Sunnybrae

It's been 4 months since Nova Scotia received by application and whilst I appreciate Covid will delay things, I was just wondering if anyone else is in a similar timescale to me and has heard anything from NS?

The check your application status page on canada.ca says they are processing May 2019 applications for outside Canada and processing September 2019 applications in Canada, so it'll be some time before they get to November 2020.

I saw a spreadsheet once on here that folk had filled in giving their dates for others to see but not been able to find it since.

Hurlabrick

Yes, there is a link to the spreadsheet in my signature line below. Unfortunately it has not been used for the last 18 months as despite publicising it repeatedly on this and another forum, people with spousal sponsorship applications in progress simply stopped volunteering their details and dates. So it is not much help to you I am afraid!

Siouxie

I recommend signing up and logging in to ECAS and MyCIC
*our wiki has info on how to use both.... https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Spous...All_About_eCAS /
https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Spous...ll_about_MyCIC

Sunnybrae

Thanks for those, I guess my application is just siting in a pile somewhere and hasn't even been looked at yet as I can't sign up for either ECAS or MyCIC. They say only contact them if your application is beyond their application process times which is 12 months so I just need to be patient and await an email appearing in my inbox one day.

Hurlabrick

I am afraid your view is almost certainly correct, just settle in for a long wait not hearing anything, but when things do start to move, they might move quickly. I used to work for consultants in the 90s that specialised in backlog clearance and business process reengineering in UK financial services. Boy would I love to get my hands on IRCC!

Antwerp_Belgian

I got my AOR after exactly 4 months and they've been processing my case pretty quickly so don't despair yet, Sunnybrae! I'm currently waiting because I can't get my biometrics taken at the moment but that's a whole other thing, otherwise it went pretty smoothly.

Siouxie

Your spouse may be able to log into eCAS with their details, not yours (help ref: https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpce...qnum=299&top=3) using the receipt number as a reference as they won't have an UCI yet.. ensure that the place of birth is the country and not a generic 'UK' - i.e. click on England / Ireland / Scotland / Wales as appropriate.
CAS tool: https://services3.cic.gc.ca/ecas/security.do?lang=en

Also try it using your own details and the receipt number, as sometimes it works for one and not the other. Fingers crossed you are able to see it soon!
(for MyCIC, often it can take many tries before connecting your application to the account. Ensure you take careful notes of the answers you give when enrolling with it, as you will need the exact answer to log in at another time).



You should also check your spam box as the emails can easily end up in the wrong place.. the sponsor should get the first contact. Do have a good read of our wiki section(s) on spousal sponsorship.. https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Spous...he_application

unobscure

Our application was marked as received in May 2020. They don't contact you at all until the first stage (sponsor approval) is complete, which used to take 3-4 months pre-covid. It took 9 months for us. We got the emails notifying us of sponsor approval in Feb 2021.

However, I believe that our application arrived just as the worst time, when there were no systems in place to work/cope with the pandemic. I believe more resources have been brought to bare since then so there is no knowing what the current timeline is.

Sunnybrae

I did read somewhere that they've employed an additional 30 staff and taken over more office space. It's my birthday in August so maybe I'll get a nice present from them by then

New_in_BC

Hi,

Not sure if still interested, but I submitted my application in January and got the request for Biometrics about 2 month later - Mid March. I submittedmy biometrics pretty quickly. About a month after this (late April) my application was moved to the London immigration office - no news since.

Sunnybrae

Was that January 2021 and did you first send it to Nova Scotia? Thanks

New_in_BC

Yes - this was in January 2021 and sent to Nova Scotia. I sent it tracked so I knew when it arrived.

It drove me mad that I couldn't find/link my application on MyCIC - even after I had heard back already. Eventually I read in the Wiki (I am not alloewd to post a link but it's called "All about MyCIC" in the Wiki) that you need to add your sponsor to the "number of applicants" when trying to link your paper application. So even though there is only 1 primary applicant, I had to put 2 under "number of applicants". Once I did this, it finally linked. I recommend trying this (and reading the article in the Wiki if that doesn't work either).

Siouxie

https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Spous...ll_about_MyCIC

Sunnybrae

Thanks, I think I'm going to write a letter to NS and send it registered/signed for etc. I'm concerned that my application has been lost during their recent office expansion. I'm in no rush for the paperwork but would just like the assurance that they still have it sitting in a pile somewhere.

Sunnybrae

So, my application wasn't lost, it has spent the last 3 months in the post being returned to me .

I didn't include police checks for my daughters as they are not applying for PR but apparently as they are over 18 and still my dependents, checks should have been done for them. We checked, double checked and triple checked before sending it off but still got it wrong!

The frustrating bit is it's 7 months wasted of which 3 months was due to CIC using snail mail, why they couldn't have sent me an email back in March I'll never know.

So, once I have the police checks for my girls, do I just resend the application with a covering letter or print off new forms to have up to date dates on the forms?

They seem to have kept the checklist so that needs redoing and they've also gone over a reference number they hand wrote on some of the pages with a black marker.