Thread for Outland LONDON, UK Applications!

[rhcohen2014]

For those considering inland instead of outland because of this processing time increase, don't make that mistake.

I will draw your attention to the statement at the top of the processing times page: The times are based on how long it took to process 80 percent of all cases between January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014.

That means that this is NOT a "new processing time" that is just starting now. CIC is saying that for 2014, the 80% processing time was actually 29 months, not 11 months as was posted for most of the year. Expect apps to continue to average the same time that they did in 2014, which you can see in the spreadsheet.

As has been said, it's the apps transferred from Islamabad that has caused this increase and it is not indicative of the straightforward visa-exempt apps that go through London.

Also, keep in mind that there is a good chance of new apps being retained in Mississauga or sent to Ottawa instead of going to London.

i think how it's written is actually counterintuitive to how we understand statistics (at least for me). from what i've learned to understand is the stat isn't saying 80% of applications take 29 months. essentially it's saying 20% of applications take the posted time or longer, while 80% are actually approved in MUCH less time. i agree... the posted time is an OLD statistic that does not represent a true average, and it is not specific to the citizenship of the applicant. it has nothing to do with what current applicants are facing and it's very misleading. it is certainly not a reason to freak out and apply inland instead. my assumption would be those who do that will soon learn that is a mistake when outland applicants are approved in a reasonable amount of time. the threads own spreadsheet is a much more accurate picture of what to expect. i would imagine if we compared the stats on the spreadsheet for 2014 applicants there would be 0 applications that took 29 months (mostly because it hasn't been 29 months since jan 2014 - which makes the statistic even MORE confusing). on the contrary, 2014 applicants have generally seen QUICKER processing times than the "norm".

 

[canuck_in_uk]

i think how it's written is actually counterintuitive to how we understand statistics (at least for me). from what i've learned to understand is the stat isn't saying 80% of applications take 29 months.

I don't think it's counterintuitive at all. As it says, the posted time is how long it took to process 80% of all apps. The issue is that most people don't bother to read that and understand what it means; they simply look at the processing time and assume it's an average.

Let's say there were 100 apps submitted and the posted processing time is 12 months. That means that the 80th app was processed at the 12 month mark. The 79 apps done before that were processed faster than the posted time. Even if all of those 79 apps were done in 5 months and that 80th app took 12 months, the posted time will still be 12 months.

 

[rhcohen2014]

I don't think it's counterintuitive at all. As it says, the posted time is how long it took to process 80% of all apps. The issue is that most people don't bother to read that and understand what it means; they simply look at the processing time and assume it's an average.

Let's say there were 100 apps submitted and the posted processing time is 12 months. That means that the 80th app was processed at the 12 month mark. The 79 apps done before that were processed faster than the posted time. Even if all of those 79 apps were done in 5 months and that 80th app took 12 months, the posted time will still be 12 months.

well that certainly explains it a bit better. my brain still doesn't like to wrap around it though.

i agree part of the problem is that it's assumed those are averages when they are not. bottom line, i don't think those stats are very helpful in determining what to expect after sending in the applicaiton.

Edit: also, if the stats represent jan 2014- dec 2014 applications, then it's impossible that all the applications included in the stats were actually SUBMITTED during that time, right? if it's quoting 29 months, then that suggests some of the applications included in the stats were submitted in 2013 or maybe even 2012? or am i still confused?

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Edit: also, if the stats represent jan 2014- dec 2014 applications, then it's impossible that all the applications included in the stats were actually SUBMITTED during that time, right? if it's quoting 29 months, then that suggests some of the applications included in the stats were submitted in 2013 or maybe even 2012? or am i still confused?

Yes. The increase is coming from the 2012/2013 Pakistani apps that were transferred to London.

 

[rhcohen2014]

Yes. The increase is coming from the 2012/2013 Pakistani apps that were transferred to London.

well then it's definitely not worth freaking out about or deciding to go inland instead! thanks for the clarification. perhaps my brain will get it one day!

 

[smily_S]

Hi All,

another question the LVO send me 2 links for the photograph specifications,

Please print the photo specifications and bring the specifications and this letter to the photographer. You will find the specifications at this website: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/guides/3998E_tempA.pdf

More information on the photo specifications may be found here:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/pdf/5445EB-e.pdf

the first link states : note make sure you provide 2 photographs.
One photo must bear the name and complete address of the photo studio and the date the photo was taken must be included on the back of one photo. The photographer may use a stamp or handwrite this information. Stick-on labels are unacceptable.

the second link states: The name and complete address of the photo studio as well as the date the photo was taken must be included on the back of one photo. The photographer may use a stamp or handwrite this information. Stick-on labels are unacceptable. The photo with the photographer's information must include
your name and date of birth. One photo should be left blank.

Since I need to send 4 photographs do I need to have 2 stamped including my name, date of birth and 2 blank photographs?

I'm also send 4 photos (2 stamped, name , dob, 2 blank). is it correct?

 

[RideOrDie]

I'm also send 4 photos (2 stamped, name , dob, 2 blank). is it correct?

Hi Smily_S

Yes thats what i have done and made sure the pictures had correct specifications but also i included the letter which they requested the 4 pictures.

 

[smily_S]

Hi Smily_S

Yes thats what i have done and made sure the pictures had correct specifications but also i included the letter which they requested the 4 pictures.

thanks for reply! I wrote a cover letter mentioning the reference of their letter. but its good that u included letter. I would include it too, i didn't seal envelope yet

 

[DPParmar]

Sponsor Questionnaire (IMM5540) - question 7, where it asks for employment history, do you put the monthly salary as gross or net?
If keeping consistent with the Application to Sponsor (IMM1344) form, than I would say net, but just not too sure!

What have other done for this question?

 

[warzo]

I put gross income for all

Sponsor Questionnaire (IMM5540) - question 7, where it asks for employment history, do you put the monthly salary as gross or net?
If keeping consistent with the Application to Sponsor (IMM1344) form, than I would say net, but just not too sure!

What have other done for this question?

 

[mrs.sweden]

I really want to thank everyone who has explained and cleared up what the new crazy processing times were all about! Im 90% procent sure Im still sticking with our original plan of sending an outland application at the end of this month. There is still that part of me that is scared and worried "what if it ends up taking 29 months". Ive tried to do alot of researching but cant find any better information than on this forum. But I really just wanted to thank evreryone for explaining it all and calming me down!


This week is all about finishing all the last bits and going over everything about ten times, but soon it will be on it's way to Mississauga!

 

[CanadianInUK]

Morning all, from sunny BC. We are now over a month into our 'In Process' waiting period, as I see Nishra still is too....how likely do you think it is that CIC won't update ECAS to Decision Made and we'll just get a suprise in the mail?

Also - we had intended to flagpole at the nearest border crossing (Port Angeles/Victoria) but have been reading that not all border crossings have the customs facialities to 'land' PR applicants (you would get admited as visitor but have to go elsewhere to land)...has anyone heard this? I think I may need to call CIC.

Thanks as always!

 

[Brombino]

Our app is still at stage one. When we applied, stage one was predicted to take 30 days, it now takes 90 days. Triple the processing times is hard enough to digest but understandable given that resources are stretched and the volume of apps keeps rising, but when we saw the 29 months for stage 2 we automatically assumed it was human error.

So, after experiencing a mild heart attack on Friday when I saw that the processing times had leapt from a reasonable and digestible 11 months to an outrageous and shocking 29 months, I have read through this forum since the update was published, and it has given me some degree of comfort.

From what I can gather, the London office received apps from the Islamabad office, which because of their complexity (for the most part) have skewed the processing times. Unless there are issues with non-Islamabad apps then the processing times are not expected to be as long as 29 months (which is worse-case scenario) thus take a lot less time to process.

Thing is, these processing times are misleading: it is now hard to establish what the "real" processing times are now for "normal/non-complex" apps (to which I hope ours falls in this category), so it is all very much a guessing and waiting game (and as we all know, it is hard to plan unless one has a rough timeline to work with).

I also understand that to alleviate the insane number of apps and reduce the processing times at the London office, some of the apps may be held in Canada and processed in Ottawa?

It does beg the question - why on earth were the Islamabad apps all sent to the London office and not distributed evenly around CIC offices worldwide? Why is the London office a dumping ground?

 

[NVJ]

Posted our application to Mississauga today. Fingers crossed!!!

 

[andrew-brit]

Posted our application to Mississauga today. Fingers crossed!!!

Would you like to be added to the spreadsheet? If so please provide the following info:

-Date application received in Mississauga
-Whether you applied as Married or Common-Law
-Date of sponsor approval
-Which office is processing Phase 2 of your application (will say on your sponsor approval letter/email)
-Date(s) of any other requests you've had
-Whether or not the principal applicant is non-visa exempt
-Current location of the principal applicant- closest major city is fine if you don't want to be too specific!

Spreadsheet link is in my signature.