NEW Thread for ACCRA Visa Office - Spousal Sponsorship Stream

[favourmercy23]

Good day all,i just joined this forum.so pleased with the thread cos its an educative and informative one.
Pls im so bothered with d status of my application now.My hubby is a canadian citizen.was married before with three kids but was going a proces of divorce wen i met my new hubby which is a canadian citizen.hes an elderly man living all alone.we met during his visit to nigeria in a church.he so loving and caring.our love grew to an horizen.he decided dat we pay a vist to him in canada for hols in 2016 march but bcos of my children dat have to follow me,i persuaded my Ex to help me ,so dat we use his docs and acct status to enable us to acquire d tourist visa.he accepted cos of my children.Hes an abusive hubby.im so emotional.he always truncates my emotion every tym,he shows no love.he wants me out of his house and marriage.dat was y he accepted using his affluence to support us outside d country.
Unfortunately,we were being denied d tourist visa in may 2016.My hubby in canada who has been willing to be with me,and cant cope staying alone again at d age of 60 yrs,then came to nigeria for our legal wedding.meanwhile,ve gotten d divorce in court by april 2016 and became absolute in july 2016,and i was also given custody of d children cos they are females and they chose to be with me cos we dont live together from d inception of marriage with my Ex.
Eventually,i got married to my husband in october 11 2016 and he went back to canada in november to file for me and my children.we submitted d application in feb 2017 in canada and my hubby found eligible to sponsor us.then d application was transferred to accra after d docs were completed with checklist.i submitted police report with d application.last year dec,my hubby came to nigeria and during dat tym,we got a mail to go for medical exam in dec,17.we went to lagos together for d exam together with my children cos he filed for us all.we were told we passed d medical exam i february and dat we dont need interview as at now.the stage they are now is background check.so last week,our representative in canada sent my hubby a mail dat a query was sent to him dat an explanation shld be given cos they discovered i was still officially married to my ex,till feb ,2017 and we claimed to get married on oct 11 2016.my hubby is presently in winnipeg working,he has been there for d past 20 days but he resides in edmonton,alberta.he instructed d reps to wait for him to return to edmonton before anything can be sent .Hes annoyed but was calming him down cos he cant wait to gphave us with him.he has even booked ticket to come home this year.But on my part,ve sent our rep western union receipts and our daily calls and chats since he left last year feb.please im so confused on wat to do right now.i need an advise on wat to do next.My hubby had want to call home office before now saying d application has taken too long tym before we then got this message.please does it mean we will be denied d visa .im scared.
God bless.

 

[maki22]

Hello,

Thank you for visiting our forum. First of all, we are sympathetic to your situation and we wish a positive outcome. Second, unfortunately we do not provide advice because we are not immigration professionals (the group of us that started this new thread) and you already have legal representation so you should discuss next steps you will take with them.

What we can say though from past experiences of our members is to provide whatever information the AVO requires as soon as possible. The quick provision of requested information is necessary because they take that into consideration. Also they usually only give 15 or 30 days, including weekends, to answer inquiries. The deadline is almost always stated on the request letter. We would definitely have your lawyer draft a letter of explanation ASAP before the submission deadline passes and attach proof or supporting documentation. The question they have asked is valid especially if there are discrepancies regarding dates of marriage, especially the fact that in Canada polygamy is illegal so a person cannot be married to two people at the same time. They need to make sure that you were divorced first to your ex-husband and then married after to your new husband. We have seen this happen once before where there were some procedural delays at the marriage registry, so the discrepancy can be cleared up and has to be cleared up but there is a limited time-frame to do that.

If you are able to provide the requested information clearing up the discrepancy within the deadline given there should be no issues then. Note: It is possible in some cases when dealing with third parties to obtain an extension to the deadline but your lawyer has to request same and provide grounds for such request.

Also, we have seen from experiences of some of our members that where children from a previous marriage are involved the process takes longer than the mandated 12 months for some reason.

We trust that assists you a bit.

Thank you.

 

[maki22]

Notice: For anyone that ordered GCMS Notes recently please be advised there are delays:

UPDATED MAY 31, 2017: Due to exceptional circumstances, we are currently experiencing difficulty meeting our service standards. Please accept our apologies for the delay, and rest assured that we are taking steps to address the situation.

Keep in mind - Ordering GCMS notes on a frequent basis may slow down processing of file.

 

[maki22]

Notice: The new BIOMETRICS requirement starts today for all new applicants.

Please see bulletin from IRCC dated June 29, 2018 about VAC Centre expansions:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2018/06/to-support-biometrics-expansion-canada-is-opening-new-visa-application-centres-and-offering-interim-services-at-some-missions.html

• Biometrics:
  • are the measurement of unique physical characteristics
  • for Canadian immigration programs, biometrics include fingerprints and a photograph of the face
• Exemptions to biometrics expansion include:
  • Canadian citizens, citizenship applicants (including passport applicants), or existing permanent residents
  • children under the age of 14
  • applicants over the age of 79 (there is no upper age exemption for asylum claimants)
  • visa-exempt nationals coming to Canada as tourists who hold a valid electronic travel authorization;
  • heads of state and heads of government
  • cabinet ministers and accredited diplomats of other countries and the United Nations, coming to Canada on official business
  • U.S. visa holders transiting through Canada
  • refugee claimants or protected persons who have already provided biometrics and are applying for a study or work permit
  • temporary resident applicants who have already provided biometrics in support of a permanent resident application that is still in progress

 

[maki22]

Notice: The Accra Visa Office will be closed for Canada Labour Day holiday on Monday, September 3, 2018

 

[maki22]

How Decisions Are Made For Granting PR Status in Family Class:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/permanent-residence/non-economic-classes/family-class-decisions.html

 

[maki22]

Passport Validity During PR Process:

The passport must be valid at least 6 months prior to issuance of PR (but sometimes there are exceptions to this rule, so if in doubt please consult with AVO and a professional).

IRCC guidelines say an applicant's passport has to be valid but does not restrict it to being valid at least 6 months. When AVO sends out PPR it does state the passport has to be valid at least 6 months. However they have discretion to process PR with an expired passport if there are no issues relating to identity as per the IRCC guidelines.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/permanent-residence/non-economic-classes/family-class-application-permanent.html#passportRequirements

"Normally, IRCC should accept only valid passports to grant permanent residence (R72). However, officers may use their judgment to accept passports that have expired during processing when there are no concerns about identity."

The 6 month validity rule usually applies to the airlines where they require passengers to hold passports valid at least 6 months, like KLM. So when booking flights it's best to check with the airlines first as to what their rules are regarding validity of passports.

 

[maki22]

Spousal Sponsorship Program Processing Times Slashed - February 15, 2018

This is an excellent article that sheds light on the processing of files according to new mandate:

https://www.immigration.ca/spousal-sponsorship-program-processing-times-slashed-canada-immigration-department-says/

"The government says more than 80 per cent of spousal sponsorship applications in the backlog as of December 7, 2016 have received decisions. The backlog has also been reduced from 75,000 to 15,000 as of December 31, 2017.

Further changes have been made to the guides, checklists and procedures for family reunification as of February 14, 2018.

Changes have been made to the Basic Guide, the Complete Guide and the document checklists.

The order in which documents must be submitted has also changed. The background/declaration form and police certificates must now be submitted as part of the initial application to help reduce processing times further.

IRCC plans to welcome 66,000 spouses and dependants in 2018, well above the average over the past decade of about 47,000. Under the recently announce immigration levels plan, this annual figure will rise to 70,000 by 2020."

 

[maki22]

Government of Canada Eliminates Conditional Permanent Residence - April 28, 2017

This is a very important bulletin because it signifies a major change to the processing of spousal sponsorship files for the 2017 group of applicants and onwards.

Under the OLD regulation, you had to live with your sponsor for two years if, at the time you applied your relationship was less than two years; and you had no children in common.

"Eliminating conditional permanent residence upholds the Government’s commitment to family reunification and supports gender equality and combating gender violence."

This condition has been eliminated entirely.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/notices/elminating-conditional-pr.html

 

[maki22]

Monday, August 6, 2018 is a Civic Holiday in Canada and this day is celebrated everywhere in Canada other than Quebec and Yukon.

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/public-holidays.html

https://www.officeholidays.com/amp/countries/canada/2018

Even though it is not a Federal statutory holiday all Federal offices located in Provinces that are celebrating are closed across Canada.

A Tweet from IRCC alludes to a country-wide office closure:

https://twitter.com/CitImmCanada/status/1025697961051873283?s=08

https://www.tripsavvy.com/what-open-august-civic-holiday-1482006

However it is not clear whether AVO is open or not because it is not a Federal Statutory Holiday and it is not listed in the holidays list on their website but since IRCC offices are closed in Canada the foreign offices would be impacted as there is an interruption of IRCC services in Canada today.

http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/ghana/contact-contactez.aspx?lang=eng

This Civic Holiday is called

Regatta Day in Newfoundland

Terry Fox Day in MB

Saskatchewan Day in SK

British Columbia Day in BC

Natal Day in Nova Scotia and PEI

Simcoe Day in Toronto, ON

New Brunswick Day in New Brunswick

Colonel By Day in Ottawa, ON

Heritage Day in AB

Joseph Brant Day in Burlington, ON, and

Benjamin Vaughan Day in the City of Vaughan, ON

For the provinces that do have a civic holiday, here is an overview of openings and closures (may vary slightly by location—call ahead to confirm).

Closed on Monday, August 6, 2018

• Banks
• Most child-care centers
• Government offices
• Post offices / no mail delivery (post offices operated by the private sector may be open)
• Libraries

 

[maki22]

IRCC Message on August 6, 2018

Our Online Services Are Currently Down
System-generated error code:SRWOBOLP (2018-08-06 19:17:00)

Sorry

This on-line service is currently not available.

Possible reasons:

1. We are currently updating this Web site.
2. We are experiencing technical difficulties.

Please try again later.

http://onlineservices-servicesenligne.cic.gc.ca/eapp/exit.do

 

[maki22]

UPDATE RE BIOMETRICS REQUIREMENT - July 30. 2018

There is now an online tool in the IRCC website that allows one to confirm whether one needs to provide biometrics to IRCC or not:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/biometrics.asp?_ga=2.158467455.492532008.1533506327-1119258393.1512242239

The biometrics requirement will be considered part of the mandated processing time of 12 months.

 

[maki22]

Change in processing times information for NEW Applicants as at August 3, 2018

"In July 2018, we changed the way we show processing times for some permanent resident applications who haven’t applied yet. These new processing times are an estimate of how long we expect most applications will take to process under normal circumstances.

These times are based on the number of current applications waiting to be processed and how quickly we expect to process them. They are more accurate for new or recent applicants."

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/check-processing-times.html

 

[maki22]

Spousal Sponsorship Application Abbreviations

ADR - Additional Document Request Letter
AOR - Acknowledgment of Receipt Letter
AVO - Accra Visa Office
COPR - Confirmation of Permanent Residence
CPC - Case Processing Center
DM - Decision Made
IRCC - Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
LOE - Letter of Explanation
MR - Medical Request Letter
PCC - Police Clearance Certificate
PPR - Passport Request Letter
PR - Permanent Residence
PRA - Pre Approval Letter
PUM - Pick Up Mail Letter
RPRF - Right of Permanent Residence Fee
VAC - Visa Application Center (VFS Global)
VO - Visa Office
VOH - Visa on Hand

 

[maki22]

Steps in Processing PR Spousal Sponsorship Applications by IRCC

IRCC will :

• review your application to make sure it’s complete
• send you or your family member a letter that tells you how to give your biometrics
• receive and review your or your family member’s biometrics after you have given them at a collection point
• decide if you’re eligible to sponsor
• decide if you’re eligible to apply to become a permanent resident of Canada
• tell you when we start processing your application,
• tell you how to get a medical exam, if you didn’t get one before sending in your application
• do a security screening to make sure all applicants don’t pose a risk to the safety and security of Canadians
• decide if you need to go to an interview
• tell you of the decision we make on your application

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=022&top=4