Canada visit/wait for PR - Outland Application Italy

[Sunny6y6]

Hello all,

I'm in a bit of a situation where I need to make a decision and would love your knowledge to help me decide. Here's the lowdown: I'm Canadian, my common-law is French/Italian. We currently live in Milan and have a child.
As of May 2 our application is being processed. Sponsor approved, medical approved, application sent to Rome for the remaining process.
My work contract ends December this year and I will have little work, my partner sold his company and we have a house on the market. I would like to go stay with my parents as we recently had a health scare with my dad and wait out the process. Are we allowed to do this? I'll be bringing probably 4 or 5 suitcases of my things and my cat (actually my sisters cat that I adopted when she went back to Canada) and we wanted to buy 1 way ticket as we don't know when he will return (1 month or 2 month). I'm just worried this may look bad to the immigration officer. Does the fact that we still have a house and our belongings in Milan help? Or is it better to apply for a study or work visa for him? He plans to study Carpentry as soon as he gets his PR.

Basically, how can we go to Canada and wait it out? Any advice is appreciated, many thanks

 

[Hurlabrick]

Hello all,

I'm in a bit of a situation where I need to make a decision and would love your knowledge to help me decide. Here's the lowdown: I'm Canadian, my common-law is French/Italian. We currently live in Milan and have a child.
As of May 2 our application is being processed. Sponsor approved, medical approved, application sent to Rome for the remaining process.
My work contract ends December this year and I will have little work, my partner sold his company and we have a house on the market. I would like to go stay with my parents as we recently had a health scare with my dad and wait out the process. Are we allowed to do this? I'll be bringing probably 4 or 5 suitcases of my things and my cat (actually my sisters cat that I adopted when she went back to Canada) and we wanted to buy 1 way ticket as we don't know when he will return (1 month or 2 month). I'm just worried this may look bad to the immigration officer. Does the fact that we still have a house and our belongings in Milan help? Or is it better to apply for a study or work visa for him? He plans to study Carpentry as soon as he gets his PR.

Basically, how can we go to Canada and wait it out? Any advice is appreciated, many thanks

Yes, you can do what you are saying, it is called 'dual intent'. BUT, what you are saying would ring alarm bells with any CBSA officer who has it within his right to refuse entry to your PA. CBSA will be looking for 'ongoing ties' back to Italy for them and a return ticket etc. Looking like this is your one time move and you are moving lock, stock and barrel could lead to refused.

Read about it here:

https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Spousal_Sponsorship-Canada#Can_I_wait_in_Canada_while_my_application_is_being_processed:_Dual_Intent

and the official source here:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/temporary-residents/visitors/dual-intent-applicants.html

 

[Sunny6y6]

Yes, you can do what you are saying, it is called 'dual intent'. BUT, what you are saying would ring alarm bells with any CBSA officer who has it within his right to refuse entry to your PA. CBSA will be looking for 'ongoing ties' back to Italy for them and a return ticket etc. Looking like this is your one time move and you are moving lock, stock and barrel could lead to refused.

Read about it here:

https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Spousal_Sponsorship-Canada#Can_I_wait_in_Canada_while_my_application_is_being_processed:_Dual_Intent

and the official source here:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/temporary-residents/visitors/dual-intent-applicants.html

Thank you for your answer. Yes I thought so too. The cat is my sister's so if I get a letter from her I hope this helps, we'll have to buy a return ticket with flexible dates in case we decide to change it but not sure how to show we still have a house and things in Milan. As for the luggage it's all my things as I plan on staying with our son longer and I'm bringing back some of my sisters things. Maybe I'll have to ship some things instead because the last thing I want to do is have problems or jeopardise our application.

 

[RR1980]

Sounds like a similar situation to ours. My husband is a Canadian Citizen (as are our two children) so they flew back to Canada in May (with our dog) and as such were 'Canadian Citizens returning to Canada'. They had no issues at immigration and were welcomed back (they also had a lot of suitcases!). I then flew over separately (with only two suitcases) on a one way ticket from the UK. I didn't get asked any questions but took a copy of my bank statement to show I could afford a return ticket if I needed to leave. They never asked anything about my return ticket. This was in July and I was granted visitor status for 6 months. My plan was to extend my visitor status close to the six month mark but received PPR yesterday (our application was received on March 28).

Basically it depends on the immigration officer you get when your partner enters Canada. I find it's always best to be prepared and be honest. Good luck with whatever you decide to do and hope your Dad is recovering.

 

[1887CAN]

Sounds like a similar situation to ours. My husband is a Canadian Citizen (as are our two children) so they flew back to Canada in May (with our dog) and as such were 'Canadian Citizens returning to Canada'. They had no issues at immigration and were welcomed back (they also had a lot of suitcases!). I then flew over separately (with only two suitcases) on a one way ticket from the UK. I didn't get asked any questions but took a copy of my bank statement to show I could afford a return ticket if I needed to leave. They never asked anything about my return ticket. This was in July and I was granted visitor status for 6 months. My plan was to extend my visitor status close to the six month mark but received PPR yesterday (our application was received on March 28).

Basically it depends on the immigration officer you get when your partner enters Canada. I find it's always best to be prepared and be honest. Good luck with whatever you decide to do and hope your Dad is recovering.

This is also similar to my experience too, and until recently I thought was the most common scenario. There’s been a few threads where people have been given a grilling by the CBSA officer, yet still ultimately let in. It makes me think whomever has been given the grilling, has given the CBSA officer a reason to suspect they’re not being completely honest, and consequently they’ve picked apart their story to ensure they’re being honest.

I’m still yet to hear of a spouse being turned away at the PoE with an application in process. I know they can do that, IRCC makes that abundantly clear that admission isn’t guaranteed, etc. But I’ve always felt they weigh up the pros and cons, and are looking for reason to admit you, rather then refuse you. When you’re from a visa exempt country, it does feel like you get an easier time at the border.

There’s loads of visitor visa refusals form visa required foreign nationals though. They at least are having that process done in their own country so there’s no unnecessary travel. I feel bad for those who have to wait abroad, but the CBSA seem to deem these countries higher risk of violations.

 

[1887CAN]

Hello all,

I'm in a bit of a situation where I need to make a decision and would love your knowledge to help me decide. Here's the lowdown: I'm Canadian, my common-law is French/Italian. We currently live in Milan and have a child.
As of May 2 our application is being processed. Sponsor approved, medical approved, application sent to Rome for the remaining process.
My work contract ends December this year and I will have little work, my partner sold his company and we have a house on the market. I would like to go stay with my parents as we recently had a health scare with my dad and wait out the process. Are we allowed to do this? I'll be bringing probably 4 or 5 suitcases of my things and my cat (actually my sisters cat that I adopted when she went back to Canada) and we wanted to buy 1 way ticket as we don't know when he will return (1 month or 2 month). I'm just worried this may look bad to the immigration officer. Does the fact that we still have a house and our belongings in Milan help? Or is it better to apply for a study or work visa for him? He plans to study Carpentry as soon as he gets his PR.

Basically, how can we go to Canada and wait it out? Any advice is appreciated, many thanks

As others have said, be honest and don’t hide anything. Your husband is a visa exempt foreign national, married to a Canadian with two Canadian children. That doesn’t seem high risk to me, but I’m no expert.

You’re also pretty far into the PR process, all details will be on the immigration system. This sounds like a classic example of why dual intent was established in the first place.

Where dual intent gets ambiguous, and seems to fall purely on the CBSA officer’s discretion, is when people try and use dual intent not to wait inside Canada for the PR process to complete, but to actually live for 12 months to establish common law. That wasn’t what it was intended for. Because there’s been examples of some CBSA officers being OK with it, a few people have been caught off guard when the CBSA have refused their admission on these grounds.

Also, don’t forget to do your customs declaration in advance for your cat! You don’t want your kitty getting quarantined...

Good luck, and I hope your dad is on the mend.

 

[Sunny6y6]

This is also similar to my experience too, and until recently I thought was the most common scenario. There’s been a few threads where people have been given a grilling by the CBSA officer, yet still ultimately let in. It makes me think whomever has been given the grilling, has given the CBSA officer a reason to suspect they’re not being completely honest, and consequently they’ve picked apart their story to ensure they’re being honest.

I’m still yet to hear of a spouse being turned away at the PoE with an application in process. I know they can do that, IRCC makes that abundantly clear that admission isn’t guaranteed, etc. But I’ve always felt they weigh up the pros and cons, and are looking for reason to admit you, rather then refuse you. When you’re from a visa exempt country, it does feel like you get an easier time at the border.

There’s loads of visitor visa refusals form visa required foreign nationals though. They at least are having that process done in their own country so there’s no unnecessary travel. I feel bad for those who have to wait abroad, but the CBSA seem to deem these countries higher risk of violations.

Thank you for sharing your experience.

Sounds like a similar situation to ours. My husband is a Canadian Citizen (as are our two children) so they flew back to Canada in May (with our dog) and as such were 'Canadian Citizens returning to Canada'. They had no issues at immigration and were welcomed back (they also had a lot of suitcases!). I then flew over separately (with only two suitcases) on a one way ticket from the UK. I didn't get asked any questions but took a copy of my bank statement to show I could afford a return ticket if I needed to leave. They never asked anything about my return ticket. This was in July and I was granted visitor status for 6 months. My plan was to extend my visitor status close to the six month mark but received PPR yesterday (our application was received on March 28).

Basically it depends on the immigration officer you get when your partner enters Canada. I find it's always best to be prepared and be honest. Good luck with whatever you decide to do and hope your Dad is recovering.

Thank you for sharing your experience, it does sound similar and makes me feel better. I'm always honest as I have nothing to hide and the idea of the bank statement is a great idea. Me and my partner will be travelling together though. We have a toddler that is a handful and a 12 hour journey is heavy with just one of us Dad is much better, thank you

 

[Sunny6y6]

Thank you everyone! Really great to hear similar experiences and your advice.

 

[canuck78]

Would also bring a copy of your PR receipt. The number of bags and cat may create a red flag. Nobody brings their cat on vacation.

 

[Sunny6y6]

Would also bring a copy of your PR receipt. The number of bags and cat may create a red flag. Nobody brings their cat on vacation.

Absolutely we would bring the PR application info too. Technically the cat is my sister's (she lived in Italy and left her cats with me because she went back for medical reasons). Since then 2 have died and I have the one remaining cat that I am returning to her while we visit Canada. I know it's a particular situation but I do prefer to bring the cat now instead of later. There are many things to do when changing countries and this is one less thing to think about.

 

[canuck78]

Absolutely we would bring the PR application info too. Technically the cat is my sister's (she lived in Italy and left her cats with me because she went back for medical reasons). Since then 2 have died and I have the one remaining cat that I am returning to her while we visit Canada. I know it's a particular situation but I do prefer to bring the cat now instead of later. There are many things to do when changing countries and this is one less thing to think about.

Just pointing out the cat will flag the border agent/immigration. Even if it is your sister's. Didn't say your husband would be refused. Would also check when you board that there is nobody with a serious cat allergy on board. My cousin had a serious allergic reaction after a cat what brought aboard that required an ambulance upon landing. Luckily it was a short flight.

 

[Sunny6y6]

Just pointing out the cat will flag the border agent/immigration. Even if it is your sister's. Didn't say your husband would be refused. Would also check when you board that there is nobody with a serious cat allergy on board. My cousin had a serious allergic reaction after a cat what brought aboard that required an ambulance upon landing. Luckily it was a short flight.

Will do, thanks Good advice for the cat allergy.