Visiting spouse/ going outside country during outland spousal application process

[canuck78]

I’m really confused as to why this would be an issue. Are you a PR or citizen? Either way, leaving the country for 2-3 months does not disqualify you from coming back in, provincial healthcare, social benefits, etc. So why would it have any affect on your application? If anything, you’re further proving your relationship is genuine by going to visit your spouse.

Being outside Canada could affect both healthcare and social benefits. For healthcare if you leave during the first year it can impact your coverage in some provinces. For healthcare what really matters is that you are a tax resident and are paying into the healthcare system so being gone for a month or two won't change your tax status.

In terms of welfare you can't go visit a spouse for longer periods without affecting your welfare benefits. For example in Ontario you must get approval for an absence of over 7 days from Ontario. You will only be granted exception in very specific circumstances like for medical reason or exceptional circumstance. Would imagine things like a short visit to attend a funeral would be aporoved but the approval length is unlikely to be months.

https://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/en/mcss/programs/social/directives/ow/9_2_OW_Directives.aspx
https://stepstojustice.ca/questions/income-assistance/can-i-leave-ontario-and-still-get-financial-assistance

PRs are required to remain in Canada during spousal sponsorship so CIC is approving PR for the spouse of a PR who is actively establishing themselves in Canada through things like work or studying. Citizens can sponsor while living abroad.

 

[niravit57]

What if your a citizen would you be aloud to stay outside of canada through the processing of your application

Yes are allowed to stay outside throughout the application if you are Citizen.
But if you're PR then you're not allowed !
Kind of a joke rule... right !

 

[murdan94]

Yes are allowed to stay outside throughout the application if you are Citizen.
But if you're PR then you're not allowed !
Kind of a joke rule... right !

I did not know this rule i had a lawyer and she told me i should not even go and stay with him through the process cuz if immigration find out they would refuse the application what a weird thing

 

[niravit57]

There are examples on the forum of people being denied because they spent time aborad visiting their spouse. Technically you must be in Canada the entire processing time but based on others experience a short visit if 2-3 weeks seems to be overlooked.

Can you please send such forum links... I would like to read them in more details.
Thank you !

 

[niravit57]

d

I did not know this rule i had a lawyer and she told me i should not even go and stay with him through the process cuz if immigration find out they would refuse the application what a weird thing

Yeah... it's like"If you want to stay with your spouse then be a Canadian Citizen, Or else stay away from your spouse !"

I still feel it's not the exact rule interpretation for PRs... They should be allowed to stay in their home-land with their spouse at-least for few months.
What if someone's spouse is mentally challenged and someone has to stay with them for their moral support for longer time ?
Doesn't Canadian immigration system consider such scenarios. There could be such million of reasons a person might have to stay with his/her family during such a time consuming application is being processed, 1 year !
Canada always brags about mental health care, family support, human rights etc. And they don't consider such situations while creating immigration rules. Such a joke !

Also the problem here is there is no one in IRCC who can explain this rule very clearly to us. As IRCC help center does not always provide accurate information on rules and sometimes their answers differ from person-to-person.

It's very frustrating !!!

 

[YVR123]

d

Yeah... it's like"If you want to stay with your spouse then be a Canadian Citizen, Or else stay away from your spouse !"

I still feel it's not the exact rule interpretation for PRs... They should be allowed to stay in their home-land with their spouse at-least for few months.
What if someone's spouse is mentally challenged and someone has to stay with them for their moral support for longer time ?
Doesn't Canadian immigration system consider such scenarios. There could be such million of reasons a person might have to stay with his/her family during such a time consuming application is being processed, 1 year !
Canada always brags about mental health care, family support, human rights etc. And they don't consider such situations while creating immigration rules. Such a joke !

Also the problem here is there is no one in IRCC who can explain this rule very clearly to us. As IRCC help center does not always provide accurate information on rules and sometimes their answers differ from person-to-person.

It's very frustrating !!!

The rule is pretty clear. If you are a PR, you need to live in Canada when you are applying to sponsor someone to reunited with you in Canada.

If you are a citizen, you can live in Canada or outside. But you need to provide proof that you will move back (or already have action taken to move back) to Canada.

 

[niravit57]

The rule is pretty clear. If you are a PR, you need to live in Canada when you are applying to sponsor someone to reunited with you in Canada.

If you are a citizen, you can live in Canada or outside. But you need to provide proof that you will move back (or already have action taken to move back) to Canada.

I know the rules... The Questions is WHY such weird rules ?
Why PR can't stay outside Canada for few months if it's necessary for him/her to stay ?
WHY !?

 

[canuck78]

Can you please send such forum links... I would like to read them in more details.
Thank you !

Sorry you will need to search since It may take time but they exist. The application actually says that PRs must remain in Canada during sponsorship so not sure why that should be enough proof.

 

[canuck78]

I know the rules... The Questions is WHY such weird rules ?
Why PR can't stay outside Canada for few months if it's necessary for him/her to stay ?
WHY !?

The rules are there to make sure PRs are establishing themselves in Canada and PR is not being granted to a person who does not plan to relocate to Canada. If you are a citizen living Abroad with their spouse they have to provide a substantial amount of proof that you plan on moving to Canada after the spouse is granted PR.

 

[canuck78]

d

Yeah... it's like"If you want to stay with your spouse then be a Canadian Citizen, Or else stay away from your spouse !"

I still feel it's not the exact rule interpretation for PRs... They should be allowed to stay in their home-land with their spouse at-least for few months.
What if someone's spouse is mentally challenged and someone has to stay with them for their moral support for longer time ?
Doesn't Canadian immigration system consider such scenarios. There could be such million of reasons a person might have to stay with his/her family during such a time consuming application is being processed, 1 year !
Canada always brags about mental health care, family support, human rights etc. And they don't consider such situations while creating immigration rules. Such a joke !

Also the problem here is there is no one in IRCC who can explain this rule very clearly to us. As IRCC help center does not always provide accurate information on rules and sometimes their answers differ from person-to-person.

It's very frustrating !!!

The rules are very clear and I’m not sure how you can be interpreting differently. When marrying someone who isn’t a citizen or a PR as well you know that they will need to be sponsored and it will take around a year. Did you not research the sponsorship process before getting married? If you wanted to immigrate with your spouse you should have waited until after you got married to apply for PR. Canada does prioritize family reunification for spouses and children. There are sponsorship programs with no financial requirement other than being able to support your family financially without government help. If there were no sponsorship program that would be against reunification. Waiting for sponsorship is not a human rights abuse. If a spouse has mental health problems then moving to Canada might not be the right thing because your spouse would be away from extended family. Sponsorship rules are in place so that only real relationships are allowed to come to get PR. There aren’t any special exemptions. Your spouse is able to apply for TRV but they tend to be difficult to get if your spouse is a citizen or a PR because people are usually planning on staying longterm in Canada and not going for a temporary visit.

 

[philoj]

I asked IRCC this question on twitter and this was the response I got and I quote: “The sponsor could leave Canada for a temporary visit but in order for the application to be processed the sponsor must show that they reside in Canada. There is no formal limit on how long the sponsor can be outside Canada, Sorry we cannot be more specific. Thanks”

 

[niravit57]

I asked IRCC this question on twitter and this was the response I got and I quote: “The sponsor could leave Canada for a temporary visit but in order for the application to be processed the sponsor must show that they reside in Canada. There is no formal limit on how long the sponsor can be outside Canada, Sorry we cannot be more specific. Thanks”

Glad to read this. Can you specify the exact question you asked to IRCC on twitter ?
Is it for Sponsor who is PR / Citizen.

If you can share the link to your tweet here.

Thanks !

 

[YVR123]

Glad to read this. Can you specify the exact question you asked to IRCC on twitter ?
Is it for Sponsor who is PR / Citizen.

If you can share the link to your tweet here.

Thanks !

That's typical reply. It's case by case determine by the case officer. The 3 weeks time given by some is just what most people in Canada think of a long vacation (we don't get that many vacation days in a year from work).

 

[niravit57]

That's typical reply. It's case by case determine by the case officer. The 3 weeks time given by some is just what most people in Canada think of a long vacation (we don't get that many vacation days in a year from work).

FYI... If someone is living home country it doesn't mean he / she is on vacation.
There are thousands of immigrants who can work remotely while living with family in such pandemic time. And many of them are doing exactly the same currently as many employers have adopted Work from Home policy as new normal.
So they're not on vacation. They are still working full-time and contributing to Canada's economy by paying their taxes out of their pockets.
So in that case 3 weeks vacation logic doesn't apply. Someone can't come up with their own logic and give negative suggestions to people. If they are not sure about the rules and making up their own rules/time-duration then they should state that clearly (that it's their own assumption). Rather than talking like an expert who knows everything.

 

[YVR123]

FYI... If someone is living home country it doesn't mean he / she is on vacation.
There are thousands of immigrants who can work remotely while living with family in such pandemic time. And many of them are doing exactly the same currently as many employers have adopted Work from Home policy as new normal.
So they're not on vacation. They are still working full-time and contributing to Canada's economy by paying their taxes out of their pockets.
So in that case 3 weeks vacation logic doesn't apply. Someone can't come up with their own logic and give negative suggestions to people. If they are not sure about the rules and making up their own rules/time-duration then they should state that clearly (that it's their own assumption). Rather than talking like an expert who knows everything.

But working from "home country" remotely is not "living in Canada". And living in Canada is one of the requirement for PR to sponsor.

What I am saying is there is no known hard rule on how many days that's acceptable to consider as NOT living in Canada.

So if someone want to take the chance, try it out and share the experience with memebers here, that would be wonderful.