WARSAW TIMELINE-Join here !!

[armoured]

We had passed our one year timeline by a few days when I messaged them at the end of April to inquire about our stage of process. They responded within two days with the passport request letter

As a bit of a follow-up to the question about whether frequent inquiries will harm / delay the process. I'm not a fanatic, the question was about frequent inquiries - as I recall, I inquired one time about status but with a substantive question (whether I would need to get a PCC for a dependent that had just turned 18), and heard back within a short period with a "we'll let you know" or something like that, and a few days later got PPR. (My memory may be faulty). I have no idea whether these steps were actually linked or it was just a coincidence.

At any rate, my point is not that inquiries are always bad, but that they DO (or can) create work for them and overdoing it with frequent inquires serves no purpose and may cause delays.

 

[passenger19]

Looks like a lot of horror stories from Warsaw. Anyone have anything good to say to ease my worry?

I guess one of the reasons you got worried was my story. I personally think that refusals like mine might happen to cases that look very unusual for Warsaw. A common-law couple living in Russia and then spending months traveling in the EU...that visa officer must been really unprepared for that. So if your case is conventional I wouldn’t worry at all.

 

[armoured]

I guess one of the reasons you got worried was my story. I personally think that refusals like mine might happen to cases that look very unusual for Warsaw. A common-law couple living in Russia and then spending months traveling in the EU...that visa officer must been really unprepared for that. So if your case is conventional I wouldn’t worry at all.

Yes, without re-hashing your case (which they handled very poorly), the common-law period being split with travelling is an issue that comes up in Canada, too. Also in much of ex-ussr/former warsaw pact, divorce and marriage are straightforward procedures and few cultural issues with marrying (except for same-sex marriage), so I am guessing they see fewer common-law applications - it's easier to just get married. Also the civil registry systems are pretty similar and translations/notarizations relatively easy and standardized.

Plus I'd guess most Polish support staff at the visa office have enough knowledge of Cyrillic and Russian to make out and understand the basics of most simple docs (and there are staff at the visa office in Moscow that can help when needed, even if that office doesn't handle family sponsorship). [A side note: I provided a few docs that I didn't even translate - nothing critical just support docs, like a bank statement and a real estate deed; never heard any complaint from them about that. Maybe they didn't matter at all because a bit redundant but also possible they were so simple they didn't need translation.]

Again our file was (relatively) 'conventional.' And spouse/kids also had previous TRVs to Canada. VFS service in Russia/most of the region is pretty decent - even though I have some complaints about that, they were manageable. The medical tests were handled competently enough. Warsaw (by IRCC standards) actually mostly responded to emails etc.

The files I recall seeing here - apart from yours - that had serious issues were MUCH more complex like authorization to return to Canada and appeals and things like that.

Also a warning, I don't know about files from central asia or caucasus, and now that Warsaw is picking up files from London visa office (i.e. Pakistan etc) some of these experiences may not be fully relevant. (There have been a fair number of files from Belarus / Baltics etc with no major issues, at least as far as I have seen).

But overall, impression is that Warsaw is far from the worst office.

 

[rt865]

Can anyone recommend a notary/translator for Ukrainian and Polish documents in Warsaw?

 

[AllpKO]

Thank you for your replies. @passenger19 I'm glad that your appeal was successful, sorry you had to go through all of that. I don't know if they could consider our file complicated or not. We have an 11 year age difference, we were married during Covid so could not have any guests. I was previously married and divorced. To me, these things are normal - but to an agent I don't know.

Is there a WhatsApp group for Warsaw VO? I have been enjoying the support in the March 2021 What's App group. Getting the updates has been making me continue to be positive and hopeful - but it sounds like they will be splitting off to their own Visa Offices...

Any idea what the volume of files is that goes through Warsaw?

 

[armoured]

I don't know if they could consider our file complicated or not. We have an 11 year age difference, we were married during Covid so could not have any guests. I was previously married and divorced. To me, these things are normal - but to an agent I don't know.

Without knowing anything about your file, the general comment that can be made is that the other factors in your relationship and evidence (how long you've known each other, have you lived together, how much time physically together, how you met, other relationship evidence, etc) are going to be decisive more than what you've put above. Those other aspects might get more scrutiny, though.

Neither divorce nor age difference nor small civil ceremony on their own - or even together - are necessarily gamestoppers, particularly in eg Russian/european societal context and covid.

Put differently, if you met online and got married the first time you met, that's a very different case than living together for X years. (And so on for the other factors...)

 

[passenger19]

Thank you for your replies. @passenger19 I'm glad that your appeal was successful, sorry you had to go through all of that. I don't know if they could consider our file complicated or not. We have an 11 year age difference, we were married during Covid so could not have any guests. I was previously married and divorced. To me, these things are normal - but to an agent I don't know.

Is there a WhatsApp group for Warsaw VO? I have been enjoying the support in the March 2021 What's App group. Getting the updates has been making me continue to be positive and hopeful - but it sounds like they will be splitting off to their own Visa Offices...

Any idea what the volume of files is that goes through Warsaw?

Thank you. As far as I’m aware of Warsaw applicants only have this thread and the site called RusForum (It’s for Russian speaking applicants)

 

[dankboi]

dobry wieczor glad to see polish folks thread poppin out in the front feed ! : D

 

[ray86]

Depwnds when you submitted and where. We got ours back 2-3 weeks after sending to vfs.

My wife doesn’t actually need to submit her passport because she is in Canada right now. It says clearly in the PPR letter that “if you are in Canada, you do not need to submit your passport..”

It says to then inform the VO that you are already in the country within 5 business days, which we did. This was on April 12th, and since then we haven’t heard anything.

 

[Naila Haris]

Many february 2020 people from London visa office getting prearrival letter these days, I am also feb 2020 applicant and my file sent to Warsaw from London.
That's so stressful

 

[armoured]

My wife doesn’t actually need to submit her passport because she is in Canada right now. It says clearly in the PPR letter that “if you are in Canada, you do not need to submit your passport..”

It says to then inform the VO that you are already in the country within 5 business days, which we did. This was on April 12th, and since then we haven’t heard anything.

Ah, that's a different situation. Had you previously updated spouse's address to reflect being in Canada?

Our PPR letter had the following language, with no need to contact the VO to respond:
"
In Canada, to the Case Processing Centre (CPC-O):

Submitting your document(s) in Canada

If you have a mailing address in Canada and if you and all the accompanying dependents on your application are currently in Canada and plan to be in Canada for at least three months, you may submit your passport(s) to the Case Processing Centre – Ottawa.

You are required to send your document(s) together along with a copy of this letter by mail or courier to the following address with the additional following document:"

Etc.

I have no idea why your PPR letter would have approached this differently, but check your PPR letter to see if it has this information. This was further down the letter on page 3 and you could have missed it. If your spouse doesn't need to leave Canada in the next little while, you should be able to do it all in Canada.

If your letter doesn't have this - call IRCC or contact your MP's office.

 

[passenger19]

Ah, that's a different situation. Had you previously updated spouse's address to reflect being in Canada?

Our PPR letter had the following language, with no need to contact the VO to respond:
"
In Canada, to the Case Processing Centre (CPC-O):

Submitting your document(s) in Canada

If you have a mailing address in Canada and if you and all the accompanying dependents on your application are currently in Canada and plan to be in Canada for at least three months, you may submit your passport(s) to the Case Processing Centre – Ottawa.

You are required to send your document(s) together along with a copy of this letter by mail or courier to the following address with the additional following document:"

Etc.

I have no idea why your PPR letter would have approached this differently, but check your PPR letter to see if it has this information. This was further down the letter on page 3 and you could have missed it. If your spouse doesn't need to leave Canada in the next little while, you should be able to do it all in Canada.

If your letter doesn't have this - call IRCC or contact your MP's office.

I think that’s because now they use a new online portal to land as a PR instead of sending docs to Ottawa.

 

[ray86]

Ah, that's a different situation. Had you previously updated spouse's address to reflect being in Canada?

Our PPR letter had the following language, with no need to contact the VO to respond:
"
In Canada, to the Case Processing Centre (CPC-O):

Submitting your document(s) in Canada

If you have a mailing address in Canada and if you and all the accompanying dependents on your application are currently in Canada and plan to be in Canada for at least three months, you may submit your passport(s) to the Case Processing Centre – Ottawa.

You are required to send your document(s) together along with a copy of this letter by mail or courier to the following address with the additional following document:"

Etc.

I have no idea why your PPR letter would have approached this differently, but check your PPR letter to see if it has this information. This was further down the letter on page 3 and you could have missed it. If your spouse doesn't need to leave Canada in the next little while, you should be able to do it all in Canada.

If your letter doesn't have this - call IRCC or contact your MP's office.

We did update them about her being in Canada, with the address and everything.

I just read the PPR again and it doesn’t mention anywhere about sending documents to Ottawa.

Just a question. For applicants that are already in Canada, the date on the COPR would be the date they got approved correct? Or would it be the date when the COPR is sent?

 

[armoured]

We did update them about her being in Canada, with the address and everything.

I just read the PPR again and it doesn’t mention anywhere about sending documents to Ottawa.

Just a question. For applicants that are already in Canada, the date on the COPR would be the date they got approved correct? Or would it be the date when the COPR is sent?

I guess they have changed that, then, as passenger19 noted.

I don't know how they date the copr for those landing virtually as now.

 

[passenger19]

I guess they have changed that, then, as passenger19 noted.

I don't know how they date the copr for those landing virtually as now.

As I understood they now invite you to the new online portal to fill out your information and then a few days later send you a COPR letter saying now you’re a PR.