Mailed today...

[Nunuc]

...and the entire package should be in Mississauga by Thursday the latest.

I see a lot of posts complaining about radio silence from the CIC for weeks and months after sending everything in - I know it takes them 40+ days to process the sponsor eligibility but is there some email, note, anything in which they say - Yep, we got everything, we are looking at it and stay tuned for further requests?

We are bracing for the Long Wait , just want to check what the process looks like after it goes out of our hands.

Best

 

[Nunuc]

Also to check - it says in IMM 0008 and IMM 1344 that all communication will be via email - does this apply to approval/rejection letters etc or just additional document requests and clarifications?

 

[andrew-brit]

Good luck with your application!

You are unlikely to get an Acknowledgement of Receipt (AOR). The only indication you can 100% know if it got there is if your package has tracking through the courier/Canada Post.

I applied on September 19th and got Sponsor Approval by e-mail on October 31st. That was the first contact I had from CIC.

There is an online tool here where you can check your progress here. Note that it may not work for you until you receive Sponsor Approval. If you want to try and use the tool before you receive SA you will need your UCI/Client ID number. If you have previously applied for a visa (work, study, visitor) you will have a UCI. I had a UCI but I was unable to check my status online until after I had received SA.

 

[Nunuc]

Thanks for the head's up. So basically little alarms should go off if I don't hear from them for a couple of months, i.e. after the processing time it takes for sponsorship approval

I don't have an UCI but from what I see on other threads, following the process can be a frustrating experience as your status remains stuck.

I just hope they keep their word and use email as a primary tool for communicating with my sponsor and myself - I just had some crappy experience's with Eastern European post offices.

 

[Avadava]

Thanks for the head's up. So basically little alarms should go off if I don't hear from them for a couple of months, i.e. after the processing time it takes for sponsorship approval

I don't have an UCI but from what I see on other threads, following the process can be a frustrating experience as your status remains stuck.

I just hope they keep their word and use email as a primary tool for communicating with my sponsor and myself - I just had some crappy experience's with Eastern European post offices.

Yes, they will use email as primary means of communication. The only case they will use your mailing address would be to send you the COPR. But everything else is email: Sponsor approval, Passport Request, Document Request, etc.

Mississauga usually sends out AOR (we got ours the same day as SA), but Vienna doesn't. Your next email will most likely be SA (and that gets sent to the sponsor's email address - the applicant is not informed about the SA).

In my case, it went like this:
SA and AOR from Mississauga - Jan. 8 2014, then total silence till Oct. 20 2014 when I got PPR from Vienna. So we heard nothing for more than 9 months, but during this time I ordered 3 sets of GCMS notes, so I knew my application was in Vienna and didn't worry too much.

We sent the application on Dec. 3 2013.

P.S. - The ECAS system is not reliable (I had the visa in my passport and the system was still saying Application Received). If you want reliable info, order GCMS notes every 2-3 months (some people do it every month). It costs 5 CAD and your spouse can order from outside Canada (you need a copy of her Canadian passport and a consent form signed by you - there is lots of info here on how to order the notes). Some people might tell you that ordering the notes will delay your process, don't listen to them, they have no idea what they're talking about. I ordered GCMS notes 4 times and I received my visa in less than 10 months (one of the fastest cases in Vienna thread - Vienna is at 17 months processing time).

Good luck!

 

[Nunuc]

Thank you so much Avadava. We should be a pretty straightforward case so hopefully all the luck in the world is already in the sent envelope's but there is always that worm in your head that never let's you trust a bureaucratic process, no matter how efficient, too much

I am not expecting anything from Vienna for at least a year. But I am sure I'll be back here panicking within three months

Good to hear your PR journey is almost at end - thank you so much for all your advice.

 

[Avadava]

Thank you so much Avadava. We should be a pretty straightforward case so hopefully all the luck in the world is already in the sent envelope's but there is always that worm in your head that never let's you trust a bureaucratic process, no matter how efficient, too much

I am not expecting anything from Vienna for at least a year. But I am sure I'll be back here panicking within three months

Good to hear your PR journey is almost at end - thank you so much for all your advice.

I understand what you're saying. We had a pretty straightforward case ourselves, but you can't stop worrying, especially when you're dealing with bureaucracy. Reading about refusal stories in this forum doesn't help either. So just try to relax and go with the flow.When everything will be over, you'll look back thinking: "Why was I so worried? Everything went fine."

If you have any questions in the future, feel free to ask me (you can send me a PM). Since you're going through Vienna too, I might be able to answer your questions.

 

[Nunuc]

I will absolutely take up your offer, thank you so much once again. The GCMS stuff is also duly noted, this is the first I've heard about it (probably because all my forum searching was to do with the application itself rather than the process after it).

 

[andrew-brit]

If you have any questions in the future, feel free to ask me (you can send me a PM). Since you're going through Vienna too, I might be able to answer your questions.

I will absolutely take up your offer, thank you so much once again.

Instead of taking the conversation to private messages it would be a good idea to post any future questions here so that way other members who have the same question(s) as you can see responses and answers.

 

[Avadava]

Instead of taking the conversation to private messages it would be a good idea to post any future questions here so that way other members who have the same question(s) as you can see responses and answers.

Although I was mostly referring to questions related to the Vienna VO, you do make a valid point.

 

[tmm99]

I imagine all the email correspondence from CIC goes to the sponsor, not the sponsored?

 

[Avadava]

I imagine all the email correspondence from CIC goes to the sponsor, not the sponsored?

Only the SA (Sponsor Approval) goes to the sponsor. Everything else, once the application is sent to the visa office, is about the applicant, so all correspondence will be between the VO and the applicant. Passport request, additional documents, etc.

After stage 1 is completed, CIC will be communicating with the applicant, not the sponsor.

 

[Nunuc]

Just one more question - I see that COPR's are usually linked with medical validity - I see that you did your medical more than a year ago and just got your visa recently - how long is COPR? How generous are they usually with the time allocated to move to Canada?

 

[Avadava]

Just one more question - I see that COPR's are usually linked with medical validity - I see that you did your medical more than a year ago and just got your visa recently - how long is COPR? How generous are they usually with the time allocated to move to Canada?

My COPR is linked to my medical exam validity also, it has not been extended. My medical exam is valid till Jan 24 2015 (and my visa and COPR have the same validity - they even mentioned it can not be extended). What confuses you, is that I did my medical on Oct. 15 2013 and it should have been expired by now, but I was asked for additional tests because of a spot on my lungs (sputum and a second x-ray) which they received in January 2014.
So because of the additional medical tests they requested, my medical exam's validity has changed to January 2015 (a year after they received my latest x-ray) instead of Oct. 2014.

It is possible though that the medical validity could be extended, only in the situation where the expiry of your medical is the only thing preventing the issuance of your visa. The VO sends a request for an extension to the Regional Health Branch (the one assessing your medical) and they decide if they allow the extension and for how long. The VO doesn't decide on your medical.

From the trend happening in the Vienna thread, I noticed that Vienna VO usually sends the applicant a request for re-med, rather than extending it, in which case you have plenty of time to land. But there was one case where they only gave a 2 week extension (little_apple had 2 weeks time to land - luckily she was already in Canada, and went to the nearest border to flagpole).

 

[Nunuc]

I waited as long as possible for the medical, doing it two days before sending the application just so to buy as much time as I can. It is a hassle re-doing it as here at least you end up waiting 5 hours for paperwork etc. for a medical that takes less than 10 minutes.

BTW, are we allowed to see the results of our medical?