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Moscow Application Processing Office

boshetunmai

Full Member
Feb 1, 2012
49
2
Category........
Visa Office......
Moscow
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
23.08.2011
AOR Received.
25.11.2011
File Transfer...
31.10.2011 (Sponsor approved)
Passport Req..
21.02.2012
VISA ISSUED...
23.02.2012
LANDED..........
26.02.2012
my e-CAS changed to "in process" today!
 

boshetunmai

Full Member
Feb 1, 2012
49
2
Category........
Visa Office......
Moscow
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
23.08.2011
AOR Received.
25.11.2011
File Transfer...
31.10.2011 (Sponsor approved)
Passport Req..
21.02.2012
VISA ISSUED...
23.02.2012
LANDED..........
26.02.2012
POVL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Donhollio

Full Member
Jun 21, 2011
48
0
Category........
Visa Office......
Moscow
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
Nov. 2010
File Transfer...
June 2010
Med's Request
Recieved Feb 1 2011
Med's Done....
2nd medical completed 2012
Interview........
none
Passport Req..
JULY 2012
VISA ISSUED...
August 2012
LANDED..........
Sept 2012 Only 22 months, thanks for the quick work CIC :(
Hey that's nice to see. I guess you're not going to be waiting along with me after all. If I read it correct, you mailed everything to CIC in August 2011?

Boshetunmai, what is the nationality of your spouse?
 

boshetunmai

Full Member
Feb 1, 2012
49
2
Category........
Visa Office......
Moscow
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
23.08.2011
AOR Received.
25.11.2011
File Transfer...
31.10.2011 (Sponsor approved)
Passport Req..
21.02.2012
VISA ISSUED...
23.02.2012
LANDED..........
26.02.2012
Totally surprised, I was prepared to wait at least another month. But following the Russian forums, four of us got the POVL on the same day - a mix of July/Aug/Sept 2011 applicants I believe.

Yes, CPC-M got my documents August 23rd 2011. My husband is Russian.

Don, I wish you the best of luck and hope your turn is next!
 

Donhollio

Full Member
Jun 21, 2011
48
0
Category........
Visa Office......
Moscow
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
Nov. 2010
File Transfer...
June 2010
Med's Request
Recieved Feb 1 2011
Med's Done....
2nd medical completed 2012
Interview........
none
Passport Req..
JULY 2012
VISA ISSUED...
August 2012
LANDED..........
Sept 2012 Only 22 months, thanks for the quick work CIC :(
Checking my paperwork I see that CPC-M sent me their one and only letter on January 25th saying I was eligible, so I guess that puts me 4-5 months behind you. :(
 

IrinaAbdNova

Full Member
Feb 23, 2012
42
0
Category........
Visa Office......
Moscow
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
Med's Done....
30/10/2011
Hello everyone!

I am new here and I have a few questions, I would really appreciate some help with this.

My husband's application was sent to Mississauga and they received it on Feb 1. Does it usually take 2 months or can it take longer to process?

And then when my file is sent to Moscow, is it actually gonna take 12 months to process?

How about the interviews, what are the chances of being asked for it? I heard that it obv slows down the process, so I really don't want to be asked for it. Me and my husband made sure we provided as much prove of relationship being genuine as possible in order to try avoid it, plus we have always been together, we never lived in different countries. We are currently living together as well. So I wonder what criteria do they use for this?

boshetunmai said that e-CAS status was changed. What is e-CAS? And does the Moscow office start working on your application only when they change the status and then you still have to wait for 12 months? or do they subtract the time you waited for the status change from the 12 months? Please explain how does that work.

I apologize for so many questions =))) I hope someone can help me answer them from their experience.

Thank you so much for taking the time to help me out.

Irina
 

Peaceofmind25

Full Member
Aug 2, 2011
20
0
Thanks so much for answering to my question.

My spouse got an email a few days ago (Feb 20, 2012) asking him to ask the sponsor (me) to pay the Right of Permanent residence fee.

Just wondering if this means that the application is almost complete ( the moscow process started on December 7th, 2011) ... or is this pretty common process.

Also... is anyone able to tell me if (hopefully) when he does get the approval....does he become a permanent residence and then a citizen 3 years later or automatically a citizen with 3 year "probation" period?

Thanks so much!
 

boshetunmai

Full Member
Feb 1, 2012
49
2
Category........
Visa Office......
Moscow
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
23.08.2011
AOR Received.
25.11.2011
File Transfer...
31.10.2011 (Sponsor approved)
Passport Req..
21.02.2012
VISA ISSUED...
23.02.2012
LANDED..........
26.02.2012
Irina:

Current processing time for sponsorship applications is 48 calendar days. If there are issues with your application (e.g. missing documents) it may delay the processing time. Source: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/perm-fc.asp

It may not actually take 12 months to process. That's the time it takes for them to process 80% of cases so it's likely your case will be done before then. For example, mine took about 6 months from the time it was received in Mississauga (therefore it spent about 4 months in Moscow.)

It seems that they only really call you to an interview if they have doubts that the relationship is genuine. If you've provided enough proof then I don't think you'd need to worry too much. What proof did you send them?

e-CAS is a way for you to check your application status online. It tells you when they received it, when they started processing it, if the decision was made etc. In my experience, e-CAS hasn't really been useful/accurate. They may be processing your file already/made a decision but not updated the status on e-CAS (mine still says in process even though my husband got the visa already). Here is the link to e-CAS: https://services3.cic.gc.ca/ecas/authenticate.do?app=ecas . You will only be able to sign in once you have your file number.


Peaceofmind25:

I believe once they ask for the fee it usually means the application is almost complete. Moscow office has been good this week, we had 4 people on the Russian forums get their POVLs on Tuesday alone.

You don't automatically become a citizen after 3 years. You can apply for Canadian citizenship once you have been living in Canada for at least 3 out of the past 4 years. Here is a link with more information: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/index.asp
 

IrinaAbdNova

Full Member
Feb 23, 2012
42
0
Category........
Visa Office......
Moscow
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
Med's Done....
30/10/2011
boshetunmai,

Thank you for a quick response. The info you gave me is very helpful.

We included almost everything they asked for. I was a student in Canada for 4 years and 1 year and a half of that time I lived with my husband (common law partners). So we included prove of living together in Canada. Prove of travelling together (tickets, pics), pics in Canada with friends, pics with family etc, statements from family and friends stating that our marriage is genuine, correspondence between us when we were apart. Copies of gift cards we gave each other for holidays (e.g. Valentine's), a copy of an invitation we got for our friend's wedding. I can't remember the whole list now because we gathered all this prove awhile back. Pretty much what they have listed we included, except phone records, cos we moved to a different country and then applied for PR, so we didn't know we would need it, and it's impossible to get while abroad.
I hope it's enough to prove we are a real couple, I really don't want to wait more because of an interview. We had to leave Canada to help out his family and we both have things to finish there, like we need to finish school.

Wow your application only took 4 months to process. That's great, congrats !! )))

If you don't mind me asking. Did you have to update your file for new/expired documents? And what prove of relationship did you include? Just want to know if you had any requests from Moscow that might have slowed down the process or was your file complete?

Did you have to provide prove of intent to return to Canada? If you did, what did you include?
My husband needs to provide this because he is a Canadian living abroad. So far we don't really have any only enrollment at school.

Thank you so much for your help. I really appreciate this )))

Irina.
 

Peaceofmind25

Full Member
Aug 2, 2011
20
0
boshetunmai: thank you so much! sorry to bug you again but....once my spouse comes....is there a waiting period until he can start working?
 

boshetunmai

Full Member
Feb 1, 2012
49
2
Category........
Visa Office......
Moscow
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
23.08.2011
AOR Received.
25.11.2011
File Transfer...
31.10.2011 (Sponsor approved)
Passport Req..
21.02.2012
VISA ISSUED...
23.02.2012
LANDED..........
26.02.2012
Peaceofmind25: as far as I know, there is no waiting period. Once he's a PR he should be able to work.


Irina:

Based on what you've told me it seems that you've got enough proof. There is a little discussion about it here: http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/proof-of-relationship-docs-email-t96816.0.html
I basically submitted pictures of our wedding and our trips together, copies of my passport with visas to Russia to visit my husband, boarding passes and tickets, proof of our ongoing communications such as e-mails, letters, chat logs, photos of gifts and cards we sent each other. We organized it as a scrapbook, with captions/dates for each photo. We actually had a lot of fun making it but they didn't give it back to us so I am gonna try to write a letter asking for it :)

Moscow didn't ask us for any additional documents, but I contacted them twice voluntarily to update our file. The first time was to inform them that I had changed my last name on my passport and other ID documents. The second time was to provide additional photos from my trip to Russia for New Year's to visit my husband. Don't hesitate to send them any updates. It also lets them know that you're still keeping the relationship going while you're waiting for the visa.

I'm a Canadian citizen so I did not have to provide proof of re-establishment - so I can't really advise you on that point.
 

Donhollio

Full Member
Jun 21, 2011
48
0
Category........
Visa Office......
Moscow
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
Nov. 2010
File Transfer...
June 2010
Med's Request
Recieved Feb 1 2011
Med's Done....
2nd medical completed 2012
Interview........
none
Passport Req..
JULY 2012
VISA ISSUED...
August 2012
LANDED..........
Sept 2012 Only 22 months, thanks for the quick work CIC :(
boshetunmai said:
Moscow didn't ask us for any additional documents, but I contacted them twice voluntarily to update our file. The first time was to inform them that I had changed my last name on my passport and other ID documents. The second time was to provide additional photos from my trip to Russia for New Year's to visit my husband. Don't hesitate to send them any updates. It also lets them know that you're still keeping the relationship going while you're waiting for the visa.

I'm a Canadian citizen so I did not have to provide proof of re-establishment - so I can't really advise you on that point.
I was thinking of calling the Embassy, is it worthwhile? I really want to hear first hand where my file is, but I am concerned that enquiring may cause further delays. What was your experience?
 

boshetunmai

Full Member
Feb 1, 2012
49
2
Category........
Visa Office......
Moscow
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
23.08.2011
AOR Received.
25.11.2011
File Transfer...
31.10.2011 (Sponsor approved)
Passport Req..
21.02.2012
VISA ISSUED...
23.02.2012
LANDED..........
26.02.2012
Donhollio,

I always used the online submission form to update my file. I attached a cover letter and supporting documents in PDF format. The first time they didn't send me any reply, the second time they replied a couple weeks later saying that they received my documents and would take them into consideration.

As far as I know, updating the file or providing additional documents won't cause delays but enquiries might (not sure how, but then again we're not really sure how a lot of stuff works at CIC.) I don't think they take phone calls even though there is a phone number. They prefer e-mail and since your case has been in process greater than the usual processing time, I think it would be worthwhile to contact the Embassy.
 

IrinaAbdNova

Full Member
Feb 23, 2012
42
0
Category........
Visa Office......
Moscow
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
Med's Done....
30/10/2011
Hey boshetunmai,

Thank you for a swift reply =)

Oh yeah and of course we submitted our wedding pics =))
We just printed all the pics and wrote the description on the back. Unfortunately I think they don't return pics and stuff. =(
We sent copies of our tickets, but not the boarding passes because we didn't keep them, you think tickets are enough?

I read online on their website saying that they do not accept additional documents unless they request them. Is that true? Did you confirm with them before you updated your file?

Oh so you were living in Canada while sponsoring your husband?

Thank you so much again =)))

Irina