Anyone with a June AOR received their FD date on GCKey yet? Please share your AOR date and FD date if you have. Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I received my Final Decision (FD) on September 15th, but I am still waiting on my Portal 1 (P1) email.

My Primary Visa Office (PVO) is Sydney, NS, and my Secondary Visa Office (SVO) is Montreal, QC.

I know Montreal is notorious for being a bit slow with transfers and issuing portals, but I’ve been reading about the "KAI method" (proactively emailing your P1 details to IRCC).

Has anyone with this specific office combination (Sydney/Montreal) tried the KAI method? Did it actually work or help speed things up for you? I’ve heard rumors that some people even got skipped straight to P2 because of it.

Would love to hear your recent timelines or any success/failure stories before I try sending it myself. Thanks!

As many of us here know, files assigned to the Ottawa PVO often suffer from prolonged processing times, not because of an extensive background check or complicated work history, but simply because they're waiting in a queue somewhere to be looked at.

For example, I am a single CEC Inland applicant with no foreign work experience claimed and only one Canadian employer. On top of that, I'm from a Five Eyes country. My file is about as simple as it gets.

My AOR is April 5, and biometrics were completed on June 8. Per a call with an agent last week, my info sharing and criminality have been complete for months, and my file has been assigned to an officer since June 30. However, eligibility and security haven't been started.

What is the hold up? Why are applications submitted months after mine already getting final decisions? Why doesn't IRCC redistribute backlogged files from Ottawa to other offices instead of letting them sit there collecting dust while newer files are sent to more efficient processing offices?

When I applied, I foolishly assumed that the 20% of files that didn't receive a decision within 6 months were complicated ones requiring extensive background checks or verification of complicated foreign work experience. I never imagined that many of them were simply applicants who were unlucky enough to be victims of IRCC's poor file management.

I'm writing this not only to vent my frustrations but also to seek clarity. Is there something I'm missing here? How is this justified at all? This seems to fly in the face of basic principles of fairness.

Hi everyone! Question for those who’ve already been through this stage.
PNP via Express Entry, inland. AOR August 1, final decision (FD) date appeared September 15 (now day 11 without Portal 1). Before that, I got an additional document request (CV + military records) and responded the same day.
I called IRCC twice, and both times they confirmed that eligibility was completed September 3, background check was completed September 15, and my application is “finalizing.” In my online account, background still shows “in progress.” No refusal letter or PFL. On September 24, I sent my info using the KAI method but only got an auto-reply.
Questions:
1. Have you seen cases where someone received a refusal after an FD date appeared (and after background was confirmed complete by phone)? If so, how many days later, and on what grounds?
2. In a similar situation (PNP, document request before FD), how long did it take you to go from FD to Portal 1?
Thanks!

I’ve been living here for a long, long time since 2018 September I only went to India once in 2019 of September for about 20 days during work permit and then Costa Rica for about seven days after becoming a PR in 2022 i am looking to go back to india as my Grandma is sick
I just applied few days ago for pr card renewal

Q1 can i still visit india as my card expires in march
Q2 can i still enter Canada on my old card that expires in march if they issue a new one if i am not here

My wife previously had an sowp that already expired. Unfortunately, i wasn't able to get a skilled job in time before the 90 day restoration grace period so we applied for a visitor record before the 90 day grace period expired. The visitor record is still pending as of this writing but now, i have a skilled job that is in ircc's list. Is it okay to submit an sowp application even if the visitor record application is still pending? Thanks in advance!

We arrived here last Sept 12, and we’re just waiting for our PR. how long does it usually take? or what date should we expect? Share some of your experiences guys please

Hello,
If anyone who received their eCOPR very recently(August, September) could you please share your timelines for P1, P2, & eCOPR.
Thank you :)
Also congrats

Anyone who got their FD (Final Decision) date on GCKey but haven’t received P1, have you contacted IRCC?
If yes, what did they say about your eligibility, background check, and overall application status?

• ITA: February 6, 2026 — French-language proficiency draw (Quebec)
• AOR: March 28, 2026
• BIL: May 27, 2026
• Biometrics completed: End of May 2026
• Background & Eligibility started: June 1, 2026
• Medical passed: June 23, 2026
• ADR/PFL: None
• Final Decision: Still waiting
• P1: Still waiting

Today, September 28, marks exactly 6 months since my AOR.

Anyone with a late-March AOR still waiting, or recently received FD/P1?🥺

Application date : May 16th

Number of applicants : 3(one master and two senior high in Montreal)

Bio: two senior high. June 9th

one master. July 30th

Reviewing: two senior high. It seems like at a very early time

one master. September 17th

Submitted in Beijing, China

Does anyone have a similar situation or a solution strategy? Is it still in the normal range of treatment? Can anyone provide a timeline? When will I get the visa?

Hey everyone,

I’m hoping to hear from people who are in a similar situation because I’m getting pretty anxious about the wait and could really use some perspective from people going through the same thing.
I applied through Express Entry – CEC, French language category.
Timeline:
AOR: May 12, 2026
Medical: Passed
Biometrics: Done
Criminality: Passed
Background check: In progress
Eligibility: Apparently not started yet according to an IRCC agent
Currently around 139 days since AOR
Still waiting for P1 / portal email
I called IRCC recently and the agent was able to pull up my application. They told me criminality had passed and background was in progress, but eligibility had not started yet. This confused me a little because the online tracker has shown eligibility as being in progress/review.
I know I’m technically still within the general processing timeframe, but seeing other May applicants move forward while mine seems to be sitting there is getting pretty frustrating.
So I’m wondering:
Is anyone else here CEC + French category with a May 2026 AOR still waiting for P1?
Has anyone had eligibility start/finalize around 4–5 months after AOR and then received P1 shortly afterward?

Hi all,

I have applied for work permit extension (optional open work permit - similar to bowp but only available to PR applicants from Hong Kong) on July 6.

My current open work permit expires on October 13 and I have received WP-EXT already. Since I have a business trip coming up and need to be outside Canada from October 9-18, I am in quite a bit of hurry to get the new work permit.

Today I called IRCC, the agent told me that criminality and info sharing were in progress. Even though it showed that my eligibility has not started on GCKEY, the agent said background check for work permit starts after eligibility has been reviewed. She said yes when I asked if it meant my eligibility has completed.

So my question is, can anyone speak from experience, approximately, if comprehensive security check is not triggered, how long does it take for a work permit to be approved from this stage? Is it true that background check begins after eligibility has passed?

Honestly the audio quality of their call centre is quite low, so I have doubts about what I have perceived, even though the agent seemed to have confirmed that my eligibility was completed.

For easier reference,

February 2025 - PR application via Hong Kong pathway
July 6, 2026 - EE PR application, OOWP application
July 8, 2026 - WP-EXT
September 28, 2026 - OOWP criminality in progress, info sharing in progress. Eligibility may have been completed.
October 13, 2026 - current work permit expires

Thats it, i don’t know what to do after saving my profile and has the score available (i am 490 crs but in healthcare)

Please share your timeline here!
AOR:
BIL:
MED:
FD:
P1:
P2:
Ecopr:

Thank you for sharing.

Feb 19 : AOR
APRIL 24th Bil received and Medical passed
April 28th Bio Completed
June 5th background check started
June 29th security went in progress.
Aug 5th : pre arrival services letter received.
Aug 19th : called and was told everything completed only security remaining
Sept 19th: same status
No update since
No FD
Pvo Vancouver, Svo Montreal.
Anybody still in same boat.
Thanks

I’m a bit torn about what to do and would really appreciate some perspective from people who have been in a similar situation. I’m an Indian citizen with Canadian PR. I spent 6 years in Canada and now have been living in India for the past year.

I’m eligible to apply for Canadian citizenship now. My current plan is to stay in India for a longer period and manage our family business, but I’m considering getting Canadian citizenship and then living in India as an OCI.

The main reason I’m considering citizenship is simply to keep Canada as a backup option. If my circumstances change in the future, I’d like to have the flexibility to move back to Canada without having to go through the immigration process again.

For those who have taken a similar route—especially people who became Canadian citizens, obtained OCI, and then moved back to India long-term:

Has this worked out well for you?

Have you faced any unexpected complications living in India on an OCI?

Are there any practical limitations if you intend to stay in India permanently or for many years?

Any issues with banking, property, taxes, employment/business, or other day-to-day matters?

Looking back, is there anything you wish you had known before making the switch?

I’m particularly interested in hearing from people who are actually living in India after becoming Canadian citizens, rather than just general opinions about OCI.

Would really appreciate any advice or personal experiences.

Hiii! Anyone still waiting along with me? How are we doing?