Police Certificate, Medical Exam: expiration, when to send?

[poeticaesthetic]

Hi all! I'm a Canadian citizen sponsoring my spouse, who's a U.S. citizen, for permanent residence. We were married in Canada on January 20, 2013. We are applying outland but he's currently residing with me in Canada (Vancouver, BC) as a visitor and has been here since November 30, 2012. His stay has been extended until August 23, 2014, but I'm guessing we may need to extend again while the application is processing. We have been a little slow going on this application thing (stress, mostly), so I have a couple questions...

1. Is it necessary to send the police certificates with the application package, or can they be sent later on? He requested and received his Police Certificates from Canada and the FBI months ago; of course, we then failed to get the application in as fast as we meant to, so the certificates we have are now expired (if it is, in fact, true that they expire after 6 months). I've even read somewhere on these forums that CIC wants them within 3 months of issue. Is this true? If so, and if they do in fact need to be sent with the application, he'll have to get new ones. I'm guessing this means he has to reapply from scratch? The place that took the fingerprints did say we could get extra copies on the cheap if necessary, so I hope they still have them. Is there any way to expedite the process with the FBI? Last time it took a couple months, and we'd rather not wait too long as we've screwed ourselves a bit and are already behind on everything. Recommendations?

2. I've read that it's possible to do the medical exam later on, rather than up front. I realize this may delay the application process by a few months, but I've also read that if it's done up front there's a decent chance he'll have to redo the exam later anyway if CIC doesn't process the application within a year (since the results expire). I read that the doc can extend to 15 months, but I'm worried he might still have to do the exam twice. My husband does not like doctors and is not looking forward to the exam, so doing it twice would be doubly difficult for him...plus there's the fee, which would have to be paid twice. What are the odds that he'd have to get it done twice, given current processing times? How long will it delay the application if he waits?

3. Once the application is processing, will he have any trouble renewing his visitor status this summer given our delay in sending in the PR app? They gave him 14 months (12 months estimated processing, plus 2 months to prepare), but a few months have passed already. Will he need to explain the circumstances behind the delay when he renews? Can this cause any issues, or will they forgive it as long as the PR app is being processed when they receive the renewal request?

Thanks in advance! Any help is much appreciated!

Edited to clarify: We have already received the certificates; they have simply been languishing and are now expired. Also, we are planning to apply outland, as the advantages of this seem to be in our favour. Sorry for any confusion!

 

[Betina]

1. Yes, CIC needs the applications package to reach them within 3 months of the issuance of the police certificates. However, because the USA document is taking so long, you can apply with just the proof that he sent in the fingerprints and is waiting for the results + a letter explaining that. Than, when he gets the document, he can sent it to be attached to the file.

2. If you're applying inland, maybe doing the medical exam when requested by CIC it's a better choice, seeing that the process is longer than outland. However, the results are valid for 12 months, but, within 3 months after their expiry, CIC can ask for their validity to be extended for another 12 months, if the expiry of the med exams is the only thing that prevents them from issuing the CoPR. Doing the exam after applying will delay your application for at least 1 month (the results stay with the doctor for about 2 weeks - plus any additional time needed if one or more tests need to be redone - than they are sent to a Regional Medical Office, where the medical assessment is made - that takes another 2-3 weeks).

3. I have no experience with inland applications, but, from what I know, once you've applied, he will be on implied status until the final decision is made. If he applies for an Open Work Permit in the same time, he will have it when you get through the first stage and receive Sponsorship approval (in about 10-11 months).

Good luck!

 

[poeticaesthetic]

1. Yes, CIC needs the applications package to reach them within 3 months of the issuance of the police certificates. However, because the USA document is taking so long, you can apply with just the proof that he sent in the fingerprints and is waiting for the results + a letter explaining that. Than, when he gets the document, he can sent it to be attached to the file.

2. If you're applying inland, maybe doing the medical exam when requested by CIC it's a better choice, seeing that the process is longer than outland. However, the results are valid for 12 months, but, within 3 months after their expiry, CIC can ask for their validity to be extended for another 12 months, if the expiry of the med exams is the only thing that prevents them from issuing the CoPR. Doing the exam after applying will delay your application for at least 1 month (the results stay with the doctor for about 2 weeks - plus any additional time needed if one or more tests need to be redone - than they are sent to a Regional Medical Office, where the medical assessment is made - that takes another 2-3 weeks).

3. I have no experience with inland applications, but, from what I know, once you've applied, he will be on implied status until the final decision is made. If he applies for an Open Work Permit in the same time, he will have it when you get through the first stage and receive Sponsorship approval (in about 10-11 months).

Good luck!

Betina, thank you so much for your reply! I need to clarify, though: we already received the Police Certificates months ago (my post stated this, but perhaps I ought make it more clear somehow), and we simply have been slacking on this application process due to stress and various other things coming up. So now the certificates we have are expired. So my concern is that he'll probably need to get entirely new ones, and I'm not sure how he needs to go about that.

I have also edited my original post to clarify that we are actually applying outland. I thought I had included this info but it seems my copy/pasting while writing the original post erased this bit. My apologies for the confusion. Do you still think it's worth waiting on the medical exam? We don't mind if it's only going to delay things for a month or two, if it means he'll definitely only have to do it once. But you're saying that even if the results expire after 12 months, they can be extended for 12 additional months, making the results valid for up to 2 years? I had read somewhere here that they could only be extended for a maximum of 15 months, at which point I was guessing if the application hadn't cleared yet for some reason (processing times is my main concern, as I don't foresee much other potential for complication in our case), he would have to redo the exam. Which we'd certainly like to avoid.

So in that case, if we apply outland, he will not be on implied status while the application is pending? Or is it the same either way? My understanding was that with outland, it would be necessary to keep renewing his visitor status until approval, but that there should be little to no trouble in doing so as long as the PR is pending. I just wanted to make sure they're sympathetic to situations not going as planned, as long as we're following procedure (ie. that there shouldn't be any problems renewing when the time comes just because he didn't apply as soon as he said he would). I think I'm just being a little paranoid there, though :

Thanks a lot for your reply, and again sorry for the confusion! I hope I've sufficiently clarified things.

 

[Betina]

I understood what you've wrote about the police certificates (PCC). That's why I told you that CIC needs to receive the application within 3 months of the PCC issuance. So, if your husband's certificates are more than 3 months old, yes, he needs to get new ones. He gets the new ones the same way he did the first time - I don'θ understand why you would think it's a different procedure

Now that you mention that you are applying outland, that means he will not have implied status and you will have to extend his visitor status. I don't know how the fact that you have already done this will affect the new extension, maybe someone who has experience with this will help.

If you are applying outland, my advise would be to do the med exam upfront right before sending in the application - as in make the appointment so that the exam is held within 1 week before sending in the application. Nobody can guarantee you that it will not be necessary to do again, but, from what I've seen in this forum, applications from the US are getting approved in less than a year, if it's a straightforward case with no red flags. Not doing the medical upfront will delay your processing at least 1 month.

As I said in the previous post, the validity of the medical results can be extended for as much as 1 year. The VO can ask the RMO for this even if the results have expired, but only in the 3 month time limit after the expiration (CIC can ask for the extension within 15 months from when the applicant took his med exams). An only if the expiry of the medical results is the only thing that prevents them from granting the PR. The medical exams need to be valid until the landing.

 

[DuberBlue]

Now that you mention that you are applying outland, that means he will not have implied status and you will have to extend his visitor status. I don't know how the fact that you have already done this will affect the new extension, maybe someone who has experience with this will help.

My wife extended her status for about 4-6 months each time, for a good 5 times during her stay with me. It was never an issue. Every time I simply explained hat we were either a. determining if we wished to get married, b. preparing to get married, c. getting married but waiting for an updated passport with a name change, d. receiving the updated passport but getting ready to honeymoon, e. finally getting the police checks in order.....and so on. I just had to put a solid reason why we were asking for the extension that didn't sound like "because it's easier than trying to fill out all the PR forms right now".

It sounds lighthearted the way I put it, but it's pretty much the truth. I don't know that there's a limit on the number of extensions you can get, but it's certainly more than one.

 

[poeticaesthetic]

I understood what you've wrote about the police certificates (PCC). That's why I told you that CIC needs to receive the application within 3 months of the PCC issuance. So, if your husband's certificates are more than 3 months old, yes, he needs to get new ones. He gets the new ones the same way he did the first time - I don'θ understand why you would think it's a different procedure

Now that you mention that you are applying outland, that means he will not have implied status and you will have to extend his visitor status. I don't know how the fact that you have already done this will affect the new extension, maybe someone who has experience with this will help.

If you are applying outland, my advise would be to do the med exam upfront right before sending in the application - as in make the appointment so that the exam is held within 1 week before sending in the application. Nobody can guarantee you that it will not be necessary to do again, but, from what I've seen in this forum, applications from the US are getting approved in less than a year, if it's a straightforward case with no red flags. Not doing the medical upfront will delay your processing at least 1 month.

As I said in the previous post, the validity of the medical results can be extended for as much as 1 year. The VO can ask the RMO for this even if the results have expired, but only in the 3 month time limit after the expiration (CIC can ask for the extension within 15 months from when the applicant took his med exams). An only if the expiry of the medical results is the only thing that prevents them from granting the PR. The medical exams need to be valid until the landing.

Thank you Betina! It's not that I thought the procedure would be different, really, only that I wasn't sure how the FBI treats such matters--ie. if they'd wonder what the heck was going on if the request for a police check was sent twice for the same reason within a certain time frame. I suppose I could always include a letter explaining (I would call ahead and ask, but I never reach a person when I call, and they don't return my calls).

Thank you for clarification on the medical results. The fact that it can be extended for up to a year makes me feel better about the whole thing. We had originally planned to do it, as you suggested, right before the application was about to get sent in. Is there documentation that needs to be sent in WITH the application, or does the doctor simply send the results directly to CIC to be matched with the file? It's nice to hear they've been processing so quickly for US citizens. My only concern about doing it up front re: wait times in this case is what exactly a "red flag" might be. There are only a couple things I can think of off the top of my head that may be potential issues with our application (I have no idea how seriously CIC takes these) and those are as follows:

1. My husband has served jail time once, years ago, in his home state of Idaho. He was charged with Frequenting (a misdemeanor) for DJing a house party where drugs were found present after a noise complaint. He was a day late paying his fines at the courthouse and when he showed up to pay, they booked him and put him in jail for 4 days. He will of course be providing details for this.

2. He technically has a mental illness, Bipolar Disorder, though I don't know if his diagnosis is even official. None of the prescribed mood stabilizers or antidepressants he tried years ago did anything to help him (and had too many side effects), so he stopped taking any. He still deals with mood swings but does pretty well on his own. I don't know if this is even worth mentioning on the form (or at the medical exam, if they ask such questions), since he's never been hospitalized for it or been a threat to himself or others, and is not undergoing or necessitating treatment.

3. As his sponsor, I am currently unemployed. I was on a student visa in the US for several years and only returned to Canada in May 2012. I have moved 3 times within the province since then, so adjusting and anxiety have held me back a bit from finding a job. I have technically been self-employed for years but it's all on the back burner due to life events so I'm not really making an income right now. Currently, our parents are helping to support us while I get back on my feet. I'm hoping to get a job before the application is sent in, but if I don't, I was told by a forum member that providing proof of support from family members would be enough for spousal sponsorship, since there's no minimum income requirement. We have more than enough available to us if we need it, and can get sufficient proof. I can also provide a letter detailing my pursuits and an impressive resume if need be. I hope there aren't any issues with this. I'm wondering if it would be possible to send updated job info if I do find one while the PR is processing?

Thanks again for your help! Any opinions are appreciated.

 

[poeticaesthetic]

My wife extended her status for about 4-6 months each time, for a good 5 times during her stay with me. It was never an issue. Every time I simply explained hat we were either a. determining if we wished to get married, b. preparing to get married, c. getting married but waiting for an updated passport with a name change, d. receiving the updated passport but getting ready to honeymoon, e. finally getting the police checks in order.....and so on. I just had to put a solid reason why we were asking for the extension that didn't sound like "because it's easier than trying to fill out all the PR forms right now".

It sounds lighthearted the way I put it, but it's pretty much the truth. I don't know that there's a limit on the number of extensions you can get, but it's certainly more than one.

Thanks DuberBlue! It's nice to know that they're so understanding. I feel we also have good reasons, as we moved recently and went on our honeymoon this summer as well. He'll be sure to explain the circumstances to them if he needs to extend and try not to worry about it.

 

[Aislingh250]

Hey all ,

I was wondering if you could help me clarify a question about my medical exam! I am applying outland, being sponsored by my common law partner.

I booked an appointment with a panel physician a week ago, so have the receipt and information sheet with my UMI reference on. The day after I had that done, I sent in my application.

My blood tests and X-ray are booked for next week. And now Im wondering if it was silly to send in my application without actually completing the medical fully?!

Any advice would be appreciated, I'm just hoping they don't send my application back to me!!

Thanks

 

[browntrout]

Hey all ,

I was wondering if you could help me clarify a question about my medical exam! I am applying outland, being sponsored by my common law partner.

I booked an appointment with a panel physician a week ago, so have the receipt and information sheet with my UMI reference on. The day after I had that done, I sent in my application.

My blood tests and X-ray are booked for next week. And now Im wondering if it was silly to send in my application without actually completing the medical fully?!

Any advice would be appreciated, I'm just hoping they don't send my application back to me!!

Thanks

Did you choose one of the doctors listed on the CIC website? if you did that you have nothing to fear about. Then will do the tests they need, including blood work, and when they are done they will give you a summary but the official results will be submitted directly into a database where CIC can obtain it, or/and sent to the embassy directly, either or its ok.

I did my medical check 3 weeks before sending the application in, i was given 1 sheet of paper (summary) i did include a copy of this when i did finally send in my application.

No need to include medical in initial application, or anything else you don't have at the moment such as police checks, you can send that in later (and i did outland too)

The only thing to worry about if your process takes more than a year, since when they do issue you the PR papers, you have 1 year to land in Canada, from the day you did your medical exam. IF i were to advice someone moving forward about when to do the medical, i would suggest doing it 1-2 months after sending in the application, thus minimizing the risk of having to retake medical (should your PR application take more than a year)

 

[abinash1998]

cani sbubmit same medical certificate

Hi can i submit again same medical certificate( was issued just 2 month before)bcz my first application was refused for some other reasons.

Thx for help in advance..

 

[Amalthea]

US applications are processed in Ottawa (Outland), and Ottawa seems to be taking 10 months MAX at the moment, earlier in the year it was faster, 4-8 months. It fluctuates. I don't think you need to worry about your medical expiring.

Wait times for FBI checks are currently 3 months, and once you receive it, you have 3 months from it's date of issuance for it to physically be in CIC's hands with your PR application.

 

[Amalthea]

Thank you Betina! It's not that I thought the procedure would be different, really, only that I wasn't sure how the FBI treats such matters--ie. if they'd wonder what the heck was going on if the request for a police check was sent twice for the same reason within a certain time frame. I suppose I could always include a letter explaining (I would call ahead and ask, but I never reach a person when I call, and they don't return my calls).

Thank you for clarification on the medical results. The fact that it can be extended for up to a year makes me feel better about the whole thing. We had originally planned to do it, as you suggested, right before the application was about to get sent in. Is there documentation that needs to be sent in WITH the application, or does the doctor simply send the results directly to CIC to be matched with the file? It's nice to hear they've been processing so quickly for US citizens. My only concern about doing it up front re: wait times in this case is what exactly a "red flag" might be. There are only a couple things I can think of off the top of my head that may be potential issues with our application (I have no idea how seriously CIC takes these) and those are as follows:

1. My husband has served jail time once, years ago, in his home state of Idaho. He was charged with Frequenting (a misdemeanor) for DJing a house party where drugs were found present after a noise complaint. He was a day late paying his fines at the courthouse and when he showed up to pay, they booked him and put him in jail for 4 days. He will of course be providing details for this.

2. He technically has a mental illness, Bipolar Disorder, though I don't know if his diagnosis is even official. None of the prescribed mood stabilizers or antidepressants he tried years ago did anything to help him (and had too many side effects), so he stopped taking any. He still deals with mood swings but does pretty well on his own. I don't know if this is even worth mentioning on the form (or at the medical exam, if they ask such questions), since he's never been hospitalized for it or been a threat to himself or others, and is not undergoing or necessitating treatment.

3. As his sponsor, I am currently unemployed. I was on a student visa in the US for several years and only returned to Canada in May 2012. I have moved 3 times within the province since then, so adjusting and anxiety have held me back a bit from finding a job. I have technically been self-employed for years but it's all on the back burner due to life events so I'm not really making an income right now. Currently, our parents are helping to support us while I get back on my feet. I'm hoping to get a job before the application is sent in, but if I don't, I was told by a forum member that providing proof of support from family members would be enough for spousal sponsorship, since there's no minimum income requirement. We have more than enough available to us if we need it, and can get sufficient proof. I can also provide a letter detailing my pursuits and an impressive resume if need be. I hope there aren't any issues with this. I'm wondering if it would be possible to send updated job info if I do find one while the PR is processing?

Thanks again for your help! Any opinions are appreciated.

How long ago did he serve jail time? Poetic, if he has been charged with a crime, it's my understanding that he needs to wait 5 years and then apply for "rehabilitation" in Canada - even just to visit, and especially for something like PR.

"Also, at least five years must have passed since:

the end of your criminal sentence (this includes probation) and
the day you committed the act that made you inadmissible."

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/inadmissibility/conviction.asp

I'm surprised he got through the border, the Peace Arch gave me a lot of crap over a dismissed DUI - I wasn't even convicted or charged. Thankfully had the dismissal paperwork with me, they were arguing about whether to let me in or not :/

 

[Amalthea]

Wow, excuse me. Just noticing that this post was bumped from 2013 LOL.. I'm sure this person has more than moved on.

 

[Ponga]

Wow, excuse me. Just noticing that this post was bumped from 2013 LOL.. I'm sure this person has more than moved on.

LOL! No worries; we've all done it I'm sure.
(Some of us more than once).


PCC's are now valid for 6 months, if you still live in that country. Much longer (apparently) if you're no longer in that country.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/intro.asp
(Updated 23 Apr 2015)

For the country you currently live in, the police certificate must be issued no more than six months before you apply.

For countries where you have lived for six months or more, the police certificate must be issued after the last time you lived in that country.

 

[MilesAway]

Wow, excuse me. Just noticing that this post was bumped from 2013 LOL.. I'm sure this person has more than moved on.

Actually, they posted last month asking for help in filling out the forms, so it would appear that they haven't made a whole lot of progress...