Bilingual application - 13 months and waiting

[Bram82]

Hi everybody,

I have applied for PR - CEC/Express Entry on April 11th, 2018, now more than 13 months ago (Ottawa office). I have been meticulous and know that there is nothing controversial or difficult about my application. However, the GCMS notes state nothing has been done since June 2018 (at least according to these notes) and there seems to be still some work to be done on security (it is the only section that had a deadline ongoing, April 2019 last time I checked). So presumably, the issue is with security.

This is where it gets interesting: my (Belgian) document that shows that I have no criminal background is the original, in French. Everything else is in English. My suspicion/paranoia (by this point) is that my files have been circulating around due to the processing officers not being able to read the French document... I have contacted a lawyer here in Toronto, without holding high hopes.

Question 1: are GCMS notes providing a sufficient picture of the process? If yes, my application has been stored indefinitely. If no, this seems to go against the general idea of "right of access to information".
Question 2: did anybody else experience delays with bilingual applications?

Any help is much appreciated!

 

[k.h.p.]

Canada is a bilingual country. They can read French.

If you have security review ongoing, that's not connected to your police check. They're talking to CSIS and the RCMP and FBI to find out if you're a security threat to Canada. That can take a very long time.

 

[Bram82]

Canada is a bilingual country. They can read French.

If you have security review ongoing, that's not connected to your police check. They're talking to CSIS and the RCMP and FBI to find out if you're a security threat to Canada. That can take a very long time.

Many thanks for the answer! I have been spending the last hours digging more into this and should have been more clear. I believe that the GCMS notes do imply that the problem is with the police certificate. Do you agree with this?:
- ADMISSIBILITIES:
SECURITY: 1
Created and updated date: 18/04/2018
Status: Not Started
Due Date: 19/04/2019
CRIMINALITY: 1
Created and updated date: 18/04/2018
Status: In Progress
Due Date: 19/04/2019
Criminality history: 0
Police certificates: 0
SUB ACTIVITIES: 1
Created date: 18/04/2018 ; Updated date: 25/06/018
Type: RCMP Screening
Status: No Crim Rec After Fingerprints
- INCOMING: 13
Item: Police Certificate
Review Status: Review Required

 

[k.h.p.]

I don't know. It looks like the record indicates "no criminal record after fingerprints," but if they're still doing a security/criminality review, it's not because the record is in French.

 

[Immigration_guru]

Many thanks for the answer! I have been spending the last hours digging more into this and should have been more clear. I believe that the GCMS notes do imply that the problem is with the police certificate. Do you agree with this?:
- ADMISSIBILITIES:
SECURITY: 1
Created and updated date: 18/04/2018
Status: Not Started
Due Date: 19/04/2019
CRIMINALITY: 1
Created and updated date: 18/04/2018
Status: In Progress
Due Date: 19/04/2019
Criminality history: 0
Police certificates: 0
SUB ACTIVITIES: 1
Created date: 18/04/2018 ; Updated date: 25/06/018
Type: RCMP Screening
Status: No Crim Rec After Fingerprints
- INCOMING: 13
Item: Police Certificate
Review Status: Review Required

Do you have more than 1 PCC?

 

[Bram82]

I don't know. It looks like the record indicates "no criminal record after fingerprints," but if they're still doing a security/criminality review, it's not because the record is in French.

Towards the bottom of the notes, the last updated note (which dates back to June 2018) states that my Belgian police certificate specifically requires a review. You are probably right that this is not about the language. I just can't believe it has taken so long now and that at least someone is being lazy/incompetent/unfair (on Belgian or Canadian side)... Anyway, thanks again for your feedback!

 

[Bram82]

Do you have more than 1 PCC?

No, only Belgium and RCMP:
Belgium: 1982-1984
USA: 1984-1986 (aged 2-4) - I don't think I need a PCC for this?
Belgium: 1986-2012
Canada: 2012-2017
Belgium: 2017-... (as visitor in Canada)
Frankly, my history is spotless. I just don't have a strong social media presence.

 

[Immigration_guru]

No, only Belgium and RCMP:
Belgium: 1982-1984
USA: 1984-1986 (aged 2-4) - I don't think I need a PCC for this?
Belgium: 1986-2012
Canada: 2012-2017
Belgium: 2017-... (as visitor in Canada)
Frankly, my history is spotless. I just don't have a strong social media presence.

You don't need a PCC for USA one,
But as you have Belgium and RCMP once that is why it indicated review, nothing to worry.
As far as, your feeling of delay due to French, it's not true IRCC has all the resources to get the documents evaluated in English and French.
You need to check the notes at the end of your gcms pdf. what does the detailed notes state?

 

[Bram82]

You don't need a PCC for USA one,
But as you have Belgium and RCMP once that is why it indicated review, nothing to worry.
As far as, your feeling of delay due to French, it's not true IRCC has all the resources to get the documents evaluated in English and French.
You need to check the notes at the end of your gcms pdf. what does the detailed notes state?

Before anything else, I noticed that my online account says: "We are reviewing whether you meet the eligibility requirements." I always assumed this is a meaningless sentence but it seems they might have issues with confirming that I worked for over 5 years, as also mentioned below. This is very strange, as I worked for over 5 years at a university (postdoctoral researcher), not exactly an obscure employer. This is turning into a very specific personal request, and I apologize for that...

Review of eligibility: We are reviewing whether you meet the eligibility requirements.
Review of medical results: You passed the medical exam.
Review of additional documents: We are reviewing the additional documents you provided.
Interview: You do not need an interview. We will send you a message if this changes.
Biometrics: We do not need your fingerprints. We will send you a message if this changes.
Background check: We are processing your background check. We will send you a message if we need more information.
Final decision: Your application is in progress. We will send you a message once the final decision has been made.

Notes: 1 25/06/2018: *** CASE PROCESSING AGENT REVIEW *** POLICE CERTIFICATES Officer review required; eDoc 211570433 (this is the number of my Belgian police certificate file)
Notes: 2 01/05/2018: CPC-Ottawa, Received: RCMP clearance for PA/NRT
Notes: 3: 26/04/2018: EE Eligibility CPC-Edmonton: Case analyst: Recommendations:
ANALYST RECOMMENDATION: Recommend Pass A11.2: Appears Met R87.1: CEC Minimum requirements – appears met, ready to finalize RPRF: Complete
CRS Score: 540, minimum score 456, PA gained points as single at ITA and APR PA gained points for 5+ years Canadian Work Experience at Universite de Montreal.
INTEGRATED SEARCH (FOSS/GCMS): PA: Visitor Record Valid, no adverse information
FAMILY COMPOSITION: all good, MEDICALS and PASSPORT: all valid
WORK EXPERIENCE: all positive and confirmed (letters from employers, etc.), somehow still states: CEC Work: 2 years and 5 months, CRS Canadian work: 5 years, 4 months, CEC Work: 1 year, CRS foreign work: 0 years, 0 months of 3 years, REVIEW REQUIRED CRS Canadian Work: 5+ years (??)
Notes: 4: 25/04/2018: PReVU Verified
Notes: 5: 18/04/2018: EE Eligibility – CIO, MIN SCORE: 456, CRS Score: 540, existing UCI, Medical: verified, Education: ECA: verified, POLICE CERTIFICATE: Primary Applicant 1- Belgium police certificate: Provided, NRT 2 -Canada RCMP with fingerprints police certificate: Request Letter Sent R10 OK Recommendation: review required – Pending outstanding (note: this was before arranging the fingerprints) PC – AGE: reviewed and ok, DOCUMENTS SET FOR REVIEW: Client Information

 

[k.h.p.]

Have you tried to submit a webform to ask them about the status? The analyst recommendation is that you pass and should be finalized.

It's also hard for me to tell from your bolded text which part you've added and which part was in the GCMS notes.

 

[Bram82]

I sent requests about my status four times now, with one where I submitted an officially translated English version of the police certificate. Their response has always been a generic one. On Monday, I am calling them.

If you don't feel like responding anymore, I'd understand. Most of the time, I manage to ignore the situation but when I do commit to it, it's making me furious.

This is the same text as before with the WORK EXPERIENCE now exactly as in the GCMS notes and everything added by myself between brackets:
Notes: 1 25/06/2018: *** CASE PROCESSING AGENT REVIEW *** POLICE CERTIFICATES Officer review required; eDoc 211570433 [this is the number of my Belgian police certificate file]
Notes: 2 01/05/2018: CPC-Ottawa, Received: RCMP clearance for PA/NRT
Notes: 3: 26/04/2018: EE Eligibility CPC-Edmonton: Case analyst: Recommendations:
ANALYST RECOMMENDATION: Recommend Pass A11.2: Appears Met R87.1: CEC Minimum requirements – appears met, ready to finalize RPRF: Complete
CRS Score: 540, minimum score 456, PA gained points as single at ITA and APR PA gained points for 5+ years Canadian Work Experience at Universite de Montreal.
INTEGRATED SEARCH (FOSS/GCMS): PA: Visitor Record Valid, no adverse information
FAMILY COMPOSITION: [all good], MEDICALS and PASSPORT: [all valid]
WORK EXPERIENCE: Lock-In Date: 2018-04-11 EDUCATION CREDENTIAL(S) PROVIDED: Doctorate: 2012-05 to 2017-08 – Postdoctoral researcher (NOC: 2121) – at Universite de Montreal – eDoc# 211566978 – Web-based search confirms employer information – Letter dated 20Mar2018 appears to confirm employment in declared occupation throughout the specified period, and provides a job description which is consistent with the lead statement and main duties as set out in the declared NOC category – Letter confirms salary of 40,000 – Letter confirms fulltime employment; CEC Work: 2 years and 5 months. CRS Canadian Work: 5 years and 4 months. CEC Work: 1 year. CRS Foreign work: 0 year(s) 0 month(s) of 3 year(s) – REVIEW REQUIRED CRS Canadian Work: 5+ year(s)
Notes: 4: 25/04/2018: PReVU Verified
Notes: 5: 18/04/2018: EE Eligibility – CIO, MIN SCORE: 456, CRS Score: 540, existing UCI, Medical: [verified], Education: [ECA: verified], POLICE CERTIFICATE: Primary Applicant 1- Belgium police certificate: Provided, NRT 2 -Canada RCMP with fingerprints police certificate: Request Letter Sent R10 OK Recommendation: review required – Pending outstanding [note: this was before arranging the fingerprints] PC – AGE: reviewed and ok, DOCUMENTS SET FOR REVIEW: Client Information

 

[k.h.p.]

And you say that the security section is the only part of the notes with a 2019 bring forward date?

I'd be tempted to contact an MP and ask them to inquire on your behalf, or something. The review required status is not in and of itself unheard of - and I suspect it's a security review causing you issues.

 

[Bram82]

The only 2019 deadline date was indeed on security (deadline was in April, I sent a screenshot of that in my last webform request).
I am following your advice on contacting somebody to start an inquiry. I just posted a Facebook post on a "Belgians in Toronto" group, hoping to get a contact from someone there. The alternative is to directly contact the Belgian consulate. If Belgian connections don't work, I'll try an MP (but fear it won't work because I am only a visitor in Canada).
Anyway, thanks again!

 

[k.h.p.]

If you're in Canada, an MP should help. The Belgian government cannot. The delay would be Canada's security agency (CSIS) pending your screening, not necessarily Belgium. And it would be nightmarish for a Belgian to try to find out where the problem is.

Contact your local MP. If you're in Canada, they should help.

 

[Bram82]

Ok, I found his name (Michael Levitt) and will contact him