSW and your nomination is present, for CEC, your Canadian experience is on file. And, so on so forth for the other categories. The objective here is to review whether you meet the program threshold and what you claim is correct. If there is any suspicion, or things don't sound good, the agent can send your application for further review. Which includes an interview, extra doc request etc. If the applicant meets the requirements, and his score is over the cut off for the ITA she received, his eligibility is passed. If there are issues, they will be addressed. This usually happens at the LVO. This stage happens when the application is usually 4-5 months into the process. At this stage, if the eligibility is met, the chances of refusal considerably go down, unless there is a criminal history. However, if your score goes down due to CIC not acknowledging your experience, NOC and reference letters not matching, or a change in age, the application is rejected.

9. As soon as the eligibility is met, next comes the security and criminality (or background check). Usually the criminality is met through the Police Clearance Certificates (PCC) uploaded with the application. If the applicant has been to a country which is suspicious, or your travel history does show frequent visits to a country without any explanation, the same are recorded and evaluated. If things look good, your criminality is passed. A lot of applicants receive a request for Schedule A at this stage to ensure no gap time is present and the history is clear.

10. The last and the final stage is the security...
Thanks for the previous clarification, that was very helpful. I just have one more question:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't step 9.) suggest that if the first round of eligibility check are a pass, and the application is not rejected, then a change into BG Check very potentially implies that the eligibility check is a pass? (with the exception of the final review, of course)
 

legalfalcon

VIP Member
Sep 21, 2015
19,048
9,916
Montréal, Quebec, Canada
Category........
FSW
Visa Office......
Ottawa
NOC Code......
4112
App. Filed.......
03-09-2015
Doc's Request.
01-10-2015
AOR Received.
03-09-2015
Med's Done....
17-08-2015
Passport Req..
05-04-2016
VISA ISSUED...
12-04-2016
LANDED..........
05-05-2016
omstar said:
Thanks for the previous clarification, that was very helpful. I just have one more question:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't step 9.) suggest that if the first round of eligibility check are a pass, and the application is not rejected, then a change into BG Check very potentially implies that the eligibility check is a pass? (with the exception of the final review, of course)
I wish CIC worked in a step by step manner. But they do not. For some applicants I have seen criminality being passed before the eligibility and for others the BGC goes in progress before the eligibility even starts. The BGC goes in progress early mostly for inland applicants, but their eligibility has not yet passed.

So speaking frankly you are correct that when the eligibility is cleared, the chances of rejection fall considerably low, but to ensure that the eligibility is met, the only sure shot way is the GCMS notes and not the MyCIC portal where your application status is depicted. However, for most FSW-outland applicants the BGC is the last stage which usually reached after the fourth months and in those cases on can be sure that the eligibility is passed.
 

thrissookkaran

Star Member
Dec 9, 2015
66
3
Dear Al,

I just got my passport request. :D :D :D :D :D


Here are my details

Category: PNP (Ontario).
AOR : 22/04/2016
ghost email: 23/04/2016
medical passed: 25/04/2016
schedule 4 request: 25/04/2016
schedule 4 submitted: 26/04/2016
ghost email: 26/04/2016
Schedule A request: 27/04/2016
Schedule A submitted : 28/04/2016
Background check changed from not started to not needed : 02/05/2016
ghost email: 03/05/2016

status change email: 15/06/2016 (backgound check --> progress)
PPR: 15/06/2016 ( after 2 hours of previous mail).
Visa office : London
 

boblee2000

Star Member
Sep 1, 2015
106
3
Category........
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
AOR Received.
1 April 2016
Med's Done....
13 April 2016
thrissookkaran said:
Dear Al,

I just got my passport request. :D :D :D :D :D


Here are my details

Category: PNP (Ontario).
AOR : 22/04/2016
ghost email: 23/04/2016
medical passed: 25/04/2016
schedule 4 request: 25/04/2016
schedule 4 submitted: 26/04/2016
ghost email: 26/04/2016
Schedule A request: 27/04/2016
Schedule A submitted : 28/04/2016
Background check changed from not started to not needed : 02/05/2016
ghost email: 03/05/2016

status change email: 15/06/2016 (backgound check --> progress)
PPR: 15/06/2016 ( after 2 hours of previous mail).
Visa office : London
Congrats!