First, HUGE congrats to the many who have received good news in the last few weeks! My heart leaps a little in empathetic joy each time I read of another AIP, DM, or landing.
I'm done with the process, but the memory of the stress and uncertainty and, finally, the joy, will never be lost.
Now to share my experience again, for those debating doing a medical before CIC requests it:
GatorSPO said:
Hmmm we decided against doing the medical up-front with the application because of the processing times before when we sent in the file in July but now that they seem to be picking up the pace we're thinking of doing it before they approve my sponsorship and start on my wife's PR app to get things done quicker once they reach our pile.
Has the primary concern on doing them after sending in the application that it gets lost or not matched to the file? Is this somewhat mitigate that my wife has a Client ID # from her previous visa and already associated to the app?
I didn't do an upfront medical. It wasn't a deliberate decision; I was just dumb and didn't realize I had to do one until after I submitted the app and found this EXTREMELY helpful forum. I did NOT want to delay the process at all, so after reading a lot on here and deliberating about it, I decided to do the medical before CIC asked for it. I applied in October 2012, and I did my medical (and got my police certificate - another thing I'd missed) in April 2013. I confused the H3LL out of the doctor's office, as I told them I'd already submitted my app, but I needed to do an up-front medical. They told me I needed the form CIC sends when they request that you do a medical. I told them I hadn't received the request. They didn't exactly "advise" me to wait for that, but they were confused by my request, and I was told several times, so that there could be NO doubt, that they would NOT be held responsible if my medical wasn't properly matched up with my file, since I was doing it "wrong." I knew that was a risk I was taking, but I couldn't stand the thought of adding months to my process if I could possibly help it.
I had a UCI, because I am in Québec, so I received my UCI when CIC requested that I get a CSQ from Québec (it's a step unique to this province). I also realized later that I had my UCI on the extension I'd requested as a visitor (requested Dec 2012, received the paperwork in February 2013, if I remember right). There was no place on the "up-front medical" forms to enter my UCI, but I wrote it clearly on the form. (NOTE: things may have changed, as many doctors, I hear, are using a paperless e-medical system now.) After more months of waiting through what I still think of as the Silent Summer of 2013 (there was almost NO news for months over the summer for us 2012ers), I got AIP and DM within an hour on August 30, 2013 (not like THAT date is memorized, right?!?!).
Yes, there is a risk that your medical won't be correctly matched to your file. I would think having your UCI lessens that risk. That means you could have to redo the medical at CIC's request. You would have then wasted the cost of the exam (seems to vary greatly, was between $300 and $400 for me in Québec City, plus the two hour drive each way and the gas money for the trip). Also, some panel physicians may not allow you to do an "up-front medical" when you've already submitted an application but haven't yet received a request from CIC.
In hindsight, of course, I'm QUITE glad I made the decision I made, as it wouldn't have been possible to get DM when I got AIP without a complete file. Heck, I might STILL be waiting for DM, or almost certainly at least waiting to land.
Only you can make the decision. If risking the money and the hassle for something that's by no means certain to reduce your waiting time is worth it to you, go for it.
