Hi All,
First of all, some background - I'm the sponsor of my Sri Lankan wife (for permanent residence), we got married and applied for the PR visa. After 9 months in process, she received her PR visa in Sep 2013 (will be referred to as "initial visa" from now on) with a DEADLINE of Nov 2013. Only thing was we've planned an elaborate cultural ceremony and a reception to celebrate our marriage in Sri Lanka and this was scheduled for December 2013. We had done all our prep (vacation, work projects, ceremony planning etc.) on the assumption that the deadline for leaving the country will be longer than 2 months from notice. We were wrong.
We had two choices, come in Oct 2013, and go back without a PR or ask for an extension of the visa due date. Back in 2013, I posted a question to this forum. This is my attempt to help others in a similar situation and also to thank this forum for its vast knowledge.
We decided back then to take the risk and apply for an extension. I filled out the online contact form and attached a lot of justification for why we should be granted this extension (my main point was 2 months is unreasonable to pack everything and leave, wife was in the middle of a big project at work and the planned reception in December). They sent us an email saying an extension can be granted but only after the initial visa expires in Nov, we will need to pay $30 and we'll have to re-do the medical following their instructions. This makes sense as the initial reason for tight deadline was her medical as it was also due in Nov 2013.
Nov 2013 came and as they promised, we got new medical instructions. We completed it promptly. Our CIC app status changed to "In Process" again but the detailed comment still said "A decision has been made and you will be contacted by a VO". No other communication was received regarding the status of the extension. The ceremony went and came and we started worrying in January 2014. Repeated emails to the visa office also received no replies. I even contacted the minister of Citizenship but still no results. We were regretting our choice to go with an extension and was doubting our decision. We thought the application must've dropped into oblivion and the wait might be very long before we hear anything back. I finally decided we won't worry until February as that will be 3 months from the initial due date in Nov.
By our luck, we received the much waited passport request email by end of Jan. It was a great relief that the extension process actually came through and she got a new visa that is valid for another year!
Lessons learned
- Extension process does exist - contrary to popular belief, there is such a system and it does work.
- But is it worth the headache? - before you jump right into it, make sure that you are up for the ride. It wasn't an easy 3 months to sit and wait without knowing where your application is. Also, anyone we talked to was asking us why we didn't just come in the first place back in Oct. This will put your relationship to test. So make sure you both make the decision and stick to it.
- Trust the system - it feels good to send email after email to local visa office but you only get more frustrated when they don't reply. Learn to trust the application status and existing processes. If you have done nothing wrong, you have nothing to worry about.
In closing, we went with our gut feeling and it worked out. But your experience might not be the same. So before you decide extend the visa, think hard about making it work. If I were to do it again, I would've asked my wife to come here and then worry about not having a PR to return to Canada later. Once you land here, you obtain PR status. But if you choose the extension path, your status is still "applicant". And it's just not a risk worth taking...unless there's something bigger at stake.
Hope this helps someone else.
First of all, some background - I'm the sponsor of my Sri Lankan wife (for permanent residence), we got married and applied for the PR visa. After 9 months in process, she received her PR visa in Sep 2013 (will be referred to as "initial visa" from now on) with a DEADLINE of Nov 2013. Only thing was we've planned an elaborate cultural ceremony and a reception to celebrate our marriage in Sri Lanka and this was scheduled for December 2013. We had done all our prep (vacation, work projects, ceremony planning etc.) on the assumption that the deadline for leaving the country will be longer than 2 months from notice. We were wrong.
We had two choices, come in Oct 2013, and go back without a PR or ask for an extension of the visa due date. Back in 2013, I posted a question to this forum. This is my attempt to help others in a similar situation and also to thank this forum for its vast knowledge.
We decided back then to take the risk and apply for an extension. I filled out the online contact form and attached a lot of justification for why we should be granted this extension (my main point was 2 months is unreasonable to pack everything and leave, wife was in the middle of a big project at work and the planned reception in December). They sent us an email saying an extension can be granted but only after the initial visa expires in Nov, we will need to pay $30 and we'll have to re-do the medical following their instructions. This makes sense as the initial reason for tight deadline was her medical as it was also due in Nov 2013.
Nov 2013 came and as they promised, we got new medical instructions. We completed it promptly. Our CIC app status changed to "In Process" again but the detailed comment still said "A decision has been made and you will be contacted by a VO". No other communication was received regarding the status of the extension. The ceremony went and came and we started worrying in January 2014. Repeated emails to the visa office also received no replies. I even contacted the minister of Citizenship but still no results. We were regretting our choice to go with an extension and was doubting our decision. We thought the application must've dropped into oblivion and the wait might be very long before we hear anything back. I finally decided we won't worry until February as that will be 3 months from the initial due date in Nov.
By our luck, we received the much waited passport request email by end of Jan. It was a great relief that the extension process actually came through and she got a new visa that is valid for another year!
Lessons learned
- Extension process does exist - contrary to popular belief, there is such a system and it does work.
- But is it worth the headache? - before you jump right into it, make sure that you are up for the ride. It wasn't an easy 3 months to sit and wait without knowing where your application is. Also, anyone we talked to was asking us why we didn't just come in the first place back in Oct. This will put your relationship to test. So make sure you both make the decision and stick to it.
- Trust the system - it feels good to send email after email to local visa office but you only get more frustrated when they don't reply. Learn to trust the application status and existing processes. If you have done nothing wrong, you have nothing to worry about.
In closing, we went with our gut feeling and it worked out. But your experience might not be the same. So before you decide extend the visa, think hard about making it work. If I were to do it again, I would've asked my wife to come here and then worry about not having a PR to return to Canada later. Once you land here, you obtain PR status. But if you choose the extension path, your status is still "applicant". And it's just not a risk worth taking...unless there's something bigger at stake.
Hope this helps someone else.