Hong Kong timeline

[BrianDell]

In the end EMS was prepared to deliver with just "person responsible" or some such generic phrase in place of the name and so went with EMS since it wasn't clear Fedex or DHL would be better. I'm still annoyed at SF Express at wasting so much of our time by taking the passport and then later refusing to deliver so that we had to pick it up again.

We might have been able to respond faster had we been notified we'd gone "In Progress" within a day or two of actually going IP. But because they apparently they only update e-CAS on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, we went IP just a day too late to find out on e-CAS the same week it happened. There were no emails until the passport request (PPR).

I note that last year it seemed quite typical for a PPR to quite promptly follow going IP. In our case, though, and maybe it'll end up being the case for most people this year, we didn't get the passport request until "Decision Made" (DM). In years before last it seemed that PPR typically even preceded going IP and in fact shortly followed AOR2 (overseas visa office acknowledgement of receipt). So maybe it's all part of a trend to request passports later in the process.

We might have been fortunate that the absence of a birth certificate didn't preclude DM coming just two weeks after going IP. I wrote out a full two pages single spaced explaining the efforts we made to get one, however, and perhaps the level of detail I provided about navigating the Chongqing-area bureaucracy helped convince the visa officer I must have truly lived in China for the two years I claimed I did! I noticed that other applicants who had made no mention of a birth certificate and simply ignored it were typically asked for it by the visa office.

 

[tofuboi]

Yes they did. It was hard taking 2 pictures for a 2 week old. Doesn't make any sense to me to ask for a passport picture.

 

[tryee]

Yes they did. It was hard taking 2 pictures for a 2 week old. Doesn't make any sense to me to ask for a passport picture.

I know. It's very hard.
Did you hear anything from them after you submitting all your stuff?

 

[tofuboi]

I know. It's very hard.
Did you hear anything from them after you submitting all your stuff?

The tracking said it was received last week...so still no change to my application yet.

When did you submit your application?

 

[chippy]

has anyone heard anything after being asked to redo medical exam? I was asked to redo my medical at the end of May and my case changed to IP, since then I havnt got any news, the long wait kinda makes me nervous.....

 

[BrianDell]

On October 20 Kysorb said his passport request (PPR) said,
"The Embassy only asks you to fill out the self-addressed return waybill. Please do NOT include any form of payment related to the courier cost."

I've seen this reported on other forums as well. Users said that they only paid one-way, with the embassy paying for the courier to return the passport. Kysorb made this clear by stating that "The embassy will pay to mail it to you. (at least they did with my EMS, i have no idea if they send it collect outside china but inside china the shipping was covered for me."

The request to "NOT include any form of payment related to the courier cost" did not appear in the PPR that my wife got earlier this month, however, and I'm having a hard time making sense of what, if any, payment should be made to the VAC.

First of all, they say they don't service PR applicants. And indeed that was made clear when my wife tried to show up in person at the Chongqing VAC! It doesn't seem reasonable to be paying the VAC when they say their "administrative services" are exclusive to TRV applicants. They mention giving you a tracking number for "Canada permanent resident travel document application applied at the Canada Visa Application Centre in China" but that presumes that that service was applied for at the VAC. Is there no tracking number otherwise? For a "passport transmission service" that is significantly more expensive than for couriers that DO provide a tracking number? If one could use their "passport transmission service" as an alternative to using a courier, one could appreciate how in-person applicants might be interested in paying 150 CNY to the VAC for superior, more secure delivery. It makes no sense for mail-in applicants, though, since one's already paying an ordinary courier to get it to the Beijing VAC (as it is, EMS says they delivered my wife's passport at 8 pm on a Sunday evening, which makes me wonder if it was, in fact, reliably delivered to the VAC in the first place). Why would Canadian officials facilitate VFS Global in creating a money making scheme where they get a monopoly on overpriced passport couriering for PR applicants (who still have to get another courier anyway if they don't live in Beijing) but are under no obligation to answer the inquiries of PR applicants?

If there is a 150 CNY fee to the VAC to get the passport transmitted onwards, since it couldn't get to Canadian officials outbound without a stop in Beijing and the VAC getting a fee, presumably it's the same thing coming back such that the VAC will want another fee, e.g. a courier fee of 44 CNY from Beijing VAC back to the applicant in the hinterland. So is the total fee 150 + 44 = 194 CNY?

With the Americans, your visa application fee covers everything to and from your local CITIC bank branch. Why the Canadian visa people have to complicate things is a question I'd ask them if I could.

I have ended up asking my wife to courier the VAC again. This time with a signed VAC release waiver form that the "Passport Transmission Services" section doesn't even mention but can be found elsewhere on the VFS website if one looks. And with a bank receipt for having sent these guys 193 yuan for the service of having delayed us, refused to service us in person at the Chongqing VAC, and never answer the phone. Plus a copy of the courier receipt and a printout of the EMS tracking and arrival time so there's no excuse from them for not having enough info to connect this second, supplementary submission with the passport.

 

[tryee]

The tracking said it was received last week...so still no change to my application yet.

When did you submit your application?

I submitted my whole application back in March. Just notified cic in the beginning of June and received an email couple days ago. Sent the application right away. Hopefully this will make the process sooner. Mine ecas is still application received.

 

[Ian C.]

Hey Ian,
My application was submitted 9 days after yours, and I got AOR2 in end of Mar. Still waiting.
We ll just have to be patient...

Ymserver,
FYI..My ECAS app changed the status from application Received to In Process. Can you take a look on the apps to see you have already changed the status too ? anyone know how long will it take to ask for passport request from HKVO after changing status to IN PROCESS ?

Thanks..Ian.

 

[bambooc]

Ymserver,
FYI..My ECAS app changed the status from application Received to In Process. Can you take a look on the apps to see you have already changed the status too ? anyone know how long will it take to ask for passport request from HKVO after changing status to IN PROCESS ?

Thanks..Ian.

Congrats!!! They must have forgotten me... .........

 

[LN9714]

Ymserver,
FYI..My ECAS app changed the status from application Received to In Process. Can you take a look on the apps to see you have already changed the status too ? anyone know how long will it take to ask for passport request from HKVO after changing status to IN PROCESS ?

Thanks..Ian.

Congrats! Just check my status still no change.

 

[tryee]

Does anyone know what are the steps cic updates ecas?
I have application received and meds received. Is the next step IP?

Appreciate your answer.

 

[benitaagogo]

Ymserver,
FYI..My ECAS app changed the status from application Received to In Process. Can you take a look on the apps to see you have already changed the status too ? anyone know how long will it take to ask for passport request from HKVO after changing status to IN PROCESS ?

Thanks..Ian.

Congrats!!! This is very exciting that CIC has started the December applications!!

Congrats!!! They must have forgotten me... .........

I know a applicant of Nov. 17th like you, and Ecas changed to IP in Jun.23rd, her AOR2 was a couple weeks earlier than you though Feb. 17, but don't worry, that means you will be the next soon

 

[Ian C.]

Does anyone know what are the steps cic updates ecas?
I have application received and meds received. Is the next step IP?

Appreciate your answer.

hi tryee,
the next step will be IN PROCESS after receiving AOR2 4 / 5 months. depending the individual HK CIC officer's progress. by the way, did you get the criminal record checking ? and what passport you hold now ?

Ian

 

[jmo1968]

Ymserver,
FYI..My ECAS app changed the status from application Received to In Process. Can you take a look on the apps to see you have already changed the status too ? anyone know how long will it take to ask for passport request from HKVO after changing status to IN PROCESS ?

Thanks..Ian.

wow , good news, on to Dec.......Congrat!!!! ....wonder what happens to all the Nov applicants tho...........

 

[tryee]

hi tryee,
the next step will be IN PROCESS after receiving AOR2 4 / 5 months. depending the individual HK CIC officer's progress. by the way, did you get the criminal record checking ? and what passport you hold now ?

Ian

Hi Ian,

Thanks for your info. Wow. Didn't know it takes that long to get into ip stage, tried to open the excel sheet for the hk timeline, but it never worked for me. I still haven't received my aor2yet. Guess I will have a long way to go.. Yes. I did send my criminal checks along with my application. I'm a mainlander so China passport. Does it matter what passport I'm holding? Is that gonna speed up the process? Please say yes. Lol.