An applicant who did an upfront medical exam before submitting their study permit application asked how long it takes for the medical to show as updated in the portal.
What group members reported:- Medical status updates can take a while to reflect in GCKey — one member's took about 2.5 months to show as approved.
- The medical update timestamp is not a reliable signal of your decision timing. One member noted their friend's medical only updated the same day their visa decision came through — so a pending medical status doesn't necessarily mean anything is wrong or delayed.
- Emailing IRCC specifically to chase a medical update was discouraged — group consensus was that this rarely accomplishes anything since it's a routine backend process, and case-specific webforms are better reserved for genuine issues.
The practical takeaway: if you did an upfront medical, expect the portal update to lag — sometimes by months — and don't read too much into the timing. It's not a proxy for how close your decision is.