Our Singapore timeline Vietnamese wife

[dangerJones]

Not so far! We are still waiting on any word from Singapore, and it's been complete radio silence since my sponsorship approval in August. I've also gotten in touch with my MP's office, as I mentioned before, but his rep hasn't gotten back to me either. We're currently looking into the feasibility of me going back to Vietnam for an extended period of time to wait the process out—not sure how that'll pan out, but you can check on that discussion here: http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/moving-outside-canada-during-sponsorship-t87948.0.html

OK, now for some moderately good news! I followed up again with my MP's office and finally got a call back. He apologized profusely for not getting back to me earlier--apparently he has hundreds of people to follow up with on immigration issues. Anyway, he said he'd checked the notes on our file and found that the last update on the file was in December, and that apparently the officer that examined our case said he felt satisfied that our relationship was genuine. YAY! Of course, he also explained that there were several more stages to the process, and that the next likely thing to happen was for us to get a request for updated medicals, and possibly other information. He said we could probably expect a request by 9-10 months in. The file's been in Singapore since August, so that's 6 months. We'll keep on praying for them to get on it faster, of course, and we'll keep you posted here!

[aug2611]

OK, now for some moderately good news! I followed up again with my MP's office and finally got a call back. He apologized profusely for not getting back to me earlier--apparently he has hundreds of people to follow up with on immigration issues. Anyway, he said he'd checked the notes on our file and found that the last update on the file was in December, and that apparently the officer that examined our case said he felt satisfied that our relationship was genuine. YAY! Of course, he also explained that there were several more stages to the process, and that the next likely thing to happen was for us to get a request for updated medicals, and possibly other information. He said we could probably expect a request by 9-10 months in. The file's been in Singapore since August, so that's 6 months. We'll keep on praying for them to get on it faster, of course, and we'll keep you posted here!

That's good news fow u dangerJones.
Thanks for updatimg ur case to us.
Hang in there... Good luck again.
God bless us all.

[Oct0711]

Thank you dangerJones for sharing the news, it gives me an idea of how long we should expect our file be processed. Our application was only approved (sponsorship) in mid-December, probably got to Singapore by mid-January. It took them 4 months to look at your file, it means April/May for us. I just ordered CAIPS yesterday, hopefully will get to know what's happening to it in a few weeks when the results are back. By the way, I am also thinking about going to VN to live with my wife for a period of time if the process is taking too long. Any new information you might have regarding this intention? Peace.

[dangerJones]

Thank you dangerJones for sharing the news, it gives me an idea of how long we should expect our file be processed. Our application was only approved (sponsorship) in mid-December, probably got to Singapore by mid-January. It took them 4 months to look at your file, it means April/May for us. I just ordered CAIPS yesterday, hopefully will get to know what's happening to it in a few weeks when the results are back. By the way, I am also thinking about going to VN to live with my wife for a period of time if the process is taking too long. Any new information you might have regarding this intention? Peace.

Good question. We'll see if it comes to that. I'm returning to Vietnam for a 2-month visit in two weeks, and our hope right now is that by the end of the visit, we'll have heard back from CIC about whether or not they want us to attend an interview. If we don't have to attend an interview and a PPR is issued right away, then it happily becomes a moot point. If we do have to attend an interview, we've agreed that I would come to Vietnam to wait it out. I've already got the name of an immigration lawyer from the Law Society of Ontario's Lawyer Referral Service (http://www.lsuc.on.ca/faq.aspx?id=2147486372), to whom I intend to ask some questions regarding our rights and responsibilities, and what'll happen to our application if certain things take place, such as leaving my job to go to Vietnam, my wife becoming pregnant (which we're also considering), etc. My impression, from speaking to others, is that there won't be much of an issue related to my income, since the sponsorship approval is already done and doesn't need to be re-evaluated. My main concern is whether I could return to Vietnam to work after the PR is issued if I were to find a good job there, or whether we'd have to stay in Canada for a certain amount of time (more than the average 3 months for the PR) and, therefore, to look for new work at that time. I'll update everyone once I have answers to that question and others.

[Canadianfirst]

Good question. We'll see if it comes to that. I'm returning to Vietnam for a 2-month visit in two weeks, and our hope right now is that by the end of the visit, we'll have heard back from CIC about whether or not they want us to attend an interview. If we don't have to attend an interview and a PPR is issued right away, then it happily becomes a moot point. If we do have to attend an interview, we've agreed that I would come to Vietnam to wait it out. I've already got the name of an immigration lawyer from the Law Society of Ontario's Lawyer Referral Service (http://www.lsuc.on.ca/faq.aspx?id=2147486372), to whom I intend to ask some questions regarding our rights and responsibilities, and what'll happen to our application if certain things take place, such as leaving my job to go to Vietnam, my wife becoming pregnant (which we're also considering), etc. My impression, from speaking to others, is that there won't be much of an issue related to my income, since the sponsorship approval is already done and doesn't need to be re-evaluated. My main concern is whether I could return to Vietnam to work after the PR is issued if I were to find a good job there, or whether we'd have to stay in Canada for a certain amount of time (more than the average 3 months for the PR) and, therefore, to look for new work at that time. I'll update everyone once I have answers to that question and others.

Buddy your heart is the right place. However I think you are creating problems for yourself.  Most tourist Visa to Vietnam are for one month.  I do not know what you do for a living or if you speak Vietnamese but going to Vietnam in the hopes of finding temporary work is just out of the question. Keep in mind minimum wage is 98.00/month for 49 hour weeks.  I think it is best to keep your job here you will have many expenses when she arrives.  Maybe you are financially independent I don't know.

[Dragoon]

Tourist visa is for 3 months, it used to be 6 months. You can keep renewing it through the embassy in Vietnam anyways if you want to stay longer. I am also taking 1 month of leave of absence with no pay to be with my awesome beautiful wife in May.

If you have a good job here in Canada you should definitely not abandon it as once your spouse comes over it can be very rough financially.

[dangerJones]

Our eCAS just changed this morning to "In Process" Here's what we see in there now:

We received your application for permanent residence on June 7, 2011.
 
We started processing your application on February 5, 2012.
 
Medical results have been received.

This is such happy news. Most of what I'm reading elsewhere in the forums seems to suggest that the PPR is the next step after the medicals are received. I'm leaving for two months on Wednesday to visit my wife, and this is just what we needed to hear. Hopefully, if everything goes well and we don't run into any problems, we should get the PPR while I'm there, be able to send it in, and--if God wills--possibly get the visa back by the time I return to Canada. So I might just be able to fly back with my wife Please pray for us and I'll keep you all up to date.

[Bold9900]

Our eCAS just changed this morning to "In Process" Here's what we see in there now:

This is such happy news. Most of what I'm reading elsewhere in the forums seems to suggest that the PPR is the next step after the medicals are received. I'm leaving for two months on Wednesday to visit my wife, and this is just what we needed to hear. Hopefully, if everything goes well and we don't run into any problems, we should get the PPR while I'm there, be able to send it in, and--if God wills--possibly get the visa back by the time I return to Canada. So I might just be able to fly back with my wife Please pray for us and I'll keep you all up to date.

 @  dangerJone, This is a very good news for you!! Congratz! you are one step closer to finish. My still no movement very sad.

BTW. I am going back this Monday Feb 20th to see my pregnant wife too for two weeks and she is expecting our baby in April that mean I have to go back again in April. Hope we all having a good time with our love one.

[Canadianfirst]

Good news Dangerjones.  Really good news.  The best for you both.

[stevent]

Hi everyone,

This is what I've seen on my eCAS file:

"We received your application to sponsor (my wife's name) on June 29, 2011.
We started processing your application on August 25, 2011.
We sent you a letter on September 7, 2011 about the decision on your application. Please consider delays in mail delivery before contacting us."


It has been been 6 months since they started processing my application and the information on eCAS did not change. My wife in Vietnam has not received any news from CIC-Singapore either. Any one on the same boat? Any advice what I should do?

Should I contact my MP?

If I request for a CAIPS file check, would there be much useful information? By the way, is “caips.ca” website the only agency that can request CAIPS file check? It charges $40 per request. Is this something I can do myself?

I've just come back to Canada from a trip with my wife to visit Thailand and many places in Vietnam. We took a lot of outing photos together. Should I send them directly to CIC-Singapore to further support my file?

Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

[PMM]

Hi

Hi everyone,

This is what I've seen on my eCAS file:

"We received your application to sponsor (my wife's name) on June 29, 2011.
We started processing your application on August 25, 2011.
We sent you a letter on September 7, 2011 about the decision on your application. Please consider delays in mail delivery before contacting us."


It has been been 6 months since they started processing my application and the information on eCAS did not change. My wife in Vietnam has not received any news from CIC-Singapore either. Any one on the same boat? Any advice what I should do?

Should I contact my MP?

If I request for a CAIPS file check, would there be much useful information? By the way, is “caips.ca” website the only agency that can request CAIPS file check? It charges $40 per request. Is this something I can do myself?

I've just come back to Canada from a trip with my wife to visit Thailand and many places in Vietnam. We took a lot of outing photos together. Should I send them directly to CIC-Singapore to further support my file?

Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

1.  You realize the processing time for 80% of spouses in Singapore is 21 months?
2.  CAIPS won't show anything (or much) at this time.  With an authorization from your spouse you can apply for the GCMS notes your self.  http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/atip/requests-personal.asp
3.  You can send the photos, if you haven't previously documented the relationship.

[dangerJones]

Hi stevent,

I have the same thing on my side of eCAS-- here's what I have:

We received your application to sponsor [your spouse] on June 7, 2011.
 
We started processing your application on August 22, 2011.
 
We sent you a letter on August 8, 2011 about the decision on your application. Please consider delays in mail delivery before contacting us.

They did indeed send me an email on August 8th, letting me know that I was approved as a sponsor for my wife and that our file had been forwarded over to Singapore for processing. This came after an initial acknowledgement email on July 25th. I don't know where they got August 22 from; it's probably when somebody decided to get off their butt and update eCAS after the fact. Anyway, as PMM said, the waiting period for Singapore is quite long, so if you haven't heard anything yet, don't worry too hard. Your eCAS status implies that you've been accepted as a sponsor, and that your file is in Singapore getting shuffled from one queue to the next. To give you an idea, the first I heard back from Singapore so far is simply a change in our eCAS status, as I wrote in a post above. It's about six months from August 8 to February 5, so you're at about the point where we saw our status change.

It has been been 6 months since they started processing my application and the information on eCAS did not change. My wife in Vietnam has not received any news from CIC-Singapore either. Any one on the same boat? Any advice what I should do?

Should I contact my MP?

If I request for a CAIPS file check, would there be much useful information? By the way, is “caips.ca” website the only agency that can request CAIPS file check? It charges $40 per request. Is this something I can do myself?

I've just come back to Canada from a trip with my wife to visit Thailand and many places in Vietnam. We took a lot of outing photos together. Should I send them directly to CIC-Singapore to further support my file?

My advice would be, hang in there for a couple more weeks to see. Sending in more evidence is always a possibility. You may want to take the opportunity to call your local MP's office, too. Call them up and explain your situation, when you submitted your application, and that you're thinking of sending additional evidence in a package to Singapore, but that you want to make sure they haven't already made a decision on your file. I did this a few weeks before I got the eCAS update, and they were able to access the notes on my file and tell me what had happened so far, that they had indeed started processing, and that I should expect some sort of communication soon. Be aware that they probably have hundreds of immigration cases to follow up with, and that there may be some delay before they get back to you. If so, ask them when you can expect an answer and call them back if they don't get back to you before then. Who knows, you might have heard back from CIC by then.

As they say in Vietnam, "co len"... don't give up!

[dangerJones]

 @   dangerJone, This is a very good news for you!! Congratz! you are one step closer to finish. My still no movement very sad.

BTW. I am going back this Monday Feb 20th to see my pregnant wife too for two weeks and she is expecting our baby in April that mean I have to go back again in April. Hope we all having a good time with our love one.

Bold, I hope you enjoy your visit. Make the most of this precious time! I'm over in VN right now and loving the opportunity to be back with my beloved and her family. Apart from enjoying each other's company and living our daily family life together, we are planning for possible contingencies now too. Everything hinges on when we hear official word from Singapore (i.e., more than just an eCAS update). Nothing so far. We are mentally prepared for the possibility that no word may come until after I leave, and that my wife may eventually have to re-do her medicals. Hopefully that process will be short though, and this long waiting game will come to a successful conclusion. So many people on these forums are in the same boat and we will keep them all in our thoughts and prayers while we are together here.

[stevent]

Hi


1.  You realize the processing time for 80% of spouses in Singapore is 21 months?
2.  CAIPS won't show anything (or much) at this time.  With an authorization from your spouse you can apply for the GCMS notes your self. 
3.  You can send the photos, if you haven't previously documented the relationship.

Hi PMM,
Thank you very much for your reply. All I have to do now is wait (I guess   ). I will probably request for CAIPS file a couple of months down the road. Thank you very much for sending me the web link.

[stevent]

Hi stevent,

I have the same thing on my side of eCAS-- here's what I have:

They did indeed send me an email on August 8th, letting me know that I was approved as a sponsor for my wife and that our file had been forwarded over to Singapore for processing. This came after an initial acknowledgement email on July 25th. I don't know where they got August 22 from; it's probably when somebody decided to get off their butt and update eCAS after the fact. Anyway, as PMM said, the waiting period for Singapore is quite long, so if you haven't heard anything yet, don't worry too hard. Your eCAS status implies that you've been accepted as a sponsor, and that your file is in Singapore getting shuffled from one queue to the next. To give you an idea, the first I heard back from Singapore so far is simply a change in our eCAS status, as I wrote in a post above. It's about six months from August 8 to February 5, so you're at about the point where we saw our status change.

My advice would be, hang in there for a couple more weeks to see. Sending in more evidence is always a possibility. You may want to take the opportunity to call your local MP's office, too. Call them up and explain your situation, when you submitted your application, and that you're thinking of sending additional evidence in a package to Singapore, but that you want to make sure they haven't already made a decision on your file. I did this a few weeks before I got the eCAS update, and they were able to access the notes on my file and tell me what had happened so far, that they had indeed started processing, and that I should expect some sort of communication soon. Be aware that they probably have hundreds of immigration cases to follow up with, and that there may be some delay before they get back to you. If so, ask them when you can expect an answer and call them back if they don't get back to you before then. Who knows, you might have heard back from CIC by then.

As they say in Vietnam, "co len"... don't give up!

Hi DangerJones,
Thank you so very much for your post. Your advice is really helpful. I will watch out for an update in my eCAS in the next little while. I will probably call my MP some time next week to see if he can help with any information on my file.
Regards,
Steven