The second part of the process takes place at the visa office overseas once it receives the approved sponsorship undertaking and application for permanent residence forms up until the arrival of the refugee(s) in Canada.

Preparation of the refugee's file overseas
Once the CPO-W forwards the application to the overseas visa post, the visa officer begins to process the application and conducts the following
activities:

• The visa post receivesthe undertaking information and the IMM6000 forms. If needed, the visa post may send an update request to the refugee regarding the information provided in the forms of the IMM 6000 application kit.
• Upon receipt, the visa officer opens a file and assigns the refugee applicant a B-number (if the CPO-W has not already done so). This number is important for identification of the refugee's file and will be needed for any requests for updates and communication with the visa post regarding the sponsorship.
• The visa officer notifies the sponsoring group contact or representative that the application is complete and sends the first benchmark letter indicating an estimate of the number of months until the interview date. The refugee is put on a wait-list for an interview. The wait for an interview can range from a few months up to a few years.

Processing times
Processing times refer to the period of time it takes from the point at which the application to sponsor and completed refugee forms are received by a visa office abroad until the time the refugee arrives in Canada. Processing times vary according to the referral method of the case (sponsor, JAS or visa-office referred) and the workload of the visa office. You can find the average application processing times here.