poland - warsaw..

[refugee_x]

Hello, Czesc!
I'm new here , yet I've been reading up on this forum for past two days as i was trying to grasp the whole process of sponsoring.
What is interesting that i've noticed that most of people have done their medical exams before the application submission, clever.
Well, this summer 2013 i will be getting married in Poland and will start sponsoring my wife.
I am happy to say that the some of your success stories make me feel better.
An outland case is what i'll be likely going for and my wife will be visiting me during the process for few months. Do interviews happen a lot? and how soon usually one has to appear for one? ... well hello again, i pozdrawiam.

 

[grzybek]

Cześć,

Good luck to you! I don't know how often interviews happen in Warsaw. It could be random in part, or more likely based on if there are any irregularities or red flags in your application to make them suspicious.

Regarding medicals - I would actually recommend to do something different than we did. We did the medical first, then finished assembling the application. Since the medical is only valid for a year (although it apparently can be extended in some cases), it kind of sets an anchor point for the dates of your visa. In our case I suspect that when my wife's residency is granted, she will have to land before the end of August when she had her medical done. We could have waited two months and done the medical at the 'last minute,' before sending the application - thereby theoretically providing a wider 'landing window' once the residency is granted. Not a big deal though . . .

Regarding interviews - once our application was sent by CIC from Mississauga to Warsaw, we received a confirmation email from Warsaw telling us they had the application. It it they said that if an interview is required, you will be given 1-2 months notice. We don't expect an interview, but you never know.

 

[grzybek]

Hello again, sorry for flooding the thread with so many posts lately.

I knew something was happening today somehow because our address formatting on ecas changed - it was in a strange order before, and I had asked them to correct it when I emailed our passport copy to the VO.

We're in Warsaw and the Embassy actually called me on my mobile today asking to speak to my wife. I gave them her cell number, and when they called her she accidentally hung up on them! We had a few moments of mini drama, my wife called back and got the answering machine . . . then on the second try left a message with a real person. The Embassy called back within a few minutes to tell her that her papers were ready to be picked up!!

We didn't have time to do it today so will pick them up on Monday.

Application sent: 21 November 2012
COPR issued: 8 March 2013
Total time: 108 days, or 3 months 16 days. (including a 20 day delay caused by me procuring an additional document)

Way to go Warsaw!!

[edit] to those of you turning on your phone ringers . . . they also sent notification by email! I suppose they just called us as a courtesy, since we live in Warsaw.

 

[Ryathe]

Total time: 108 days, or 3 months 16 days. (including a 20 day delay caused by me procuring an additional document)

Now, how can you NOT love Warsaw VO!!! Congratulations!

 

[mal89]

Did they just call or send an email as well? So happy for you!! A great Woman's Day

 

[grzybek]

Did they just call or send an email as well? So happy for you!! A great Woman's Day

Yes, they called first and by the looks of it, sent the notification email at about the same time. We called them back since we weren't home and when we finally got a real person on the line they let my wife know everything was ready to be picked up.

Thanks Ryathe - we're totally impressed. It's already time to start shopping for flights!

 

[refugee_x]

Hello, not sure if anyone still looks in here, but.. here we go.
I have a question pertaining to last names. After marriage my wife will have joined last name.
I believe she will require new documents and passport with changed name for the whole immigration procedure right? I know these might be simple questions, but wanted to see how You guys got around it.
Also, for medical exam, do You just call the doctor for an appointment from CIC list of panel physicians for ex. in Warsaw? Is the form provided by doctor?
Did you guys have to do police checks in Poland on Polish citizens? Wheeeff.. reading reading lots of reading , Thank you for any replies.

p.s. Grzybek, congrats !

 

[grzybek]

Hi Refugee_x, Welcome to the Warsaw gang . . .

The only experience I have in this is our own, so I'll just tell you what we did.

My wife's last name had changed after marriage too. But we have been married for some time, so all of her documents (dowód, passport, etc.) were already in her new name. I can explain the process of changing her name in Poland, but a) it depends where you got married and b) you probably already know how.

For the medical exam, we chose a doctor from the CIC list of panel physicians: http://www.cic.gc.ca/dmp-md/medical.aspx

There are specific instructions for the medical in both the Country Specific Instructions, and the main sponsor and applicant instructions. You can find both at the following page: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp

For the medical, my spouse had to bring one printable form, and a number of photos. The form and photo specifications are in the Country Specific Instructions above. The doctor had all the other needed forms. We received a special form back from the doctor with one photo affixed, which we included with our application. Some doctors might be reporting electronically now, but ours didn't (or didn't seem to!).

Police checks in Poland - yes we did them for my spouse the Polish citizen. The criminal record check in our case cost 50zł and was done at 'Punkt Informacyjny Krajowego Rejestru Karnego.'

I'm very happy to explain the details of how we tracked things down in Poland, but I'm not sure if you're asking for that. It's all pretty fresh in our minds so we're happy to explain something in detail if you need. In particular, about the translations - I have some specific advice there too if you haven't completed them already.

One tip: Don't get the criminal record check too soon, because it is only valid for 3? months. You'll need to have it translated . . .
Another: Don't get the medical until you're ready to put together the application and mail it. The Confirmation of Permanent Residence was in our case only valid until 12 months after the medical was completed.

 

[dzuls]

Hello,
I was wondering if there is anybody out whose sponsorship application was being processed by the Warsaw Visa Office within the last 2 months. If yes, do you know, how long does the embassy need to process it? I cannot reach anybody at the embassy in Warsaw and their voicemail is full... and the official website says 6 or 8 months.

I am applying with my partner based on the common-law category and I received an email on Feb 21st saying that the embassy received our application on Feb 18th. On Ecas, there is nothing showing up so I am not sure if the embassy has started processing our application. From the timelines here I can see that the embassy in Warsaw needed from 2 to 3 months to process the application (between September and January), but are they still that quick??

Many thanks in advance for your help!

 

[refugee_x]

Thanks Grzybek !
Much appreciated for some tips, and i surely do need them. Since i'm a newbie, i'm not allowed to send personal messages here. Although I'd like to pick your brain a little if I'd leave my email with You. its elit3.x@gmail.com . Drop me a line? Dziekuje

Tomek.

 

[nicelina]

Hello,
I was wondering if there is anybody out whose sponsorship application was being processed by the Warsaw Visa Office within the last 2 months. If yes, do you know, how long does the embassy need to process it? I cannot reach anybody at the embassy in Warsaw and their voicemail is full... and the official website says 6 or 8 months.

I am applying with my partner based on the common-law category and I received an email on Feb 21st saying that the embassy received our application on Feb 18th. On Ecas, there is nothing showing up so I am not sure if the embassy has started processing our application. From the timelines here I can see that the embassy in Warsaw needed from 2 to 3 months to process the application (between September and January), but are they still that quick??

Many thanks in advance for your help!

hello
for us it took i cant remeber i think between 1 or 2 months! very fast

 

[kissa]

We sent our application today.
I'm so excited and nervous at the same time. I've been living with my common law partner in Canada for last 2,5 years. Can't wait to become a permanent resident. Let the waiting game begin

 

[grzybek]

Well if you completed the application properly and don't have any odd situations in your application, don't be expecting to wait too long. The Warsaw office seems to be one of the best! Good luck!

 

[kissa]

Processing time in Warsaw is now 9 months. Anyways that's what CIC page is saying

 

[dzuls]

Yeah thats what it says on the website, I was also scared by this initially, but the Warsaw VO takes only 2 months on average from receiving the application to issuing the COPR.. have a look at the timelines of the people applying through the Warsaw VO here.. including my timeline Good luck!