Ok...I will, at least regarding Inland applicantsDecoy24601 said:Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think they check criminality before they start actually looking at the applicant's file and assessing whether or not the relationship is genuine. I think it means you might be getting close, but I could be wrong.
The relationship is checked in the first stage. Once the sponsor has been approved, the applicant's relationship with his/her is verified. Once it has been approved, it means that the applicant now qualifies to apply for PR (even though s/he already has) and they receive their AIP (Approval in Principle).
The medical, criminality, security and background checks are all part of stage 2, which happens after AIP.