Dear Tumaka,
I quite understand your perplexity. It is such a nerve wrecking situation to be waiting for an update that is long overdue. The PER to me, is the Duncan line in this process.....you hardly ever get refused after a PER.
However, it is very important to get things in perspective. Your PER will not come until after a positive eligibility REVIEW of your application. It is a process. And your application fee will not be cashed until after that process is complete.
The CIC reviews applications as they are received, and if yours got to them before the cap for your NOC has been filled, it will be reviewed before applications that got there after you. From your explanation, you met the cap.
There are only two possible situations. Either your file is still in queue for review by an Immigration officer in Sydney, or your application has been rejected, and sent back to you for whatever reason. Either way, you will not get an email and your application fee will not have been cashed.
We do not have a statistical database of applications to CIC, so, we will not be able to predict with specificity the average time between application and receiving PER, to see if you have exceeded the mean + 2SD.
You cannot send a case-specific inquiry yet, because you dont have your case number, receipt number or other identification numbers with CIC, all you can do is send a general email, someone has posted a mail address.
My advice: Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
1. Check your email regularly. Remove all filters from your mailbox, so that you do not miss any mail. Check your bulk, junk, spam folder everyday before you delete the mails there.
2. Check your regular mails as often as possible, make sure that the address you used on your application is easily accessible to you, so you can be sure that you don't miss any mail.
3. I am sure you have copies of your application. Go over them all over again. Look for any errors that you may have inadvertently overlooked. Try to look for loopholes in your dates, inconsistencies in your educational credentials. Look for any errors. Did you remember to sign and date the declarations?
4. Keep that previous application. God forbid, but you might need to resend it. Don't touch your POF until you receive the PER.
5. Be a good Nigerian!!!! Pray, pray and pray! You'll be surprised how well that works!
6. Get on with life here...there's so much to do while you're still waiting for that PER, and the distraction that worrying about PER will cause is often distressing.
We are all with you in this process, our prayers are with you, our thoughts are with you, and we will rejoice at the end, by the Special Grace of the Almighty God. Amin!