+1(514) 937-9445 or Toll-free (Canada & US) +1 (888) 947-9445
Plus throw into the mix the looming foreign service strike. It doesn't bode well for Korean applicants applying outland.
 
Korea2Canada said:
14!!!!! Thats 4 more than I planned! I hope they extend wifes medical vs having to get a new one later.

That is rediculous. Seriously, how can it take so long?
 
So thats 6 months longer. 14 vs 10.
 
CanNZ said:
That is rediculous. Seriously, how can it take so long?

They closed down the Korean and Japanese offices and shipped it all over to Manila.
 
costaudjoe said:
They closed down the Korean and Japanese offices and shipped it all over to Manila.

I'm predicting the same will happen with Singapore.
 
It's not a coincidence that they closed down the visa exempt offices. Just sayin'...
 
Looking through various threads, some people do get processed faster (sometimes much faster).
 
Korea2Canada said:
Looking through various threads, some people do get processed faster (sometimes much faster).

Is it as the French say: the exception proves the rule?
 
Still faster than inland do all is good.
 
Yeah, it is still better to do it outland, and just hope for the best.
 
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/perm/fc-spouses.asp

Link for processing times. Gets updated quarterly.
 
Spouse working while waiting: Can a spouse get a work visa if they get a job offer before PR is finished?
 
Guys, remember those are worst-case times for 80% of the applications! So basically to get the time posted on the website of full 14 months, you need to be near the bottom 20% of cases. These are mostly for the problem cases where there are lots of red flags and require interviews. The vast majority of cases are done quicker than the posted times. If you download the spreadsheet (updated up to Dec 31, 2012 - http://www.data.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=5175A6F0-1&xsl=datacataloguerecord&metaxsl=datacataloguerecord&formid=427337D0-7C36-4FED-8428-C6A63F8C19B3 ), you can break down the stats into all sorts of categories. For example you can see that for Manila, 20% of all applications were processed in a max time of only 5 months.

So basically if you have a relatively simple, straightforward case... you should be optimistic you'll beat the posted times. Then again I have no idea how the Manila office is staffed or how they are handling the extra case loads. Hopefully they hired a few new VOs recently. Last year alone Manila processed almost 3,000 spouse/partner/child applications... and that was before they absorbed the apps from closed offices. That should be well over 3,500 apps this year with Seoul and Tokyo shut down.
 
Korea2Canada said:
Spouse working while waiting: Can a spouse get a work visa if they get a job offer before PR is finished?

Your wife would need to get a job offer from a company willing to go through the LMO process with the government. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/employers/lmo-basics.asp

Basically this means she would get a closed work permit, good only for that 1 employer. However it's sometimes tough get an LMO as it's a pain in the ass for the employer to deal with all the government forms, and they are not always successful. So many employers will not even consider people without full SINs or open work visas to begin with. Its easiest if you have a specialty in a certain field.
 
Thats a good way to look at it Rob.