Passport request!

10 weeks after the London Visa Office received our file, I got a very exciting email from the CIC - I've been approved!

I have to send my passport, more passport photos (kinda wish I'd know that before - I would have got them printed at the same time I got the other 8!), and an updated information chart down to London and they'll attached my visa and return it within 6 weeks!

I can't believe it's all been so quick and (relatively simple) - fingers crossed they don't lose my passport now :)

Full text of the email and attached letter below...


Email

Subject: FILE: [number] NAMES: [my name] (ARS)
Sender: re-london-im-enquiry@international.gc.ca
Recipient: [my email]
Date: Mon 13:50

Dear Applicant,

Your application has reached the final stage of processing.  Please follow the instructions in the attached letter carefully.  Your file number is indicated in the subject line of this email.  It is a 'F' followed by 9 digits.

Unless your passport or the passport of one of your accompanying family members (if any) expires on an earlier date, your permanent resident visa(s) will all expire on [a year since date of medicals].

Note: The attached letter is in Portable Document Format (.pdf). To view it, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. If the Adobe download site is not accessible to you, you can download Acrobat Reader from an accessible page. You can also visit the Adobe site for online conversion tools for PDF documents.

Yours sincerely,
ARS

Immigration and Medical Services Division | Direction de l'immigration et des services médicaux
Canadian High Commission | Haut-commissariat du Canada
38 Grosvenor Street
London, W1K 4AA | Londres, W1K 4AA
United Kingdom | Royaume-Uni
Government of Canada
Web site: http://www.unitedkingdom.gc.ca/
Email: http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/united_kingdom-royaume_uni/offices-bureaux/contact_visa_contactez.aspx?lang=eng

Attached letter

High Commission of Canada
Immigration and Medical Services Division
Macdonald House
38 Grosvenor Street
London W1K 4AA
United Kingdom
http://www.unitedkingdom.gc.ca/

File: Date:

Dear Applicant,

Your application has reached the final stage of processing. So that your permanent resident visa(s) can be issued, you must now submit the documents listed below. (These instructions do not apply to accompanying family members who are entitled to Canadian citizenship, because they will have to travel on their Canadian passports.)

1. Your passport and a passport for each accompanying family member. The passports must meet the Passport Specifications on page 2 of this letter.
2. Two recent photographs of yourself and two recent photographs of each of your accompanying family members. The photos must meet the Photo Specifications on page 2 of this letter.
3. The “Updated Information Chart” on page 3, fully completed for you and each accompanying family member.

Submit your passport(s), photos and information chart within 45 days of the date of this letter (or the date of the email if you received this by email). All documents for you and your accompanying family members must be submitted together in one package. Follow the instructions on page 4 of this letter to submit your package.

What you should know

• You should not take any irrevocable action such as selling your property, quitting your job, or buying plane tickets until you have received your passport(s) and permanent resident visa(s).
• Your visa(s) will be issued to match the information in your passport(s). This will be the name that appears on all of your documents after you become a permanent resident of Canada (e.g. driver’s license, social insurance card, health card).
• If your family composition has changed (e.g. by marriage, divorce, birth, death), you must tell us now. You must also tell us if it changes before the date of your intended departure. Information in our systems must be up to date and considered before anyone can be granted permanent resident status on arrival.
• Your visas will expire one year after the date of your medical examinations. However, if your passport or any of your family members’ passports are due to expire before this date, all visas will expire on the date that the first passport expires. You must enter Canada on or before the expiry date on your visas.
• The validity of a permanent resident visa cannot be extended, nor can a replacement visa be issued with a new expiry date. If you do not use your visa(s) before the expiry date, yet still wish to immigrate to Canada, you will have to begin the application process again, and pay new fees. The new application would be assessed according to the immigration legislation in force at the time of submission.

Sincerely,
High Commission of Canada

Passport Specifications

If any of the passports submitted do not meet the following specifications, all passports will be returned to you without visas. This delay will shorten the amount of time that you will have to travel to Canada to become a permanent resident.

1. All names and dates of birth must be printed in each passport in English or French.
2. The given name (first name) of the passport-holder must be clearly printed on the Given Name line of the biodata page of each passport. The surname (last name) of the passport-holder must be clearly printed on the Surname line of the biodata page of each passport. They should match your Updated Information Chart.
3. Your spouse must have their own passport. Your accompanying children should also each have their own passports.
4. Each passport must have at least two empty pages.
5. For your visas to have maximum validity, all passports should be valid for at least 12 months from the date of your medical examinations.
6. All passports must be intact and not worn, torn or otherwise damaged; the laminate on the biodata page must be securely attached. Each page must be securely affixed to the passport; there cannot be any loose pages. Ordinary passports are the only type of passport into which a permanent resident visa may be inserted. Diplomatic, official, special or other similar types of passports are NOT acceptable.

Photograph Specifications

Notes to the applicant

• Two recent photos are required for each person.
• Write your file number and the name of each person on the back of their photos. Do not use a ball-point pen. Wait until the ink dries before stacking the photos on top of each other.
• The photos must not be damaged or blemished.
• Do not staple, glue or pin the photos. Instead, they can be paper-clipped or enclosed in a small envelope.

These photo specifications are NOT the same as passport photo specifications.

Notes to the photographer

The two photographs must:

• show a full front view of the person’s head and shoulders, showing their full face centred in the middle of the photograph;
• have a plain white background;
• be identical (black & white or colour) – produced from the same untouched negative, or exposed simultaneously by a split-image or multi-lens camera;
• be produced on single weight matte paper;
• measure between 25mm and 30mm (1" and 1 1/5") from chin to crown (see diagram);
• have a finished size of 35mm x 45mm (1 3/8" and 1 3/4") (see diagram).

Updated Information Chart

Submitting your passport(s), photos and updated information

For security reasons, your visa(s) can only be issued by our office in London. You may submit your package by courier, mail, in our drop box or in person to a receptionist.

To submit your package by courier, mail, or in our drop box

In your package, include a self-addressed envelope that is A4 size or larger (21cm x 30cm or 8.5” x 12”). Do not put stamps on your return envelope. Do not use a courier envelope as your return envelope. If your return address is in the UK, you may use a Royal Mail Special Delivery envelope that is large enough (keep a copy of the tracking number).

If you received this letter by mail, use the address label enclosed to submit your package by mail or courier.

If you received this letter by email, you may mail or courier your package to:

PHEP Processing
Immigration Division
Canadian High Commission
38 Grosvenor Street
London, W1K 4AA
United Kingdom

You may also deposit your package in our drop box, which is located inside the entrance to the address above. Packages may be placed in the drop box any time that the building is open (opening hours are on our website). Address your package to “PHEP Processing”.

Due to the postal situation in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Yemen, passports and visas will be sent by courier to addresses in these countries. For all other addresses, passports and visas will be sent by registered mail. If you prefer to pick up your passport(s) and visa(s), then submit your package in person according to the instructions in the section below.

You should expect to be without your passport(s) for six weeks, so do not arrange any travel that will require your passport(s) during this period. Please note that we do not acknowledge receipt of passports. For packages signed for on receipt at the High Commission, you may be able to track receipt via the website of the courier company. If you have not heard from us after six weeks, you may contact us using the email form on our website. We will not respond to queries received after less than six weeks.

To submit your package in person

Our in-person service to submit and pick up passports is open on Thursdays between 2 pm and 3 pm at 38 Grosvenor Street, London, UK. You may submit your package in person at this time. You will be given a receipt acknowledging that we have received it. You must show this receipt to collect your passport(s) and visa(s). Because we require two weeks to issue your visa(s), you may only collect your passport(s) on the second Thursday after you submit your package.

This service will not operate when the High Commission is closed. Our website shows our holiday closures (these may differ from UK bank holidays). If Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve falls on a Thursday, then this service will also be closed on that day, even if the High Commission remains open.

If you would like someone else to collect your passport(s) and visa(s), that person must present:

• the receipt that was issued to you,
• a signed letter from you authorizing them to collect your passport(s), and
• one piece of government-issued identification that includes their name and photograph.

If you would like your passport(s) and visa(s) mailed back to you instead of picking them up, then follow the instructions in the section above entitled “To submit your package by mail, courier or in our drop box”.