How to check London application status?

[ELK]

Hi,

I applied to sponsor my girlfriend (outland) in January, 2014. All the application status tool shows (when i log in) is that a decision has been made on the sponsorship application (accepted) and that her application has been received. Since then, Quebec has also approved of my application and has sent the immigration part to London for processing (that was in April). In August, I emailed London because I never received word that they had received it. They confirmed that they had and that it is awaiting review. I'd like to know if there is any way to check the application status for London. I am only able to use the application status tool with my name and not my girlfriend's, is this normal?

Thanks

 

[ELK]

Has anyone had an update from visa office handling the permanent residence application? Is it normal that I haven't after months?

 

[rhcohen2014]

yes, it is normal to not hear anything for months.

first, you need to understand that as the sponsor, most likely YOU will not be receiving any further communication from CIC. Generally, how it works, after the sponsor is found eligible CIC ONLY contacts the APPLICANT. For the most part, applicants should expect months of silence. CIC will not contact the applicant unless they need more info or are ready to issue the visa. Only a small number of visa offices actually sent an AOR to the applicant to confirm the application was received. London is not one of those. CIC will contact the applicant in the manner written in the application (ie: THEIR email and home address).

Second, when you are on the ECAS system, your should be able to see your spouse's application status. When signed in under the sponsor, the applicant's information is attached on a secondary screen. When you see her name, you need to click on it, and it will pull up info on her application. For the most part, ECAS is not an ideal way to track progress, because visa offices do not update them how we expect them to. For most people, their ECAS is updated AFTER they've already heard something from the visa office.

Unfortunately, CIC generally does not respond to applicant's inquiries. If your application process is BEYOND the posted processing time online, then the sponsor can contact their MP (member of parliament) to inquire on their behalf. If you are still within the posted processing time online, the only other thing you can do is order your GMSC notes, which will tell you if they started working on your file and if there is any concern with the application. otherwise, you just have to wait until CIC processes the application.

you can also find the London applicant thread and add yourself to the spreadsheet they use to track progress. that spreadsheet will be able to tell you what the "trend" is for London applicants and whether you are on target or not. I suspect, you are within the "trend", as the spreadsheet shows London applicants are taking 8-10 months for approval. My guess is you'll find there are plenty of other January applicants from London still waiting.