Help needed!

[meg.ts]

Hi everyone!

Long story short, my boyfriend/common law partner (Canadian citizen) and I (EU/Bulgarian Citizen who has lived in the UK for over five years) are on the verge of submitting our outland common-law application. It has been a rocky drive - we hired a lawyer to help us out with the process as we were both insanely busy back in the Summer. It turned out that the lawyer is unprofessional and lacked any sense of urgency. We have now taken things in our hands and just in the span of a day managed to do more work than the lawyer did for 4 months!

We are trying to find out if we can select the processing office, i.e. London, UK or Sofia, Bulgaria (as I still have my Bulgarian passport). Do any of you have any knowledge of the average processing times for both countries? I am inclined to think that not many people are submitting application in Bulgaria, hence things might be quicker. I have also emailed the Canadian Embassy in Bulgaria, hopefully they give us a non generic answer.


Thank you!

 

[kcward7]

Hi everyone!

Long story short, my boyfriend/common law partner (Canadian citizen) and I (EU/Bulgarian Citizen who has lived in the UK for over five years) are on the verge of submitting our outland common-law application. It has been a rocky drive - we hired a lawyer to help us out with the process as we were both insanely busy back in the Summer. It turned out that the lawyer is unprofessional and lacked any sense of urgency. We have now taken things in our hands and just in the span of a day managed to do more work than the lawyer did for 4 months!

We are trying to find out if we can select the processing office, i.e. London, UK or Sofia, Bulgaria (as I still have my Bulgarian passport). Do any of you have any knowledge of the average processing times for both countries? I am inclined to think that not many people are submitting application in Bulgaria, hence things might be quicker. I have also emailed the Canadian Embassy in Bulgaria, hopefully they give us a non generic answer.


Thank you!

No, you have no control over the visa office.

Target is 12months, although it could be faster.

 

[meg.ts]

No, you have no control over the visa office.

Target is 12months, although it could be faster.

Thanks so much for the quick response!!!

Do you know what is the likelihood of London being selected as the processing office rather than my home country? I cannot find any definite answers on the CIC website.

Our case is fairly straightforward and hope that we would be able to get the PR in the next 5 - 6 months. Here is to hoping. Haha

 

[kcward7]

Thanks so much for the quick response!!!

Do you know what is the likelihood of London being selected as the processing office rather than my home country? I cannot find any definite answers on the CIC website.

Our case is fairly straightforward and hope that we would be able to get the PR in the next 5 - 6 months. Here is to hoping. Haha

We got DM today out of London and it took 9 months which is within the average. 5 to 6 months is not unheard of but would be considered fast.

It's hard to say about which VO it would be. I know alot about LVO if you have any questions with that respect.

 

[meg.ts]

We got DM today out of London and it took 9 months which is within the average. 5 to 6 months is not unheard of but would be considered fast.

It's hard to say about which VO it would be. I know alot about LVO if you have any questions with that respect.

Congrats on the DM! And thank you so much!!!

If it is okay to ask, how long were you and your significant other together for before filling the application? Also, are you from visa exempt country/have multiple entry visa and did you submit joint lease agreement, utility bills, medical insurance, bank accounts? Apologies for the intrusive questions, I am trying my best to get an understanding of how the system works.

My partner has an amazing job offer and we would have to move in February. Which means I am leaving a lot behind here in London but I am okay with that. Luckily I don't need a visa to enter Canada but the waiting time is truly making me worry.

 

[kcward7]

Congrats on the DM! And thank you so much!!!

If it is okay to ask, how long were you and your significant other together for before filling the application? Also, are you from visa exempt country/have multiple entry visa and did you submit joint lease agreement, utility bills, medical insurance, bank accounts? Apologies for the intrusive questions, I am trying my best to get an understanding of how the system works.

My partner has an amazing job offer and we would have to move in February. Which means I am leaving a lot behind here in London but I am okay with that. Luckily I don't need a visa to enter Canada but the waiting time is truly making me worry.

Don't be sorry, happy to answer anything.

Together for 1 year before we married and submitted. We married Dec 17 2016 and submitted March 1. He is Irish, so yes to visa exempt.

As a married couple, less proof is required but we submitted: drivers licenses at same address, marriage cert (mandatory is married), Fintan recognized on my work benefits, joint lease, joint bills (internet, etc), a letter each from our parents, and a letter each from our best friends.

Prepare yourself for a significant wait time. Consider anything under one year as fast and a blessing. There's a good chance it would be faster, but you should plan for their target timelines because you just never know. The process is pretty inconsistent and the communications from processing centers and visa officers can be shoddy.

 

[scylla]

Luckily I don't need a visa to enter Canada but the waiting time is truly making me worry.

FYI - you don't need a TRV to enter Canada but you do need an eTA.

 

[meg.ts]

Don't be sorry, happy to answer anything.

Together for 1 year before we married and submitted. We married Dec 17 2016 and submitted March 1. He is Irish, so yes to visa exempt.

As a married couple, less proof is required but we submitted: drivers licenses at same address, marriage cert (mandatory is married), Fintan recognized on my work benefits, joint lease, joint bills (internet, etc), a letter each from our parents, and a letter each from our best friends.

Prepare yourself for a significant wait time. Consider anything under one year as fast and a blessing. There's a good chance it would be faster, but you should plan for their target timelines because you just never know. The process is pretty inconsistent and the communications from processing centers and visa officers can be shoddy.

Thank you!

That is a really good point, I guess we will brace ourselves and hope for the best.

One more question. Did your SO have to obtain a medical exam at all? The CIC seems to allude that not everyone is required to have it and we would be given that information at a later point.

 

[meg.ts]

FYI - you don't need a TRV to enter Canada but you do need an eTA.

A few years back (when there was no eTAs for Bulgaria) I was given a valid 10 year Canadian visa. I have another 5 years left on it so luckily won't have to bother with the eTA.

 

[kcward7]

Thank you!

That is a really good point, I guess we will brace ourselves and hope for the best.

One more question. Did your SO have to obtain a medical exam at all? The CIC seems to allude that not everyone is required to have it and we would be given that information at a later point.

No...you have to. It's mandatory. Once you submit you will get the request from CIC.

 

[scylla]

A few years back (when there was no eTAs for Bulgaria) I was given a valid 10 year Canadian visa. I have another 5 years left on it so luckily won't have to bother with the eTA.

Then you're all set. Just make sure you book a return ticket if you don't have a PR visa yet.

 

[meg.ts]

Thanks so much everyone!

We are nearly ready to submit the application! Only thing I am uncertain of is the of amount of photos and personal communication we can submit. It seems that CIC says "no more of 20 photographs" but I really don't know what rule applies for email/texts between the two of us. I vaguely remember "50". Please let me know if you know the exact number.

 

[Ceimi]

Thanks so much everyone!

We are nearly ready to submit the application! Only thing I am uncertain of is the of amount of photos and personal communication we can submit. It seems that CIC says "no more of 20 photographs" but I really don't know what rule applies for email/texts between the two of us. I vaguely remember "50". Please let me know if you know the exact number.

I don't believe they have a limit for documents that are meant as proof of your relationship (i.e. the documents you select from the very bottom of the document checklist) but keep in mind that quality is the name of the game over quantity. Like you said, I'd try to keep a limit of 50 or under for the whole supporting documents section and focus on trying to compile strong evidence showing your relationship is recognized by family/friends and thus genuine rather than flooding them with pages and pages of "I love you"'s and boring conversations (like I was very much tempted too! I had about 4k pages worth of skype logs and that was just counting from 2015... I've been chatting with hubby since 2009!)

Instead, I'm going to add maybe 3 pages of skype and whatsapp logs, roughly 15 or so pages of social media print outs, a couple of letters from friends and family, and extra proof like me being on my husbands work benefits, having me as the beneficiary of his life insurance and vice versa, supplementary credit cards, same address, etc.

 

[meg.ts]

I don't believe they have a limit for documents that are meant as proof of your relationship (i.e. the documents you select from the very bottom of the document checklist) but keep in mind that quality is the name of the game over quantity. Like you said, I'd try to keep a limit of 50 or under for the whole supporting documents section and focus on trying to compile strong evidence showing your relationship is recognized by family/friends and thus genuine rather than flooding them with pages and pages of "I love you"'s and boring conversations (like I was very much tempted too! I had about 4k pages worth of skype logs and that was just counting from 2015... I've been chatting with hubby since 2009!)

Instead, I'm going to add maybe 3 pages of skype and whatsapp logs, roughly 15 or so pages of social media print outs, a couple of letters from friends and family, and extra proof like me being on my husbands work benefits, having me as the beneficiary of his life insurance and vice versa, supplementary credit cards, same address, etc.

Yes, I have basically kept everything down as well. So far, we have added: 20 pages of WhatsApp logs and emails, letters from family and friends, wedding invitations for both of us, 15 pictures of us together, booked flights and hotel for family holiday this year for Christmas, booked flights and hotels for holidays together, docs showing that we are each other's beneficiary for life insurance, work benefits, medical insurance, as well as utility bills to the same address, joint lease, etc.
Hopefully, utility over quantity.

ANOTHER QUESTION - Have you guys included a statutory declaration? I noticed that it used to be part of the checklist before (IMM 5409E) but it I can't find it in the CIC website anymore. We basically wrote our own copy of it further explaining our living situation and the documents we have included to support that we are in a conjugal relationship.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[kailu]

Yes, I have basically kept everything down as well. So far, we have added: 20 pages of WhatsApp logs and emails, letters from family and friends, wedding invitations for both of us, 15 pictures of us together, booked flights and hotel for family holiday this year for Christmas, booked flights and hotels for holidays together, docs showing that we are each other's beneficiary for life insurance, work benefits, medical insurance, as well as utility bills to the same address, joint lease, etc.
Hopefully, utility over quantity.

ANOTHER QUESTION - Have you guys included a statutory declaration? I noticed that it used to be part of the checklist before (IMM 5409E) but it I can't find it in the CIC website anymore. We basically wrote our own copy of it further explaining our living situation and the documents we have included to support that we are in a conjugal relationship.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

The declaration is not required, even for common law. I did add it to my application though as it is a notarized document.
There have been other threads where I have seen CIC request one even though it states it is not required./
Here is the form if you want it.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM5409E.pdf