Hong Kong timeline

[Im2nice4u]

I am headed to Toronto on Thursday. I will let you know how our experience goes.

Also, I think you will get your passport back this coming week, since you submitted yours a week after we did.

Thank you hicks74!! KEEP US POSTED!!
Ya I hope that I will get it this coming week too!
If everything is good I should leaving on June.

 

[hfts]

Do you mean it only took you 15 min at the immigration service or the customs? How long in total?

I'm landing in toronto but i need connect a fly to Montreal and I don't know if 1h40 will be enough for everything.

At the immigration service, total around $30 mins including line up. But it really depends how busy at the immigration.

 

[Dko]

Yes. We took the exact same flight getting to Edmonton after 1 a.m.. In fact we would have made a flight 3 hours earlier just in time but would have been sweating it.

Oh you're in Edmonton as well? Small world
Can I ask you how U and your spouse fill out the B4 form?
I'm having some concerns about bring gold jewellery (wedding gifts and baby shower gifts) into Canada and worry about getting tax.

 

[Dko]

I am headed to Toronto on Thursday. I will let you know how our experience goes.

Also, I think you will get your passport back this coming week, since you submitted yours a week after we did.

Yes pls keep us posted and have a happy landing

 

[SkyOcean]

Hello everyone

My wife is about to land in Canada soon. Got a couple of questions.

I will be returning back to Canada with my wife, and she is going to be landing.

Can I accompany my wife during her landing process?

And for all the goods she bring to Canada, is it duty free? is there any limit?

Do we need to provide any receipts for the goods?

Also she has some goods to follow, do we need to fill any forms before landing?

Anyone who has any landing experiences, please share with us.

Thanks in advance!

 

[ALGBVB11]

Hi everyone,

Anyone submit the application in Dec 2015?? Can you share the status for me?

Here is my status
Sept 18 2015 Medical report done
Dec 22 2015 Application received
Feb 18 2016 Case transferred to HKVO
Mar 18 2016 Received the requst for police check and pay for RPRF and submitted 2 things on Mar 22 2016
Apr 8 2016 HKVO received police checkup report
Until now waiting for DM

My husband want to go back Canada by end of June. I dont think it will happen....:-(

Would love to hear other people who submitted on Dec 2015.

Thanks

 

[hicks74]

My husband want to go back Canada by end of June. I dont think it will happen....:-(

Don't give up hope, you are a Hong Kong citizen yes? If so, that means when decision is made you get your COPR in the mail pretty fast, no need for a visa. It sounds like you are having a long security check, but it could be finished any day now.

You could order your GMSC notes, but you might not get them before a DM.

 

[hicks74]

Also she has some goods to follow, do we need to fill any forms before landing?

Anyone who has any landing experiences, please share with us.

Thanks in advance!

I am headed to Canada on Thursday with my wife, I can share our experience then. You do need to find the B4 form on the CBSA web-site. I cannot locate a link for it right now, but I did a few weeks ago.

 

[cheng9999]

Hi everyone,

Anyone submit the application in Dec 2015?? Can you share the status for me?

Here is my status
Sept 18 2015 Medical report done
Dec 22 2015 Application received
Feb 18 2016 Case transferred to HKVO
Mar 18 2016 Received the requst for police check and pay for RPRF and submitted 2 things on Mar 22 2016
Apr 8 2016 HKVO received police checkup report
Until now waiting for DM

My husband want to go back Canada by end of June. I dont think it will happen....:-(

Would love to hear other people who submitted on Dec 2015.

Thanks

You can consider this option.

Does your husband hold HK passport? He can go ahead and enter as visitor. Buy a 2-way ticket (it's only slightly more expensive than 1-way anyway...in some cases, 2-way is cheaper!) returning in about 5-6 months. Enter as visitor. Be prepared to explain why he wants to go as visitor, etc., but also have the PR application information on hand. Basically, he can say he has PR in process, and is going to Canada to help prepare for the move later on when COPR is issued.

Return ticket with booked date indicates that he will return upon expiry of the visitor status. Having some reason to go back to HK is also good, as he will be entering as visitor.

Make sure someone in HK can pick up his mail regularly. When COPR arrives, courier it to your address in Canada, and land at Canada-US border by flag-poling. If he holds a visa-exempt passport, he will not need to send in his passport for the visa.

You never know when the COPR will arrive...it can be tomorrow, it can be 2 months from now. If you all have solid plans to be back in Canada, go ahead and move back. In fact, we had the same plans as we had some delays in our application. I was worried the case will be pushed back significantly because of this delay, so we planned everything as if my spouse will need to enter as visitor and wait for COPR there. Luckily for us, we got COPR and we have not hit our target moving date yet.

 

[wyho007]

You can consider this option.

Does your husband hold HK passport? He can go ahead and enter as visitor. Buy a 2-way ticket (it's only slightly more expensive than 1-way anyway...in some cases, 2-way is cheaper!) returning in about 5-6 months. Enter as visitor. Be prepared to explain why he wants to go as visitor, etc., but also have the PR application information on hand. Basically, he can say he has PR in process, and is going to Canada to help prepare for the move later on when COPR is issued.

Return ticket with booked date indicates that he will return upon expiry of the visitor status. Having some reason to go back to HK is also good, as he will be entering as visitor.

Make sure someone in HK can pick up his mail regularly. When COPR arrives, courier it to your address in Canada, and land at Canada-US border by flag-poling. If he holds a visa-exempt passport, he will not need to send in his passport for the visa.

You never know when the COPR will arrive...it can be tomorrow, it can be 2 months from now. If you all have solid plans to be back in Canada, go ahead and move back. In fact, we had the same plans as we had some delays in our application. I was worried the case will be pushed back significantly because of this delay, so we planned everything as if my spouse will need to enter as visitor and wait for COPR there. Luckily for us, we got COPR and we have not hit our target moving date yet.

I'm sponsoring my common law partner, we both live in Macau. AOR1 received early this month. We really want to move back next Mar/Apr. People around me all told me not to move back before CORP since there's always a chance of rejection.

Is processing time really taking longer for residents of Macau? I checked online the processing time for Macau is 17 months, Hong Kong is 12 months, China is 13 months and Taiwan is 11 months but all Family spousal sponsorship apparently all get processed at HKVO. Ummm... which is a more realistic expectation?

 

[cheng9999]

I'm sponsoring my common law partner, we both live in Macau. AOR1 received early this month. We really want to move back next Mar/Apr. People around me all told me not to move back before CORP since there's always a chance of rejection.

Is processing time really taking longer for residents of Macau? I checked online the processing time for Macau is 17 months, Hong Kong is 12 months, China is 13 months and Taiwan is 11 months but all Family spousal sponsorship apparently all get processed at HKVO. Ummm... which is a more realistic expectation?

You still have quite a few months to go, so you can make the final decision later. But if you really want to go back next Apr, you should plan that to happen, and that you would go as a visitor in the case that COPR has not been issued yet.

By Oct-Nov, you can order GCMS notes (if you have not already started ordering them) to check on progress. If you do not have to interview, and your passport is visa-exempt, you can probably go and wait in Canada as a visitor.

For such a long processing time, you would be asked to do medical at AOR2 stage. I am not sure how police reports are done in Macau. In HK, you do not do that upfront. So anyway, after you have been asked to provide police report and do the medical, you can probably wait out in Canada. These are also indication that your case would be on its way to being completed...of course, ordering GCMS notes a few months after police report and medical report would give more information about your case.

There are no cases of Macau in the tracking spreadsheet, so there are no recent references as to how long it'll take. The stated time is 80% of cases completed within that time, and many cases are completed way faster. For example, cases from Taiwan typically get done much less than 11 months, as are quite a few cases from China (but some cases do take a long time though).

 

[wyho007]

You still have quite a few months to go, so you can make the final decision later. But if you really want to go back next Apr, you should plan that to happen, and that you would go as a visitor in the case that COPR has not been issued yet.

By Oct-Nov, you can order GCMS notes (if you have not already started ordering them) to check on progress. If you do not have to interview, and your passport is visa-exempt, you can probably go and wait in Canada as a visitor.

For such a long processing time, you would be asked to do medical at AOR2 stage. I am not sure how police reports are done in Macau. In HK, you do not do that upfront. So anyway, after you have been asked to provide police report and do the medical, you can probably wait out in Canada. These are also indication that your case would be on its way to being completed...of course, ordering GCMS notes a few months after police report and medical report would give more information about your case.

There are no cases of Macau in the tracking spreadsheet, so there are no recent references as to how long it'll take. The stated time is 80% of cases completed within that time, and many cases are completed way faster. For example, cases from Taiwan typically get done much less than 11 months, as are quite a few cases from China (but some cases do take a long time though).

Thank you!

My partner has the medical and police certificate completed upfront already. Those are required under the "country specific instructions" and we followed. People residing in HK, China and Macau all follow the same set of country specific instructions and listed on CIC website that PR applications are all processed at HKVO.

Regarding GCMS notes, CIC website states "To send a request you must be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada or an individual or corporation currently in Canada." When both the sponsor and PA reside outside of Canada, are we not able to order GCMS notes?

 

[cheng9999]

Thank you!

My partner has the medical and police certificate completed upfront already. Those are required under the "country specific instructions" and we followed. People residing in HK, China and Macau all follow the same set of country specific instructions and listed on CIC website that PR applications are all processed at HKVO.

Regarding GCMS notes, CIC website states "To send a request you must be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada or an individual or corporation currently in Canada." When both the sponsor and PA reside outside of Canada, are we not able to order GCMS notes?

I believe the newest instructions for HK, Macau does not ask for medical upfront. It did in the past. No matter, you are all set. It means the VO will try to finish the case before medical expires...or at least you hope that's the case. If the VO completes the case, it would mean you have to go back way earlier than Mar/Apr because the expiry of the COPR is 12 months from the medical examination report, which also has a 12 month validity.

By AOR1, I believe you meant that it was the original email sent to the you as the sponsor saying application was received. You should soon receive SA, saying sponsorship is approved and case will be passed to HKVO. After SA, communication will go to the applicant and not the sponsor. So your partner has to diligently monitor the email SPAM box to make sure communication does not slip through. AOR2 may come, and asks for updated information...a common one is IMM 5669E, which asks the applicant to go back to 18 years old instead of only past 10 years for background history. Some people do not get AOR2, so there is no way of knowing if the VO sent this out...the only way is to order GCMS notes to check.

For ordering GCMS notes via Access to Information Act, you can do it because you are a Canadian citizen. You do not have to live in Canada. You will have to pay $5. Make sure you follow the instructions, and have your partner sign the authorization form so that the information can be released to you.

 

[lucaskclai]

COPR has 2 copies, so 2 pieces of paper, so they come via normal mail. No warning, no email to tell you, you get it in your mail.

We also got instructions to take 2 new photos in new sizes. It did not say what to do with the pictures...I asked HKVO, and got response after about 3 weeks...tell us to bring the photo for use during landing. Presumably for applying for the PR card.

Hi Cheng,

My latest update.
1. May 18 asked for no criminal record, redo medical exam. All done in advance
2. May 22 asked for original HK criminal record as I asked HK police to send it to CIC - Mississauga.
Marriage certificates - I only send the Catholic marriage certificate in Toronto - they asked to notarize the original
I send a separate letter of my wife Chinese certificate notarized translation in Toronto
3. My 2 daughters birth certificate - I don't know why they want it as they are Canadian both 18 and 20 years old in Canada.

So far my case is full of surprise and it is already 16 months now.

Since I changed my wife address to Canada, do you think the COPR will mail it here or back to my Hong Kong address.

I don't know when the DM will reach.

Thanks Lucas

 

[cheng9999]

Hi Cheng,

My latest update.
1. May 18 asked for no criminal record, redo medical exam. All done in advance
2. May 22 asked for original HK criminal record as I asked HK police to send it to CIC - Mississauga.
Marriage certificates - I only send the Catholic marriage certificate in Toronto - they asked to notarize the original
I send a separate letter of my wife Chinese certificate notarized translation in Toronto
3. My 2 daughters birth certificate - I don't know why they want it as they are Canadian both 18 and 20 years old in Canada.

So far my case is full of surprise and it is already 16 months now.

Since I changed my wife address to Canada, do you think the COPR will mail it here or back to my Hong Kong address.

I don't know when the DM will reach.

Thanks Lucas

Others have said that the COPR can indeed be mailed to your address in Canada. Do you see in eCas the mailing address has changed? If it hasn't it does not mean it has not as eCas is not reliable. Again, the only way to know is to look at GCMS notes. You should have someone in HK to check mail regularly in case it gets sent to your HK mailing address.

Birth cert for your children. Yes, CIC should be able to dig through the records of your daughters' citizenship files, but it's easier for you to just provide the documents. Birth certs are proof that your wife is the mother. In our case, I was very certain I provided birth certificates of our kids in the application, but GCMS notes say they are missing. I uploaded them again.

Hang in there. It looks like progress Lucas. Hope you get DM soon.