Thread for Outland LONDON, Non UK Applications!

[Sweden]

Yes the language is a little confusing. It basically means "non not required." Hopefully I have my facts straight.

Indian citizens require a visa to enter Canada, which means they are "not exempted" from needing a visa. They will receive a request from the visa office for their passport so the VO can place an entry visa for landing as a PR in their passport. This is separate from a COPR.

Visa exempt citizens are those who do not require a visa to enter Canada. They usually do not need to send their passports (they may need send passport photocopies for verification). They are "exempted". This means a non visa exempt applicant will presumably have a longer processing time because of the time it takes for issuing the visa to enter Canada.

Indeed - visa exempt don't send their passport because they can go to Canada without a visa. Quite a few people from visa-exempt country are waiting out the PR process in Canada (me included). I traveled and entered Canada on a tourist visa (no need for an actual visa, I showed up at the border and asked for an entry stamp), and waited until my COPR was issued, and sent to Canada. Then I went to the US border, and "flag poled" ( exit and re-entered Canada and became a PR).
I think the main reason for the time difference between the visa-exempt and non-visa-exempt is that for background checks, it's easier for people that are within the EU (because of exchange of information already available). For non visa-exempt, London has to contact the country and get some checks (not sure exactly what they are) on the person... so it takes longer. The issuance of a visa itself is probably about the same as a COPR (which is a sheet of paper with pictures, and data, and confirmation that the PR has been issued). Visa-exempt saves also a bit of time because of not having to send the passport ( but still has to wait until the COPR arrives).

I don't think all non-visa-exempt will have the same timeline - because it depends on the cooperation between london and the country of the applicant.

Yes, any country that requires a visa to enter Canada is non visa exempt. The data we're missing in the spreadsheet is non UK applicants who are visa exempt.

Indeed - the information is not there, but I don't think it makes a big difference, because most visa-exempt are european countries and they are fairly the same in terms of sharing information. And it would make the spreadsheet more complicated - and a little too personal maybe ? Also because we can only speculate on the reasons why CIC delays some applications and not others... apart from where the person is from, there are lots of other factors in the speed of the application: travel history, personal history of the couple, how long they have been together, if they have lived together or not, etc... and they might be much more relevant to the speed of the application compared to which is the country of origin... (at least that's what I understood).

I'm not from the UK, but my file got processed in London because I was resident of Sweden, and London is the VO of reference... but I'm not from Sweden either... so in theory my file was more complicated? it would appear that London took the decision the same day they opened my file, and I have no clue why ( even if of course it's great!).

So - bottom line is : CIC works in ways that we don't really understand, and I really hope that your applications all get processed quickly.

Good luck,
Sweden

 

[amna_r]

Hey everyone,

My husband is on a study permit in the UK, I am a Canadian PR. Someone said my husband needs to have stayed in the UK for atleast a year for his case to be processed in the London VO. Is that true? From what I've read in the threads of this forum, this might not be the case. I just thought I'd ask to clarify things.

Thanks for your replies!

 

[srehal]

I had sent a enquiry to the London office as to the whether their visa office received our application or not (cause I've heard that files have gone missing!). I sent my enquiry Oct 28, 2012, and they said they would respond in 28 days (they did not mention 28 business days). That time is up, and no reply yet,

Wondering what has happened with everything.
It has been 4 months since the app is assuming in London. Considering the new increase to 9 months for processing, we are not even half way there! Aarrgggghhhh....

 

[Sweden]

Hey everyone,

My husband is on a study permit in the UK, I am a Canadian PR. Someone said my husband needs to have stayed in the UK for atleast a year for his case to be processed in the London VO. Is that true? From what I've read in the threads of this forum, this might not be the case. I just thought I'd ask to clarify things.

Thanks for your replies!

Hey Amna_r,

your husband needs to have a permit of at least 1 year to be able to choose London. He doesn't need to be there one year before he can apply, but he needs to have an entry permit of "at least one year". See here from CIC guideline:


Immigration Office requested for the processing of your application

Indicate the name of the Immigration Office which serves:

your country of nationality, or
the country in which you are residing, provided that you have been lawfully admitted to that country for at least one year.

it's a bit confusing, I agree!
One thing to consider though - as your husband is not from a visa-exempt country, (I assume, correct me if I am wrong), you need to make sure that his study permit is long enough for him to go through the whole process (depending on where you are in the process, more or less one year : stage 1 + stage 2), otherwise he might be in a situation where he is not in the UK anymore, but his passport needs to be there to get the visa, and for some countries it is forbidden to send passports overseas ( Indian nationals for example).

So - if your husband is from India for example, and considering that New Delhi is a fast office, his application might be better off handled by New Delhi if his study permit might run out before a year.
If from another country - well there is plenty of different possibilities so I'm not going to try and speculate on each!
Good luck,
Sweden

 

[blueboom]

One thing to consider though - as your husband is not from a visa-exempt country, (I assume, correct me if I am wrong), you need to make sure that his study permit is long enough for him to go through the whole process (depending on where you are in the process, more or less one year : stage 1 + stage 2), otherwise he might be in a situation where he is not in the UK anymore, but his passport needs to be there to get the visa, and for some countries it is forbidden to send passports overseas ( Indian nationals for example).

I have half a statement and half a question - Indian nationals (apparently) may authorize a person to carry their Indian passport across borders if they have an appropriate authorization (a legal document), but I'm not clear as to whether or not London VO will accept passports by way of an authorized person.

 

[blueboom]

Indeed - visa exempt don't send their passport because they can go to Canada without a visa. Quite a few people from visa-exempt country are waiting out the PR process in Canada (me included). I traveled and entered Canada on a tourist visa (no need for an actual visa, I showed up at the border and asked for an entry stamp), and waited until my COPR was issued, and sent to Canada. Then I went to the US border, and "flag poled" ( exit and re-entered Canada and became a PR).
I think the main reason for the time difference between the visa-exempt and non-visa-exempt is that for background checks, it's easier for people that are within the EU (because of exchange of information already available). For non visa-exempt, London has to contact the country and get some checks (not sure exactly what they are) on the person... so it takes longer. The issuance of a visa itself is probably about the same as a COPR (which is a sheet of paper with pictures, and data, and confirmation that the PR has been issued). Visa-exempt saves also a bit of time because of not having to send the passport ( but still has to wait until the COPR arrives).

I don't think all non-visa-exempt will have the same timeline - because it depends on the cooperation between london and the country of the applicant.

Indeed - the information is not there, but I don't think it makes a big difference, because most visa-exempt are european countries and they are fairly the same in terms of sharing information. And it would make the spreadsheet more complicated - and a little too personal maybe ? Also because we can only speculate on the reasons why CIC delays some applications and not others... apart from where the person is from, there are lots of other factors in the speed of the application: travel history, personal history of the couple, how long they have been together, if they have lived together or not, etc... and they might be much more relevant to the speed of the application compared to which is the country of origin... (at least that's what I understood).

I'm not from the UK, but my file got processed in London because I was resident of Sweden, and London is the VO of reference... but I'm not from Sweden either... so in theory my file was more complicated? it would appear that London took the decision the same day they opened my file, and I have no clue why ( even if of course it's great!).

So - bottom line is : CIC works in ways that we don't really understand, and I really hope that your applications all get processed quickly.

Good luck,
Sweden

Yes, it is all speculation because no one except CIC knows how CIC actually works! I swear, every case I read about on here seems to be a fluke of nature, whether good or bad. Of course, ever case is different too, so there's no expectation of consistency.

 

[R151NG5UN]

I have half a statement and half a question - Indian nationals (apparently) may authorize a person to carry their Indian passport across borders if they have an appropriate authorization (a legal document), but I'm not clear as to whether or not London VO will accept passports by way of an authorized person.

Hey Blueboom. I have heard the term diplomatic mail. Not sure exactly what it means or if it is relevant to Indian citizen's or not but from what I gather (I may well be wrong) they carry mail internally between Embassies/ High commissions. I have seen very few conversations on here where it has been mentioned. I think you MIGHT be able to send your passport to the Indian Embassy and request they transfer your passport.

Whether or not that is hearsay I dont know but I do know they have diplomatic mail between countries, that is how Mississauga transfers our applications to the relevant VO's

Good luck

 

[blueboom]

Hey Blueboom. I have heard the term diplomatic mail. Not sure exactly what it means or if it is relevant to Indian citizen's or not but from what I gather (I may well be wrong) they carry mail internally between Embassies/ High commissions. I have seen very few conversations on here where it has been mentioned. I think you MIGHT be able to send your passport to the Indian Embassy and request they transfer your passport.

Whether or not that is hearsay I dont know but I do know they have diplomatic mail between countries, that is how Mississauga transfers our applications to the relevant VO's

Good luck

Thanks!

I'm not sure if diplomatic mail is available to Indian passport holders either! I feel like I'm in uncharted territory, haha. I've seen someone on here who used diplomatic mail, but I don't think they were in India. I know FHaider, though in Pakistan, was able to get Islamabad's VO to issue the visa but not sure if New Delhi would accept that. I found (http://www.trackitt.com/canada-discussion-forums/provincial-nominees/364922029/mailing-passport-across-country-borders-for-pr-stamp) this old thread on trackitt for PNP applications with the same issue, but it appears that New Delhi was of no help. Matters could have changed since then.

Once again, I'm going to have to tackle the NDVO thread... I'm on page 20 and I haven't learned a great deal. :-\

 

[srehal]

Hi Guys,

Just to update. Got a letter from the london embassy asking for further documentation. We forgot to but in his resident card along with his passport, so that is what was missing. So at least I know they've opened the file. Just hope the missing documentation doesn't delay things a lot,
Keeping my spirits up,

 

[Sweden]

Hi Guys,

Just to update. Got a letter from the london embassy asking for further documentation. We forgot to but in his resident card along with his passport, so that is what was missing. So at least I know they've opened the file. Just hope the missing documentation doesn't delay things a lot,
Keeping my spirits up,

Hey srehal,

thanks for the update, and it seems to be rather good news! do you have an officer's name to send the papers to ? or just the general address? in any case, indeed they are working on your file, and if they have asked only for the PR card copy, then it means that they are satisfied with the rest of the documentation that you submitted, so that's rather good news.
Good luck,
Sweden

 

[blueboom]

Hi Guys,

Just to update. Got a letter from the london embassy asking for further documentation. We forgot to but in his resident card along with his passport, so that is what was missing. So at least I know they've opened the file. Just hope the missing documentation doesn't delay things a lot,
Keeping my spirits up,

I have my fingers crossed for you!

 

[temmyt]

Hi Guys,

Just to update. Got a letter from the london embassy asking for further documentation. We forgot to but in his resident card along with his passport, so that is what was missing. So at least I know they've opened the file. Just hope the missing documentation doesn't delay things a lot,
Keeping my spirits up,

Good news, let the better news roll in with your approval. I also sent them further documents and I know it was rec'd cos I tracked it. As Sweden said hope all was reviewed already and all checks done.

 

[srehal]

Just wondering if all non-uk applications have to go through an interview, hoping ours won't have to!

Sonia

 

[blueboom]

Just wondering if all non-uk applications have to go through an interview, hoping ours won't have to!

Sonia

Sonia, have you heard anything new?

It seems not all non UK applicants go through an interview but there's no way to be sure what makes CIC request one.

 

[srehal]

HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING YET ....THE MEDICALS HAVE EXPIRED NOW, SO WE WILL HAVE TO REDO THOSE...ARGGGGHHHH....PATIENCE, PATIENCE...PATIENCE,

SONIA

Sonia, have you heard anything new?

It seems not all non UK applicants go through an interview but there's no way to be sure what makes CIC request one.