Hello, all you beautiful people!
I come bearing good news!
Received PPR for my mom's TRV (regular tourist visa, not a super visa) just now.
Key application details
- City/country of residence and application: Mumbai, India
- Relation with applicant: Mother
- Purpose of visit: Essential [indicated purpose of travel as ‘Other - COVID-19’ on IMM5257E, since we submitted the application before new guidelines were issued]
- Vaccination status: Fully vaccinated with COVISHIELD
- My status in Canada: Permanent Resident
- Applied through: GC Key account
The detailed timeline of our visa application is as follows. We
did not reapply after the Sep 7 update.
Note: All dates and times indicated below are in IST.
- Aug 20, 2021, 3:40 pm : Application submitted
- Aug 20, 2021, 3:45 pm : Payment receipt received
- Aug 23, 2021, 8:20 pm : Application receipt confirmation
- Aug 24, 2021, 8:20 pm : Ghost update
- Aug 24, 2021, 8:50 pm : Biometrics letter received
- Sep 10, 2021, 10:00 pm : Wrote to IRCC - Delhi VO seeking clarification on the new Sep 7 and Sep 10 guidelines for TRV. I was confused if we should reapply. Submitted general inquiry webform.
- Sep 14, 2021, 12:30 pm : Biometrics appointment at Mumbai VFS
- Sep 14, 2021, 7:00 pm : Biometrics updated online and linked to account
- Sep 15, 2021, 4:50 pm : Received reply from IRCC - Delhi VO on the inquiry I sent them. They told me I should only reapply if my situation has changed. In the same email, there were a bunch of other helpful links. Among those, one was for the travel exemption webform. In the same email, they further stated: "Online Temporary Resident applications will not be prioritized unless you contact IRCC through the travel exemption webform to indicate how you meet the exemption criteria, and in most cases why you are travelling for a non-discretionary/essential purpose, and provide acceptable documentation.” After reading this, I thought it was worthwhile to submit the webform instead of just waiting to hear back on the application.
- Sep 15, 2021, 10:05 pm : Filled webform for travel exemption, attached all relevant documents including vaccination certificate showing she's eligible to travel
- Sep 15, 2021, 10:07 pm : Received acknowledgement email saying they will respond in 14 business days
- Oct 6, 2021, 11:30 am : Ghost update to application status; it changed to “Application/Profile updated”. It was clickable only once. After viewing application details (nothing had changed) and returning to the main application home screen, it was back to normal and changed to “Submitted”.
- Oct 9, 2021, 11:00 pm : Eligibility status changed. Correspondence letter and PPR received. All updates to the account happened within a span of 10 mins. Overall, took 16 business days (or 25 calendar days) from the time of submitting biometrics.
Notes:
- My mom has no prior travel history, minimal financial savings to show, has been a homemaker all her life, and doesn't have any strong ties to home country. That's why I was very skeptical of the visa being approved.
- I showed full sponsorship with notarized invitation letter + notarized proof of means of financial support letter + notarized proof of financial resource of supporter. Total of 3 notarized documents - in retrospect, it does seem like an overkill but I didn't want to take any chances. Basically included all documents typically required for a super visa, minus the insurance and medical test report.
- In the webform, I did mention the travel date as Oct 15. So, it was approved well within the acceptable travel timeframe. However, considering that we have to factor in additional days for the passport to be stamped, I don't think my mom will be able to fly out on the 15th.
Happy to answer any specific questions you may have about information that hasn't been covered here.
This has been such a pleasant surprise. Given that it's the Thanksgiving long weekend, I was not expecting this at all.
I want to thank everyone on this forum for sharing their insights, timelines and personal experiences; it helped me learn a lot and even calm my nerves while keeping hope alive.
It has been a stressful year for most of us, but hang in there. You'll get through soon enough. Here's wishing everyone the very best with their applications. Cheers!
