CIC updated the website... a whole long week has passed yet they only managed to cover 3 days from the last update: now processing 18th May applications...
I have a situation, hope someone could enlighten me, please:
I am actually singaporean and Australian PR applying for Canadian PR (spouse). I've been living in Sydney for the past 4 year so naturally i put Sydney office for my stage 2 application.
I read the Sydney office thread and realised someone there who was an Indian citizen and Australian PR, also initially putting Sydney office had his application transferred to New Dehli office because of his citizenship.
Now if my application gets transferred to Singapore office the wait would be 21 months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I certainly don't want that happen, but what can i do if that happens?
unfortunately I don't think you can do anything. You can ask for a VO but CIC can also decide to send your application to another one, if they think it's more appropriate to your case. However, you might still be transferred to Sydney if you have been living there for 4 years and show more links to Sydney than to Singapore.
And at the meantime, I have been approved for Australian citizenship. Since Singapore doesn't allow dual citizenship it means I will have to give up my S'pore passport once my Australian citizenship takes place - i'm still waiting for DIAC to schedule my citizenship ceremony but it hasn't been scheduled. Should I write to Sydney visa office once my stage 1 is approved to hold on to my files in Sydney because I will give up my S'pore passport very soon? will it work that way?
As soon as you have a file number etc - if you have an AOR you might already have one - then write to CIC Mississauga to tell them about your australian nationality, it might help to convince them that your VO should be Sydney, as you reside there, and you also have the nationality. Explain that you don't have your passport yet because of wiating for the ceremony, but attach the proofs etc.
CIC decides from Mississauga to send your file to the VO - so it's them that you need to inform, and preferably not wait until you have been transferred already.
Legally, you can choose to apply either in the VO of your citizenship, or the one of your residence, if you hold a legal residence in another country and have been admitted in the country for more than 1 year. So you qualify for Sydney, but I don't know on which basis CIC decides for one or another. It is the same for some applicants who are in the US but not from the US - they are sometimes transferred somewhere else. However, it is mostly the case if they have "temporary status" in the country, and retain more links to their country of origins - which doesn't seem to be the case.
I hope for you that you can get an AOR, with a file number etc - as soon as you have that you can add information to your file.
I am not sure that once CIC has decided to transfer your file to a VO you can ask to change...
Good luck - I hope everything will go well for you.
Cheers,
Sweden
any thoughts/insights are welcome!
