Alhumdulillah, By the grace of Allah Almighty my wife has RECEIVED HER PPT WITH VISA. The entire process took 18 months. Below is my timeline (Wife case).
Applied to CiC Mississauga : June 2010
File Transferred to CHC ISB: July 2010
AOR: July 2010
Voluntarily submitted proof of relationship such as email copies, photos with wife, western union receipts and flight tickets: Oct 2010
Request for PCC, Supplementary form, Family Information Form etc and reception, Rukhsati, honeymoon and other social gathering pics: July 2011
Above Documents sent : August 18, 2011
Remedical Request: August 27, 2011
Remedical done: September 13, 2011
Remedical Received at New Delhi Office: October 4, 2011
Remedical Results available to CHC ISB: 21 Oct 2011.
Request to resubmit Schedule A – Background Declaration : October 19, 2011 (I made some mistakes by leaving gap in personal history)
Schedule A resubmitted: October 10, 2011 (I knew in advance through MP office that this request was coming so I submitted the revised form before the letter arrived)
Address Disappeared from Ecas: November 9, 2011
Address Reappeared : November 16, 2011
Passport Request: November 19, 2011 (letter dated 16 November 2011)
ECAS status changed to Decision Made: 1 Dec , 2011
Passport Returned with Visa : 7 Dec 2011
LESSONS LEARNT
• My file was reviewed by the Immigration officer exactly 1 year after it was received at the CHC ISB from Mississauga.
• During the processing of immigration application, I applied for study permit in November 2011 which was refused in May 2011. I re-applied for study permit in May 2011 and the decision was never made on that application. I finally had to withdraw my study permit application as soon as I received a PPR for immigration application.
• I went to MP numerous times and they did not help whatsoever in expediting the process but they do help in finding the status of application and that's about it. Don't expect them to help expedite your application. They will NEVER do that. The only time an MP will intervene when it's a “life and Death” situation.
• MPs (or their staff) can obtain the status of immigration applications from CiC's Ministerial Enquiry Division (MED) in Ottawa. Every note that a Visa Officer enter on your file is accessible in Ottawa.
• The embassy takes 3-4 weeks to attach the documents to your file after you submit them. They review the documents when the Bring Forward Date arrives.
• The Bring Forward date is exactly the same as the number of days given to you in the letter from the embassy to send documentation. For example if you receive a letter from embassy with a date August 1 and the embassy gives you 30 days to respond then your Bring Forward date would be Sept 1.
• DO NOT use Designated Medical Professional (DMP) Dr. Arif Mehmood Siddiqui based in Lahore. His staff is rude, lazy, and highly unprofessional. They take 3-4 weeks to send the medical results to New Delhi which slows down the whole process at a very critical time.
• Make sure you don't leave any gaps in personal history section of Schedule A/background declaration form.
• Had I not made a mistake on the Schedule A form and received a request for further pics for Rukhsati, I would have had my application processed within 15 months. Thus it implies that any request for further proof of relationship or other documents can add up many months to the application process. So be careful and make sure complete marriage proofs are provided to the embassy and don't make any mistake on application forms.
• This was initially Nikkah only case but Rukhsati was done before the request of further evidence came from CHC ISB. So i did not get any objection but I was asked to provide further proofs and I had the documentation ready to send as soon as the request came through but it did delay the process by at least 3 months.
• This has been the most painful period of my life but it passed. Thanks Allah. We are now getting reunited which is the best part of my life. My prayers are with those who are still waiting. My advice is just to be patient and keep yourself busy in your daily life. Do not discuss the visa issues with your spouse too much as it causes frustration, and can negatively impact your relationship as you are already having a long distance relationship. Time is the main factor in the whole process, but it passes.
