@vatish
I applied for my wife and I together, study permit for myself as the principal applicant and open work permit for my wife as my dependent.
Many people apply alongside their spouses at the same time so i dont think its much of an issue whether you apply together or differently. Only thing is, you have to thoroughly satisfy the visa officer that you and your spouse will leave canada at the expiration of your visa.
I am not much of an authority on this (u know we all share experiences on this thread to help each other out
) but i will tell u the additional documents i added to my wife's open work permit application to prove that i still intend to leave after my studies even tho i came with my family;
- Marriage certificate
- Notarized scanned copies of her educational certificates to show she is employable in any general work
- I filled a seperate Family information form for my wife (showing details of her close blood ties with her relatives who are all residents of my home country)
- Pages of my wife's passport showing stamped visas of all the other countries we have visited together before my present application to CIC (this is to prove we left those countries even before the expiration of our visas PLUS we like traveling to everywhere together like two peas in a pod. One needs the other for emotional support)
- Letter of explanation stating candidly why i need her to come along.
- Letter of reference from her present employer to canadian consular office stating that they are aware she intends to visit and spend some time in canada with her spouse (pls note that Cic didn't ask for this. I just wanted to remove any suspicion over what happens to her work while she dashes off to live a year or two in canada. I didnt like the idea of resignation. That may seem to the visa officer like once she gets another job in canada, she will not want to leave the country again
If you intend to apply online, it will be much easier for you to remember and upload all the right documents once you generate your personal checklist code.
For the Proof of Funds part, since its just you and your wife, you should be looking at total of your tuition, health and living expenses for one year as is shown on your acceptance letter plus an additional $4000 CAD for your wife as your dependent. If you intend to also take dependent kids along, add $3000 CAD per kid.
For a specific calculation of exactly how much you will need to show in your bank statement, visit Cic official website and find the documents you will need for study. You will see the breakdown of how much you will need to show according to the province you ll be studying
Again, like i said before, i am not an authority on this matter. I JustJoined the forum recently after submitting my application 2weeks ago. All the info i've given you is based on my own personal application experience and people's help thru this thread. I pray to see a favorable response from Cic soon. Once am successful, i'll tell u
I hope this helps