Received Approval E-mail Re: Eligibility to Sponsor. I'm curious to know if...

[DC042712]

Hello everyone!

My husband (the sponsor) received the e-mail from CIC-CPCM last January 9th. The e-mail also stated that they have forwarded my application to the outland visa office which is in Manila. My question is, does it mean that they have reviewed the application and deemed it complete hence the transfer and if so, the only thing we have to wait for is the decision? Or will there be another e-mail from the visa office stating whether or not the application is complete?

Thank you in advance for clearing this up and have a great weekend all!

 

[Rob_TO]

Hello everyone!

My husband (the sponsor) received the e-mail from CIC-CPCM last January 9th. The e-mail also stated that they have forwarded my application to the outland visa office which is in Manila. My question is, does it mean that they have reviewed the application and deemed it complete hence the transfer and if so, the only thing we have to wait for is the decision? Or will there be another e-mail from the visa office stating whether or not the application is complete?

Thank you in advance for clearing this up and have a great weekend all!

It means the basic stuff is all there and signed. However there are tons of cases where outland visa office asks for additional info. Manila could definitely ask you for something (especially for country-specific requirements). Or just ask you to send more info in a certain area... it all really depends on the VO that ends up processing your file.

 

[truesmile]

Very true, even with the most complete applications. At best, CEM will still at some point request the applicants passport (PPR) and the Appendix that has to do with more photos. We sent in 8 photos by the way, (they don't tell you how many to send) and were fine. We asked here how many photos to send and got 3 different answers.

 

[DC042712]

Thank you, Rob_TO and truesmile!

That's all I wanted to know. That by transferring the application, it meant that the basic forms they need are there. I have heard they sometimes still ask for other requirements when making their decisions. In my application, we sent 9 photos per their requirement on the website but we can always send more if need be. Good thing the guy printed extra copies for us.

Thank you both again. Much appreciated!

 

[fandv]

Thank you, Rob_TO and truesmile!

That's all I wanted to know. That by transferring the application, it meant that the basic forms they need are there. I have heard they sometimes still ask for other requirements when making their decisions. In my application, we sent 9 photos per their requirement on the website but we can always send more if need be. Good thing the guy printed extra copies for us.

Thank you both again. Much appreciated!

Hi DC042712!!

Congrats on getting the sponsorship approval! May your PR is granted very soon!

By the way I'd like to clarify something: when truesmile said that he/she sent 8 photos, I'm 99.99% sure that he/she was referring to the relationship photos...(i.e.: photos from the period when you both were still dating, engagement, wedding, outings, gatherings with friends/relatives, etc). That's why he/she wrote "they don't tell you how many to send" because in fact it's really true that the regional guide doesn't say how many relationship photos are required; it only says how many immigration photos are required.

You said your paperwork got transferred to Manila, which leads me to the believe that the sponsored person (you) is from the Philippines. I checked the regional guide for Philippines (IMM 3905) and indeed item 14 says that 9 photos are required, but be careful that the 9 photos are immigration photos (i.e.: 9 identical headshot photos of the sponsored person, following the photo requirements from Appendix B of IMM 3905).

You said "we sent 9 photos per their requirement on the website but we can always send more if need be. Good thing the guy printed extra copies for us."

Well in fact since the guide says 9, then all you need is really only 9 (immigration) pictures. You sent more than 9, so I think that's fine (but I believe they will only use 9 anyway).

Apart from the 9 immigration photos, you both also sent relationship photos, I hope? How many did you send anyway?

 

[DC042712]

Hi DC042712!!

Congrats on getting the sponsorship approval! May your PR is granted very soon!

By the way I'd like to clarify something: when truesmile said that he/she sent 8 photos, I'm 99.99% sure that he/she was referring to the relationship photos...(i.e.: photos from the period when you both were still dating, engagement, wedding, outings, gatherings with friends/relatives, etc). That's why he/she wrote "they don't tell you how many to send" because in fact it's really true that the regional guide doesn't say how many relationship photos are required; it only says how many immigration photos are required.

You said your paperwork got transferred to Manila, which leads me to the believe that the sponsored person (you) is from the Philippines. I checked the regional guide for Philippines (IMM 3905) and indeed item 14 says that 9 photos are required, but be careful that the 9 photos are immigration photos (i.e.: 9 identical headshot photos of the sponsored person, following the photo requirements from Appendix B of IMM 3905).

You said "we sent 9 photos per their requirement on the website but we can always send more if need be. Good thing the guy printed extra copies for us."

Well in fact since the guide says 9, then all you need is really only 9 (immigration) pictures. You sent more than 9, so I think that's fine (but I believe they will only use 9 anyway).

Apart from the 9 immigration photos, you both also sent relationship photos, I hope? How many did you send anyway?

Hi fandv!

Thanks!

I assumed truesmile was referring to either the passport photos or the immigration photos because if it were the relationship photos she was referring to, I would think that would not be enough to show as evidence to the VO if they were to show the whole story of the relationship.

I did send just the required amount of immigration photos (9). I only mentioned that the guy who printed the photos made a few extras just in case we messed up prior to submitting it. I have read in a few threads though about the VOs asking for more passport/immigration photos before the decision was made but I have forgotten which threads they were in and I guess it also depends on the VOs.

And as for the relationship photos... oh boy, we sent hundreds! It was a 4-year relationship timeline of photos from the time we started dating, vacation and holiday pictures, engagement photos, wedding ceremony and reception, up until the honeymoon. And I had to tag the photos too so it would be easier for the VOs to understand who's who in the pictures and what they're looking at.

How about you? I wish you a speedy process as well! ;D

 

[pardesifr]

these passport size photos how do you attach them ? you put in an envelope or attach them with a pin on one of the Form ?

 

[DC042712]

these passport size photos how do you attach them ? you put in an envelope or attach them with a pin on one of the Form ?

The passport size photos I used for when I had my medicals done.
The 9 immigration photos we submitted, however, were just placed inside a clear plastic photo holder that the photo center provided for us. Then we attached them using a paper clip on one of the main application forms because you are not allowed to use staples or binders of any kind.

 

[fandv]

Hi fandv!

Thanks!

I assumed truesmile was referring to either the passport photos or the immigration photos because if it were the relationship photos she was referring to, I would think that would not be enough to show as evidence to the VO if they were to show the whole story of the relationship.

I did send just the required amount of immigration photos (9). I only mentioned that the guy who printed the photos made a few extras just in case we messed up prior to submitting it. I have read in a few threads though about the VOs asking for more passport/immigration photos before the decision was made but I have forgotten which threads they were in and I guess it also depends on the VOs.

And as for the relationship photos... oh boy, we sent hundreds! It was a 4-year relationship timeline of photos from the time we started dating, vacation and holiday pictures, engagement photos, wedding ceremony and reception, up until the honeymoon. And I had to tag the photos too so it would be easier for the VOs to understand who's who in the pictures and what they're looking at.

How about you? I wish you a speedy process as well! ;D

Glad you also sent the relationship pics! I was just making sure.....it's just that the instructions can be a bit vague, and it took myself a while to understand how the whole thing works...! Even I still have questions that are still unanswered, such as:

1. Whether it's okay to have document certification written at the back (many of our documents barely have enough white space at the front!)
2. Whether the name of the original document in the certification sentence (i.e.: line 2) has to be in English or the original language
3. Whether the police certificate has to be certified that it is original
etc...

As for myself, we sent "only" 170 relationship pics...hopefully that's enough!! (Others have sent 400, even 600....wow!) (And the immigration pics, my Indonesian wife sent 5, as per the requirements from IMM 3906.)
Our whole package weighed 6,4 kg (14,08 pounds) though...we included tons of other relationship proofs because our timeline was rather short compared to other people's...for example yours is 4 years, which is really solid, whereas ours: we got engaged about 1 year since getting to know each other, and got married about 8 months after the engagement...so the total is only about 1 year 8 months from the time we got to know each other until we got married, so we wanted to show that our relationship/marriage is as genuine as it gets, hence the tons of proofs... =P

Thanks for the good wish! I really think yours will be processed faster since it's going through Manila.....whereas ours will go through Singapore, one of the slowest offices... =/. I haven't even got the AOR from Mississauga yet...

(Btw I love the Philippines...I just ordered 2 books from there last week, ha! =P)

 

[fandv]

these passport size photos how do you attach them ? you put in an envelope or attach them with a pin on one of the Form ?

I did more or less the same thing as what DC042712 did .

By the way, one more tip: when you're picking up the immigration photos from the photo shop, make sure you bring a ruler and make sure that they match the specs. I learnt my lesson the hard way! The first time we went to the photo shop, we brought the photo specs from IMM 3906 (that's the regional guide for my Indonesian wife.)
And when we picked up the photos, we only measured the physical dimensions and were satisfied that they were 35mm x 45mm, precisely matching the specs.

And then a few days before we submitted our package to CPC-Mississauga, I decided, just for fun, to measure one of my wife's immigration pics, but this time I measured the length from her chin to crown, and I discovered that it was wrong! It was 35 mm, whereas according to the specs, the minimum distance from the chin to crown should be 25 mm, and the maximum should be 30 mm.

So we had to go back to the photo shop, bring the specs again, and told the guy like 3 times that the distance from the chin to crown should be between 25 to 30 mm. And we had to pay again, grrrrrr!
Thankfully, this time they got everything right...!

The moral of the story is: bring a ruler when you're picking up the immigration pics, and check to make sure they match the specs precisely