Surrey Expat

Unless they have job offers, there is not a lot of point putting in a PR application at present anyway as it may never get processed.

derekgoforth

please please please do not put in a PR application if there is even a 1% chance that you may have to withdraw. the embassey must make so much money on interest payments the way they do things at the moment. i never understood why you pay your fees straight away and not when you application actuallly gets looked at. the average waiting time is between 3-6 years for PR apps, this meand the canadian government collect interest payments for all those years without actually doing anything. i am no finacial expert but i would guess at 5% interest per annum, which means a total interest payment of around £110 - £230 ish per application. dont they have a waiting list of 1000's? thats a fair ammount of cash sitting there collecting interest.
i am sure someone thought this payment up front was a good money making scheme, shame it makes life that much harder for the applicants.

to have to wait at least six months to get our money back is so upsetting, knowing it is sitting in someone elses bank for no good reason is very annoying. please tell your friends to bear this in mind before making their application.

all the best

claire600

Hi there

It's not easy ... Just wanted to add that although we spent 9 months there, bought a house and applied ... it is not until now that it is becoming reality and it is quite daunting. When things are a long way off they can just seem like a dream and now our lives are finally off hold we have time to focus on leaving our jobs and family and whether we have made the right decision.

My father is unwilling and unwell to travel so may not be able to visit... Partner is doing very well at work/paywise. Son is not coming

My partner said last night - we have to go otherwise we have wasted 3 years in limbo!

Our goal is to make a good go of it and enjoy the adventure .....

Good luck to everyone in the process

Claire

derekgoforth

finnally got all of our money back, wonder how much interest canada made out of me?

Steve_P

Keep in mind had you continued with your application you would have gladly given your money, just because it took awhile to get it back did you really lose anything?

The answer is no, you just didn't make anything either.

Piff Poff

It probably cost more than your interest to process your refund.

I would also say don't apply unless your 110% sure too - just wasting CIC's time and holding others up in the queue.

katiemoon

Maths doesn't seem to be a strong point here
5% of £100 = £5 per year so 5% of £1000 is still only £50 per year
and anyway, who can get 5% these days unless you tie it up for years???

KatieMoon

derekgoforth

seems like a few of you have missed the point and resorted to insults. this thread simply serves as a warning of how hard it is to communicate with CIC nd how discracful it is that you are expected to pay your fees up front despite the fact your papers are not actually looked at for years.

please dont respond to this post with insults, its really sad when people do that. i have had 17 private messages from people who have had similar experiences and from those who have seen my experience as helpful.

derekgoforth

i have savings in an account at 5.25% tied in for a year

christmasoompa

Things have changed now, under the new system FSW applications are going to be processed in 6-12 months so your experience is no longer completely relevant as papers will be looked at much more quickly.

jhorsfield30

This has been a curious post, but alot of good points,
derekgoforth has alot of bottle to start this and admire the decision, we need threads for what happens when things do go wrong, like getting money back from CIC, and they're inability to communicate in days rather than weeks.
Still, research is useful, but until you are in the country living day to day, with a low income job or not :> you only know then truly.
Derekgoforth are you trying for another country to immigrate to??

G77

Can you ever be 110% sure about emigrating? There's always going to be a certain amount of doubt....

I wasn't 110% for sure, but had to follow my curiosity or always wonder "what if".....

Yogi-Bear

Hi,

I understand your plight, and thanks for the tip. But you could also look at it like this:

Thank your lucky stars you're getting it back! Plus, in this current financial climate I doubt the interest you mentioned on a £1,000.00 will be enough to buy a decent round of drinks!

Consider this also, everyone has their interpretation of what a £1,000.00 in terms of value means to them.

Yet when you consider what you're about to embark on with Austrailia, a £1,000.00 is really neither here or there. As by the time you get there, and the first month has passed, I'm sure you'll be into some serious figures by then, with no chance of getting it back!

Like I say, at least you're getting it back & with no administration fee's deducted! After all, It's not the CHC's fault you couldn't make your mind up - yet they would have spent time looking at your application.

So all in all, take it on the chin and move on.

Best of luck in Aus

Y

fuschiagirl

I think Derek's username is SO appropriate

Yogi-Bear

Me too Fusch!