Should I apply for Visitor Visa or wait?

[Shmiler]

Hi there,

I’m looking for some advice please.

Background:
I am an Argentinian, currently living in the UK. I have further leave to remain in the UK as I was sponsored by my spouse who is a UK citizen from birth. We have Property in the UK and he is a “ high earner”. We have joint bank accounts and share everything.I do not currently work in the UK. I did care for his mother who had dementia but of course this was unpaid.
My British husband also has Canadian permanent residence.

Question/Problem:
I wish to study a 2 year diploma in Canada. The reasons for this are that it is a subject that interests me greatly, I have a friend in Canada who studied the same course and very much recommended it, and of course my husband speaks fondly of Canada.
I have never visited Canada so would like to go and visit my friend for a month, quarantine and get a feel for the place. Proving funds is not an issue. I just dont know whether my visitor visa application would be looked upon favorably. My husband would not accompany me and would remain in our home in the UK. Would the fact he has permanent residence be a negative? Would I include him as “accompanying me to Canada on the form”?
Should I wait until next April/may to apply for the study permit instead (assuming I’m accepted on to course). Having never been to Canada I am keen to see it before I commit 2 years of my life to studying there...

I do realise that there are quarantine restrictions and that there are also restrictions on people who can enter Canada. A visitor to see a friend and do some tourism clearly wouldn’t be allowed at the moment, but given the visitor visa application times im hoping these restrictions would be lifted by April/may next year so that I could make that journey.

What do you recommend? Apply or wait and apply for the study permit? Any positives or pitfalls you can identify?

 

[canuck78]

Hi there,

I’m looking for some advice please.

Background:
I am an Argentinian, currently living in the UK. I have further leave to remain in the UK as I was sponsored by my spouse who is a UK citizen from birth. We have Property in the UK and he is a “ high earner”. We have joint bank accounts and share everything.I do not currently work in the UK. I did care for his mother who had dementia but of course this was unpaid.
My British husband also has Canadian permanent residence.

Question/Problem:
I wish to study a 2 year diploma in Canada. The reasons for this are that it is a subject that interests me greatly, I have a friend in Canada who studied the same course and very much recommended it, and of course my husband speaks fondly of Canada.
I have never visited Canada so would like to go and visit my friend for a month, quarantine and get a feel for the place. Proving funds is not an issue. I just dont know whether my visitor visa application would be looked upon favorably. My husband would not accompany me and would remain in our home in the UK. Would the fact he has permanent residence be a negative? Would I include him as “accompanying me to Canada on the form”?
Should I wait until next April/may to apply for the study permit instead (assuming I’m accepted on to course). Having never been to Canada I am keen to see it before I commit 2 years of my life to studying there...

I do realise that there are quarantine restrictions and that there are also restrictions on people who can enter Canada. A visitor to see a friend and do some tourism clearly wouldn’t be allowed at the moment, but given the visitor visa application times im hoping these restrictions would be lifted by April/may next year so that I could make that journey.

What do you recommend? Apply or wait and apply for the study permit? Any positives or pitfalls you can identify?

Would assume that it may be very difficult for you to get a TRV as the spouse of a PR. There will be concerns that this is a way for you to enter Canada and your husband will follow and sponsor you. Unless there is a very good reason, like highly specialized course unavailable in the UK, it would be very unusual for a married couple to live separately for 2 years. Is this course a natural progression of your previous studies or any work history? You can certainly try to apply but I would expect that it may be difficult to get approved for a study permit and even a TRV. When was your husband last in Canada? If he has no plans on returning to live in Canada renouncing his PR status would lead to better chances of approval for you.

 

[Shmiler]

Hi Canuck78,

Thank you for reading my post and for taking the time to reply.

My previous career was in airline management, so in that capacity I visited many countries around the world and still have many visas, including US. Peculiarly my job never took me to Canada. Completing the “previous travel“ section of any immigration form is very much a laborious task due to the shear volume of countries visited over the last ten years. I ended this employment in 2018 when I married my husband.

The proposed course is a complete career change. Clearly with Covid and travel as it is, a return to my previous career would be very difficult. There is no particular reason the course could not be completed elsewhere. It is simply the fact that it was recommended by a friend who had completed the same course and my husband‘s general positivity towards Canada. I just want to see Canada for myself before making that plunge. I‘m used to traveling the world and this opportunity would scratch that itch and also give me a focus on doing something I’ve always enjoyed. I maintain previous work benefits with regards to travel, so visits home during term time breaks are something that would be easily achievable and help mitigate against prolonged time apart.

Given the current world economic outlook and the fact that, without being crude about it, he earns over 400k cdn per year, he is not willing to give up his position in the UK. He is in compliance with his residency obligations in Canada and does visit often. Obviously he cannot sponsor me as PR out of country. Whether he would renounce his PR is a question for him but I doubt that he would.

On reflection, I think I will take your advice and give it a try, obtaining the TRV to visit my friend and for tourism purposes. I realistically do not see what risk I would pose given my extensive travel history and life centered in UK.
The study I will put on the back burner.

I will keep you updated as to my progress and once again thank you for taking time out of your day to help.