Hi All,
This forum has been the greatest support I have had during my journey for applying for a Canadian PR. I felt it was time to give back. Hope this helps some of you out there who are still on the journey. Rather than detailing all aspects of my application, I will limit my post to some aspects which I found challenging and the ones which I believe I had the most impact on my application.
Some details :
ITA – 04/25/18
AOR – 07/23/18
PPR – 09/05/18 (44 days from AOR)
Passports Sent to CPC, Ottawa – 09/26/18
Application Approved – 10/02/18
COPR and Passports Returned – 10/26/18 (30 days from Passport Receipt at Ottawa)
Focus Area 1 : Preparing Supporting Documentation for Work Reference Letter which do not completely confirm to CIC specifications
a. Work Experience Letter - This was probably the most challenging piece for me. For some background before we get into the details : After my Bachelors, I worked for a single company for 6 years, followed by my Masters for 2 years. Then I started working for another company when I applied for FSW. I did not use my latter experience to claim CRS points on my application.
What I had with me :
I had a generic work experience letter which only showed dates worked for the company and positions held.
What I arranged for and provided :
1. Offer Letter
2. Scanned copy of Company ID
3. 2 payslips (July & Dec) for each year worked for the company
4. The old work experience letter I had
5. Bonus slips for each year worked for the company
6. Appraisal letters for each year worked for the company
7. PDF copies of email conversations I had with the HR personnel of my previous company.
A thing to note here is, if you suspect that it will be a challenge to get a work reference letter from your current/previous employer, start requesting for the letter at least 3-4 months before your planned application submission date. In my case, I got limited responses. I also tried to reach them on the phone. Make sure you keep sending follow-up emails every 2-3 weeks and reference the phone conversations if you had any. At the end I had a thread of around 8-9 emails I send/received from them throughout the course of the communication. This establishes your level of effort in obtaining the letter.
8. In the end as expected, they declined to provide a letter according to the CIC specifications on the phone. They agreed to send me a fresh experience letter with dates, positions held, locations and brief project names I worked on. On receipt of this document on email, I thanked them for their help and also mentioned that according to the phone conversation they could not provide me a letter according to the specifications. A PDF of this email was sent along with the updated work experience letter I received.
9. I had two of my colleagues write work reference according to CIC specifications, attach their business cards and company IDs, notarize the documents and send me scanned copies of the same.
10. A list of references including my supervisors, senior colleagues and colleagues and junior colleagues who could attest to my stated work experience.
11. A Letter of Explanation (LOE) detailing the challenges I faced in obtaining documentation around my work experience, the documents attached, what the documents represent and finally requested them to consider my case in perspective of the challenges faced.
The level of detail provided on this documentation, I believe went a long way in expediting the processing of my case. Although CIC has specifications regarding the Work Reference Letters, they are reasonable.
They are just trying to figure out – Does this applicant have the required skills and experience to be successful as a Canadian PR?
What you as the applicant should do, is demonstrate the efforts you took to address this question.
Believe me. That takes care of it.
Focus Area 2 : Sending Passports to CPC Ottawa – This completely freaked me out and I wanted to share my experience here so that others can have better visibility when they are at this stage.
Timeline :
Passports Send to CPC Ottawa via FEDEX – 09/25/18
Passports Received – 09/26/18
Application Approved – 10/02/18
New Photo Request Email – 10/09/18
New Photos Submitted – 10/11/18
Photos Rejected (2nd Time) – 10/11/18
New Photos Submitted (3rd Set) – 10/15/18
Passport Shipped from Ottawa – 10/24
Passports Received – 10/26
Receiving Address
When I send my package the first time to the CPC Ottawa address, it was signed for and received, but at a different address : 2303 Stevenage Drive, Ottawa. I was concerned whether they misdelivered the package. But researching this forum, and on confirming with the Facebook Page of CIC, I figured this was their scanning/receiving facility for all international packages.
So fret not if you see your package was received at 2303 Stevenage Dr, Ottawa.
Photo Specifications
My photos were rejected twice. The photo specs provided are almost unattainable at service providers like Walgreens which provide Canadian PR photos. The specs say that the photos must be unedited. But the point is, if the photos are not edited then you do not get a completely white background. Both times my photos were rejected was due to lack of a “completely white background”.
So, my suggestion would be to prioritize the white background over the “unedited” requirement
Second thing, which I tried and worked is having them pre-approve the photos. After my photos were rejected for the 2nd time, I took a third set, got digital copies and send them the digital copies. I requested if they could review them and let me know if that works. Fortunately they responded pretty soon and I was able to print out the third set and send them ASAP.
In case your photos are rejected,
My suggestion would be to send them digital copies of a new set and request them to review and approve before you use another $50 to re-send your photos. This will save you money, expedite the process and save you lots of hassle.
Sending Passports Outside Country of Residence
Although a lot of people send their passports outside their country of residence, and apart from cautionary statements for some passport holders, my opinion would be avoid this situation as a whole. This last part of the PR application process is the most non-transparent one, and if you cannot bear the anxiety of being without your passport for a month, without any knowledge of where it is, I would suggest you not to do it.
An alternative : Once you receive the PPR email, immediately request CPC Ottawa to change your Visa office to a local one, which is within your country of residence. This is especially relevant to applicants who are in the US and sending their passports to Canada.
Hope this helps some of you out there.
Thanks,
Disclaimer : All content on this post, is just my personal opinion and should not be treated as legal advice or recommendations.
This forum has been the greatest support I have had during my journey for applying for a Canadian PR. I felt it was time to give back. Hope this helps some of you out there who are still on the journey. Rather than detailing all aspects of my application, I will limit my post to some aspects which I found challenging and the ones which I believe I had the most impact on my application.
Some details :
ITA – 04/25/18
AOR – 07/23/18
PPR – 09/05/18 (44 days from AOR)
Passports Sent to CPC, Ottawa – 09/26/18
Application Approved – 10/02/18
COPR and Passports Returned – 10/26/18 (30 days from Passport Receipt at Ottawa)
Focus Area 1 : Preparing Supporting Documentation for Work Reference Letter which do not completely confirm to CIC specifications
a. Work Experience Letter - This was probably the most challenging piece for me. For some background before we get into the details : After my Bachelors, I worked for a single company for 6 years, followed by my Masters for 2 years. Then I started working for another company when I applied for FSW. I did not use my latter experience to claim CRS points on my application.
What I had with me :
I had a generic work experience letter which only showed dates worked for the company and positions held.
What I arranged for and provided :
1. Offer Letter
2. Scanned copy of Company ID
3. 2 payslips (July & Dec) for each year worked for the company
4. The old work experience letter I had
5. Bonus slips for each year worked for the company
6. Appraisal letters for each year worked for the company
7. PDF copies of email conversations I had with the HR personnel of my previous company.
A thing to note here is, if you suspect that it will be a challenge to get a work reference letter from your current/previous employer, start requesting for the letter at least 3-4 months before your planned application submission date. In my case, I got limited responses. I also tried to reach them on the phone. Make sure you keep sending follow-up emails every 2-3 weeks and reference the phone conversations if you had any. At the end I had a thread of around 8-9 emails I send/received from them throughout the course of the communication. This establishes your level of effort in obtaining the letter.
8. In the end as expected, they declined to provide a letter according to the CIC specifications on the phone. They agreed to send me a fresh experience letter with dates, positions held, locations and brief project names I worked on. On receipt of this document on email, I thanked them for their help and also mentioned that according to the phone conversation they could not provide me a letter according to the specifications. A PDF of this email was sent along with the updated work experience letter I received.
9. I had two of my colleagues write work reference according to CIC specifications, attach their business cards and company IDs, notarize the documents and send me scanned copies of the same.
10. A list of references including my supervisors, senior colleagues and colleagues and junior colleagues who could attest to my stated work experience.
11. A Letter of Explanation (LOE) detailing the challenges I faced in obtaining documentation around my work experience, the documents attached, what the documents represent and finally requested them to consider my case in perspective of the challenges faced.
The level of detail provided on this documentation, I believe went a long way in expediting the processing of my case. Although CIC has specifications regarding the Work Reference Letters, they are reasonable.
They are just trying to figure out – Does this applicant have the required skills and experience to be successful as a Canadian PR?
What you as the applicant should do, is demonstrate the efforts you took to address this question.
Believe me. That takes care of it.
Focus Area 2 : Sending Passports to CPC Ottawa – This completely freaked me out and I wanted to share my experience here so that others can have better visibility when they are at this stage.
Timeline :
Passports Send to CPC Ottawa via FEDEX – 09/25/18
Passports Received – 09/26/18
Application Approved – 10/02/18
New Photo Request Email – 10/09/18
New Photos Submitted – 10/11/18
Photos Rejected (2nd Time) – 10/11/18
New Photos Submitted (3rd Set) – 10/15/18
Passport Shipped from Ottawa – 10/24
Passports Received – 10/26
Receiving Address
When I send my package the first time to the CPC Ottawa address, it was signed for and received, but at a different address : 2303 Stevenage Drive, Ottawa. I was concerned whether they misdelivered the package. But researching this forum, and on confirming with the Facebook Page of CIC, I figured this was their scanning/receiving facility for all international packages.
So fret not if you see your package was received at 2303 Stevenage Dr, Ottawa.
Photo Specifications
My photos were rejected twice. The photo specs provided are almost unattainable at service providers like Walgreens which provide Canadian PR photos. The specs say that the photos must be unedited. But the point is, if the photos are not edited then you do not get a completely white background. Both times my photos were rejected was due to lack of a “completely white background”.
So, my suggestion would be to prioritize the white background over the “unedited” requirement
Second thing, which I tried and worked is having them pre-approve the photos. After my photos were rejected for the 2nd time, I took a third set, got digital copies and send them the digital copies. I requested if they could review them and let me know if that works. Fortunately they responded pretty soon and I was able to print out the third set and send them ASAP.
In case your photos are rejected,
My suggestion would be to send them digital copies of a new set and request them to review and approve before you use another $50 to re-send your photos. This will save you money, expedite the process and save you lots of hassle.
Sending Passports Outside Country of Residence
Although a lot of people send their passports outside their country of residence, and apart from cautionary statements for some passport holders, my opinion would be avoid this situation as a whole. This last part of the PR application process is the most non-transparent one, and if you cannot bear the anxiety of being without your passport for a month, without any knowledge of where it is, I would suggest you not to do it.
An alternative : Once you receive the PPR email, immediately request CPC Ottawa to change your Visa office to a local one, which is within your country of residence. This is especially relevant to applicants who are in the US and sending their passports to Canada.
Hope this helps some of you out there.
Thanks,
Disclaimer : All content on this post, is just my personal opinion and should not be treated as legal advice or recommendations.
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