hi there,
application for permanent residence , through skilled worker now in
hands of london immigration , anyone out there know how long before
medical is requested and what it entails

thanks
sturfc glasgow

Well, let's put it this way: My children will be starting primary school by the time you get the nod....and I don't have any children yet

Nah, seriously - it's now quoted as anything between 36 and 40 months

Get on with your life and forget about it all...for the meantime.

Good luck

A few weeks after you apply you should get an AOR (acknowledgement of receipt) for your application. On the back of the form it should give you their best estimation of when you are likely to hear from the CHC again. They are quoting 36 months on some and on others it has gone up to 39 months. A long way off - but this gives you plenty of time to research, research and research.

When you do get to the medicals stage, you'll suddenly find that everything moves really fast. We went from medical requests to having the visas in our passports in less than 3 months. So use this waiting time to make decisions on location, whether your occupation is restricted in Canada etc etc

our application was sent in january 05 , secured validated job offer in november 05(for which we feel very fortunate), recieved medical request in january 06(we've got our medicals tomorrow 08 feb), relatives sent application july 04 but couldn't get validation on job offer(wrong noc code)and they haven't received medical request yet, it could come at any time(how long is a piece of string).
without family already based in canada validated job offer is the fastest way forward.

Guess it must vary greatly, I applied through Buffalo, meds. requested after 6 months of initial application and visa / PR (skilled worker) granted 4 months after that.