Spousal visa further medicals

[deltadeliquent]

I 'm the Canadian citizen and I have applied to sponsor my husband for PR. He is English, and we have planned to retire in BC. We had his medicals in June and the application was received on the 25 of June.
W have sold our UK house, and bought a house in BC. We must be out of our UK house 1 October. We thought we would have sponsorship approval by then and planned for him to enter Canada with a visitors visa to wait out the rest of the process. W have ad of many other people who have proceeded this way.Everything was going well until yesterday...
We received a letter from Canada asking for further medical tests. The doctor that did the medicals told us that they are asking for 6 months of tB free X-rays. They want one done in the middle of September and then another one adding up to six months clear films. This would mean March I guess, presuming the first film taken in June doesn't count.
That has us in a complete uproar, and the doctor hasn't a clue as to why they would ask for this. There was absolutely nothing on the X-ray. He has no history of TB or indeed of any sort of chest infection.

Does this mean the whole process is delayed by 6 months?

Can we request that some other sort of test be done to confirm no TB such as blood or skin tests?

Will they let him into Canada on a visitors visa in October as we planned and then get the last X-ray in Canada?

Will this mean they will not approve my sponsorship until his TB status is cleared?

This is very upsetting if for no other reason that we will be homeless on 1 October.

Can anyone shed some light on all of this and give us some hope? I can't believe this has happened.

My husband is 55, has worked for Tesco for forty years and has taken a total of four days off for sickness in all that time. White collar job in business managment in the head office, No convictions, not even a ticket. We have been married for two years and lived together for the five years before thAt. W have a mortage, bank account and all those sorts of things that show we have been in a genuine relationship. Photos, trips together we know each others families, the whole shebang!
I am distraught!!!

 

[computergeek]

First, have you ordered the case notes? In this case, you really should - you want the medical file because you need to know what it says. It's always possible they have confused your case with another. Note that because your husband is not in Canada, someone in Canada will need to order them ("access to information") and pay the $5 fee.

If the June x-ray was clear and they want 6 months clear, they should accept a clear film in December. However, this really is at the discretion of the medical officer, as potential TB relates to public health and safety and no one is exempt from such concerns - no matter how ill-founded.

You can always continue to BC for your 1 October date. Your husband is visa exempt and should be able to obtain a visitor record when you advise them . However, you should also be fully prepared to explain to the CBSA officer that your husband is completely healthy - and make sure you have documentary evidence, including a letter from the doctor in this case indicating that fact. It is very likely it won't be necessary, but you will have it to assuage any concerns the officer might have about a public health issue. I suppose you could request a TRV from the CHC in London, but it is a bit unusual - you would have to explain why you wanted a TRV for someone who is visa exempt.

Of course, you may also wish to speak with an experience immigration attorney, ideally one with experience dealing with medical cases - even though you really shouldn't be a medical case. But a well-placed letter might get someone to review your file and conclude that the delay is unnecessary.

 

[deltadeliquent]

Thank you for the advice. I am trying now to get a copy of the letter they sent to the doctor that requests the further tests.
If we show up in October and say we have an application in progress but not yet approved and that we are coming over to proceed with the move, will they refuse him entry? We don't really want to lie...
We will have the pets also arriving the airport, although they won't know this because we see immigration before we pick up our baggage.
The doctors letter stating his good health is a great idea.
Also, can you tell me if this will delay the sponsorship approval stage? Or will this just keep going as if nothing had been requested?

 

[computergeek]

Sadly, I cannot imagine this will do anything other than slow down the process. Until the medical officer signs off on the medical results, they cannot complete processing your husband's file.