Hong Kong timeline

[mobeyk]

Patience guys....you are complaining that you are the ones with the longest waiting times...and both of you applied in APRIL, this year.....ONLY 5 months ago, and this is HK, with 17 months on 80% of the cases,......I applied in August last year, 14 months ago, and still waiting.......Both of you guys are within the first 10-20% which are resolved very quicly, just be patient for a few more weeks.

Patience is a virtue......

Cheers....and be optimistic......

I'll keep you guys posted.

I did not complain and I am thankful for the fast process.

 

[Fencesitter]

I'm half Italian...I have never heard of the word 'patience' before....

But yes, I have calmed down a bit...

FS

 

[truesmile]

HAHAHAHA ! ! ! (+2) if I could . . .

 

[Gatca]

Just an updated,
Today I got the passport request snail mail, it was sent out in HK on 30 Aug 2012, the day ecas changed to "in process"

I believe u guys will get the letter soon.

 

[Fencesitter]

You live in HK, right? We are in Guangzhou. Still nothing and we have the same date as you, August 30.

You have given me some hope...maybe they will deliver our letter today as well??

Oh, and big congrats to you!! Did they request any further documents??

FS

 

[mobeyk]

So HK moves quickly with the straight forward cases. FS, you will get news soon. I hope we can get the Hukou page that is requested within next two weeks and that the notary in Shanxi translates documents automatically to English for a fee like the one in Zhuhai does. We will send the documents with SF-express as we had once problems with EMS. Will they extend a medical if the visa is issued within 14 days of the expiry date of the medical?

 

[mobeyk]

Patience guys....you are complaining that you are the ones with the longest waiting times...and both of you applied in APRIL, this year.....ONLY 5 months ago, and this is HK, with 17 months on 80% of the cases,......I applied in August last year, 14 months ago, and still waiting.......Both of you guys are within the first 10-20% which are resolved very quicly, just be patient for a few more weeks.

Patience is a virtue......

Cheers....and be optimistic......

I'll keep you guys posted.

The waiting time mentioned is for the VO with HK being one of the ones with the longest with 17 months. As stated, we are very lucky and I agree 100% with you that we should wait patiently and be happy about the fast progress.

 

[computergeek]

Will they extend a medical if the visa is issued within 14 days of the expiry date of the medical?

OP 1 clearly addresses this:

5.28. Extending the validity of visas

The validity of a permanent resident visa may not be extended. Nor can replacement visas be
issued with a new validity date. If foreign nationals do not use their visas, they must make a new
application for a permanent residence visa.

They must also pay a new application processing fee. If they have paid a right of permanent
resident fee (RPRF), they do not need to pay it again. The RPRF may be collected only once.

Sometimes, due to factors beyond their control, applicants receive visas that are valid for less
than two months. If they cannot travel before their visas expire, officers should update whichever
requirement (e.g., medical) was used to set the visa validity. When a new validity date has been
obtained, a new visa will be issued.

Thus, the visa must be valid for two months when you receive it or the visa office should issue a new visa that gives you at least two months for landing.

 

[Fencesitter]

Yeah, mobeyk, you shouldn't have any problems getting the hukou and having it translated...shouldn't take more than a week...then send that bad boy off to HK so your wife can get her visa within a month...

Question: we sent address labels in Chinese characters for our mailing address...if HK sends us snail mail, will they use those address labels? The address showing on e-cas has the room number first, then the street, then the building...but it should actually go street first, then building, then room number...what do you guys think??

FS

 

[mobeyk]

FS, they used in our case the labels we provided when we filed the application and they were in Chinese characters. That means it does not matter how they have your address on ecas. They use your labels.
They sent a address request form with the passport request. They send the passport to the address you indicate on that form or they allow you to supply 2 new labels instead of filling out the form. We will do both.

 

[Fencesitter]

Ah, okay...that's a relief.

So the passport address request raises another question...if we want them to send it to a different address (different from the mailing address we originally submitted) is that possible?

Thanks,
FS

 

[mobeyk]

I checked the medical expiry issue and thats what I found: There has been recently a CIC bulletin dealing with the medical expiry issue. It looks like the medical will be extended.
Here the link to it: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/bulletins/2012/ob423.asp
It states:
Effective June 1st, 2012, officers can request that an applicant’s medical file be reassessed by a Medical Officer (MOF) or a Health Branch (HB) delegated staff for the issuance of a new medical certificate. The process applies to cases where a final decision of an officer is pending only due to the expiration of a medical certificate or when the validity of the medical certificate is about to expire and the applicant is unable to land before it expires. This process is limited to applicants who had a routine immigration medical examination (IME) done by a panel physician within the last 15 months in or outside Canada. The new medical certificate issued will be valid for 12 months.
When the final decision of an officer is pending due only to the expiration of a medical certificate or when the validity of the medical certificate is about to expire and the applicant is unable to land before it expires, the officer will:

Issue medical instructions for a new full routine medical examination done by a panel physician if the IME is older than 15 months;
For in-Canada and overseas cases with an IME done within the last 15 months:
Contact the Regional Medical Office (RMO) responsible for the file at the following e-mail addresses:
Beijing: Bejing-mc@international.gc.ca
.....
Entitle your e-mail ‘Reassessment of an applicant’s medical file for the issuance of a new medical certificate’;
Provide the applicant’s name, ID number, date of birth, date of initial IME, and country of residence for the last 6 months.

It is recommended that the officer review the validity of the medical certificate of all the persons being part of an immigration application and request the reassessment of the medical file for those eligible for the process if needed.

Upon receipt of the request for reassessment, the MOF or the HB delegated staff will:
Review the medical file to determine if there is sufficiently relevant and up to date medical information to provide a new opinion of admissibility on health grounds;
Request additional medical information if a new opinion based upon the existing information in the medical file is not possible;
Assess the medical file including any new additional medical information as needed;
Provide a new opinion of admissibility or inadmissibility on health grounds;
Enter the new ‘M’ profile in the CIC electronic platform (such as GCMS or FOSS);
Send an e-mail to the officer who requested the reassessment to confirm that the process has been completed.

It is recommended that the officer issue medical instructions for a new full routine medical examination done by a panel physician if the results of additional testing are unlikely to be provided quickly.

If the opinion of the CIC MOF and/or HB delegated staff is that the applicant is:
Admissible on health grounds: a new medical certificate will be issued and will be valid for a 12 month period starting from the date of the new medical assessment;
Inadmissible on health grounds: a new medical certificate will not be issued.
The new ‘M’ profile constitutes the most current opinion of inadmissibility provided to the officer for the final decision of inadmissibility on health grounds.

 

[mobeyk]

Ah, okay...that's a relief.

So the passport address request raises another question...if we want them to send it to a different address (different from the mailing address we originally submitted) is that possible?

Thanks,
FS

I guess it is possible. Why else would they request a known address again? They write they send the passport back within 20 work days by certified courier to the supplied address if all documents have been sent in within 45 days and satisfy the requirements.

 

[Fencesitter]

Ok. If they send that form, I'm going to put down our current residential address to save having to go all the way to the city to get it from my in-laws...plus it would be nice to receive it here...

FS

 

[Gatca]

You live in HK, right? We are in Guangzhou. Still nothing and we have the same date as you, August 30.

You have given me some hope...maybe they will deliver our letter today as well??

Oh, and big congrats to you!! Did they request any further documents??

FS

I live in Canada, I just received the letter yesterday.