Singapore timeline

[arefinster]

Great post!!

Though someone might have asked this somewhere already, I am going to ask a very common question. I applied to sponsor my wife from Bangladesh. My file has been received by Singapore VO on Sept 2, 2013. Looking at everyone else's timeline, I am quite concerned and trying to find out as to how long might my case take to be completed?

Also, while waiting for the immigration, my wife is interested in doing a Masters at a Canadian university. If she gets into one, and applies for a student visa while her application is in Singapore, will the student visa affect her immigration application?

Any kind response will be greatly appreciated.

 

[sohana]

hey sohana, when did ur ecas changed into process? My husband n u have the same time line. His ecas went in process dec 10/2013. How about urs?

dear azmin,

my ecas changed 13 December, 2013... now how long we will be waiting for next step? ...

 

[toutesweet]

Hi toutesweet.. thank you so much for your quick reply.
What do you mean "It is up to you to initiate your security check and have it officially translated into English or French."? I did my Police Clearance twice and all are ok and sent it to SVO. After that also SVO do another inquiry with private agency?
what do you mean by "If you are not sure whom you need to address to apply, just check with the IOM"? what is IOM?
Are you Bangladeshi applicant?
Police can do the securuty but who is doing the background check and what they are checking for backgroung check please let me know if you have idea.

Hi Sama,
If you did and redid your police clearance then don't worry about any of that. The IOM is the international organization of migration. Some countries have an IOM office you go through, and some have a CIC office or similar representing office. It's the place they ask you to send your passport through you probably already knowa that place for you.
The schedule 1 I think it's called now is the background info that they also often ask you to update. The background check is either done by CIC or done by an "outside agency" which is just a CIC approved local to the country in question place that confirms the info you have given them. It's nothing you have to deal with. I can't tell you how much they check, or if it's like a random audit or what.
I expect to be honest, that they only put that check out to applications they have a suspicion or question about, and maybe randomly too. I don't think they do it every time at least not at the end because most people's passport request to visa issue is too short for that.
If you got a request for remedical and police clearance already then I expect if you didn't get it yet you will get a passport request soon and it should be fast from there.
I am applying from Cambodia by the way since you asked ;-)

 

[sohana]

Congrats Sohana... you are now one step closer.

Fortune89, Thank u very much....

 

[toutesweet]

dear azmin,

my ecas changed 13 December, 2013... now how long we will be waiting for next step? ...

Can't be sure Sohana, depends on your VO. Usually not long though. More likely 1-3 weeks but I have seen really long waits on a couple of timelines. They are unusual though. Hope you hear something very soon

 

[toutesweet]

Great post!!

Though someone might have asked this somewhere already, I am going to ask a very common question. I applied to sponsor my wife from Bangladesh. My file has been received by Singapore VO on Sept 2, 2013. Looking at everyone else's timeline, I am quite concerned and trying to find out as to how long might my case take to be completed?

Also, while waiting for the immigration, my wife is interested in doing a Masters at a Canadian university. If she gets into one, and applies for a student visa while her application is in Singapore, will the student visa affect her immigration application?

Any kind response will be greatly appreciated.

Hey arefinster, cases run from 1-2 1/2 years normally. Right now the official waiting time is 28 months from when Singapore receives your application BUT don't be alarmed by people's timelines. It's really dependent on your VO and don't forget there was a six month strike at CIC which is now over. You must be prepared to wait the full time in your minds but hold the hope that it could go much faster.
A student visa won't affect your PR but it's possible for your PR to affect getting a student visa, but probably ok.
Mostly the thing about a student visa is you have to show that you have the money for tuition and living expenses free and clear for the duration of the educational time. My husband's friend had family in Canada and had to show $70 000 CND free and clear (not bank borrowed) to get a student visa to do his undergrad at the university of Alberta.
Also, if her undergrad is from Bangladesh, first she has to get a Canadian university to accept it and agree to admit her into a masters program.
The other thing is, honestly, if she is coming here anyway, student fees for foreign university students are a good 5X the amount for foriegn students as they are for local, so it really might be worth waiting, or doing a cheaper tuition thing. Maybe a year long thing. Maybe an English school thing unless her spoken AND written English is perfect already. It'll take the edge off financially unless you are outrageously wealthy then do it however it's worth to you.
Last thing, if they do happen to call her for interview and she is here, she will have to go back to do it.
The other option is, if she is planning to try for student visa, you could always transfer the file to in country when she's here. The estimated line is only a few months longer than the outrageously long Singapore timeline, and you would be together. All of my friends and coworkers who married foreign spouses swear in country is the best way if you can get it. The catch is, she won't be able to work while going through the process. However, if she was planning on school anyway, then it really doesn't matter. It is possible to get some kind of work permit too. I've heard of it I just don't know anything about how that part is achieved.
You put out a lot of things to address so big answer! I hope that gives you something useful to go with and when you come closer to one of those directions you can ask more as needed Good luck!

 

[sama2012]

Hi Sama,
If you did and redid your police clearance then don't worry about any of that. The IOM is the international organization of migration. Some countries have an IOM office you go through, and some have a CIC office or similar representing office. It's the place they ask you to send your passport through you probably already knowa that place for you.
The schedule 1 I think it's called now is the background info that they also often ask you to update. The background check is either done by CIC or done by an "outside agency" which is just a CIC approved local to the country in question place that confirms the info you have given them. It's nothing you have to deal with. I can't tell you how much they check, or if it's like a random audit or what.
I expect to be honest, that they only put that check out to applications they have a suspicion or question about, and maybe randomly too. I don't think they do it every time at least not at the end because most people's passport request to visa issue is too short for that.
If you got a request for remedical and police clearance already then I expect if you didn't get it yet you will get a passport request soon and it should be fast from there.
I am applying from Cambodia by the way since you asked ;-)

Dear toutesweet, Thank you so much for your great reply.

 

[sohana]

if interview waived then ecas shows ' in process' ?
am i right or wrong guys ...i have confused to diyabrar timeline.
it says - ecass ' in process' 18 nov & interview waived, then medical & passport request same date as 23nov ( just after 5 days to ecas changed)

 

[diyabrar]

if interview waived then ecas shows ' in process' ?
am i right or wrong guys ...i have confused to diyabrar timeline.
it says - ecass ' in process' 18 nov & interview waived, then medical & passport request same date as 23nov ( just after 5 days to ecas changed)

yup in process means no interview

 

[arefinster]

Hey arefinster, cases run from 1-2 1/2 years normally. Right now the official waiting time is 28 months from when Singapore receives your application BUT don't be alarmed by people's timelines. It's really dependent on your VO and don't forget there was a six month strike at CIC which is now over. You must be prepared to wait the full time in your minds but hold the hope that it could go much faster.
A student visa won't affect your PR but it's possible for your PR to affect getting a student visa, but probably ok.
Mostly the thing about a student visa is you have to show that you have the money for tuition and living expenses free and clear for the duration of the educational time. My husband's friend had family in Canada and had to show $70 000 CND free and clear (not bank borrowed) to get a student visa to do his undergrad at the university of Alberta.
Also, if her undergrad is from Bangladesh, first she has to get a Canadian university to accept it and agree to admit her into a masters program.
The other thing is, honestly, if she is coming here anyway, student fees for foreign university students are a good 5X the amount for foriegn students as they are for local, so it really might be worth waiting, or doing a cheaper tuition thing. Maybe a year long thing. Maybe an English school thing unless her spoken AND written English is perfect already. It'll take the edge off financially unless you are outrageously wealthy then do it however it's worth to you.
Last thing, if they do happen to call her for interview and she is here, she will have to go back to do it.
The other option is, if she is planning to try for student visa, you could always transfer the file to in country when she's here. The estimated line is only a few months longer than the outrageously long Singapore timeline, and you would be together. All of my friends and coworkers who married foreign spouses swear in country is the best way if you can get it. The catch is, she won't be able to work while going through the process. However, if she was planning on school anyway, then it really doesn't matter. It is possible to get some kind of work permit too. I've heard of it I just don't know anything about how that part is achieved.
You put out a lot of things to address so big answer! I hope that gives you something useful to go with and when you come closer to one of those directions you can ask more as needed Good luck!

Hello toutesweet,

Thank you very much for such a detailed answer. Truly I appreciate your effort a lot. I will keep each of your advice in mind. I am also thinking about consulting with a lawyer before I take step to apply for a student visa. Thanks once again.

 

[Viruta57]

Marvelous. We will do the same in a few days when the criminal records check comes through. I had the same dilemma but decided in the end to send it through IOM, the registered service they recommend just to be slightly safer. I think it's not too slow. I hope not! Can't say what the best way is though really.
Keep us posted on which you choose and how long when you get the passport returned with the visa

So far I used Fedex three times from Canada to send police certificate from Thailand and Canada and a medical redone.... It worked really good for me... It took not more then three to four days to get over there when I checked with the tracking number... It is more expensive... but you can be sure it get there pretty fast. Today... I send the passport and they told me that it would be there next monday.... just waiting for the final step....

 

[azmin]

dear azmin,

my ecas changed 13 December, 2013... now how long we will be waiting for next step? ...

I don't know too how long we have to wait .. Diyabrar got remedial and Ppr on nov 23 right after ecas changed into process so hoping soon .... We r on the same boat ...

 

[Viruta57]

I don't know too how long we have to wait .. Diyabrar got remedial and Ppr on nov 23 right after ecas changed into process so hoping soon .... We r on the same boat ...

My case was in process april 2013... but i had to send again a medical since it had been done for more then 12 months... and after that I had to send a police certificate from Canada because my wife was with me in Canada on a TRV for more then six months... I just received a passport request this week.

 

[toutesweet]

yup in process means no interview

Diyabrar, I forgot, so did you send your passport already? If so, when? Let me know when you hear back. We are still waiting for the popo to produce the new police clearance, but it will come sometime next week I'm sure. Then we can send all the final info ask together.
To all, I wished I found this forum earlier in my process. It's so helpful and thanks personally to you diyabrar for your insights. I hope I can help people avoid all the hours of research I did starting out to avoid using a lawyer. It's great to help each other and keep each other informed to help ease the stress of this long process. Best of luck to all

 

[diyabrar]

Hi Sama,
If you did and redid your police clearance then don't worry about any of that. The IOM is the international organization of migration. Some countries have an IOM office you go through, and some have a CIC office or similar representing office. It's the place they ask you to send your passport through you probably already knowa that place for you.
The schedule 1 I think it's called now is the background info that they also often ask you to update. The background check is either done by CIC or done by an "outside agency" which is just a CIC approved local to the country in question place that confirms the info you have given them. It's nothing you have to deal with. I can't tell you how much they check, or if it's like a random audit or what.
I expect to be honest, that they only put that check out to applications they have a suspicion or question about, and maybe randomly too. I don't think they do it every time at least not at the end because most people's passport request to visa issue is too short for that.
If you got a request for remedical and police clearance already then I expect if you didn't get it yet you will get a passport request soon and it should be fast from there.
I am applying from Cambodia by the way since you asked ;-)

Hei dear!

Yea my wife sent mailed her passport with other docs on 9th december...no news yet
Really hoping the last phase atleast go smooth