SDS - Processing Time 2023

[saikarthik8998]

I am from India

I applied on 28th March, Biometrics completed on 3rd April and medical passed on 18th April.
Background check is in progress and eligibility review not started yet.

I hope I will receive a decision by the end of May atleast

 

[saikarthik8998]

It's hardly the case, most of the SDS applications are processed in IRCC offices in Canada. So you have kind of limitation there on how many applications they can process at once, and given the current IRCC worker strike I don't think it will be back at Their normal processing time anytime soon.

Where did you get the information that SDS applications are processed in Canada and Non-Sds applications are processed in the country they are applied?

 

[shaan9888]

Where did you get the information that SDS applications are processed in Canada and Non-Sds applications are processed in the country they are applied?

askkubeir and some other channels mentioned it.

 

[shaan9888]

I applied on 28th March, Biometrics completed on 3rd April and medical passed on 18th April.
Background check is in progress and eligibility review not started yet.

I hope I will receive a decision by the end of May atleast

Good thing is they are working on the application so you can expect an update soon. Good luck

 

[archanajossy]

My friend applied on February 10th, 2023 for May intake. Medical updated on Feb 23rd and eligibility reciew started in the same day. Raised a webform on April 14th. No updates till now. Last date to update visa status to the college is on May 8th. The course is closed for next 2 intakes as well, so deferment is a long shot. Not sure why the delay, what is happening while a fair number of students received their visa so quickly…

 

[parrots]

Hey @archanajossy! I've been asking myself the same question. My husband and I are Feb 16 applicants. Are you a family applicant by any chance? Cause that might be a reason for delayed processing time.

My friend applied on February 10th, 2023 for May intake. Medical updated on Feb 23rd and eligibility reciew started in the same day. Raised a webform on April 14th. No updates till now. Last date to update visa status to the college is on May 8th. The course is closed for next 2 intakes as well, so deferment is a long shot. Not sure why the delay, what is happening while a fair number of students received their visa so quickly…

 

[parrots]

Did anyone receive updates on their applications on April 19?

 

[parrots]

Yes, SDS applications are indeed processed in Canada, in Edmonton. This city is mentioned on our SDS profiles in the Application Status Tracker and was mentioned in our GCMS Notes last year for our first SDS application.

Where did you get the information that SDS applications are processed in Canada and Non-Sds applications are processed in the country they are applied?

 

[parrots]

Hey @saleslucas94! Some news to answer your question from here:

"Reports are coming in from INC – Immigration News Canada confidential sources, that the immigration department has instructed International Network team inside Canada to prioritize temporary visa files from India, China, and Philippines. This is to “NOT” allow the accumulation of backlog due to IRCC strike because these 3 countries usually have the highest number of applications under processing at any given time. However, this doesn’t mean that applications from other countries are not being processed."

How is it going with your application?

Thanks for the reply!
We’re thinking about changing the flight, but I’m worried about when we’re going to have an solid info about it. There’s a strike ongoing now, do you think/know that it could affect visa applications outside Canada such as VFS?

 

[archanajossy]

Hey @archanajossy! I've been asking myself the same question. My husband and I are Feb 16 applicants. Are you a family applicant by any chance? Cause that might be a reason for delayed processing time.

Nope, only she has applied for the student visa. Applied on Feb 10th, 2023. Medical got updated on 23rd Feb. After that received 2 ghost update. Raised a webform on april 14th. We contacted the college. They told she has time to update visa status until may 8th. After that she need defer to Future intake. However the seats are not available for next 2 intakes. We just dropped an email to the dean to give exemption and allow her to start the course online. Just waiting for the reply. Agency told to wait this week and start deferment process next week. We don’t know whats the best thing to do.

 

[parrots]

This is incredibly sad, difficult and frustrating, I know. You should definitely talk to your college as soon as possible not only about online courses, but also about deferral to the next available semester (even if it is three semesters down the road). As far as I know, online education won't count towards your PGWP starting from September 2023. In this regards, you might want to consider a deferred start of her program.

Nope, only she has applied for the student visa. Applied on Feb 10th, 2023. Medical got updated on 23rd Feb. After that received 2 ghost update. Raised a webform on april 14th. We contacted the college. They told she has time to update visa status until may 8th. After that she need defer to Future intake. However the seats are not available for next 2 intakes. We just dropped an email to the dean to give exemption and allow her to start the course online. Just waiting for the reply. Agency told to wait this week and start deferment process next week. We don’t know whats the best thing to do.

 

[archanajossy]

This is incredibly sad, difficult and frustrating, I know. You should definitely talk to your college as soon as possible not only about online courses, but also about deferral to the next available semester (even if it is three semesters down the road). As far as I know, online education won't count towards your PGWP starting from September 2023. In this regards, you might want to consider a deferred start of her program.

We contacted the agency and the course is closed at the moment. They will inform us if there is a slot for subsequent intake. Till then we thought to wait for the visa. Online delivery will end after this semester. From September onward every course will be at college or hybrid. The wait is really hard for us. We got 2 rejection last year. So we were very thorough with our documents this time. We submitted on july 27, 2022 and received the rejection in 45days and resubmitted again on August 30, 2022 and received the rejection while taking online classes in 30days. But this time it’s nearing 77 days, and nothing… its really frustrating. Just losing all hope. We started the process 3 years back and covid shattered all the plans. And now ircc screwing the plans…

 

[parrots]

Yes, I can definitely relate to your desperation as this is our second application as well. We applied for our SP +OWP on May 8 in 2022 and got a rejection on September 11, which was 18 weeks. My university had granted me a deferral for September 2023. We had drastically improved our LOEs and documents and applied again on February 16. Now, as you see, it has already been 10 weeks of waiting for us. We really wanted to believe that this year would be different and we would get our application processed faster, but it seems that that won't be the case. The uncertainty about the processing time this year with all this strike frightens us as well since my university cannot grand me a second deferral. If I don't start my studies in September 2023, I will have to re-apply and re-compete for a spot in my program of study again. Honestly, at this point, we do not know what to think, feel or wait for anymore. We are preparing ourselves mentally for our second application being delayed beyond acceptable time as well or being refused. It is really hard to stay positive anymore for us too. But, hey, let's do it anyway, let's believe that all things happen in their due course and for a reason

We contacted the agency and the course is closed at the moment. They will inform us if there is a slot for subsequent intake. Till then we thought to wait for the visa. Online delivery will end after this semester. From September onward every course will be at college or hybrid. The wait is really hard for us. We got 2 rejection last year. So we were very thorough with our documents this time. We submitted on july 27, 2022 and received the rejection in 45days and resubmitted again on August 30, 2022 and received the rejection while taking online classes in 30days. But this time it’s nearing 77 days, and nothing… its really frustrating. Just losing all hope. We started the process 3 years back and covid shattered all the plans. And now ircc screwing the plans…

 

[archanajossy]

Yes, I can definitely relate to your desperation as this is our second application as well. We applied for our SP +OWP on May 8 in 2022 and got a rejection on September 11, which was 18 weeks. My university had granted me a deferral for September 2023. We had drastically improved our LOEs and documents and applied again on February 16. Now, as you see, it has already been 10 weeks of waiting for us. We really wanted to believe that this year would be different and we would get our application processed faster, but it seems that that won't be the case. The uncertainty about the processing time this year with all this strike frightens us as well since my university cannot grand me a second deferral. If I don't start my studies in September 2023, I will have to re-apply and re-compete for a spot in my program of study again. Honestly, at this point, we do not know what to think, feel or wait for anymore. We are preparing ourselves mentally for our second application being delayed beyond acceptable time as well or being refused. It is really hard to stay positive anymore for us too. But, hey, let's do it anyway, let's believe that all things happen in their due course and for a reason

Every day begins with a letdown and concludes with lofty goals. We used to check the application status every 10 minutes in the hopes of seeing a change after hearing that other students had received their visas in 20 days. However, we've resolved to keep fighting until we're granted a visa, whether it's for the current intake or one in the future. Eventually, the tide will turn in our favour, just as you said.

 

[parrots]

Yeah, I know the feeling I guess many people do really! We used to check our profiles every day last year, but this year my husband refuses to check it at all, he prefers to wait for that one cherished email with decision. And me, I sneak on checking our status once every week.

Exactly! Let's just hang in there and get everything done step by step! There is no other way around it!

Every day begins with a letdown and concludes with lofty goals. We used to check the application status every 10 minutes in the hopes of seeing a change after hearing that other students had received their visas in 20 days. However, we've resolved to keep fighting until we're granted a visa, whether it's for the current intake or one in the future. Eventually, the tide will turn in our favour, just as you said.