Applicants from Europe and USA

[Scottish Aly]

1st ghost update today!
My heart is literally pounding!

This is my first update since MEP 7th Feb!

Please keep everything crossed for me!!

 

[Sunshine1010]

Both myself and husband are British and our AOR was 12th Dec.

We hit 7 months today, 212 days. I can't begin to tell you how demoralised we are. It certainly puts your life on hold. We expected 6 months, but this wait with not a single update is a struggle.

London Visa office is not approachable like other offices. I would have though it would have been more efficient.

 

[RayBear]

Both myself and husband are British and our AOR was 12th Dec.

We hit 7 months today, 212 days. I can't begin to tell you how demoralised we are. It certainly puts your life on hold. We expected 6 months, but this wait with not a single update is a struggle.

London Visa office is not approachable like other offices. I would have though it would have been more efficient.

Ah, I'm really sorry to hear that =[

I'm not sure where you got the impression any offices are more approachable than others though. search the forum for Ontario or Sydney office and you'll find pages of people swearing that they're being personally victimised.

You can call the same numbers and get the same information regardless of which office your visa is being processed by, it's just that the detail the folks on the phone have access to is limited by necessity (for your Data security)

Keeping everything crossed for you!

@Scottish Aly exciting! Keeping everything crossed for you. Check your messages!

 

[bairn7]

Hi guys. I need some urgent advice please.

I finally received my GCMS notes and my country of birth is listed as England (it was actually Scotland). I'm almost 100% sure I didn't put England when applying as I was very careful about my application.

In my notes, on the day of giving biometrics, the following is showing as changed: "[name], [DOB], [Town], Scotland" changed to "[Name], [DOB], England". This was clearly done by the person recording my biometric details as the note was entered at the same time as a note about my fingerprints. I don't know if this has caused the change to my country of birth.

Eligibility is passed, Criminality is in progress, security is blank.

Should I raise a CSE to address this? Or as eligibility is passed, it has obviously already been checked over by someone and marked as OK. None of my address documents, police certificate state Scotland explicity - they either just refer to my town or to United Kingdom. So maybe that is why this issue is not picked up. Is this likely to jeopardise my application?

I thought I was almost there (14 days left for my 6 months!) but this has really started to stress me.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[RayBear]

Hi guys. I need some urgent advice please.

I finally received my GCMS notes and my country of birth is listed as England (it was actually Scotland). I'm almost 100% sure I didn't put England when applying as I was very careful about my application.

In my notes, on the day of giving biometrics, the following is showing as changed: "[name], [DOB], [Town], Scotland" changed to "[Name], [DOB], England". This was clearly done by the person recording my biometric details as the note was entered at the same time as a note about my fingerprints. I don't know if this has caused the change to my country of birth.

Eligibility is passed, Criminality is in progress, security is blank.

Should I raise a CSE to address this? Or as eligibility is passed, it has obviously already been checked over by someone and marked as OK. None of my address documents, police certificate state Scotland explicity - they either just refer to my town or to United Kingdom. So maybe that is why this issue is not picked up. Is this likely to jeopardise my application?

I thought I was almost there (14 days left for my 6 months!) but this has really started to stress me.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Almost certainly will not be a problem for you. If you're really concerned, raise a CSE for peace of mind but that would be the only reason I'd bother. You've provided all the correct data in the application.

For what it's worth, last year, my wife got her American passport renewed.

They issued her new American passport, which was a renewed copy of an existing passport, which she is entitled to because she was born in America, saying her place of birth was in the UK.

She didn't notice and used a scan of this to apply for her Canadian PR card replacement and despite this OBVIOUSLY not matching her birth certificate etc, caused no issue. (She got the passport reissued but by the time it was noticed and she had it in hand, the new PR card had been sent and no, we still have no idea how the us passport office fucked up that badly).

When the officer saw something that concerned them or they couldn't clarify on my application (siblings in Canada) they just raised an ADR. I personally think you'll be fine and you're just in the waiting game phase

 

[UKDreamer]

Dear All,

With the grace of God, I finally received the PPR last night. It took more than 17 months to reach this point. Here is my timeline and some notes that might help some of you in your journey.

Application: FWS- Outland with 3 dependents (Applying from UK)
AOR: 13 March, 2018
Medical Passed: 22 March, 2018
Request for Explanation on Current Job and POF: 1 May, 2018
Security Passed: 12 January, 2019 (I got a ghost update, and called, and I was told I passed security)
Medical Extension: 11 February, 2019 (Medical expired, so they extended it. I was not asked to do it again)
PPR: 23 July, 2019

I wish everyone the best in this journey.

 

[UKDreamer]

Hi friends,

I live in the UK, and my PPR says that I can submit the passports to the office most convenient to me. They gave me three choices: London, Stockholm, and Dublin. The submission must be via VFS Global.

My question is, which office do you think is better or faster? I know it makes sense to submit to London, but I heard they are slow, is this true?

Your advise and recommendations are highly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[gkns]

Hi guys,

Brace yourselves for a long, possibly paranoid post...
I'm Polish, living in Ireland. You can see my status in the sig. I've had no updates since bio pass, expecting GCMS to come in the next 1-2 weeks. (edit: the sig doesn't seem to be saving, so here's the link: https://myimmitracker.com/en/ca/trackers/consolidated-e-apr-tracker-express-entry-permanent-residency-application/cases/case-78010)
Applied with a common-law spouse with me as the primary applicant. Our points were exactly the same.

Here's what's been making me really nervous since last month:

my points - 481
invite cut-off - 457

I found this info about knowledge sharing points (not entirely sure how reliable it is):
CLP 9+ and foreign exp over 36 months - 50 (the one I got)
CLP 9+ and foreign exp over 12-24 months - 25

At the time of AOR I had 35 months in my primary NOC with full references as required. I still work in one of those places, but I read somewhere that only the state at the time of submission counts.
Now, I have another 20 months, but I only have an old ref with the title, dates and the fact that I worked full time listed.
The company was taken over since I left, they changed their procedures etc.
I gave IRCC an explanation letter, along with the letter, I attached:
- the old ref I got from HR right after I left
- a very recent e-mail from HR refusing to give me the full ref after a long convo
- my contracts
- company contact info
- linkedin recommendations & profile (probably useless)
- an ad I found online (same role & department I worked in, company letterhead etc. but made when I already worked there).
What worries me is the fact that I'm NOC 2172 and the ad didn't really list technical details. one of the activities was literally "data administration", but you know...

Now, if for some reason they don't approve those 20 months, I might lose 25 points and get a rejection due to falling below the cut-off by exactly 1 point... Am I right, or am I going crazy from all the uncertainty?
Do you think it's at all realistic that my PPR will be processed in 6 months?
My lease ends 2 days after the 6 months mark, so I should probably look for a short term lease flat anyway. (which is a nightmare in it's own right in Dublin)

 

[hockeypuck]

Hi guys,

Brace yourselves for a long, possibly paranoid post...
I'm Polish, living in Ireland. You can see my status in the sig. I've had no updates since bio pass, expecting GCMS to come in the next 1-2 weeks. (edit: the sig doesn't seem to be saving, so here's the link: https://myimmitracker.com/en/ca/trackers/consolidated-e-apr-tracker-express-entry-permanent-residency-application/cases/case-78010)
Applied with a common-law spouse with me as the primary applicant. Our points were exactly the same.

Here's what's been making me really nervous since last month:

my points - 481
invite cut-off - 457

I found this info about knowledge sharing points (not entirely sure how reliable it is):
CLP 9+ and foreign exp over 36 months - 50 (the one I got)
CLP 9+ and foreign exp over 12-24 months - 25

At the time of AOR I had 35 months in my primary NOC with full references as required. I still work in one of those places, but I read somewhere that only the state at the time of submission counts.
Now, I have another 20 months, but I only have an old ref with the title, dates and the fact that I worked full time listed.
The company was taken over since I left, they changed their procedures etc.
I gave IRCC an explanation letter, along with the letter, I attached:
- the old ref I got from HR right after I left
- a very recent e-mail from HR refusing to give me the full ref after a long convo
- my contracts
- company contact info
- linkedin recommendations & profile (probably useless)
- an ad I found online (same role & department I worked in, company letterhead etc. but made when I already worked there).
What worries me is the fact that I'm NOC 2172 and the ad didn't really list technical details. one of the activities was literally "data administration", but you know...

Now, if for some reason they don't approve those 20 months, I might lose 25 points and get a rejection due to falling below the cut-off by exactly 1 point... Am I right, or am I going crazy from all the uncertainty?
Do you think it's at all realistic that my PPR will be processed in 6 months?
My lease ends 2 days after the 6 months mark, so I should probably look for a short term lease flat anyway. (which is a nightmare in it's own right in Dublin)

Welcome to a fellow Pole in Dublin! Same here. AOR Feb16th and waiting.
I wouldn't worry too much about the work experience. Looks like you provided sufficient LOE for the 20 months at the company that no longer exists. IMHO this is still a valid, documented work experience. Also, from what I know, LinkedIn is one of the ways through which the background checks are done so I wouldn't dismiss it.

Funnily enough I'm in the same boat with the lease - mine expires on the 15th of September (1 month after the 6 months timeline). The reality of it is - you have to plan for it, and look for a new place. Personally I am dreading the prospect of having to find a new place to live, so can kind of relate here.
The reality is - nobody can tell you how long your application processing will take. It may finish tomorrow, it may finish in 2020. The only thing you can do is wait!

 

[RayBear]

Hi friends,

I live in the UK, and my PPR says that I can submit the passports to the office most convenient to me. They gave me three choices: London, Stockholm, and Dublin. The submission must be via VFS Global.

My question is, which office do you think is better or faster? I know it makes sense to submit to London, but I heard they are slow, is this true?

Your advise and recommendations are highly appreciated.

Thanks

Hey, I got your message but didn't fully absorb what you meant. My experience with VFS global though not the most positive (door staff were quite rude) were very fast getting the biometrics done and they handled my wife's PR card renewal stuff very quickly

Remember that anything you read on this forum is a tiny sample size of the actual number of applicants. Every single thread on this forum about a visa office is full of people convinced theirs is the slowest.

Fact is, it's not a fast process!

 

[RayBear]

Hi guys,

Brace yourselves for a long, possibly paranoid post...
I'm Polish, living in Ireland. You can see my status in the sig. I've had no updates since bio pass, expecting GCMS to come in the next 1-2 weeks. (edit: the sig doesn't seem to be saving, so here's the link: https://myimmitracker.com/en/ca/trackers/consolidated-e-apr-tracker-express-entry-permanent-residency-application/cases/case-78010)
Applied with a common-law spouse with me as the primary applicant. Our points were exactly the same.

Here's what's been making me really nervous since last month:

my points - 481
invite cut-off - 457

I found this info about knowledge sharing points (not entirely sure how reliable it is):
CLP 9+ and foreign exp over 36 months - 50 (the one I got)
CLP 9+ and foreign exp over 12-24 months - 25

At the time of AOR I had 35 months in my primary NOC with full references as required. I still work in one of those places, but I read somewhere that only the state at the time of submission counts.
Now, I have another 20 months, but I only have an old ref with the title, dates and the fact that I worked full time listed.
The company was taken over since I left, they changed their procedures etc.
I gave IRCC an explanation letter, along with the letter, I attached:
- the old ref I got from HR right after I left
- a very recent e-mail from HR refusing to give me the full ref after a long convo
- my contracts
- company contact info
- linkedin recommendations & profile (probably useless)
- an ad I found online (same role & department I worked in, company letterhead etc. but made when I already worked there).
What worries me is the fact that I'm NOC 2172 and the ad didn't really list technical details. one of the activities was literally "data administration", but you know...

Now, if for some reason they don't approve those 20 months, I might lose 25 points and get a rejection due to falling below the cut-off by exactly 1 point... Am I right, or am I going crazy from all the uncertainty?
Do you think it's at all realistic that my PPR will be processed in 6 months?
My lease ends 2 days after the 6 months mark, so I should probably look for a short term lease flat anyway. (which is a nightmare in it's own right in Dublin)

If, when assessing eligibility, they're not sure where you claimed the points from, you'll get an ADR asking for clarification. Otherwise you'll be fine.RRemember that the agents are ultimately just trying to verify your claims, not look for ways to exclude you. I jad similar "If they don't accept this aspect of my application it all falls apart" concerns but ultimately, the applications are being read by people. Not machines. And theyndo their best to work with compassion.

As for whether it'll be processed in 6 months is anyone's guess unfortunately. The simplest applications have taken 6 months or more and ones anticipated on being complex have been done in less than 4 months.

I wouldn't bother with GCMS until after the 6 month mark and even then tbh I think its rarely actually helpful to have.

Processing time is a bit of a crapshoot.

I don't think you have anything to worry about.

 

[gkns]

Thanks for the reassurance guys. I'll better start looking for a new flat anyway. I did some analysis on the tracker data and it seems that FSW-O 2019 apps are taking way longer than even oct-dec 2018. I excluded USA, because they typically get processed faster.
That or people just don't update their applications on the site I guess.

 

[UKDreamer]

Hey, I got your message but didn't fully absorb what you meant. My experience with VFS global though not the most positive (door staff were quite rude) were very fast getting the biometrics done and they handled my wife's PR card renewal stuff very quickly

Remember that anything you read on this forum is a tiny sample size of the actual number of applicants. Every single thread on this forum about a visa office is full of people convinced theirs is the slowest.

Fact is, it's not a fast process!

Thanks for your usual support RayBear... I appreciate the response. I was away for sometime, but i was finally able to send my docs and passports to VFS London office. I hope I get my COPR soon enough.

Best regards,

 

[gkns]

Just got my GCMS notes. I'm not sure if I'm reading them right, but it looks like my eligibility changed status to passed and then review required a couple of times and stopped there. This is likely due to the work situation i mentioned. Security not started.
The status is probably 3-4 weeks old.
Primary office CPC-Ottawa. Any idea if they're usually fast?
Does anyone have an idea if I can send them something to makw the review faster? I don't want my file to be stuck waiting for the officer for the next 4 months.

There's also a note saying secondary offices: 3.
CPC-Edmonton.does it mean they now have the file to share the workload?

I'm right about to lift off for holidays and I'm so unsure if I should be happy about the notes, or just more paranoid.

Edit: just got to their internal notes. Yep it's that one employment record they have a problem with. Everything else seems to be met. I asked the hr of the new company for an official role description for my old role, hopefully it'll at least make someone look at my application again if I can provide it.

 

[Tahar19]

Just got my GCMS notes. I'm not sure if I'm reading them right, but it looks like my eligibility changed status to passed and then review required a couple of times and stopped there. This is likely due to the work situation i mentioned. Security not started.
The status is probably 3-4 weeks old.
Primary office CPC-Ottawa. Any idea if they're usually fast?
Does anyone have an idea if I can send them something to makw the review faster? I don't want my file to be stuck waiting for the officer for the next 4 months.

There's also a note saying secondary offices: 3.
CPC-Edmonton.does it mean they now have the file to share the workload?

I'm right about to lift off for holidays and I'm so unsure if I should be happy about the notes, or just more paranoid.

Edit: just got to their internal notes. Yep it's that one employment record they have a problem with. Everything else seems to be met. I asked the hr of the new company for an official role description for my old role, hopefully it'll at least make someone look at my application again if I can provide it.

can you screenshot the NOTES and hide all important information?