Congratulations🥳 Linasbeauty:
For anyone out there who needs some encouragement.
PPR time!
Ontario Notification of Interest (NOI): Feb 8th 2024
Application submitted: Mar 1st 2024
Nomination: Aug 14th 2024
Invitation to Apply (ITA): Aug 26th 2024
Acknowledgement of Receipt (AOR): Sep 19th 2024
Medicals and biometrics: Nov 13th 2024
Pre-arrival services letter (PAL): Feb 3rd 2025
Final decision (FD): May 8th 2025
Ready for Visa (RFV): July 16th 2025
After about a month of preparation in December 2022, my spouse and I took IELTS on the 3rd of January 2023.
Me: L:8.5, W:7.0, S:8.0, R:9.0
Spouse: L:7.5, W:6.5, S:7.0, R:7.0
*While we didn't rewrite since I was the primary applicant, I learnt that one has to max out the scores as much as one can.
After WES and gathering other documents, we entered the pool on May 2nd 2023. We were excited and planning our exit for December 2023, particularly after the draw earlier (I think in April) that was 481 or 479. It gave us hope that the scores would keep reducing, as ours was 475. If only we knew.
*I learnt that patience, practicality and humility are needed on this journey.
Well, on November 1st 2023, I started learning French after seeing that nothing was going to happen if we didn't act. Other options, like study, also didn't make sense to us. I mean, we already conceived of the idea of EE since 2020, when a boss/friend told us about it. And we had bided our time until 2023, saving and trying to be a bit stable for the journey.
*I learnt that goals make "tough" requirements of us, hence, we have to be sure of our commitment towards our goals.
In February, though, we got Ontario's NOI, and it was wonderful because writing TCF/TEF wouldn't have been until around Oct to Dec later in 2024. We gathered our documents and applied as soon as we could. I continued learning French also. This was a difficult time as we also lost a huge chunk of our savings.
Then the wait began. We had anticipated a two- or at most four-month wait, as a friend had.
*I learnt that different batches could be treated differently, and what happened to someone else even four months ago might no longer apply to one. On this journey, it's best always to seek information and stay constantly updated.
By July, I was in B2 and was thinking that I'd register for the exam later in the year. Our excitement about leaving in 2023 was turned into humility when we were faced with reality.
In August, a week to conclude B2 in French, we got Ontario's nomination. I was elated. About two weeks later, we got the elusive ITA (as I already tagged it).
After our AOR in September, we were excited and hopeful that we could leave in early 2025. IRCC had other plans.
*I learnt that, as of right now, PNP EE applications are treated differently (for instance, they have a different processing time to the normal EE pathway) and are mostly sent to the Vancouver visa office (VO). This might change, but that was my experience. I scoured NL for people with my primary visa office and didn't find.
After getting PAL on February 3rd, when we were expecting RFV/PPR, I had to discard the idea of when I thought we'd leave.
Long story short, after several webforms, panicking, distress, despair, expiration and renewal of my spouse's passport, as well as calls to IRCC, the FD came at its own time.
At this time, I had written DELF B2 (French diploma exam). We didn't know what an FD looked like, so for like two weeks, we thought it was IP2. Still, we continued calling IRCC because our tracker already showed completed all through and we had our CoPR number. After much research, I saw that we had our FD.
Now, I was more worried. What was delaying the PPR/RFV? IRCC customer care told us to be on the lookout. They said our application was good and nothing was needed. We sent an email to the minister's office, and we got a response saying that our application was in the final stages and we would be contacted for the final process. This was relieving, but it was short-lived.
May ended.
June came and went. My distress soared.
July came and was going. My heart was plunging.
*Please, if you can, get as much information and help from people in your shoes. Everyone's experience is different. Find someone with a similar experience if you need real help.
Calls to IRCC informed us that our Primary visa office (PVO) was Vancouver, while the secondary visa office (SVO) was Sydney. At this point, they said our SVO was now Accra. Apparently, this delay was a common experience and reaching out to Accra was the trick. That's what we did.
And the whole story changed. 3 days to the 10th month, we got our RFV.
I read long stories like this while we waited, and thought it'd be great to contribute.
Wishing everyone all the best!
Thankful to everyone who was helpful here, and especially @graciouswords whom I disturbed but remained kind all through. |
Travel › Re: Canadian Express Entry/Federal Skilled Worker Program - Connect Here Part 11 by marrrrryyy: 11:43pm On Aug 11, 2025
