Immigration To Canada (Processing Time)

[Phanos]

Coming from Cyprus, and for about a year now we decided with my wife to immigrate to Canada.

As my boss here in Cyprus was having also an office in Montreal, I was sent there for 6 months as a trainee. That was in 1997.

Of course we will not apply for Quebec due that neither me, nor my wife speak French.

Forgot to mention that my wife is Russian and I have 2 boys from my first marriage. I’m 41, wife 29 and boys 15 and 14.

We decided to apply through lawyer (If anyone is interested I can give his details.). As we are staying in Cyprus, the visa office that will check our application is Damascus, Syria. After evaluating all our papers, lawyer decided that wife should apply as she has higher education than me. She has university diploma as accountant and I have graduated high school. Lawyer was telling us also, that the fact that I’m Cypriot (Cyprus is member of Commonwealth and now a European country) is a plus, and that we will have results for our application in maximum 18 months.

We completed all our papers and lawyer sent them to Damascus. They received our papers on the 21st of November and on the 5th of December we received a fax (and few days later a letter) stating our File Number. Fax and letter are dated 24th of November. In the e-Client Application Status page is mentioning : "We started processing your application on November 24, 2005."

But what is worrying me now is that they state on their papers that:

“

Processing times
You can access detailed information on processing times at visa offices abroad on Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s Internet website:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/times/index.html
If you are applying in one of the Federal economic classes, please note that our office has a very large inventory of federal economic class applications dating from as early as 2000. We are processing them on a first in, first out basis. Based on our current levels targets, we expect to begin active processing of most applications received in 2001 by the end of 2005.

“

We are applying under the Skilled Worker Class. And now we are worrying that our application will indeed take 5 to 6 years to be processed. Of course lawyer is insisting that it will not take so long.

This is the case or lawyer is right ? Are there any other legal ways to accelerate our application (like the Provincial Nominee Program or for me to come to Canada as tourist, since no Tourist Visa is required and start looking for a job) and same time our application is processed ?

Will appreciate your help as we desperate want to move to Canada soonest possible.

Thanks
Phanos.

 

[PMM]

Hi

Coming from Cyprus, and for about a year now we decided with my wife to immigrate to Canada.

As my boss here in Cyprus was having also an office in Montreal, I was sent there for 6 months as a trainee. That was in 1997.

Of course we will not apply for Quebec due that neither me, nor my wife speak French.

Forgot to mention that my wife is Russian and I have 2 boys from my first marriage. I’m 41, wife 29 and boys 15 and 14.

We decided to apply through lawyer (If anyone is interested I can give his details.). As we are staying in Cyprus, the visa office that will check our application is Damascus, Syria. After evaluating all our papers, lawyer decided that wife should apply as she has higher education than me. She has university diploma as accountant and I have graduated high school. Lawyer was telling us also, that the fact that I’m Cypriot (Cyprus is member of Commonwealth and now a European country) is a plus, and that we will have results for our application in maximum 18 months.

We completed all our papers and lawyer sent them to Damascus. They received our papers on the 21st of November and on the 5th of December we received a fax (and few days later a letter) stating our File Number. Fax and letter are dated 24th of November. In the e-Client Application Status page is mentioning : "We started processing your application on November 24, 2005."

But what is worrying me now is that they state on their papers that:

“

Processing times
You can access detailed information on processing times at visa offices abroad on Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s Internet website:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/times/index.html
If you are applying in one of the Federal economic classes, please note that our office has a very large inventory of federal economic class applications dating from as early as 2000. We are processing them on a first in, first out basis. Based on our current levels targets, we expect to begin active processing of most applications received in 2001 by the end of 2005.

“

We are applying under the Skilled Worker Class. And now we are worrying that our application will indeed take 5 to 6 years to be processed. Of course lawyer is insisting that it will not take so long.

This is the case or lawyer is right ? Are there any other legal ways to accelerate our application (like the Provincial Nominee Program or for me to come to Canada as tourist, since no Tourist Visa is required and start looking for a job) and same time our application is processed ?

Will appreciate your help as we desperate want to move to Canada soonest possible.

Thanks
Phanos.

1. For proccesing times see: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/times-int/02a-skilled-fed.html#africa

it looks like previous applications were taking between 54 and 63 months. This has probably increased with the backlog of applications.

2. PNP, check out the requirements but note you have to withdraw your original application and submit a new one for PNP. See: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/times-int/04-provincial.html#note
5-16 months plus the provincal process.

3. If your spouse was offered a job in Canada with a positive Labour Market Opinion from HRSDC, then it should speed the application a bit.

Other than that it is a waiting game.

 

[DancingFeather]

I don't remember where I read it, but it seems if a employer signs to hire someone, it is only a matter of days that the processing will go through as the employer needs that person and that no canadian can fill the employement.

Just a job offer will not make the process go faster because it is just an offer, doesn't mean by the time you are accepted that the job won't be filled by someone else.

One must remember, that the employement must be one that the employer cannot find a canadian and it doesnt mean that immigration will accept as they will check thoroughly if it is true no one can fill it. I have seen it happen where there was no one and still the application was refused.

 

[Phanos]

I don't remember where I read it, but it seems if a employer signs to hire someone, it is only a matter of days that the processing will go through as the employer needs that person and that no canadian can fill the employement.

Just a job offer will not make the process go faster because it is just an offer, doesn't mean by the time you are accepted that the job won't be filled by someone else.

One must remember, that the employement must be one that the employer cannot find a canadian and it doesnt mean that immigration will accept as they will check thoroughly if it is true no one can fill it. I have seen it happen where there was no one and still the application was refused.

Thanks for your reply.

Few days ago, I listened that if someone gets the 25% of shares in a Canadian Company, then he can move there straight away as a manager / director of that company. Is that true ????

 

[DancingFeather]

:idea: I never had much interest in investing so I cannot answer that question. But if it were true, everyone would be doing it, I think it takes 100,000$ and more and it is much harder to get into Canada through investing and very costly, than as skilled worker, I was once told.

 

[atiyasi]

Hi


1. For proccesing times see: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/times-int/02a-skilled-fed.html#africa

it looks like previous applications were taking between 54 and 63 months. This has probably increased with the backlog of applications.

2. PNP, check out the requirements but note you have to withdraw your original application and submit a new one for PNP. See: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/times-int/04-provincial.html#note
5-16 months plus the provincal process.

3. If your spouse was offered a job in Canada with a positive Labour Market Opinion from HRSDC, then it should speed the application a bit.

Other than that it is a waiting game.

hi