I can't believe I finally found this forum after I've already negotiated (with much anxiety & stress) the entire application process & just 2 weeks before I fly out to Canada with my PR Visa in hand
I'm sure if I'd found it sooner some of those stresses would have been lessened for sure!
As it is my wife (Candian & my sponsor) & I negotiated without any major issues at all. I actually found the online guides on the CIC website to be helpful & easy to understand, if only all government guides were written that way eh?
Anyway I'll bore you with a few details of our situation. We met online in 2007, chatted extensively for a few months before I visited her for the first time at Easter 2008. I actually mentioned visiting her as the reason for my visit the first time I visited & though it caused me to be sent via immigration on that & another subsequent visit I think it helped in the long run, It meant the Canadian Immigration already had me on record as being in a relationship with my now wife (In fact on my second visit they helpfully filled out a form with all those details on & clipped it into my passport! very handy for the application as proof of relationship
)
I proposed in November 2008 & we married in December 2009 in Victioria (her hometown & we're we'll be living)
We started the whole process almost straight away, I had my police check sone by the end of January 2010, my medical was delayed till April though (the local approved doctor in Bristol was on holiday & was then ill ???) We were intedning to get all the paperwork submitted by the end of May at the latest but sadly (& typically!) my wifes tax office decided to lose her tax info & we had to wait another 3 months for them to sort it out!
We finally applied at the end of September. If I remember correctly it was passed to the London office in early November.
I was in Canada over Christmas & New Year & just a day after I landed back in the UK I got the request for my passport from the London office ;D
I sent it off the next day & recieved it back in less than 3 weeks.
So I fly out at the beginning of April ;D
It all ended a bit rushed as the delays meant that the visa had less than 3 months to run when issued! That the one thing I'd advise to others planning to apply, if possible leave the medical until the bulk of the other paperwork has already been put together.
I should add I wasn;t required to go to an interview, I'm not sure how common that is or not, just thought others may like to know.
Anyway thats enough of spamming this board with my own story!
Good luck to everyone still waiting to apply or with applications being processed ;D