First, I would like to say that in the nearly three years that my wife and I have been planning our lives in Canada, this forum has been the most complete, informative and timely source of information on Canadian immigration that I have come across.

Second, let me apologize for the length of my post and also if I end up rehashing any "already asked and answered" information. One of the reasons that this is my first post on the site is that I have spent a great deal of time gathering information on the Internet (at this forum and others) and could always find a solid answer to what I was looking for, until now.

The background of my question. My wife and I submitted an inland family class spouse PR application for her on 24 March 2008. We would later see on ECAS that it was received on 31 March 2008 and processing began on 30 April 2008. We also received a phone call asking for confirmation of some employment history some time in early April (so I guess they really started processing it before 30 April 2008, but that is moot at this point).

To my pleasant surprise, after checking the mail box in the afternoon on 06 October 2008, I found two envelopes from CPC-V and a third from our local CIC office, all of which arrived on the same day.

Here is where I began to scratch my head.

All the research I had done pointed to us receiving the so-called AIP notification. We had planned our timeline based on the fact that it would take six months to reach the "first stage of approval" and from that point on "a number of months" to finally obtain PR from the local CIC office after the examination interview.

One of the two CPC-V envelopes contained the IP08 Appendix G letter, the so-called "Letter to sponsor/Approval letter/Sponsorship eligibility" almost verbatim. Fair enough.

But the second letter from CPC-V contained what I believe to be known as the DM, or Decision Made letter that I have heard about. While similar to the IP08 Appendix B letter, "Letter to applicant/Approval letter/Eligibility," it is quite different in that it says "We are pleased to advise you that processing of your application has been completed. The Canada Immigration Centre will contact you concerning your permanent resident status."

It mentions nothing about the work or study permits that appear in the template.

The third letter, the one from the local CIC office, was the IOP8 Appendix F "Letter to applicant/Invitation to examination interview," complete with final determination examination date in just two weeks time!

To finally get to the point, , I have heard of inland cases "skipping" AIP and going right to DM and on to the interview, but is this common? I found so few examples of it on the Internet, I doubted that it was real.

I believe we should be happy, right?

After the interview, that's it? According to all of our friends that have gone through the process, after the interview, they stamp your passport or issue you with a PR document at that time. Is this the case?

As I noted, we had expected to receive the AIP and then apply for the work permit and health insurance, etc., but by the way things look, we only need to wait two weeks anyway?

Again I do apologize for the questions, but I am a little stunned at how things have gone (in a good way!).

Any insights you might be able to offer would be most appreciated.

Your wife will, in all probability, be landed at the local CIC as part of the "interview". Basically they simply ask a few formal questions, sign the papers and congratulate you both. It is a kind of black box process where all documents and information is sent with the original application and thus there is no need to communicate with the applicants until they are done and ready to approve PR status. If you did not include an application for a TWP with the original package then this is how it happens. Somehow they were pretty quick at the CIC so congratulations to you both!

Thank you very much for your reply and the good news. We look forward to the light at the end of the tunnel!

Hope all goes well at the interview ect! Thats as quick as applying from outside Canada Without all the hassle of trying to Communicate with London from Canada!

Cheers!

It feels great to finally be coming to the end.

We were some what let down to discover the SIN issue (i.e., not being able to obtain one until the PR card arrives). The wife has already received interest from an employer (the province, no less). I hope they don't mind waiting another 6 weeks until she can get a SIN.