one-year pilot OWP for spouses and common-law partners

[canuck_in_uk]

Thus, what the verbiage heavily suggests is that the reason for the 4-month wait is because, starting on December 22nd, they are going to be working on applications they already have.

It doesn't "heavily suggest" that. You are choosing to infer that.

What about the inland timeline increasing by 9 months with zero communication from CIC?
What about the lack of foresight that always allowed spouses of foreign students in Canada to receive OWP immediately but not spouses of full citizens? (This is why there is a "pilot program").
What about their inability to simply expedite the OWP that should have come from AIP without requiring additional paperwork? (all the information is already provided with sponsorship app).
Why are OWP's assigned at random?
If they started on December 22, and April 22 is next Wednesday, why have we not seen OWPs awarded to 90% of the in-process apps submitted before December 22? Wouldn't that be what you'd expect?
Why don't AOR's get sent out? Why do they randomly take 10, 2, or 1 month?

Processing times are subject to change; it sucks but CIC is not required to communicate the reasons for these changes. As for that change, they were increased because of cuts in funding, resulting in less staff and resources to process files. The restart of the PGP program in January 2014 and promise to clear that 6-7 year backlog most likely also played a big part.

CIC never saw the need to grant temporary status to spouses of citizens/PRs because they had the option to apply for permanent status. Those who applied inland went into the process knowing they wouldn't be able to work for awhile; when the processing times increased, CIC finally listened and enacted the pilot program. As for the spouses of foreign students, that's simply because of money. Canada needs foreign students and a lot of them; they pay billions of dollars a year in tuition, plus billions in living expenses. The government is aware that students are more likely to come to Canada for a few years if they can bring their spouse and they can work.

They ARE expediting the OWPs by granting them before AIP. If the additional paperwork you are referring to is the IMM5710, it is a required form for a work permit app, just as IMM0008 is a required form for a PR app. The person processing the work permits is not even in the same province as the person processing the PR app, so it's not like they can just walk into the next office and get the info. The IMM5710 is forwarded on to Vegreville for OWP issuance while the PR continues to be processed in Mississauga.

This pretty much comes down to when the file is actually opened and the speed of individual VO processing the file. It's not the fairest way to do it but keep in mind that this is a new program and they will need to work out the kinks.

No because that is not what CIC stated. They did not say that all applicants in the pre-Dec 22nd inventory would be issued OWPs by April 22nd. They said they would work on the current inventory and meanwhile, PR/OWP apps submitted after Dec 22nd would be processed within 4 months.

It would be nice for everyone if CIC could have someone opening and checking files upon receipt to issue a quick AOR but they don't do that with any app in any category. This again comes down to a lack of resources, who opens the file and when. There were 5000 PGP apps accepted in the first few days of January; they were all opened and actually checked for completeness by Jan 16th and it still took CIC until the end of March to start issuing AORs.


I agree that there are a lot of things that CIC can do better. However, I don't agree with people making false claims and spreading a LOT of negativity around this forum. CIC never stated with the launch of the pilot program that all applicants in the current inventory would have OWPs processed within 4 months, as vik999 was trying to claim. My original post was to correct that claim and tell him to stop with the negativity, as it help no one.

 

[GustavesF]

Not so fun fact: my spouse lost her status due to the CIC asking to resend forms (that they changed AFTER we send them) and treating that as a new application instead of an update. To add insult to injury the forms only change the dependant child's age and we don't have any children.

Ugh, I'm sorry to hear that. That's awful.

What really confuses me about this is why is even matters? If you use a form that's out dated, and it's out-of-date because it doesn't include a non-existent child's age, why does that even matter? They're dealing with a range of forms that are about 2 years old on a good day. Why do they need to make you start over when you have zero missing info, and the guy who sent in the exact same form a month before you, whose form they won't be processing for about 17 months, they have no issue with.

 

[GustavesF]

It doesn't "heavily suggest" that. You are choosing to infer that.

Inferences and suggestions aren't mutually exclusive. That's why I didn't use the word "stated".

Processing times are subject to change; it sucks but CIC is not required to communicate the reasons for these changes. As for that change, they were increased because of cuts in funding, resulting in less staff and resources to process files. The restart of the PGP program in January 2014 and promise to clear that 6-7 year backlog most likely also played a big part.

We are well aware that CIC isn't *required* to do anything, ever. That's one of the reasons it's under a lot of ridicule.
Lack of accountability isn't a good thing, but it is a catch-all excuse.

If they're so worried about funding they can charge us more for processing. I'll gladly pay more for the 8 minutes it takes for them to determine if I'm eligible to be a sponsor.
It comes down to poor management and a lack of accountability, there's no way around that.

CIC never saw the need to grant temporary status to spouses of citizens/PRs because they had the option to apply for permanent status. Those who applied inland went into the process knowing they wouldn't be able to work for awhile; when the processing times increased, CIC finally listened and enacted the pilot program. As for the spouses of foreign students, that's simply because of money. Canada needs foreign students and a lot of them; they pay billions of dollars a year in tuition, plus billions in living expenses. The government is aware that students are more likely to come to Canada for a few years if they can bring their spouse and they can work.

They ARE expediting the OWPs by granting them before AIP. If the additional paperwork you are referring to is the IMM5710, it is a required form for a work permit app, just as IMM0008 is a required form for a PR app. The person processing the work permits is not even in the same province as the person processing the PR app, so it's not like they can just walk into the next office and get the info. The IMM5710 is forwarded on to Vegreville for OWP issuance while the PR continues to be processed in Mississauga.

You know, for a minute there I was upset with the poor performance of the pilot program and the awful inland processing times, but now that I know we're concentrating on attracting foreign students I'm good with it.

That isn't an acceptable reason to be pushed to the back-burner.

Some process occurs when you get AIP that puts your OWP in motion. You can eventually get an OWP from AIP, without submitting an IMM5710.
There should be some way in this 21st century that some kind of communication could occur between Vegreville and Mississauga without there needing to be physical postage provided by the applicant to bridge the gap.
Vegreville knows about your PR app, it *must* if the pilot program has a chance of working with OWP's sent separately from PR.

This pretty much comes down to when the file is actually opened and the speed of individual VO processing the file. It's not the fairest way to do it but keep in mind that this is a new program and they will need to work out the kinks.

No because that is not what CIC stated. They did not say that all applicants in the pre-Dec 22nd inventory would be issued OWPs by April 22nd. They said they would work on the current inventory and meanwhile, PR/OWP apps submitted after Dec 22nd would be processed within 4 months.

It would be nice for everyone if CIC could have someone opening and checking files upon receipt to issue a quick AOR but they don't do that with any app in any category. This again comes down to a lack of resources, who opens the file and when. There were 5000 PGP apps accepted in the first few days of January; they were all opened and actually checked for completeness by Jan 16th and it still took CIC until the end of March to start issuing AORs.


I agree that there are a lot of things that CIC can do better. However, I don't agree with people making false claims and spreading a LOT of negativity around this forum. CIC never stated with the launch of the pilot program that all applicants in the current inventory would have OWPs processed within 4 months, as vik999 was trying to claim. My original post was to correct that claim and tell him to stop with the negativity, as it help no one.

We all know what happens, but it doesn't make sense.
They promise a timeline to people who submitted after December 22, but everyone who submitted before is left in limbo.
How could they *not* have been able to imagine up a timeline for the in-process applications? Why would they promise 4 months to *later* submissions?
They at least know how many in-process applications they have, they do *not* know how many they would have gotten *after*. How does this make sense?
It's honestly pathetic, how do they not know which envelopes to open first? How are forms not immediately opened and sorted for more efficient processing?
How do they not know when a document arrived till months after it was received?
How did they not realize how many applications they had, how much workload they had, what they're resources are, and how long it should reasonably take them to process?
How is this a government agency of a 1st world nation?

We don't need the process explained any more.
Vik999 was concerned with understanding what is going to happen with the applications that are already in process, and rightly so, because so far we don't know anything at all.
If he was a lawyer suing CIC for the timeline, there'd be holes in his argument, but that doesn't mean CIC isn't a circus.

 

[MaryLou6]

I just got off the phone with CIC, explained when I applied for Pr and when for OWP, and they told me that OWPs are 'usually' processed within 4 months, so if I applied in late January I should get it in May. If not call them again.

Not much news, but it's good to know that OWP received with PR or separate doesn't change the 4 months waiting period.

 

[hooligander]

Good to know, I missed the additional $100 fee imposed in Feb. Sent it sepperatly so hopefully there should be no issues.

I applied in March BTW

 

[GustavesF]

I just got off the phone with CIC, explained when I applied for Pr and when for OWP, and they told me that OWPs are 'usually' processed within 4 months, so if I applied in late January I should get it in May. If not call them again.

Not much news, but it's good to know that OWP received with PR or separate doesn't change the 4 months waiting period.

Since you applied in January, did you send in an additional $100 when the announcement changed things in February?

Just wondering, it doesn't really make sense to, but with CIC things like sense and logic aren't really things you can lean on.

 

[MaryLou6]

Since you applied in January, did you send in an additional $100 when the announcement changed things in February?

Just wondering, it doesn't really make sense to, but with CIC things like sense and logic aren't really things you can lean on.

No, I only paid 155$ and didn't send any additional fees later on.

 

[hooligander]

I believe that was only a cash grab once they saw how many people applied.

Pre the FEB announcement you should be ok, funny thing was my Immigration Lawyer had no clue about the fee, I only realized I had to pay from this forum.

 

[GustavesF]

I believe that was only a cash grab once they saw how many people applied.

Pre the FEB announcement you should be ok, funny thing was my Immigration Lawyer had no clue about the fee, I only realized I had to pay from this forum.

The case agent working with me had no idea that the pilot program even existed, so I don't blame a lawyer not knowing about the fee.

CIC changes their mind constantly, so it's very difficult to keep up with their inconsistency.

 

[hooligander]

Well the fact I paid the lawyer tons of $$$ he should be in the know after the new rules was implement a month prior

I sent the $100 in separate with a note indicating what happened. Hopefully it does not slow down my wifes application

 

[GustavesF]

Well the fact I paid the lawyer tons of $$$ he should be in the know after the new rules was implement a month prior

I sent the $100 in separate with a note indicating what happened. Hopefully it does not slow down my wifes application

Yeah, the lawyer should definitely have rooted that out given compensation.

It's a bit silly that CIC can't just let you pay online for specific items instead of amounts of money.
That way there wouldn't be confusion over the amounts you're paying.

With the current system they don't even know what's being paid for. For all I know they may not have allocated the amount you paid originally to your OWP application, seeing that they have no idea what else you're supposed to have paid for.

If part of the PR fee is only due on landing, couldn't they have just taken whatever amount wasn't due yet and applied it to the wrong amount you paid for OWP?
The system used right now is about as arbitrary as an envelope of cash that they know is from you, for something.

 

[hooligander]

Yeah, the lawyer should definitely have rooted that out given compensation.

It's a bit silly that CIC can't just let you pay online for specific items instead of amounts of money.
That way there wouldn't be confusion over the amounts you're paying.

With the current system they don't even know what's being paid for. For all I know they may not have allocated the amount you paid originally to your OWP application, seeing that they have no idea what else you're supposed to have paid for.

If part of the PR fee is only due on landing, couldn't they have just taken whatever amount wasn't due yet and applied it to the wrong amount you paid for OWP?
The system used right now is about as arbitrary as an envelope of cash that they know is from you, for something.

For all I know they would come back and ask for more money but it wasnt a chance I was willing to take.

I know when we extended my wifes visitor visa, we made a mistake and she was a couple days out of status. They just came back and asked for more money to put her back in status.


Everything is very confusing when paying for anything with CIC. Would be nice if the assessment questionnaire which determines what you are eligible for application wise actually worked and recognized recent changes they themselves have done.

As much as we like to complain about CIC its the be all and end all. We just have to embrace any process or time they specify.

 

[Ponga]

For all I know they would come back and ask for more money but it wasnt a chance I was willing to take.

I know when we extended my wifes visitor visa, we made a mistake and she was a couple days out of status. They just came back and asked for more money to put her back in status.


Everything is very confusing when paying for anything with CIC. Would be nice if the assessment questionnaire which determines what you are eligible for application wise actually worked and recognized recent changes they themselves have done.

As much as we like to complain about CIC its the be all and end all. We just have to embrace any process or time they specify.

Do you mean that they made her apply for Restoration of Status (which is what they are supposed to do if a person is out of status and has not gone beyond 90 days)?

 

[hooligander]

Do you mean that they made her apply for Restoration of Status (which is what they are supposed to do if a person is out of status and has not gone beyond 90 days)?

Yes thats it

Thanks for clarifying

 

[GustavesF]

For all I know they would come back and ask for more money but it wasnt a chance I was willing to take.

I know when we extended my wifes visitor visa, we made a mistake and she was a couple days out of status. They just came back and asked for more money to put her back in status.


Everything is very confusing when paying for anything with CIC. Would be nice if the assessment questionnaire which determines what you are eligible for application wise actually worked and recognized recent changes they themselves have done.

As much as we like to complain about CIC its the be all and end all. We just have to embrace any process or time they specify.

The assessment questionnaires are terrible.
If you know exactly what you need to apply for, you can figure out how to trick it into letting you do so, but if you're actually honest with it it'll redirect you all over the place.

I tried following the questionnaire for renewing a Visitor Visa and based on my answers it decided I needed to apply for PR, which I of course already did, etc etc etc.
Gave up and just flag-poled. Took 5 minutes and renewal was free.