BOGOTA Visa Office 2012 applicants

[FYY]

Thank you guys for your help.
Best of luck for everyone!

 

[cinc]

Finally sent the application package off. Fingers are crossed and stomach in knots. I hope it's all in there correct and nothing goes wrong.

 

[ccunnington]

Finally sent the application package off. Fingers are crossed and stomach in knots. I hope it's all in there correct and nothing goes wrong.

Good Luck! I'm sure everything will go smoothly for you. Just to let you know, our processing time in Bogota was only 7 months, so as long as you have a straightforward application and you haven't missed anything, you should be process under the 17 months processing time that they list on the website!!

 

[coljhag]

Hello everyone!
Just got approved to sponsor my wife in Colombia. Is there a spreadsheet to keep track of the processing times in Bogota?

 

[ccunnington]

Hello everyone!
Just got approved to sponsor my wife in Colombia. Is there a spreadsheet to keep track of the processing times in Bogota?

No, there isn't a Bogota Spreadsheet...but there seems to be lots of spreadsheets for the specific month you send in your app...you can also join the Trackitt website. It works similar to a spreadsheet so you can see timelines and processing times there

 

[cinc]

Thanks ccunnington. 7 months would be great. As long as we know by next October, I'll be happy. I went over the file checking for signatures many times so really hope I didn't miss anything. We won't be ready to go to Canada until June 2014 (due to school and contracts). Is there any chance we'd be forced to go before then? I'm a bit foggy on how long you have to get into Canada if approved and if you're allowed to go back and forth (with Canada obviously being our permanent residence).

 

[ccunnington]

Thanks ccunnington. 7 months would be great. As long as we know by next October, I'll be happy. I went over the file checking for signatures many times so really hope I didn't miss anything. We won't be ready to go to Canada until June 2014 (due to school and contracts). Is there any chance we'd be forced to go before then? I'm a bit foggy on how long you have to get into Canada if approved and if you're allowed to go back and forth (with Canada obviously being our permanent residence).

Once they issue the visa, it is valid until your medical exam expires. I can't remember if you've already done your medical or not, but if your process takes more than the 1 year that the medical is valid for, then they may ask you to re-do the medical. We did our medical halfway through the process, so my wife's visa is actually valid for about 6 months. But if they process your visa in say 10 months total, that would only give you 2 months to land. And they DON"T extend the visa for any reason. So you may run into problems if you can't return to Canada before June 2014, especially if they process your application in less than a year! So have a plan B ready, because once they issue the visa, you MUST land before it expires. One option is that you can fly back to Canada, go through the landing process, then fly back until your contractual obligations are over. But if you do that, your spouse won't have the PR card yet, (takes about 2 months to get) so you'll need to get a travel document to return to Canada. I believe you would get that document from the Bogota Embassy.

Once you receive an AOR from Bogota, it will indicate in the letter that standard and straightforward applications are processed in an average of 10 months. Ours took less time, and others take longer.

 

[cinc]

Thanks ccunnington. Guess I'm oddly hoping they don't process it too fast. I'm doubting now and thinking maybe we should have waited a bit longer to apply. We haven't done our medicals yet. I was trying to think ahead as I need to know by November 2013 the decision because if we're denied we need to have a back up plan of staying in Bogota (which really isn't what we want).

I'm really not sure a plan B is possible as we are locked in until that date. We included in our application that our plan was wait for my husband to finish his Masters program and I would finish my contract before moving to Canada in June 2014.

What does the landing process entail? He has his TRV for 5 more years. Could he use that to get back into Canada after completing the landing process, flying back to Bogota to complete his program and then return permanently to Canada?

Again, I really appreciate all the feedback/info/advice. Thank you.

 

[tecarf]

Thanks ccunnington. Guess I'm oddly hoping they don't process it too fast. I'm doubting now and thinking maybe we should have waited a bit longer to apply. We haven't done our medicals yet. I was trying to think ahead as I need to know by November 2013 the decision because if we're denied we need to have a back up plan of staying in Bogota (which really isn't what we want).

I'm really not sure a plan B is possible as we are locked in until that date. We included in our application that our plan was wait for my husband to finish his Masters program and I would finish my contract before moving to Canada in June 2014.

What does the landing process entail? He has his TRV for 5 more years. Could he use that to get back into Canada after completing the landing process, flying back to Bogota to complete his program and then return permanently to Canada?

Again, I really appreciate all the feedback/info/advice. Thank you.

Hi. I've been reading your posts and in my opinion if you want to "delay" the process you could by not doing the medicals right away, you could wait until you get an AOR from bogota that way it'll give you some more time. so let's say you will be ready to move to canada in june 2014, then don't do the medicals until june/july2013. That way even if they issue a visa early 2014 it'll still be good until june/july 2014.
I hope this helps you and good luck with your process

 

[cinc]

Thanks tecarf. I wondered about that being an option as well since my last post. It seems to make sense. The timing is so tricky. I guess I should wait to make sure I'm approved as a sponsor before getting too worried about it. Our application is set to reach Canada tomorrow.

 

[Karenesp29]

Hello everyone, I just went through a couple of posts on this forum and got pretty exited for all the people who have received their visas, it seems to me the average is less than the 17 months.

I am trying to sponsor my husband from Colombia and sent out our applications on November 19. I was pretty worried of not receivingd any news until last week I got my sponsorship approval, and this week my husband got a letter from the visa office saying they received our application and explaining a little more about the process. I am guessing we received the AOR from Bogota visa Office.
I think things are going very smoothly so far, and I am hoping that receiving an AOR soon enough is a good sing that this case will be less than 15 months, fingers crossed¡¡¡

 

[cinc]

Congrats on getting sponsorship approval Karenesp29. Are you and your husband applying from Canada or within Colombia?

 

[ccunnington]

Thanks tecarf. I wondered about that being an option as well since my last post. It seems to make sense. The timing is so tricky. I guess I should wait to make sure I'm approved as a sponsor before getting too worried about it. Our application is set to reach Canada tomorrow.

Since your application is already on its way, I agree with tecarf. Just wait until you receive your AOR from Mississauga, and then you can make a judgement on when to get the medical done, unless Bogota requests it first...usually when the visa office requests documents, they give you 60 days to respond...so you can intentionally draw out the length of time that way. I'm sure you'll be able to stretch out the timing so that it corresponds to your contractual requirements!

 

[ccunnington]

Hello everyone, I just went through a couple of posts on this forum and got pretty exited for all the people who have received their visas, it seems to me the average is less than the 17 months.

I am trying to sponsor my husband from Colombia and sent out our applications on November 19. I was pretty worried of not receivingd any news until last week I got my sponsorship approval, and this week my husband got a letter from the visa office saying they received our application and explaining a little more about the process. I am guessing we received the AOR from Bogota visa Office.
I think things are going very smoothly so far, and I am hoping that receiving an AOR soon enough is a good sing that this case will be less than 15 months, fingers crossed¡¡¡

Welcome to the forum! Thats pretty quick between Sponsorship approval and AOR from Bogota!! Bogota seems to be on a roll lately, so hopefully they keep up the pace for those still waiting! As long as your case is straightforward, you should be processed in 10 months or less! We were processed in 7 months in Bogota. Good luck, and don't hesitate to post any questions you may have!

 

[Karenesp29]

Congrats on getting sponsorship approval Karenesp29. Are you and your husband applying from Canada or within Colombia?

Thanks Cinc, I was in Canada and my husband in Colombia when we applied. Now we are in Colombia but I am soon returning to Canada.