When to send pouse's medical exam? If upfront, how about the 1 year validity?

[Marjlo]

Hello all. I am a Canadian citizen residung outside of Canada and starting my common law partner's outland spousal sponsorship process. I am somewhat confused regarding thr medical examination. As I understand, this can be sent upfront (read at places that it MUST be sent upfront and at others that it. An be submitted later), however, as it is only valid for a year and the application processing time where we reside is 15 months long, it looks like we would need to have it done twice, as it should be valid at the moment he enters Canada. This just doesnt sound right or fair, as it is costly. Has anybody experienced this issue? Any suggestions? Many thanks in advance.

 

[mandiebraxton]

Hello all. I am a Canadian citizen residung outside of Canada and starting my common law partner's outland spousal sponsorship process. I am somewhat confused regarding thr medical examination. As I understand, this can be sent upfront (read at places that it MUST be sent upfront and at others that it. An be submitted later), however, as it is only valid for a year and the application processing time where we reside is 15 months long, it looks like we would need to have it done twice, as it should be valid at the moment he enters Canada. This just doesnt sound right or fair, as it is costly. Has anybody experienced this issue? Any suggestions? Many thanks in advance.

You don't necessarily have to do it twice. Some applications are processed well before one year. Where are you applying from? In fact irrespective of where you are applying from, it's always adviceable to do it upfront.
*Mandie*

 

[Marjlo]

The visa office responsible for where we reside is Abu Dhabi, and the processing time is averaging between 13 and 15 months, which makes me think it is certain that by the time the process is finished the medical exam will no longer be valid and a new one will be required.
The more I read the more I see people mentioning that it must be submitted upfront, otherwise it will be regarded as incomplete, so it basically needs to be done twice as few are the. Isa offices in the world where the process is finalized under a year.
If anyone has been through this, please share your experience? Many thanks

 

[ayrazar]

I'm pretty sure medical not being upfront isn't grounds for returning the file as incomplete.

 

[MrsMcLaughlin]

I'm not sure if this is the same for all visa offices, but in a lot of cases (mine included) as long as there are no medical issues when you submit it upfront, they will often extend the medical validity for an additional year. We did our medical in January 2015 and our medical was extended until January 2017 so we did not have to pay for and submit it a second time. The police check had to be redone, but not the medical exam.

 

[Aquakitty]

The VO where the applicant's application goes is usually based on the country of citizenship, not necessarily where you currently reside. But, if you look at Abu Dhabi applications on the spreadsheet in my signature, you'll see they average 8-10 months, not 15. If the applicant does not require an interview you can expect a much faster processing time. It's usually better to provide the medical upfront.