Here's an observation:

for cases prior to Oct 2001 medicals were done within a month from initial assessment so individuals have been waiting upto 12 months for a passport request.

however applicants from Oct- Dec 2001, were asked to wait 6 months for their medicals, so they generally get their Passport request anywhere from 3 to 6 months after medicals.

so basically the estimated wait for passport is upto one year from initial assessment and cannot be determined by comparing the date of medical submissions.

Hang in there guys !!

Y!

You are right that after Oct 2001 it seemed that security checks were 6
months slower. I guess it is because of 9/11, CSIS has to concentrate on
things other than writing letters to authorities in other countries and wait
for replies and write a report to CIC.

    > for cases prior to Oct 2001 medicals were done within a month from
    > initial assessment so individuals have been waiting upto 12 months for a
    > passport request.
    > however applicants from Oct- Dec 2001, were asked to wait 6 months for
    > their medicals, so they generally get their Passport request anywhere
    > from 3 to 6 months after medicals.
    > so basically the estimated wait for passport is upto one year from
    > initial assessment and cannot be determined by comparing the date of
    > medical submissions.
    > Hang in there guys !!
    > Y!
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

from: http://www.sirc-csars.gc.ca/annual/2...3/sec2c_e.html

Nature of CSIS Advice to CIC
The Service's security screening assessments are provided as advice to CIC in one of four forms:

No Reportable Trace (NRT)-a report given to CIC when the Service has no adverse information on the immigration applicant.

Inadmissible Brief-advice provided when the Service has concluded, based on information available to it, that the applicant meets the criteria outlined in the security provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

Information Brief-advice provided by CSIS that it has information that the applicant is or was involved in activities as described in the security provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, but that it is of the opinion that the applicant does not fall into the class of persons deemed to be inadmissible under the Act.

Incidental Letter-provided to CIC when the Service has information that the applicant is or was involved in non-security-related activities described in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (for example, war crimes or organized criminal activity) or any other matter of relevance to the performance of duty by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, as set out in section 14( b) of the CSIS Act.


Immigration Security Screening Programs
Under the authority of sections 14 and 15 of the CSIS Act, the Service conducts security screening investigations and provides advice to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). Generally speaking, the Service's assistance takes the form of information-sharing on matters concerning threats to the security of Canada as defined in section 2 of the CSIS Act and the form of "assessments" with respect to the inadmissibility classes of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

Immigration requests for security screening resulted in 445 briefs from CSIS to CIC-242 information briefs and 203 inadmissible briefs. Of those requests, the median time required for a "no reportable trace" (NRT) was 57 days, for an information brief 400 days and for an inadmissible brief 461 days. For the year previous, the median figures were 55 days, 401 days and 498 days, respectively.

Unlike previous years, the Service reported on citizenship applications as a separate category. An information brief with respect to a citizenship application took a median time of 129 days.

During fiscal year 2002-2003, the Service provided 87 update letters (updates to briefs) and 22 incidental letters to CIC.

Applications for Permanent Residence from Within Canada
The Service has the sole responsibility for screening immigrants and refugees who apply for permanent residence status from within Canada. In 2002-2003 the Service received 33, 837 such screening requests. Of these requests, 21, 950 were immigration applications and 11, 887 came through the Refugee Determination Program.

According to the statistical information provided by the Service, the time required for the Service to issue a recommendation on an immigration application varies considerably depending on how the application was filed. Those applications filed using the Electronic Data Exchange from within Canada took a median of 45 days, and electronic filings within the Refugee Determination Program took 55 days. For those applications filed on paper, the median turnaround time for immigration applications from within Canada was 70 days; for applications from the U. S. it was 150 days, and for paper applications from within the Refugee Determination program 94 days.

Application for Permanent Residence from Outside Canada
Immigration and refugee applications for permanent residence that originate outside Canada or the United States are managed by the Overseas Immigrant Screening Program under which the Service shares responsibility for security screening with CIC officials based abroad. Generally, CSIS only becomes involved in the screening process either upon being requested to do so by the Immigration Program Manager or upon receiving adverse information about a case from established sources. CSIS reports that this division of labour allows the Service to concentrate on higher-risk cases.

In 2002-2003, the Service received 23, 691 requests to screen refugee and immigration applications initiated outside Canada. Of these, CSIS reported that 6776 were referred to Security Liaison Officers (SLOs) for consultation, marginally fewer than the year previous.