London (United Kingdom) VFS Passport Submission Timeline

[mj_canada]

Hey guys: @Darth Vader @Mes88 @amtdmt any update? I hope you got some update on your passports from London VO.

 

[Darth Vader]

Hey guys: @Darth Vader @Mes88 @amtdmt any update? I hope you got some update on your passports from London VO.

no communication yet, however i noticed status in my gckey changed to final decision

 

[aqfleet]

Hi everyone,

Not sure how useful this is, but also posting to vent as well - we have had a terrible time with our PR application. Here‘s our full timeline(ish) so far:

CEC Inland
My partner is primary applicant (Canadian experience) and I am dependent via common-law
Applied in PR pool: February 2022
ITA: August 2022
Applied: October 2022 (problems with references)
Approved: May 30th 2023
Replied: May 31st 2023
Sent application package to VFS: June 1st

Here’s where it gets sticky. We had to leave Canada to return to the UK for 2023 because my partner’s job (a fixed term grant, so unable to even quit) required him physically in the UK for one year in 2023. IRCC know this as we were advised to add a letter of explanation to our application. Given our October submission, and me having a Canadian job, we decided it would make sense for me to stay in Canada until mid May, giving a good amount of time (7 months) for the processing standard, since most were going through under that time anyway. The idea being we’d get approved, we planned for him to fly back in May to do soft landing with me, and we would have eCOPR before leaving Canada.

Months go by, nothing from IRCC, getting a bit stressed but firm plan to go to MPs office the day we hit six months for help - as it would still leave us about six weeks to get PR approved and do soft landing before leaving, and we had read most applications get pushed through with MP help if over processing time. Unfortunately, the day we go to the MPs office is the same day they announce the huge federal strike. Uh oh!

We change his flight back to the UK to stay even longer, but eventually we just have to bite the bullet (gave notice on our home) and go back to the UK. I plan to return to Canada in November, he plans to return January 2024.

Two weeks letter, guess what? PR approved. Ha! However, we are inland applicants now living outside of Canada. I had read lots of people had emailed IRCC with similar-ish situations, and IRCC advised to just tell them when they were back in Canada to do soft landing. Another spicy element to our application is my partner’s passport expires in December (it had the advised amount of time on it when we had applied initially).

So we emergency book him a flight to Canada mid July, thinking it gives him time to soft land before getting too close to passport expiry (IRCC advised to just tell them when he’s back) - and I still haven’t heard anything.

A day later he gets an email from IRCC about me, saying I need to send a copy of my passport, IRCC letter, and other VFS stuff to London (essentially changing me, but not him - which is good because he wouldn’t have six months left on his passport - to an outland landing).

Problem! I am a dependent so he has to do his landing before or the same time as me, BUT (other problem!) our medical expire July 18th - which will presumably be when my expiry to land is. So we can’t trust that if he tries to start his soft landing mid July, that he will be done before my landing expiry. Confused yet?

So now we emergency cancel his flight with 11 minutes to spare in the 24 hour cancellation policy, and re-book him to fly out June 1st. Bearing in mind we already spent about $1000 flying him out again in May expecting us to have got PR approved while I was still in Canada, and now facing another $1000+ flight, and probably another one for me. Before any accommodation or flight change costs.

So back to VFS:

Approved: May 30th 2023
Replied: May 31st 2023
Sent application package to VFS: June 1st
Request for extra documents: June 7th (our IRCC letter said upload everything except photos to our online account, and then VFS requested them all anyway, ha ha ha etc)
Application under process: June 8th

And my partner’s timeline:

Emailed to say arrived in Canada: June 1st
Portal credentials: TBC - already been to MPs office this week to chase up

So yeah, we are in this horrible situation where we are spending literally thousands of dollars more, because my partner has to land first, I somehow probably (though I have heard stories of IRCC extending medical expiries?) have to land by mid-July… and we’ve already experienced extremely unusual delays because of COVID, the strikes, and being in a tiny minority going past the processing time. And we‘ve also been unlucky with poorly timed passport and medical expiries (all done to the advice of when to have them done), and taking risks with travel which haven’t paid off.

I just have this terrible feeling we will hit even more delays, miss our deadlines, and start this horrible process all over again.

 

[mj_canada]

no communication yet, however i noticed status in my gckey changed to final decision

Interesting. Does the final decision say: "xyz date:Your application is in progress. We will send you a message once the final decision has been made. " Mine is showing like this now. But, no other update. Do, you see your counterfoil generated in GCKey?

 

[mj_canada]

Hi everyone,

Not sure how useful this is, but also posting to vent as well - we have had a terrible time with our PR application. Here‘s our full timeline(ish) so far:

CEC Inland
My partner is primary applicant (Canadian experience) and I am dependent via common-law
Applied in PR pool: February 2022
ITA: August 2022
Applied: October 2022 (problems with references)
Approved: May 30th 2023
Replied: May 31st 2023
Sent application package to VFS: June 1st

Here’s where it gets sticky. We had to leave Canada to return to the UK for 2023 because my partner’s job (a fixed term grant, so unable to even quit) required him physically in the UK for one year in 2023. IRCC know this as we were advised to add a letter of explanation to our application. Given our October submission, and me having a Canadian job, we decided it would make sense for me to stay in Canada until mid May, giving a good amount of time (7 months) for the processing standard, since most were going through under that time anyway. The idea being we’d get approved, we planned for him to fly back in May to do soft landing with me, and we would have eCOPR before leaving Canada.

Months go by, nothing from IRCC, getting a bit stressed but firm plan to go to MPs office the day we hit six months for help - as it would still leave us about six weeks to get PR approved and do soft landing before leaving, and we had read most applications get pushed through with MP help if over processing time. Unfortunately, the day we go to the MPs office is the same day they announce the huge federal strike. Uh oh!

We change his flight back to the UK to stay even longer, but eventually we just have to bite the bullet (gave notice on our home) and go back to the UK. I plan to return to Canada in November, he plans to return January 2024.

Two weeks letter, guess what? PR approved. Ha! However, we are inland applicants now living outside of Canada. I had read lots of people had emailed IRCC with similar-ish situations, and IRCC advised to just tell them when they were back in Canada to do soft landing. Another spicy element to our application is my partner’s passport expires in December (it had the advised amount of time on it when we had applied initially).

So we emergency book him a flight to Canada mid July, thinking it gives him time to soft land before getting too close to passport expiry (IRCC advised to just tell them when he’s back) - and I still haven’t heard anything.

A day later he gets an email from IRCC about me, saying I need to send a copy of my passport, IRCC letter, and other VFS stuff to London (essentially changing me, but not him - which is good because he wouldn’t have six months left on his passport - to an outland landing).

Problem! I am a dependent so he has to do his landing before or the same time as me, BUT (other problem!) our medical expire July 18th - which will presumably be when my expiry to land is. So we can’t trust that if he tries to start his soft landing mid July, that he will be done before my landing expiry. Confused yet?

So now we emergency cancel his flight with 11 minutes to spare in the 24 hour cancellation policy, and re-book him to fly out June 1st. Bearing in mind we already spent about $1000 flying him out again in May expecting us to have got PR approved while I was still in Canada, and now facing another $1000+ flight, and probably another one for me. Before any accommodation or flight change costs.

So back to VFS:

Approved: May 30th 2023
Replied: May 31st 2023
Sent application package to VFS: June 1st
Request for extra documents: June 7th (our IRCC letter said upload everything except photos to our online account, and then VFS requested them all anyway, ha ha ha etc)
Application under process: June 8th

And my partner’s timeline:

Emailed to say arrived in Canada: June 1st
Portal credentials: TBC - already been to MPs office this week to chase up

So yeah, we are in this horrible situation where we are spending literally thousands of dollars more, because my partner has to land first, I somehow probably (though I have heard stories of IRCC extending medical expiries?) have to land by mid-July… and we’ve already experienced extremely unusual delays because of COVID, the strikes, and being in a tiny minority going past the processing time. And we‘ve also been unlucky with poorly timed passport and medical expiries (all done to the advice of when to have them done), and taking risks with travel which haven’t paid off.

I just have this terrible feeling we will hit even more delays, miss our deadlines, and start this horrible process all over again.

Wow. Seems you have been through a lot. Fingers crossed for no more surprises!

 

[Darth Vader]

Interesting. Does the final decision say: "xyz date:Your application is in progress. We will send you a message once the final decision has been made. " Mine is showing like this now. But, no other update. Do, you see your counterfoil generated in GCKey?

yes that's what it's showing. Where do you get to see counterfoil on gckey?

 

[mj_canada]

yes that's what it's showing. Where do you get to see counterfoil on gckey?

So, on the application page, after your application status (where it shows final decision) and before the messages (where you would have the PDF messages, PPR/ medical request, etc), they will create a new menu of your document status. That is where a counterfoil will start appearing once they print the PR visa (assuming you are not visa-exempt passport holder).

 

[Aaru9667]

On 9th June, I mailed my PP to VFS following receipt of the PPR for a visitor visa. Approximately how long does it take for stamping, pls?

 

[mj_canada]

On 9th June, I mailed my PP to VFS following receipt of the PPR for a visitor visa. Approximately how long does it take for stamping, pls?

One business day!

 

[Sofyamalika]

Hello sir