Submitting in December. Any delays due to Christmas?

[flx2015]

For those that have submitted their sponsorship apps in December, did you experience any delays due to Christmas time? I've dealt with the govt for other things and they always seem to put everything on hold during that time...

 

[andrew-brit]

Are you applying inland or outland? My knowledge is mostly limited to outland.

The first stage, sponsor approval, currently takes approximately 62 days. This number fluctuates throughout the year. Out of those 62 days, only say 8 of them fall in the Christmas period (Dec 24th - Dec 31st).

In terms of CIC Christmas time is not really going to slow down your application, however in January a lot of other visa schemes open up, and this can cause delays, but all in all holidays no affect applications.

 

[flx2015]

I'm applying outland and my app will likely be processed at the London visa office.

Approximately how long can I expect the second stage to take? I know the CIC site says 11 months, but lately I've heard of apps being processed within 8-9 months even for cases which in my opinion weren't that "strong" in terms of the proof of relationship that was submitted.

 

[andrew-brit]

The posted processing time for London is actually 28 months, but that is because Islamabad visa office had a huge backlog so CIC moved applications from there to LVO.

So now London does the applications it is the visa office for and Pakistani applications.

In my signature you will see a link to a spreadsheet I help maintain which tracks applications going through London. You will see the average is about 10 months, but to be on the safe side call it a year. I applied on September 19th 2014 and I am still waiting, although I and a few other applications are the exception and not the rule.

Finally because London was swamped with these applications, Ottawa (and once upon a time Mississauga) started processing applications which would have normally went to London, so there is a chance your application may go to Ottawa which is a bit faster than London.

When you come to submit your application please post in the London Thread (link in my signature) and I will add you to the spreadsheet.

Good luck!