As you are all aware the OINP offices have started to deliver AOR messages for applications in Feb 2016 - a full six months after the deadline to submit them.
I was invited to apply to Ontario PNP (OINP) in December 2015 and submitted my application by February 2016.
The issue is that the UK banking system has a maximum time limit of six months for international cheques and drafts to be cleared.
OINP emailed me to say that my application has been considered as full and complete but placed on hold until a new draft for funds is received.
The email states that they will return my draft to me if I email them my full address. (This seems a bit contradictory because my address is included in the AOR PDF file attached.)
Nevertheless, my email to them (the very next day) included a query about how I should send the re-issued draft - considering that I did not want it to fall into the enormous pile of post, that is the application forms. It has been over a week and I have not received the banker draft nor have I received a response to my email.
The bank have also indicated that they cannot reissue a draft because the funds exist in the original draft and that I no longer have control of that money. They also say I will have to pay for the issue of a new draft. I sent a second email to OINP to ask if they will cover the cost of the second draft - as I consider that they are at fault - but there is no response. I suspect they don't have the resources to man the mailbox but then why would they have an address you can send to?
The timeline for all this is pushing my Express Entry documentation to it's expiry dates. The language scores and the police checks both expire in spring next year (2017) and that would be an additional unnecessary cost. The worst case is that I receive ITA but with the documents about to expire and I cannot book the language tests in time to complete the PR application.
My list of concerns:
1. That the draft is lost in the return post. That money exists on that piece of paper. If it is lost then the money is also lost. This has been confirmed by the bank.
2. If the draft makes it back to me and I have to pay for a new draft to be issued and I have to pay for a courier to transport the draft. (why can't I use electronic funds transfer in this modern world?)
3. Once the draft is received at OINP, it sits in the "in tray" for 6 months, while they sift through the applications, and this draft expires too.
4. If the draft is processed before it expires, the process of accessing the OINP application pushes past the expiry dates of the language tests and the police check, thus causing the Express Entry application to invalidate.
My issues with this process so far:
1. The collection of forms on to an online site with the forms electronically attached would save a major cost in receiving and sorting the paperwork.
2. Money should be sent electronically so that there is no chance it can be lost in the post - or in fact expire.
3. It took 6 months to issue an AOR even though the mechanism that initiates the invitation to apply for OINP would have told them how many applications were coming in.
4. There is no alignment between the OINP and the Express Entry processes, especially their timelines, even though they ask for the same information.
5. Communication is really bad. There are hardly any updates and the only useful information comes out of this forum -- if you have the time to read all the threads.
It seems that they built this process to put the onus on the applicant but at no point do they attempt eleviate the concerns put to them.
The irony in all of this is that a large number of the people trying to get into the country are the skilled IT people who would be capable in helping the government to fix this process.
If I recall, someone mentioned that they would put this application process online but my concern are the people, like myself, who have already applied and will be stuck in the middle with expiring documentation.
I was invited to apply to Ontario PNP (OINP) in December 2015 and submitted my application by February 2016.
The issue is that the UK banking system has a maximum time limit of six months for international cheques and drafts to be cleared.
OINP emailed me to say that my application has been considered as full and complete but placed on hold until a new draft for funds is received.
The email states that they will return my draft to me if I email them my full address. (This seems a bit contradictory because my address is included in the AOR PDF file attached.)
Nevertheless, my email to them (the very next day) included a query about how I should send the re-issued draft - considering that I did not want it to fall into the enormous pile of post, that is the application forms. It has been over a week and I have not received the banker draft nor have I received a response to my email.
The bank have also indicated that they cannot reissue a draft because the funds exist in the original draft and that I no longer have control of that money. They also say I will have to pay for the issue of a new draft. I sent a second email to OINP to ask if they will cover the cost of the second draft - as I consider that they are at fault - but there is no response. I suspect they don't have the resources to man the mailbox but then why would they have an address you can send to?
The timeline for all this is pushing my Express Entry documentation to it's expiry dates. The language scores and the police checks both expire in spring next year (2017) and that would be an additional unnecessary cost. The worst case is that I receive ITA but with the documents about to expire and I cannot book the language tests in time to complete the PR application.
My list of concerns:
1. That the draft is lost in the return post. That money exists on that piece of paper. If it is lost then the money is also lost. This has been confirmed by the bank.
2. If the draft makes it back to me and I have to pay for a new draft to be issued and I have to pay for a courier to transport the draft. (why can't I use electronic funds transfer in this modern world?)
3. Once the draft is received at OINP, it sits in the "in tray" for 6 months, while they sift through the applications, and this draft expires too.
4. If the draft is processed before it expires, the process of accessing the OINP application pushes past the expiry dates of the language tests and the police check, thus causing the Express Entry application to invalidate.
My issues with this process so far:
1. The collection of forms on to an online site with the forms electronically attached would save a major cost in receiving and sorting the paperwork.
2. Money should be sent electronically so that there is no chance it can be lost in the post - or in fact expire.
3. It took 6 months to issue an AOR even though the mechanism that initiates the invitation to apply for OINP would have told them how many applications were coming in.
4. There is no alignment between the OINP and the Express Entry processes, especially their timelines, even though they ask for the same information.
5. Communication is really bad. There are hardly any updates and the only useful information comes out of this forum -- if you have the time to read all the threads.
It seems that they built this process to put the onus on the applicant but at no point do they attempt eleviate the concerns put to them.
The irony in all of this is that a large number of the people trying to get into the country are the skilled IT people who would be capable in helping the government to fix this process.
If I recall, someone mentioned that they would put this application process online but my concern are the people, like myself, who have already applied and will be stuck in the middle with expiring documentation.