@11elleo, @makibarbie
Please I got collection mail but there is no indication of counterfoil on my gckey, is this a normal procedure?

yay congrats! still waiting for mine. from what i've heard, it can take a few days to update. and if there is any further issue, use the webform to write to accra office. two people in forums have had the issue of trying to fly 1-2 days after passport collection but had an issue at the airport because the counterfoil hadnt finished generating in the gckey canadian system. from the advice i saw on the group, better to wait about a few days after receiving passport to fly if counterfoil isnt generated on gckey yet

Zeesville:
@11elleo, @makibarbie
Please I got collection mail but there is no indication of counterfoil on my gckey, is this a normal procedure?

Oh, OK.
Thank you so much, been so worried.
Yours is coming this week in Jesus name.

11elleo:
yay congrats! still waiting for mine. from what i've heard, it can take a few days to update. and if there is any further issue, use the webform to write to accra office. two people in forums have had the issue of trying to fly 1-2 days after passport collection but had an issue at the airport because the counterfoil hadnt finished generating in the gckey canadian system. from the advice i saw on the group, better to wait about a few days after receiving passport to fly if counterfoil isnt generated on gckey yet

Zeesville:
@11elleo, @makibarbie
Please I got collection mail but there is no indication of counterfoil on my gckey, is this a normal procedure?

hello, how long did it take them to stamp your passport?
Accra is so slow

Please I want clarity, are you the one that chose to send your passport to Nairobi or is it IRCC that will tell you which office (Accra or Nairobi) to send your passport to?

Makibarbie:
My passport has been returned 🙏🏾
it took 10 working days between the process of submission and return.

DHL drop off in Lagos - 24 November

DHL delivered to VFS Nairobi- 27 November

VFS Nairobi delivered to IRCC for processing - 29 November


Counterfoil generated on GCkey account - 29 November

Passport arrived back at VFS Nairobi and ready for pick up - 30 November

DHL picked up at VFS for return - 1st Dec

DHL returned passport back to VFS Nairobi due to error in waybill number - 4th Dec

DHL pickup again after I contacted VFS and DHL to ask why I couldn’t track my shipment, it was a lot of back and forth sha at the end, i was asked to resend my return waybill paper - 5th Dec

Passport shipped: 5th Dec

Passport delivered and received - 7th Dec

I would like to commend the help of Nairobi VFS and DHL customer service reps for ensuring the issue was resolved with 3hours.they definitely have one of the best customer service team.

Also, if you have the plans to send to nairobi, ensure your return waybill is stapled and if possible attach two copies for them lol.

Thank you all for the support and i wish everyone the best from here 🙏🏾🎉🎉

It took them 6weeks

Breezy90:
hello, how long did it take them to stamp your passport?
Accra is so slow

I chose Nairobi myself coz they are faster.

SophiaObiefule:
Please I want clarity, are you the one that chose to send your passport to Nairobi or is it IRCC that will tell you which office (Accra or Nairobi) to send your passport to?

Please advise is needed regarding spousal sponsorship

About to get married in Nigeria with a Canadian pr

Wife is in Nigeria, u checked the processing time, its like 6 months

Which is the best way to go about this filing

I was advised to get visiting visa then apply for spousal visa while in Canada

My request

Which pathway is faster?
How much am I needed to show for spousal sponsorship?
Should I go for visiting visa first or apply for spousal sponsorship?
Has anyone being in this situation before?

Amy idea is welcomed

Thank you

for me 6 weeks. standard time now in accra is 5-10 weeks.

Breezy90:
hello, how long did it take them to stamp your passport?
Accra is so slow

most important step is you need to go on the canadian gov website and read the requirements. this is so you know the facts and are basing your decision on facts not he said/she said. Processing time for outland spousal sponsorship is 13 months currently i believe. Regarding which path, that is up to you/finances/circumstances. It will certainly be easier if you are together with your spouse in canada while things are processing. if you can get a visit visa and have your wife with you, that is great. Then you can apply for spousal sponsorship inside canada-processing time 10 months. You will have to extend the visit visa, as it is valid for only 6 months stay in 1 year. and your wife cannot work on visit visa.

the other option is outland process-this means you are in canada and wife remains in nigeria. processing time 13 months. There is currently a program to make it easier for your spouse abroad to get visit visa quickly once you have applied for spousal sponsorship and received AOR( acknowledgment that your application was received). This program was introduced may 2023. before that, it was difficult to get your spouse to visit. that has changed now. Then in this case, once she arrives, she can apply for open work permit (although this is now taking long too) or your spouse can at least be visiting you.

There is no set amount for spousal sponsorship. the timeline for inland or outland are not so different (exception: if you are a quebec applicant). But of course, everyone wishes to have their spouse with them, potentially 1 year of seperation is not easy. the main issue is in outland, you may be assigned to slow visa offices like accra office and their timeline can be unpredictable and slower than average processing times.

1760:
Please advise is needed regarding spousal sponsorship

About to get married in Nigeria with a Canadian pr

Wife is in Nigeria, u checked the processing time, its like 6 months

Which is the best way to go about this filing

I was advised to get visiting visa then apply for spousal visa while in Canada

My request

Which pathway is faster?
How much am I needed to show for spousal sponsorship?
Should I go for visiting visa first or apply for spousal sponsorship?
Has anyone being in this situation before?

Amy idea is welcomed

Thank you

strongly advise you to use your money and send to kenya, the stress of spending 1-3 months without your passport and poor communication from accra is not worth it just because of cheaper cost.

SophiaObiefule:
Please I want clarity, are you the one that chose to send your passport to Nairobi or is it IRCC that will tell you which office (Accra or Nairobi) to send your passport to?

11elleo:
most important step is you need to go on the canadian gov website and read the requirements. this is so you know the facts and are basing your decision on facts not he said/she said. Processing time for outland spousal sponsorship is 13 months currently i believe. Regarding which path, that is up to you/finances/circumstances. It will certainly be easier if you are together with your spouse in canada while things are processing. if you can get a visit visa and have your wife with you, that is great. Then you can apply for spousal sponsorship inside canada-processing time 10 months. You will have to extend the visit visa, as it is valid for only 6 months stay in 1 year. and your wife cannot work on visit visa.

the other option is outland process-this means you are in canada and wife remains in nigeria. processing time 13 months. There is currently a program to make it easier for your spouse abroad to get visit visa quickly once you have applied for spousal sponsorship and received AOR( acknowledgment that your application was received). This program was introduced may 2023. before that, it was difficult to get your spouse to visit. that has changed now. Then in this case, once she arrives, she can apply for open work permit (although this is now taking long too) or your spouse can at least be visiting you.

There is no set amount for spousal sponsorship. the timeline for inland or outland are not so different (exception: if you are a quebec applicant). But of course, everyone wishes to have their spouse with them, potentially 1 year of seperation is not easy. the main issue is in outland, you may be assigned to slow visa offices like accra office and their timeline can be unpredictable and slower than average processing times.

What is the program that was introduced in May 2023?

The wife in Canada must not renew her visit visa and she should apply for work permit alongside the sponsorship app. The main thing is to get the VV and on record time.

11elleo:
for me 6 weeks. standard time now in accra is 5-10 weeks.

lol.. I really wonder why it takes so long to stamp. Well we wait sha.

passports are sent to accra in batches and stamped in batches. so it's not a fast process, not that there is an excuse really. but that's the explanation behind the wait time.

Breezy90:
lol.. I really wonder why it takes so long to stamp. Well we wait sha.

it's not a program exactly, it's like a public policy. https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/updates/2023-open-work-pilot.htmlquote author=aestake post=127832229]
What is the program that was introduced in May 2023?

The wife in Canada must not renew her visit visa and she should apply for work permit alongside the sponsorship app. The main thing is to get the VV and on record time.[/quote]

11elleo:
it's not a program exactly, it's like a public policy. https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/updates/2023-open-work-pilot.htmlquote author=aestake post=127832229]
What is the program that was introduced in May 2023?

The wife in Canada must not renew her visit visa and she should apply for work permit alongside the sponsorship app. The main thing is to get the VV and on record time.

Okay.

aestake:

Okay.

Thank you so much for your kind responses. I also have a situation at hand. I live and study in Sweden while my man is a PR in Canada. We have a visitors visa application currently with Ircc that is taking so long (about 10 months now) although he has been visiting with Schengen visa.

Now our families have met each other traditionally in our absence and what is left is court wedding. They gave us the option of having our court wedding in Nigeria or in Sweden, we chose Sweden and the process is ongoing and we plan to use the document to apply for spousal visa.

Now my question is, is it okay we do the wedding in Sweden or Nigeria? Do we need to cancel the current visitors visa application we have and apply for a new one alongside the spousal visa? Or should we just send our marriage certificate and email that explains we are married through webform? Please I need as much input as possible.

i think your question is a bit unclear. are you asking about a visitor visa or about spousal sponsorship? as for the visitor visa, you dont need to cancel anything. where you marry is not an issue as long as the certificate is certified and acceptable to canada.

greatme2good:


Thank you so much for your kind responses. I also have a situation at hand. I live and study in Sweden while my man is a PR in Canada. We have a visitors visa application currently with Ircc that is taking so long (about 10 months now) although he has been visiting with Schengen visa.

Now our families have met each other traditionally in our absence and what is left is court wedding. They gave us the option of having our court wedding in Nigeria or in Sweden, we chose Sweden and the process is ongoing and we plan to use the document to apply for spousal visa.

Now my question is, is it okay we do the wedding in Sweden or Nigeria? Do we need to cancel the current visitors visa application we have and apply for a new one alongside the spousal visa? Or should we just send our marriage certificate and email that explains we are married through webform? Please I need as much input as possible.

11elleo:
i think your question is a bit unclear. are you asking about a visitor visa or about spousal sponsorship? as for the visitor visa, you dont need to cancel anything. where you marry is not an issue as long as the certificate is certified and acceptable to canada.

I read somewhere on this thread that you can apply for spousal visa and visitors visa concurrently so I asked if we can update them with our marriage document on the current visitor’s application we have when we apply for spousal visa or cancel it apply for spousal visa + a new visitors visa.

you can definitely update them but it won't make a difference to that visit visa and there is no point of cancelling it. spousal visa is not quite concurrent. because first you apply for that, wait for receipt that has been received by IRCC and then you can apply for visit visa. it issupposed to make visit visa processing faster for spouses BUT that does not always happen.

greatme2good:


I read somewhere on this thread that you can apply for spousal visa and visitors visa concurrently so I asked if we can update them with our marriage document on the current visitor’s application we have when we apply for spousal visa or cancel it apply for spousal visa + a new visitors visa.

This is where i say i big thank you to everyone for coming on this journey with me.

I am officially done with ircc till citizenship time.
My PR card just landed.

I landed on the 18th Dec 2023
PR card sent on the 9th Jan 2024.

It took 3weeks for the whole process

congrats and all the best!

Makibarbie:
This is where i say i big thank you to everyone for coming on this journey with me.

I am officially done with ircc till citizenship time.
My PR card just landed.

I landed on the 18th Dec 2023
PR card sent on the 9th Jan 2024.

It took 3weeks for the whole process

passport collected from vfs lagos today.
submitted passport: nov 16th 2023
received today. Thank God.

Congratulations
Collected mine yesterday.
Goodluck to all applicants still on the journey

11elleo:
passport collected from vfs lagos today.
submitted passport: nov 16th 2023
received today. Thank God.

congrats to you!

Zeesville:
Congratulations
Collected mine yesterday.
Goodluck to all applicants still on the journey

11elleo:
strongly advise you to use your money and send to kenya, the stress of spending 1-3 months without your passport and poor communication from accra is not worth it just because of cheaper cost.

Thanks

11elleo:
passport collected from vfs lagos today.
submitted passport: nov 16th 2023
received today. Thank God.

Which office did you send your passport to : Accra or Nairobi?

accra

SophiaObiefule:


Which office did you send your passport to : Accra or Nairobi?

Miide2:
Hi please what was the reason the application was initially returned ?

Miide2:
Hi please what was the reason the application was initially returned ?

It was returned because the agent i used mistakenly choosed conjugal relationship instead of outland application!

11elleo:
no need to worry unless you are requested to do further exams. Medical usually takes between 1-4 weeks to be updated as passed. after that if you are in accra office, it can take between 1-3 months for the process to finish and receive passport request, some people wait longer.

Thanks 11elleo for your response! God bless you. My eligibility has been updated to in progress since December 14 2023 and my medical is completed this Jan 4 which i passed. What is next now? Thank you so much 🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿