Sponsoring Japanese citizen through the Manila office - please share!

[gt_65]

Tanli - do you have access to the Manila VO spreadsheet? It'll give you a good idea of timelines.


It seems like right now April/May applications are getting traction. I don't see updates on any of the July applications.

 

[Tanli]

Hi gt_65,

Thanks for your reply. I don't have access to the Manila VO spreadsheet?? Do you know how I can get access to it? Thanks again for your help!

 

[gt_65]

The forum won't allow me to post the link but you can search for it in the search bar: Manilla VO spreadsheet

 

[JRPW]

Here is the link.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AiqQW9CdV8Q_dGNKMzZPT2laaVRvQm1NMGhkaERFUHc#gid=0

 

[roomonfire23]

Hi I'm Canadian and sponsoring my Japanese husband through the Manilla visa office.

Our application to sponsor was received by Mississauga on July 15th 2013 and I was approved as a sponsor on Aug 15th 2013. The email they sent said they would transfer our file to Manilla. Since then we have not heard anything. I emailed them in October to see if Manilla had received our application and they sent us an automated response that because we are still within the standard waiting period we cannot ask any questions about our application. It's very frustrating and ridiculous that we have to wait 14 months before I can ask the question of whether or not they received our file. I have a feeling that our application is either lost in the mail or sitting on a shelf collecting dust. Can someone with experience tell me if they will send us an email when Manilla starts processing my husbands application? It's been 5 months now and no word.

As far as I know, this is normal. You typically don't hear anything back until you get your visa. The first clue that your application is being worked on is when your file goes to "in process" on the CIC website. It took us about 6 months after SA to get in-process, but it's longer for some.

 

[Tanli]

Thank you gt_65 for letting me know about the spreadsheet and thank you JRPW for posting the link. It's great to be able to see other people's status in this waiting game and to know that at least some people are actually getting their visa. And thank you roomonfire23 for answering my question. I guess I don't need to worry too much... yet! Good luck to all!

 

[s and s]

Hello gt_65 and Tanli, I am a Canadian, sponsoring my Japanese wife. We sent our application to Mississauga on November 30, 2012. It took 3 months for it to get approved and then it was sent to Manila on March 1, 2013. At that time we received an email stating that I had been approved as a sponsor, and that our file had been transferred to Manila but our status online didn't change from the original Application received, Medicals received, until November 28, 2013 when it went to In Process. At the same time they sent an email asking for my wife to re-do her medical exam, as it had been more than 12 months since her first one. They also asked for her to fill out another Schedule A, to tell them where she has been, and what she has done in the year since we first applied. She re-did her medical exam, and we sent the form to them in December and now we wait again. My wife has remained in Japan during this time, and I have been in Canada. We have both been working, and I have gone to visit her 3 times so far. I hope we are nearing the end, but who knows.

I'm not sure if that helps, but I thought I would share.

 

[JRPW]

Hello gt_65 and Tanli, I am a Canadian, sponsoring my Japanese wife. We sent our application to Mississauga on November 30, 2012. It took 3 months for it to get approved and then it was sent to Manila on March 1, 2013. At that time we received an email stating that I had been approved as a sponsor, and that our file had been transferred to Manila but our status online didn't change from the original Application received, Medicals received, until November 28, 2013 when it went to In Process. At the same time they sent an email asking for my wife to re-do her medical exam, as it had been more than 12 months since her first one. They also asked for her to fill out another Schedule A, to tell them where she has been, and what she has done in the year since we first applied. She re-did her medical exam, and we sent the form to them in December and now we wait again. My wife has remained in Japan during this time, and I have been in Canada. We have both been working, and I have gone to visit her 3 times so far. I hope we are nearing the end, but who knows.

I'm not sure if that helps, but I thought I would share.

That sounds like the same timeline that we are on. My wife did her re-med on December 14, 2013, but Manila did not ask for another Schedule A. Have you contacted your MP to do a MP request? My wife and I did, and apparently my wife's application is "queued for finalization review by the VO." The only difference between your situation and ours is that I moved back to Canada on December 4 and my wife came with me to wait out the process (she was given a one year visitor permit/visa). Since I joined this forum, I have found that Canadians sponsoring their Japanese spouses have been waiting for at least 14 months or longer for Manila to process applications (I personally have been in contact with a Canadian married to a Japanese woman for 12 years with two children who has been waiting for 16 months). However, I have read posts where Filipinos have been given their COPRs after only seven months. Pathetic.

 

[s and s]

JRPW,

No, we have not asked our MP for help. I did apply for notes about our case using the Freedom of Information act. We applied for them on September 16, 2013, and received them October 16, 2013. There were 35 pages of notes about our case, starting from when we applied to Mississauga. There was not much of use in there besides a few notes about them looking at our case starting in July, then again in August, then in September. The notes were hard to understand, but there was a note about sending an email requesting more information in August. We did not receive any email, so I had our lawyer send them an email asking if in fact they had sent us an email, and what information did they want? It was just a few weeks later that we received the email asking for her re-med and the Schedule A. Not sure if it was just a coincidence, but it seems like they hadn't sent an email, or they sent it to the wrong email address, but then sent it again when our lawyer asked them about it.

I wonder if Canadians sponsoring their Japanese spouses are taking longer because of a longer time in receiving information from Japan, when they are doing background checks, etc. or if there are other reasons? I find it hard to believe that any information/documents coming from Japan would take longer because usually Japanese businesses/government offices are very efficient. Everything in Japan seems to happen quickly, whether it be getting passports, marriage certificates etc.

Did you have any trouble getting the visitor visa for your wife? We have thought about my wife coming here to wait, but are afraid that she could get turned around at the border. When we first applied we were thinking it would take about 10 months, and that we could wait that long, but as time drags on, we might have to try to get her in as a visitor and take the chance.

 

[scosan]

s and s,

Just more examples of how screwed up this visa office is. You should contact your MP but if the answer is the same as JRPW you'll still be left in limbo! The reply I received from our MP was "Medicals expire in Oct, 2014 and your application is in queue for final review by the VO". My question is how many applications could possibly be ahead of mine?!?!?!

Your wife should definitely be here - not sure how you could wait it out without her but then most from non exempt countries have no choice. Don't worry about the border they rarely have reason to give Japanese a hard time. I remember I was so so worried but turns out it was so easy for my wife. She was travelling with our 2 children as well and she told the officer she was coming to visit her husband (me!). She has been here since July 12 on easily extended visitor visas - the last time for 1 year.

Scosan

 

[JRPW]

JRPW,

No, we have not asked our MP for help. I did apply for notes about our case using the Freedom of Information act. We applied for them on September 16, 2013, and received them October 16, 2013. There were 35 pages of notes about our case, starting from when we applied to Mississauga. There was not much of use in there besides a few notes about them looking at our case starting in July, then again in August, then in September. The notes were hard to understand, but there was a note about sending an email requesting more information in August. We did not receive any email, so I had our lawyer send them an email asking if in fact they had sent us an email, and what information did they want? It was just a few weeks later that we received the email asking for her re-med and the Schedule A. Not sure if it was just a coincidence, but it seems like they hadn't sent an email, or they sent it to the wrong email address, but then sent it again when our lawyer asked them about it.

I wonder if Canadians sponsoring their Japanese spouses are taking longer because of a longer time in receiving information from Japan, when they are doing background checks, etc. or if there are other reasons? I find it hard to believe that any information/documents coming from Japan would take longer because usually Japanese businesses/government offices are very efficient. Everything in Japan seems to happen quickly, whether it be getting passports, marriage certificates etc.

Did you have any trouble getting the visitor visa for your wife? We have thought about my wife coming here to wait, but are afraid that she could get turned around at the border. When we first applied we were thinking it would take about 10 months, and that we could wait that long, but as time drags on, we might have to try to get her in as a visitor and take the chance.

s and s,

My wife and I didn't use a lawyer. We thought that a lawyer was / is too much money. After I joined this forum, I was given a lot of useful advice about how to put a PR application together. We collected all the documents that we needed, doubled checked that we crossed every T and dotted every I and then sent the application (we spent a month or so doing this). I just ordered our notes on the 11th. I hope that my wife's COPR comes before then, but I'm not holding my breath. I found that if you ask your MP for an update, Manila will respond to the request. I personally sent an update request three days ago. However, Manila is notorious for not responding if requests don't come from "official" sources.

I don't know what to think about this situation. You are right that the Japanese are very efficient. I lived in Japan for 12 years and loved how quick and efficient the Japanese were at getting things done. I think that Manila is overwhelmed by the number of applications. I don't think they have caught up to the backlog of applications that were created after the VO strike ended.

We had no problems with my wife getting a visitor visa. In the case of your wife, "duel intent" is allowed. When we landed at Calgary, I explained to the border agent that I was returning to live in Canada. I told him about my wife and our situation (wife has an ongoing PR application, waiting for over a year, etc.), and that she would be visiting my family and I until her COPR arrived. We provided my sponsorship approval letter, a letter that the wife received from Manila, our wedding certificate (wife's koseki) with the certified English translation and a return ticket for the wife (agent didn't ask to see ticket). I told the agent that we needed to get a re-med (got the re-med request a day before we left) done in Canada. The agent took pity on us, I think, and gave my wife a one year visitor visa / permit (normally it's six months for visa-exempt countries). Nothing is guaranteed, but your wife should have no problem coming to Canada to wait out the process.

 

[s and s]

JRPW and others,

So i have now received an email from Manila requesting a few things. They have requested that we 1.pay the $490 Right of Permanent Residency Fee, 2. Send them details of my wifes timeline for when she lived in Canada [which they already have, not sure why they want it again) and 3. To fill out the attached Appendix A. The brain surgeons at immigration never attached any document to the email so our lawyer and i have no idea what Appendix A is. The only Appendix A that we can see online is the original document checklist that we sent at the very beginning. We sent Manila an email requesting them to resend the Appendix A, but has anyone else had this form requested? They have given us 45 days to send all the requested information, but i have no idea how long it will take for them to respond to our email and actually send us the Appendix A they want us to fill out.

 

[JRPW]

JRPW and others,

So i have now received an email from Manila requesting a few things. They have requested that we 1.pay the $490 Right of Permanent Residency Fee, 2. Send them details of my wifes timeline for when she lived in Canada [which they already have, not sure why they want it again) and 3. To fill out the attached Appendix A. The brain surgeons at immigration never attached any document to the email so our lawyer and i have no idea what Appendix A is. The only Appendix A that we can see online is the original document checklist that we sent at the very beginning. We sent Manila an email requesting them to resend the Appendix A, but has anyone else had this form requested? They have given us 45 days to send all the requested information, but i have no idea how long it will take for them to respond to our email and actually send us the Appendix A they want us to fill out.

s and s,

I paid all the fees upfront. I know, and feel, your frustrations. Someone else on this forum was requested to send another Appendix A. I don't know why as EVERYONE has to send an Appendix A when they apply. Did you get a reply from CEM?

 

[Daantaat]

JRPW,

Your application is not far behind mine. At least we know there is some consistency in the ridiculous amount of time this has taken. One positive is that visitor visa renewals have been easy. We just received a 1 year extension. (God help us if it takes that long). The part that ticks me off the most is we are paying for a service we're not getting - pretty fed up with this whole process. It would be very nice to get Alberta health care. Someone took pity on my wife at the DMV and gave her a 1 year drivers license though! (her California license was about to expire).

Scosan

You can take your wife's passport with her visitor record to any Alberta registry and apply for an Alberta healthcare card. It might take some doing, but it's possible. It really depends on the person at the registry. When my husband and I first arrived in Canada from Korea, we took his passport to the registry and the guy there wouldn't even look at it once he found out my husband didn't have PR. However, after phoning AHC and then going above THAT guy's head to a manager, we faxed a copy of my husband's passport entry stamp to their office and got a 6-month AHC card. He had to return to Korea for a few weeks, and when he returned he got a new visitor entry record, which expires in October 2014. I took that in to a different registry and had no trouble extending his AHC card.

 

[JRPW]

You can take your wife's passport with her visitor record to any Alberta registry and apply for an Alberta healthcare card. It might take some doing, but it's possible. It really depends on the person at the registry. When my husband and I first arrived in Canada from Korea, we took his passport to the registry and the guy there wouldn't even look at it once he found out my husband didn't have PR. However, after phoning AHC and then going above THAT guy's head to a manager, we faxed a copy of my husband's passport entry stamp to their office and got a 6-month AHC card. He had to return to Korea for a few weeks, and when he returned he got a new visitor entry record, which expires in October 2014. I took that in to a different registry and had no trouble extending his AHC card.

The people working in the registries have no clue what they are doing. Before I went to AAA (Alberta Automobile Association), i called ANC. I wanted to double check that my wife could receive Alberta Health with only her 1) Passport 2) One year visitor visa (permit), which her received when we arrived in Canada. I was told by AHC that there would not be a problem. The girl working at AAA told us, with attitude, that my wife needed Alberta residency even though only ONE of us has to prove residency. I told her she was incorrect. I had some CHOICE words with her and told her to call AHC. AHC told her to give my wife her Alberta Health. She came back to us with even more attitude, which I gave back to her 10 fold, and asked to talk to her manager. Looking back at it now, I probably should not have been so mean, but I treat people the way they treat me.