Showing posts with label CIO. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CIO. Show all posts

June 21, 2013

CIO Refund Option: Foreign Electronic Funds Transfer Form

Last month, an update from Citizenship Immigration Canada was issued regarding the refund from Centralized Intake Office. Due to some banking restrictions, applicants find it hard to encash the check refund.  This is a problem for most Filipino applicants.  The only payment option available given was to request that fees be returned to someone else who is not residing in applicant's country of residence. 

Here's an update:  Foreign Electronic Funds Transfer Form is now available!  The payment will be issued in the appropriate currency known to be accepted in the country where the electronic funds transfer will be sent.  The final amount will be calculated based on the exchange rate on the date of the payment.

If you are one of those affected by the changes (filed before Feb 27, 2008), you will be receiving an email from  FSWFeeReturn@cic.gc.ca for the instructions.




May 3, 2013

Important Update: Refund from CIO

We have just received an email from FSWFeeReturn@cic.gc.ca in response to our inquiry regarding the refund on processing fee.  This applies to all applicants from the Philippines. 
This message is in response to your inquiry about the return of the immigration fees paid in relation to your FSW application to immigrate to Canada.

Most fees are being returned in the form of a cheque from the Receiver General of Canada.  However, as a result of banking restrictions on foreign cheques in your country of residence, you will not be able to cash a Receiver General cheque issued from Canada.  Alternative payment options are currently being investigated by CIC.

In the mean time, the only payment option available to you is to request that fees be returned to someone else who is not residing in your country of residence.   If you choose this option, please complete another “Return of Processing Fee, Right of Permanent Residence Fee or Right of Landing Fee” form at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM5741E.pdf and designate an alternate payee.  The form must be signed by the principal applicant for CIC to proceed with the payee change.

Fees will be returned in the appropriate currency known to be accepted in the recipient’s country of residence.  The exchange rate will be calculated on the date of the fee return.            

We sincerely apologize for the inconveniences of the delays you are experiencing and are doing our best to expedite the fee return process.

Thank You,
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
If you are one of those waiting for the refund from CIO, this explains the delay.  If you know someone in Canada whom you can trust, you may designate them to expedite the process.

March 17, 2012

Returned and Unprocessed Application by CIO, Got a Positive Assessment After an Appeal


Here's an interesting development involving an application for permanent residence in Canada under the Federal Skilled Workers program by a Filipino Dentist. Her application was returned unprocessed by the Centralized Intake Office (CIO) because her application was deemed incomplete.

Some facts of the case:

October 18, 2011 - Application was sent to CIO

February 1, 2012 - Received a letter dated December 28, 2011 from CIO. Application was returned unprocessed, application forms, supporting documents and bank draft were returned.

The cap for dentist was already reached when the letter was received. Refiling an application is not an option.

The missing/lacking document identified were birth certificates of the principal applicant and her family members. However, included in the returned application package were the allegedly lacking documents!

We sent an appeal letter to CIO requesting for reconsideration to accept and process her application. Together with the letter we sent were her application forms, supporting documents and new bank draft.

appeal letter
Image Credit:http://www.motoringoffencelawyers.com


Without a doubt, they made a mistake. We told them that it would be unfortunate and unfair if a simple oversight from their end will ruin this applicant's dream to live and work in Canada.

Today, we received a letter from CIO confirming that her application was positively assessed and that her application will be forwarded to a visa office for further processing.

If you have similar or related experience with CIO, you should write them a letter and address it to their program manager.

September 14, 2011

Total complete FSW Applications Received | CIO Update as of September 13, 2011


As of September 13, 2011, the Centralized Intake Office (CIO) already received a total of 1,979 applications. CIO will only receive 10,000 application until June 30, 2012 with a cap of 500 applications per occupation.

Applications received per eligible occupation:

Eligible Occupation

Number of Complete Applications Received
0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers 151
0811 Primary Production Managers (except Agriculture) 16
1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management (Cap reached)
1233 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners 23
2121 Biologists and Related Scientists 93
2151 Architects 41
3111 Specialist Physicians 63
3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians 67
3113 Dentists 102
3131 Pharmacists 160
3142 Physiotherapists 22
3152 Registered Nurses 473
3215 Medical Radiation Technologists 11
3222 Dental Hygienists and Dental Therapists 6
3233 Licensed Practical Nurses 31
4151 Psychologists 9
4152 Social Workers 54
6241 Chefs 14
6242 Cooks 37
7215 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades 17
7216 Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades 28
7241 Electricians (except Industrial and Power System) 15
7242 Industrial Electricians 14
7251 Plumbers 4
7265 Welders and Related Machine Operators 5
7312 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics 8
7371 Crane Operators 1
7372 Drillers and Blasters – Surface Mining, Quarrying and Construction 1
8222 Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service 13


September 7, 2011

Only 90 Slots Remain for Registered Nurses (NOC 3152) | CIO Update as of September 6, 2011


As of September 6, 2011, only 90 slots remain for Registered Nurses (NOC 3152) for Federal Skilled Workers program under Ministerial Instruction 3 (MI-3). There is a great chance that the cap for nurses will be reached within this month.

Applications received toward the overall cap: 1,698 of 10,000 as of September 6, 2011:

Eligible Occupation

Number of Complete Applications Received*
0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers 112
0811 Primary Production Managers (except Agriculture) 11
1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management (Cap reached)
1233 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners 16
2121 Biologists and Related Scientists 69
2151 Architects 33
3111 Specialist Physicians 48
3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians 54
3113 Dentists 77
3131 Pharmacists 123
3142 Physiotherapists 17
3152 Registered Nurses 410
3215 Medical Radiation Technologists 9
3222 Dental Hygienists and Dental Therapists 5
3233 Licensed Practical Nurses 22
4151 Psychologists 9
4152 Social Workers 49
6241 Chefs 11
6242 Cooks 31
7215 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades 16
7216 Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades 23
7241 Electricians (except Industrial and Power System) 14
7242 Industrial Electricians 11
7251 Plumbers 3
7265 Welders and Related Machine Operators 3
7312 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics 8
7371 Crane Operators 1
7372 Drillers and Blasters – Surface Mining, Quarrying and Construction 1
8222 Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service 12

Under MI-3, only a maximum of 500 applications per occupation will be received by Centralized Intake Office (CIO) for processing. Once the cap has been reached, CIO can only accept applications for affected occupation from people with an arranged employment.

August 23, 2011

MI-3 Cap for NOC 1122 has been reached! | CIO Update as of August 22, 2011


Just like under Ministerial Instruction 2 (MI-2), Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management (NOC 1122) is the first to reach the cap for Ministerial Instruction 3 (MI-3). The 500 cap for NOC 1122 has been reached already as of August 22, 2011. That means Centralized Intake Office will no longer accept applications under the said job classification unless there is an arranged employment.

Eligible Occupation

Approximate Number of Complete Applications Received
0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers 60
0811 Primary Production Managers (except Agriculture) 8
1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management (Cap reached)
1233 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners 13
2121 Biologists and Related Scientists 50
2151 Architects 19
3111 Specialist Physicians 33
3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians 29
3113 Dentists 52
3131 Pharmacists 78
3142 Physiotherapists 14
3152 Registered Nurses 252
3215 Medical Radiation Technologists 10
3222 Dental Hygienists and Dental Therapists 4
3233 Licensed Practical Nurses 16
4151 Psychologists 7
4152 Social Workers 39
6241 Chefs 11
6242 Cooks 23
7215 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades 14
7216 Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades 21
7241 Electricians (except Industrial and Power System) 12
7242 Industrial Electricians 9
7251 Plumbers 3
7265 Welders and Related Machine Operators 1
7312 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics 7
7371 Crane Operators 0
7372 Drillers and Blasters – Surface Mining, Quarrying and Construction 1
8222 Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service 10

Meanwhile, there's not even one application received under Crane Operator job classification. I have some interested applicants as Crane Operators but they wouldn't meet the pass mark under the current points system due to education and language factors.

August 11, 2011

Only 81 Slots Left for NOC 1122 to Reach the 500 Cap | Total FSW Applications Received as of August 10, 2011

As of August 10, 2011, 419 complete applications for Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management (NOC 1122) has been received by Centralized Intake Office . There's only 81 slots more left before the 500 cap is reached!

Applications received toward the overall cap: 897 of 10,000 as of August 10, 2011

Eligible Occupation

Approximate Number of Complete Applications Received
0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers 34
0811 Primary Production Managers (except Agriculture)  6
1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management 419
1233 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners 9
2121 Biologists and Related Scientists 27
2151 Architects 19
3111 Specialist Physicians 19
3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians 7
3113 Dentists 24
3131 Pharmacists 39
3142 Physiotherapists 10
3152 Registered Nurses 148
3215 Medical Radiation Technologists 6
3222 Dental Hygienists and Dental Therapists 3
3233 Licensed Practical Nurses 7
4151 Psychologists 3
4152 Social Workers 28
6241 Chefs 7
6242 Cooks 13
7215 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades 10
7216 Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades 12
7241 Electricians (except Industrial and Power System) 5
7242 Industrial Electricians 7
7251 Plumbers 1
7265 Welders and Related Machine Operators 1
7312 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics 5
7371 Crane Operators 0
7372 Drillers and Blasters – Surface Mining, Quarrying and Construction 1
8222 Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service 7

There is a great chance that most of the 419 applicants who applied under job classification NOC 1122 are not really eligible. I've talked to quite a number of applicants who filed their applications under NOC 1122, without help from a representative. Most of them are Administravie Supervisors, Financial Analysts and other job classifications which do not match the description of Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management.

If Citizenship ang Immigration Canada really wish to target 500 applications per occupation to fill up its labor shortage, it should base the cap on the number of applications with CIO Positive Assessment and not on the number of applications received. But then again, if their objective is to get rid of backlogs and limit the number of immigrants they will allow to enter Canada, an A+ grade for the conservative government is in order.

August 4, 2011

Total complete FSW Applications received as of August 3, 2011


Looks like the MI-3 Total Number of Applications Received update is now being done by CIO on a daily basis. This is great! They used to update the report only once a week.

Applications received toward the overall cap: 632 of 10,000 as of August 3, 2011

Eligible Occupation

Approximate Number of Complete Applications Received
0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers 25
0811 Primary Production Managers (except Agriculture) 5
1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management 307
1233 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners 7
2121 Biologists and Related Scientists 22
2151 Architects 12
3111 Specialist Physicians 11
3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians 4
3113 Dentists 15
3131 Pharmacists 25
3142 Physiotherapists 4
3152 Registered Nurses 107
3215 Medical Radiation Technologists 4
3222 Dental Hygienists and Dental Therapists 3
3233 Licensed Practical Nurses 5
4151 Psychologists 1
4152 Social Workers 22
6241 Chefs 7
6242 Cooks 8
7215 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades 9
7216 Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades 9
7241 Electricians (except Industrial and Power System) 2
7242 Industrial Electricians 4
7251 Plumbers 1
7265 Welders and Related Machine Operators 1
7312 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics 5
7371 Crane Operators 0
7372 Drillers and Blasters – Surface Mining, Quarrying and Construction 1
8222 Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service 6


Is your application inluded in the said report? Here's how to check your FSW Application Status with CIO.

How to Check Status of FSW Applications Sent to CIO


Ever wonder what is the status of your Federal Skilled Worker program PR Visa application you've sent to Centralized Intake Office CIO)? Considering the limited number of applications to be accepted under Ministerial Instruction 3 (MI-3), you would of course want to know if your application is already included in the MI-3 Total Number of Applications Received weekly update.

There used to be a CIO Online Inquiry form to check your application status but it's no longer available. I have just checked it few minutes ago.

To verify the status of your application, you may contact Client Service Unit (CSU) of the Central Intake Office through their email address: FSW‑Sydney‑Search‑Enquiry@cic.gc.ca

Please note, however, that you will not receive a reply to your email if:

- you have not already applied as a federal skilled worker
- you are not authorized to receive personal information
- you applied within the last six weeks
- your enquiry concerns any other topic.

It's only the 4th of August so please don't send an email inquiry now to check your application status if you have just sent your application July 1, 2011. And more importantly, very first using your courier tracking number if it was indeed delivered to and received by CIO.

August 3, 2011

Total complete FSW Applications received as of August 2, 2011


As of August 2, 2011, 556 applications have already been received by Centralized Intake Office (CIO). So far, not even one application for Crane Operators (NOC 7371) has been received and only one for Welders and Related Machine Operators (NOC 7265).

Applications received toward the overall cap: 556 of 10,000 as of August 2, 2011:

Eligible Occupation

Approximate Number of Complete Applications Received
0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers 25
0811 Primary Production Managers (except Agriculture) 5
1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management 269
1233 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners 7
2121 Biologists and Related Scientists 18
2151 Architects 12
3111 Specialist Physicians 7
3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians 4
3113 Dentists 11
3131 Pharmacists 19
3142 Physiotherapists 3
3152 Registered Nurses 96
3215 Medical Radiation Technologists 4
3222 Dental Hygienists and Dental Therapists 1
3233 Licensed Practical Nurses 4
4151 Psychologists 1
4152 Social Workers 18
6241 Chefs 7
6242 Cooks 8
7215 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades 8
7216 Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades 9
7241 Electricians (except Industrial and Power System) 2
7242 Industrial Electricians 4
7251 Plumbers 1
7265 Welders and Related Machine Operators 1
7312 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics 5
7371 Crane Operators 0
7372 Drillers and Blasters – Surface Mining, Quarrying and Construction 1
8222 Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service 6


August 1, 2011

Total complete FSW Applications received as of July 29, 2011


As of July 29, 2011, Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management is already halfway toward the cap of 500 applications to be received under Ministerial Instruction 3 (MI-3).

Total complete FSW Applications received as of July 29, 2011

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Eligible Occupation Approximate Number of Complete Applications Received
0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers 21
0811 Primary Production Managers (except Agriculture) 5
1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management 259
1233 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners 6
2121 Biologists and Related Scientists 17
2151 Architects 11
3111 Specialist Physicians 7
3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians 3
3113 Dentists 10
3131 Pharmacists 18
3142 Physiotherapists 3
3152 Registered Nurses 94
3215 Medical Radiation Technologists 4
3222 Dental Hygienists and Dental Therapists 1
3233 Licensed Practical Nurses 4
4151 Psychologists 1
4152 Social Workers 16
6241 Chefs 6
6242 Cooks 6
7215 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades 8
7216 Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades 9
7241 Electricians (except Industrial and Power System) 2
7242 Industrial Electricians 4
7251 Plumbers 1
7265 Welders and Related Machine Operators 1
7312 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics 5
7371 Crane Operators 0
7372 Drillers and Blasters – Surface Mining, Quarrying and Construction 1
8222 Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service 6


Click here for the updtaed report from the official Citizenship ang Immigration Canada website.

July 28, 2011

Total complete FSW Applications received as of July 27, 2011 | MI-3

As of July 27, 2011, Centralized Intake Office (CIO) have already received 413 applications toward the overall cap of of 10,000. Under Ministerial Instruction 3 (MI-3), there's a cap of 500 applications per occupation.

Eligible Occupation

Approximate Number of Complete Applications Received
0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers 15
0811 Primary Production Managers (except Agriculture) 3
1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management 187
1233 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners 6
2121 Biologists and Related Scientists 12
2151 Architects 11
3111 Specialist Physicians 6
3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians 4
3113 Dentists 7
3131 Pharmacists 13
3142 Physiotherapists 3
3152 Registered Nurses 78
3215 Medical Radiation Technologists 2
3222 Dental Hygienists and Dental Therapists 1
3233 Licensed Practical Nurses 3
4151 Psychologists 1
4152 Social Workers 14
6241 Chefs 6
6242 Cooks 7
7215 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades 8
7216 Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades 8
7241 Electricians (except Industrial and Power System) 2
7242 Industrial Electricians 4
7251 Plumbers 1
7265 Welders and Related Machine Operators 2
7312 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics 4
7371 Crane Operators 0
7372 Drillers and Blasters – Surface Mining, Quarrying and Construction 0
8222 Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service 5

Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management is still leading with 187 applications, followed by Registered Nurses with 78 applications.

July 22, 2011

Total Number of FSW Applications Received as of July 21, 2011 | MI-3

Here's the total numebrs of FSW applications received under MI-3 as of July 21, 2011, It's the first update since the Centralized Intake Office stared to accept MI-3 applications on July 1, 2011.

Eligible Occupation

Approximate Number of Complete Applications Received
0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers 5
0811 Primary Production Managers (except Agriculture)  2
1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management 52
1233 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners 3
2121 Biologists and Related Scientists 5
2151 Architects 7
3111 Specialist Physicians 3
3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians 3
3113 Dentists 3
3131 Pharmacists 4
3142 Physiotherapists 2
3152 Registered Nurses 26
3215 Medical Radiation Technologists 1
3222 Dental Hygienists and Dental Therapists 1
3233 Licensed Practical Nurses 3
4151 Psychologists 1
4152 Social Workers 10
6241 Chefs 3
6242 Cooks 4
7215 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades 4
7216 Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades 3
7241 Electricians (except Industrial and Power System) 0
7242 Industrial Electricians 2
7251 Plumbers 0
7265 Welders and Related Machine Operators 2
7312 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics 3
7371 Crane Operators 0
7372 Drillers and Blasters – Surface Mining, Quarrying and Construction 0
8222 Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service 3

Just like last year, it looks like Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management will be the first to reach the cap and followed by Registered Nurses.

July 19, 2011

MI-3 Total Number of Applications Received | Federal Skilled Worker program


MI-3 Total Number of Applications ReceivedAs of this writing, the total number of applications received since July 1, 2011 is not yet released by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). It's interesting to know how many applications were already received for the past two weeks.

I will be posting a regular update on the number of applications received by CIC as it becomes available. You may subscribe via email to receive an update delivered in your email inbox.

Or simply click here to check the updates from the official Citizenship and Immigration Canada website.

UPDATE:
Total number of applications received as of July 21, 2011

Received as July 29, 2011

Received as August 2, 2011

Received as of August 3, 2011

January 5, 2011

CIO Online Inquiry | Check your application status


Last month, the 1,000 cap for nurses has been reached and all applications received past the 1,000 cap will be returned unprocessed. If you're a nurse who sent an application to Centralized Intake Office (CIO) and is wondering what's the status of your application, there is actually a way to check your application status. No, do not send email to FSW-Centralized-Intake-Office@cic.gc.ca, you will not receive a reply from that email account.

You can contact Federal Skilled Worker Client Service Unit through their online inquiry form.

You will receive an email from FSW-Sydney-Search-Enquiry@cic.gc.ca so make sure you add this address to your contact list and better yet, create an email filter to make sure it doesn't go to your spam folder.

This CIO Online Inquiry form of course applied also to all who have sent applications to CIO and not just for nurses. Of course, you have to make sure first that your application was in fact received by CIO by checking with your courier before making an inquiry.

November 23, 2010

CIO Assessment Notice - Applications filed after June 26, 2010


Today, we have received the first Centralized Intake Office (CIO) assessment notice for application filed after the June 26, 2010 changes. It is just weird that the notice we received is for an applicant whose application was filed last week of July 2010. We have some clients filed weeks before that.

Anyway, to give you an idea about the content of the letter, here's a summary


  • Basis of eligiblity (work experience or arranged employment

  • Acknowledgement for your payment

  • Your File No. and information on what happens next: your application will be forwarded to Canadian Visa Office for further processing

  • That you should inform the Visa Office in case of changes in your application (e.g. birth or adoption of a child, marriage or common-law relationship, new occupation or employer, submission of an Arranged Employment Opinion approved by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, change of address, change of e-mail address, change of immigration representative, etc). Please include a letter identifying what the changes are any relevant supporting documents. If your documents are not in English or French, send a notarized (certified) translation with a copy of the originals.

  • Prior to the June 26, 2010 changes, upon receipt of CIO Notice, applicants are being given 12o days to submit supporting documents. It looks like that the instruction on when to submit your original or supporting documents will be coming from the Visa Office this time. Most likely, you will be given only 45 days to comply. You better get your documents ready as early as now.



    October 7, 2010

    CIO Notices Pouring In


    A couple of days after I blogged about delay in CIO Assessment Results, our office received assessment notices for 87 clients! These are for applications filed from April 2010 to early part of June 2010.

    Most of those worry about the delay are those whose occupations are no longer included in the 29 in-demand list. But like stated in the Ministerial Instruction, those filed before June 26, 2010 will not be affected by the new regulations. It's all about timing.

    Now, these 87 clients need to complete the requirements within 120 days!

    October 4, 2010

    What's Wrong, CIO?


    Did you send an application to Centralized Intake Office last May 2010 and still waiting for the notice? It has been four months now and that is highly unusual!

    You are not alone.

    Last week, we have received another batch of letters for our clients whose applications were filed June 2010. However, we are yet to received the assessment results for the applications we filed on May 2010.

    We have already made a follow up and hopefully get a reply soon. If you are one of those waiting for CIO notice, make sure that you add CIO email address to your contact list. Otherwise, CIO notice may land in your spam folder.

    November 11, 2009

    Check Refund from CIO


    Refund from CIO

    Some of those who filed their application after Feb 27, 2008 who are not included in the list of 38 High Demand Occupations are now starting to get a notice from Centralized Intake Office (CIO) that their applications will not be processed and they will get a refund for the processing fee they paid.

    If the check or bank draft you received is drawn from Bank of the Philippine Islands main branch and is in Philippine Peso currency, you have two options on how to get your money. You may either deposit the check to your bank account or go to the BPI main branch and cash the check. You should bring at least two valid IDs.

    But if what you received is a bank draft drawn from a bank in Canada and is in Canadian dollar currency, that will be a concern. It wouldn't be a problem if you have an existing Canadian Dollar account as you may simply deposit the check to your account.

    But what are the chances that a Filipino living in the Philippines would maintain a Canadian dollar bank account? Highly unlikely.

    So if you are in this situation, you may either open a bank account and deposit your check. Or look for somebody who has a Canadian dollar account and endorse your check for deposit. Of course, you have to ask the bank first if that is possible. Or ask your bank if you can deposit the check to your peso savings account. If ever this is possible, it may take 2-3 months before it gets cleared.

    If none of these are doable, then you have to inform the CIO about your problem. Request for a check in Philippine Peso currency.

    I have sent an email to CIO informing them about this problem. I will update this post once I receive a reply from them. They shouldn't be sending checks in Canadian dollar currency for applicants from the Philippines.

    September 2, 2009

    Waiting for your CIO Notice of Assessment?


    Notice of assessment from Centralized Intake Office used to be released within 30 days. But it appears now it takes CIO about 8-12 weeks to finalize the assessment.

    So if you are waiting for the assessment result from CIO and it takes longer than one month, relax. There's no need to make a follow up at this point. It will come. Regularly check your email, CIO will be sending you the assessment result in advance via email (Read: Centralized Intake Office's E-Communication.)

    While waiting for the assessment result, prepare yourself for your IELTS Examination to get a good IELTS Exam Results, if you haven't written it yet. An IELTS Review and Test Simulation is highly recommended before taking the exam.

    Again, you do not need to make a follow up if you do not receive the assessment result from CIO with 12 weeks. It's still within the normal process. Making unnecessary follow up will not help. If any, it will just prolong the processing period.

    But if you are really bored and can't think of anything to do, here's Batangas Beach Resorts where you may relax while waiting. :-)