Application sent, not sure where I stand...

[FloH]

Hi everyone,
Sorry if this has been asked before, I have been trying for days to find this information with no luck.
My husband and I applied for spousal sponsorship. We are in Canada, he is Canadian and I'm from Scotland.
We are married and expecting a baby in April.
We sent off our application forms in the beginning of October. I have not heard anything yet, which is expected I think.
I'm just a little bit worried because my visitor visa that I am on right now runs out on Dec 12th. Does anyone know if I have to extend this visitor visa or do I get put on a bridging visa automatically? If so does this bridging visa occur as soon as CIC receive my application? I have had no email or letter from them to say it has been received, is that normal? I sent the forms express delivery and have tracked the package has been received.
Can anyone shed some light so that I can either stop worrying or do whatever I need to do.
Thanks in advance.
Florrie

 

[andrew-brit]

Hi everyone,
Sorry if this has been asked before, I have been trying for days to find this information with no luck.
My husband and I applied for spousal sponsorship. We are in Canada, he is Canadian and I'm from Scotland.
We are married and expecting a baby in April.
We sent off our application forms in the beginning of October. I have not heard anything yet, which is expected I think.
I'm just a little bit worried because my visitor visa that I am on right now runs out on Dec 12th. Does anyone know if I have to extend this visitor visa or do I get put on a bridging visa automatically? If so does this bridging visa occur as soon as CIC receive my application? I have had no email or letter from them to say it has been received, is that normal? I sent the forms express delivery and have tracked the package has been received.
Can anyone shed some light so that I can either stop worrying or do whatever I need to do.
Thanks in advance.
Florrie

I am in a similar situation (We are in Canada, my wife is Canadian, I am from Scotland, I am here as a visitor).

You will not hear anything from CIC until Sponsor Approval or a request for a missing/incorrect document. This is normal. I applied 41 days ago and have heard nothing.

You will need to extend your visitor visa. It costs $100. In it you can include proof that you have applied for PR (copy of fee receipt, Sponsor Approval letter (if you have it), etc...). Be sure to apply before your current one expires. If a decision is not made before December 12th you will be on implied status, which allows you to stay in Canada legally until a decision is made. When you apply ask for a year (this should be long enough for your PR application to wrap up).

A lot of applications which would normally go to London, UK are staying in Canada (Mississauga or Ottawa) for stage 2 processing, This is seen as a good thing as processing times seem to be faster. When you receive Sponsor Approval it will tell you where your application is being sent to.

View Spousal Sponsorship through London spreadsheet, we have started recording applications which were earmarked for London but stayed in Canada. You will see the average processing times per visa office.

Sit tight!

 

[rhcohen2014]

i don't think there is such a thing as a "bridging visa" for visitors. if your visitor visa is set to expire in dec, then you will want to apply to EXTEND YOUR STAY as a visitor at least 30 days before it expires. Applying for PR does not automatically extend your stay. you will have to do that separately.

If you applied outland, then it's currently taking about 2 months to receive approval for the sponsor. After that, the applicaiton is sent to a visa office for processing. The time line for that varies based on which visa office is handling the file. to know what the "trend" is for your visa office, you will need to locate the thread specific for your country. I assume scottland gets processed in London? If so, the london VO is taking 8-10 months for approval right now, maybe 7 for some.

You are certainly not going to receive full PR approval before your visitor visa expires in December, so again in order to maintain legal status, you must apply online or by mail to extend your stay as a visitor, show proof you've submitted your application, and ask for 12 months to help you get through approval. PR applicants are rarely denied extensions of stays.

 

[FloH]

Thank you so much guys. I'm extending my visitor visa right now. I'm glad I asked!
Don't care how long my PR takes, just as long as I'm allowed to stay in the country with my husband.
Thanks again.
Florrie

 

[Rob_TO]

Hi everyone,
Sorry if this has been asked before, I have been trying for days to find this information with no luck.
My husband and I applied for spousal sponsorship. We are in Canada, he is Canadian and I'm from Scotland.
We are married and expecting a baby in April.
We sent off our application forms in the beginning of October. I have not heard anything yet, which is expected I think.
I'm just a little bit worried because my visitor visa that I am on right now runs out on Dec 12th. Does anyone know if I have to extend this visitor visa or do I get put on a bridging visa automatically? If so does this bridging visa occur as soon as CIC receive my application? I have had no email or letter from them to say it has been received, is that normal? I sent the forms express delivery and have tracked the package has been received.
Can anyone shed some light so that I can either stop worrying or do whatever I need to do.
Thanks in advance.
Florrie

You need to clarify, did you apply INLAND or OUTLAND? The advice given above is strictly for an outland app.

Also do you get provincial healthcare as a visitor (like in Alberta)? If so then you are set. If not, then I would recommend to search immediately for a midwife or you could be looking at a very expensive process for your pregnancy and delivery.

 

[FloH]

Hi Rob_TO, I am applying inland. I am in Alberta currently, and I have a temporary health card that runs out when my initial visitor visa runs out (12th Dec). So I'm hoping I can also extend that.

 

[smile1212]

so, can anyone share experience who have been through the process? after reading the correspondences under this topic, I am not sure of the steps that may happen in sequence (from submitting forms down to having visa issue for landing), is the following understanding correct?

1. fill in forms by sponsor and by the sponsored spouse
2. submit all forms and pay fees
3. we should receive 'acknowledge receipt of application from immigration office' -- question: usually how long will we get such acknowledgement after submitting forms and fees?
4. question: when will we get notification letter to do medical check?
5. question: when will we get notification letter to do policy cert?
6. question: when will we get 'approval notice as sponsor'?
7. question: I saw some people mention being asked to attend interviews by immigration officer, when or how will we know if we may need such interview?
is there other steps in the process?

thanks a lot!

 

[Rob_TO]

Hi Rob_TO, I am applying inland. I am in Alberta currently, and I have a temporary health card that runs out when my initial visitor visa runs out (12th Dec). So I'm hoping I can also extend that.

When you applied inland did you also include your application for Open Work Permit in the package? If so, that would give you implied visitor status in Canada during the entire PR processing time so there would be no need to extend your visitor status.

If you didn't include the app for OWP, then you need to keep maintaining your visitor status separate from the PR application.

Of course you will get OWP after stage 1 processing so 13 months later or Nov 2015. Then 8 months after that you would get your PR so 21 months in total.

Since you just recently applied, I would strongly recommend you cancel your inland app, get your fees returned, and apply outland instead. Through the London office you would most likely get your full PR status in around 8-10 months total. And you could stay in Canada during the entire time as well.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Since you just recently applied, I would strongly recommend you cancel your inland app, get your fees returned, and apply outland instead. Through the London office you would most likely get your full PR status in around 8-10 months total. And you could stay in Canada during the entire time as well.

Agreed. You should withdraw the inland app and submit an outland app through London.

 

[MizAngel]

Hi Rob_TO, I am applying inland. I am in Alberta currently, and I have a temporary health card that runs out when my initial visitor visa runs out (12th Dec). So I'm hoping I can also extend that.

Yes, when you get your new visitor record, you can apply to extend your Alberta health care.

 

[scylla]

Another vote for: withdraw inland and apply outland.

 

[Kayaker]

Another vote for: withdraw inland and apply outland.

+1.

Of course, if time and money are not an issue, and you don't mind waiting around for 2 years, you could just leave your Inland application as it is. People here are recommending withdrawing and reapplying because usually, people want to have PR sooner than later.