Here is my timeline:
October 11, 2017 - Application submitted
November 20, 2017 - AOR Received
November 29, 2017 - Received Request for medical exam
December 5, 2017 - Received spousal sponsorship approval letter
January 17, 2018 - File transferred to London visa office
For 9 months no one even touched my file
November 2, 2018 - Received PFL
November 28, 2018 responded to their PFL with a lot of evidence
December 14, 2018 - Received request for remedical, schedule A and supplementary travel information form
December 21, 2018 - Received pre-arrival instructions letter
January 4, 2019 - Received passport request
January 10, 2019 - Finally got the stamped passport from the VFS office
It took 15 months for the entire process to complete. It was first marriage for both of us, no age gap and no red flags at all.
It's a long painful process full of frustration. But we are the ones who should be blamed for it because we never raise our voice for anything. Whoever gets the visa forgets about everything and does not even bother to raise their opinion or voice to the ministry to do something to reduce the processing time. The maximum wait time should not be more than 6 to 8 months. Just imagine staying away from your spouse and children for that long....
The best advise I can give is to not expect the process to be completed within 6 months. Whoever gets it within 6 months are indeed the luckiest ones but they are very few in numbers. One should keep in mind that the average processing time is 12 months as per the CIC's website so do not keep your expectations too high otherwise you would end up being frustrated. I wish everyone best of luck!! Do not give in to frustration, you are almost there or at least you are a little closer to it than you were yesterday