Congratulations Onaya:
It has finally ended in praise!
This seems like a magic!
God has remembered me!
Second time applicant.
Who dey breath? If you do, follow me thank God for his mercies and awesomeness towards me. The tale is indeed a tall one, but—as one of my lecturers back in the University would say—I will "summarize my summary." lol...
This journey to zoom outta 9ja began in October 2019, when I applied for a Master's degree program to Brock University for a one-year graduate course in English. After submitting my application with the requisite documents for admission consideration, I began to wait—like a patient dog—for its outcome. While the spirit of love was ceaselessly flowing in the air on February 14, 2020 my admission letter was gently sitting in my student portal waiting for a beautiful romance with my eyes. I couldn't believe my sight, as I danced around my room to the tune of the melodious notes which was only playing audibly in my inner mind. Luckily for me, I secured a full tuition scholarship from the Faculty of Graduate Studies in my school and a Teaching Assistant position.
Following this offer of admission, I began to make every necessary arrangements for my study permit application. First, I had to think of how to raise the required POF for the province where my school is situated. This was a very serious and challenging moment for me because Covid-19 pandemic had just struck the world, bringing everything to an abrupt halt. As I couldn't raise the expected POF for my visa application, I deferred my admission to fall 2021, citing the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic as the reason behind it. My application for deferral was granted, and a new LOA was sent to my portal by my faculty. Then, I began to brainstorm ideas on how to get a sponsor. My landlord was very obliging, and provided me with his MBS and other relevant supporting documents for my application. It was actually his company's account with a sitting balance of 21 million Naira. By that time, I had about 2 million in my own account. A friend of mine who was also pursuing his study visa advised me against including my own bank statement, as the VO might focus mainly on my on account because of the small money in it, rather than that of my sponsor's. I did exactly as my friend had suggested and forwarded my application to IRCC without my own bank statement on 9th May 2021. It was the same day that I travelled from the East to Abuja for my medicals and biometrics.
After submitting my application, I did an upfront medical examination at IOM Abuja on the 10th of May 2021. My appointment was for 9:00 am, but as an early bird I was there before 7:00 am. It was here that my first problem began. I was told that my chest x-ray wasn't in order; that there was something like a scar around my heart, which raised the suspicion that I might have tuberculosis. Thus, the doctor who analysed the results of my tests advised me to give them samples of my sputum for three consecutive days, just in case IRCC required me to undergo additional medical examinations, and to save me from the stress and cost of coming back to Abuja from the East. He also informed me that the result of my sputum investigations would be out after two months, and that I would have to do a followup chest x-ray a month after the release of my sputum rest result. Having considered the distance from where I had come to Abuja, I had to comply with them. I left that facility utterly tired and disheartened due to my ordeal around some minutes before 6:00 pm. After completing my sputum samples, I went for my biometrics on the 14th of May 2021. I left Abuja to my base in the East within the same week.
Brothers and sisters, it was at this point that the long wait began. In order to confirm if what they suspected at IOM was true and to take a proactive measure towards being medically fit for the journey, I did all the tests I had done in Abuja at a top-ranking private clinic within by base. I spent about 50k doing those tests. in the end, everything was very okay. It was on the 11th of July of 2021 that I got a call from IOM that my sputum test was negative; the caller asked me to come back after a month for another x-ray, which I did at the right time in August last year.
Thereafter, my medical status was updated to "passed." This eased my burden a bit, but was followed by a tortuous and deafening silence. I was here on Nairaland to complain about my throes, seeking some pieces of advice on the best way forward. A lot of good people here who shared in my pain advised me to appealingly bombard IRCC with emails and web forms, reminding them of the entry point of my program—which was already due. I did everything possible for IRCC to expedite the decision-making process of my application to no avail. I had to contact the MP representing the province where my school is located to assist me in reaching out to IRCC for a status update on my application. The MP's office obliged to do that for me, and wrote me back about a week later to say that I had passed everything; that I may require an interview with IRCC very soon because my application was said to be complex. Abeg, no be grammar be that ni?
While that was happening, my school had already resumed her academic activities for fall semester. But the good thing was that I always had informed my GPD about the status of my application, as the professor was deeply worried about the delay and IRCC's inability to finalize my application on time for me to join my cohort. I inquired about the possibility of starting remotely online, but was told that I'd not be eligible for my TAship position if I did, as I would require a work permit to be hired by my faculty. Mehn, I became completely demoralised and depressed. I also inquired about my chances of a second deferral but was told that the school only allows for one academic year deferral —which I had done already. I didn't know what else to do but to keep waiting. I couldn't register my courses by that time, as I would have been required to pay tuition fee for fall semester, since I wasn't in Canada to take up my TAship engagement whose proceed was part of my scholarship and means of catering for my tuition payment. So, the long wait continued until the 29th of November 2021, when IRCC finally served me my refusal meal on the grounds of personal assets and financial status. That was exactly 7 months of a painful and tortuous wait for a decision which turned out to be negative. Although I was saddened by the outcome of my application, but I was a bit relieved that the long and tortuous wait for a decision on my it was over.
In order to expunge the heart-wrenching feelings of the refusal from my inner mind, I tried to calm my nerves here with some comic posts which some monikers here likened to those of Hon. Patrick Obahiagbon—pardon me if I didn't get the spelling correctly. It was during that occasion that Makano expressed his interest in reading my SOP, as he had wondered what it might have looked like, and perhaps could have been one of the reasons for the refusal. I told him that I was simply trying not to dwell so much on that ugly experience but used my comic post as a way of getting healing from my trauma. In the end, I lost my admission along with the scholarships that came with it. Apart from my main scholarships totalling 22,000 CAD, I had also secured another one-off competitive scholarship of 5k CAD, which was given to only 20 students with outstanding applications through out my school. I was very sad for losing this scholarship! I thought about giving up but reminded myself of the need to fight until my last breath had ceased. Hence the courage to start all over again with a fresh application for admission in January 2022.
I submitted another application for admission on the 30th of January against the deadline of
1st February 2022. As God would have it for me, I was given another admission with full tuition scholarship and a TAship position. I also got extra scholarships of 3,700 CAD and 1000 CAD as addendums to my main offer, whereas my tuition is 23,504 CAD. Immediately this new offer came, I went back to the drawing board for a new strategy to tackle my first refusal reasons. So, I read about an applicant who got MPOWER loan for his application. I had to google Mpower and read up the requirements for their loan application. Luckily for me, my school is among the DLIs whose students can apply for the loan. I gathered all the relevant documents for the loan and applied for 20k USD asap to avoid another story of "personal assets and financial status." I got the loan and began to prepare for my study permit application. I wrote my LOE to tackle the reasons why my previous application was refused, gathered other supporting documents and submitted my application through the new portal on the 12th of April 2022.The devil was at work at this point. I mistakenly clicked on an SOP I had reviewed for a friend and it got uploaded onto my application. On noticing the anomaly, I quickly replaced it with the intended file before the final submission of my application. When I viewed my application's summary, I surprisingly discovered that the document I had clicked in error was updated to my application. I became utterly shattered in spirit and couldn't sleep all through the night. I raised the issue here on Nairaland to seek some advice and Omiinii suggested that I should withdraw the application and submit a fresh one. When I inquired about its implications, Justmellow responded by saying that my new application wouldn't interfere with or affect my new application, citing the fact that every application has its own unique application number and is usually processed independently. His response gave me the courage to submit another application after waiting for 10 days in vain for IRCC to withdraw my application—which was on the 23rd of May 2022.
Since the medicals I did in May last year had expired, I booked an appointment for another medical on the 25th of last month. When I arrived at IOM in Abuja, I was very afraid and never wanted to encounter the ugly experience I had last year with my chest x-ray, which was exactly what led to the delay in the processing of my application. So, I had to intimate all the medical personnel there about it, telling them how I lost my admission along with its accompanying scholarships and suggested that they write IRCC to consider the negative result of my sputum investigations of last year, should what happened last year occurred again. When my BP was checked, it was said to be very high. I was fully aware of the very cause of the spike in my BP, as I was already overwhelmed with the fears of what happened to me last year. The doctor counselled me and asked me to take a deep breath, close my eyes and see myself in Canada —while she retook the BP test. In the end, my entire results were said to be in perfect shape, as nothing abnormal was observed in my chest x-ray this time around. When I heard about the great tidings, I was very joyous and grateful to God for conquering the medical impasse this time. I left the facility a happy guy, with full expectations of a positive outcome in my application. The next day, I sent my e-Medical sheet to IRCC via a web form and began to pray for a quick response.
Nevertheless, I was still deeply worried about having two ongoing applications at that point in time. I had previously sent emails and web forms to remind IRCC about my withdrawal request, but got no feedback from them. I became very tensed and nervous to the point of raising the issue here, but nobody responded to me. I also noticed that my first application was being worked on, as I saw some updates on my eligibility review on the 30th of May. Then on the 31st of May, I received a Medical Request update for the application whose withdrawal request I had already submitted to IRCC, while the second application was undergoing eligibility review at the same time. These updates heightened my fear the more. Immediately, I came here on Nairaland to complain about what I had seen and sought pieces of advice from gurus on the platform. I was advised not to respond to the medical request, as it might not be a good omen. I quickly alerted a friend of mine who is studying in Canada to hear his take on the dicey situation I had found myself in. He advised me to write a brief email addressing the issue with the first application whose withdrawal request I had sent to IRCC, and reminding them to do the needful. So I did exactly as he had advised and attached my upfront e-Medical sheet information to the web form I sent them.
During the afternoon period of 1st June —being yesterday—I decided to check my email and suddenly discovered that my applications have some updates. I hurriedly logged in to my account, checked the first application and discovered that it has been withdrawn, but I am not eligible for a refund; I then scrolled up to the second application and saw that it has been finalized at the same time with a request for my original passport. My heart leapt for joy, as I couldn't control my emotions at that very moment.
I most humbly and sincerely appreciate everyone here who has guided me in one way or the other during those moments I was stuck in a crossroads. Honestly, I gained a lot of courage and strength from your inputs. And that is exactly the reason why I have written this long epistle to encourage everyone else still waiting for their good tidings to come. Please, don't give up! God will answer your prayers sooner than you ever think.
My special appreciations go to ShowYoung, Ketima, Omiinii, Ninab, Buckyfof, Anon123, Justmellow, Osemigho, Lianna2020, Teemenzo, Tinakem, Jayrealest, Scott99tish, Bobomaigida and the host of others who engaged meaningfully in my posts, proffering solutions to the numerous challenges I encountered on this memorable journey. God bless you abundantly, now and always!
I will be back shortly to post my timeline. |
Travel › Re: Turkey Visa Application Delay by Vernia: 1:13pm On Aug 04, 2022
