Thread for Outland LONDON, UK Applications!

[markstimson]

I really hope that your PR comes through before the end of the year!
If it doesn't and you want to look at another way to get your PR, you can have a look at this post http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/divorce-question-t151250.15.html which explains quite well how the NOC system works - you might want to have a look at the Canada Experience Class - and if needed you can actually have both applications at the same time. THey are not mutually exclusive.
(the thread is about something else, but there is one post from Leon that explains clearly the options and it might apply to you).
Good luck,
Sweden

Thanks Sweden - that's great! Appreciate the link.

 

[herewecome]

Will experience class process any quicker during the strikes?

One of the 2012 spreadsheet people and may not be done until 2014 is not a nice feeling especially when I have a house being built.

 

[Sniprat]

Definitely will be looking for some form of refund then, as tends to happen in the private sector when a service is paid for and cannot be delivered in a timely manner.

 

[DGT]

Definitely will be looking for some form of refund then, as tends to happen in the private sector when a service is paid for and cannot be delivered in a timely manner.

Exactly. I paid over a $1000 dollars for a service, and they tell us that anything is fair game? That we have no recourse? I call bulls*%t. This process has nearly bankrupted us, and now thanks to this strike I think it actually might. The most affected group when it comes to this strike action are PR applicants. Quite frankly I think Stephen Harper and his government will be chuckling quite a bit about this as it's not really painting him in a bad light with Canadians for the most part. It's just ruining our lives. And the fact that CIC are claiming that no strike action had taken place in London over the past few weeks is extraordinary given all the evidence to the contrary. I want to know what the hell is going on, when I can expect my COPR, and what I actually payed all this money for.

 

[markstimson]

Definitely will be looking for some form of refund then, as tends to happen in the private sector when a service is paid for and cannot be delivered in a timely manner.

You've hit the nail on the head. The discrepancy between public and private sector.

In my opinion, public sector employees at a senior level have it so good, that they lose track of reality in terms of what the private sector real world is like for the vast majority of tax payers.

$83,000 (for level 2 officers) plus a $6-$31k overseas allowance, dry cleaning allowance, and goods shipping allowance isn't enough??? Are you shizzling me??

Even though this whole affair is going to have a crushing affect on my personal life, I fully support Harper on this one. Public sector unions have waaay to much of a stranglehold in Canada and hopefully he can jolt them back to reality.

 

[Immigration007]

Looks like we are back on strike...

So a total work stoppage? Meaning even if you are in process and like a month away from grtting over with it..it can take like months loger now????

 

[Kareena]

Hello,

i am new to this forum!
some background about me..i live in canada (citizen)....i am sponsoring my husband who was in london (on a student visa)...however he has gone back to Pakistan now (been there for the past 5 months now).
We got our civil marriage done in London in Mar 2012....and got religiously married in jan 2013 in Pakistan (thereafter i sent in additional proof when i came back in Feb)

my timeline:

application received by mississauga office- Sept 27, 2012
sent to london visa office in November
most recent update- they started processing his application April 19, 2013, medical results received

any tips on how much longer??
i am worried about the fact that he is now in Pakistan and his file in London. Would that be a problem?


thank u!!

 

[Sniprat]

You've hit the nail on the head. The discrepancy between public and private sector.

In my opinion, public sector employees at a senior level have it so good, that they lose track of reality in terms of what the private sector real world is like for the vast majority of tax payers.

$83,000 (for level 2 officers) plus a $6-$31k overseas allowance, dry cleaning allowance, and goods shipping allowance isn't enough??? Are you shizzling me??

Even though this whole affair is going to have a crushing affect on my personal life, I fully support Harper on this one. Public sector unions have waaay to much of a stranglehold in Canada and hopefully he can jolt them back to reality.

Well, having killed industry off, the public sector is the last place a lot of these unions in the western world have any kind of power. And since quite a few seem to be of a socialist bent, any time they see a conservative government, they are going to use said power.

Not sure what I think of Harper. Some of the things he does I agree with, other things I wonder what he is trying to achieve. In this instance, if the figures you quote are accurate, I would side with him.

 

[gideonj]

Hi Kareena,

Welcome to the forum

i am worried about the fact that he is now in Pakistan and his file in London. Would that be a problem?

I don't believe this will be a problem, although it may be inconvenient if they end up wanting an interview. You can apply through the London office even if you don't live in the UK - I myself am in Canada on a extended tourist visa (so I can be with my other half) but applied "outland" i.e. through London, as the process was quicker (in theory), there's no need to be in the country where they are processing it, though I did this with the knowledge that I may have to go for an interview if asked.

 

[gideonj]

Regarding the strike discussion, I'm a little confused: are you all certain that it will have an impact on our applications? Perhaps there is a difference between the Missasague "approval" stage and the London approval stage?

I only ask because of those replies we saw a couple of posts back from people who emailed the visa processing department and got this in reply:

Dear Mr Boden,

Thank you for your recent e-mail.


Please be advised that our office is not currently on strike and there has been minimal impact to our processing times. I can advise you that your file is currently awaiting review from an Immigration Officer, however your file is now near the front of this queue.
Yours sincerely,

LJF

Immigration and Medical Services Division | Direction de l'immigration et des services médicaux
Canadian High Commission | Haut-commissariat du Canada

So it seems not all of the staff are affected? Or is it different for applications at different stages?

 

[markstimson]

Regarding the strike discussion, I'm a little confused: are you all certain that it will have an impact on our applications? Perhaps there is a difference between the Missasague "approval" stage and the London approval stage?

I only ask because of those replies we saw a couple of posts back from people who emailed the visa processing department and got this in reply:
So it seems not all of the staff are affected? Or is it different for applications at different stages?

They actually went back to work this week as normal, given negotiations started up again and they were back in discussions.

However the govt made the same offer that's been on the table for the last 18 months so the offer has been rejected and they are now back on strike, full bore.

I would post a link but cannot do so here, however I highly recommend everyone google's 'PAFSO' and clicks 'news' on the PAFSO website, then you will see a press release called 'Why is Canada's foreign service on strike'.

 

[PickleMash]

This is probably naïvely optimistic, but all the stories I read said that London is affected, but all the embassies where immigration specifically is affected seem to be in Asia eg. Beijing and New Dehli

 

[Sweden]

They actually went back to work this week as normal, given negotiations started up again and they were back in discussions.

However the govt made the same offer that's been on the table for the last 18 months so the offer has been rejected and they are now back on strike, full bore.

I would post a link but cannot do so here, however I highly recommend everyone google's 'PAFSO' and clicks 'news' on the PAFSO website, then you will see a press release called 'Why is Canada's foreign service on strike'.

you should be able to post links now - there is a 10 posts limit before you can do so, but you've reached it now.

my timeline:

application received by mississauga office- Sept 27, 2012
sent to london visa office in November
most recent update- they started processing his application April 19, 2013, medical results received

welcome to the forum. Non-visa-exempt applicants tend to take longer mostly because of background checks that are longer than within Europe. If you look at the spreadsheet you will see that the average goes up for visa-exempt. However, there is no exact science as yto "how much longer".
The fact that he is in Pakistan can be an issue if an interview is required, and he will have to send in his passport to London to get the visa onto his passport. BUt - don't worry about it for now, and let's see what happens!

Good luck,
Sweden

 

[Sweden]

Will experience class process any quicker during the strikes?

One of the 2012 spreadsheet people and may not be done until 2014 is not a nice feeling especially when I have a house being built.

it's difficult to know about the strike. It might also be some other factors - like the processing times in Stage 1.
Last year, from February to June/July (more or less), stage 1 took about 3 months. Then suddenly it took less - which means that there was an influx of applications all at the same time, which might have created a bottleneck situation...

Of course, it's pure speculation at that point, but I do hope that suddenly they start issuing COPR quickly!

Best of luck to all waiting,
Sweden

 

[SwedentoQuebec]

Exactly. I paid over a $1000 dollars for a service, and they tell us that anything is fair game? That we have no recourse? I call bulls*%t. This process has nearly bankrupted us, and now thanks to this strike I think it actually might. The most affected group when it comes to this strike action are PR applicants. Quite frankly I think Stephen Harper and his government will be chuckling quite a bit about this as it's not really painting him in a bad light with Canadians for the most part. It's just ruining our lives. And the fact that CIC are claiming that no strike action had taken place in London over the past few weeks is extraordinary given all the evidence to the contrary. I want to know what the hell is going on, when I can expect my COPR, and what I actually payed all this money for.

Hear, hear!!!