chilkootcee said:
we did the upfront medicals and plan to include the confirmation in the submission of our application within a week....I assume though that until they receive our application that we are not in the ecas system? Can someone tell me a bit more about the tracking system and what to expect? Will it be a problem if we are not in the system yet?
Cindy
Unless someone applied at some previous date, no one is in the system until they officially notify you that they've received your application - so AOR. When you get that, you can generally access the online system within a few days. You won't see much there - it's not a true real time step by step tracking system and often people will get an email about some milestone event before it even shows up in online. So once you are in the system, try not to obsess over it and check all the time (easier said than done!).
So to answer your question...no, it's not a problem that you aren't in ecas yet if you haven't applied yet. Do make sure you send your application to CIC with a signature required so it can be tracked through the carrier's system, and I would suggest using FexEx, DHL or something like that rather than CanadaPost since tracking through CanadaPost can be spotty...will give you a little peace of mind while you wait for AOR, which took 31 days for me, but can vary quite a bit based on the volume of applications they receive.