Advice on young children and spouse

[david5]

I am looking for some advice on what application I need to make for my wife and 2 small children, age 3 and 1 at the time of our planned move for 12 months. I am applying for a work permit from the UK, and have a job offer and positive LMO for a medical position. My wife looks after our 2 young children and is not intending to work for the 12 months we are staying in Canada. My part of the application seems clear , but I'm not sure what other forms are required so that we can all enter the country as a family.

The website suggests " All applicants must complete and sign their own individual form, including persons travelling as a family. Applicants who are under the age of 18 years must have their form signed by a parent or guardian". I'm not sure what form we need to fill for my wife and children. My wife isn't going to work, but do I still fill out a work permit form for her? I don't think we need temporary resident visas as we are coming from the UK. Do my children need anything in particular - they will be pre-school?

Any assistance is helpful

 

[computergeek]

The generic forms can be a bit challenging.

In your case, because your family are all visa exempt, they do not need to complete the IMM5257, and thus they don't have any forms of their own - so they don't need to be signed.

Assuming your work permit is for something other than six months, they will be given visitor records at the POE when you get your work permit. From ENF 4 "Port of Entry Examinations":

In instances where the principal applicant of, the family is traveling with their family members,
BSOs should generally authorize entry to all members of the family for the same length of time as
indicated on the work or study permit of the principal applicant. More information on study and
work permits is available in OP12 and FW1.

Your children may require study permits as well in order to attend school in Canada. FW 1 "Temporary Foreign Workers" discusses this (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/fw/fw01-eng.pdf) and OP 12 "Students" discusses student visas (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/op/op12-eng.pdf). In that case, you should apply for their student permits at the same time as your work permit. Because your spouse will not be working, nothing other than the visitor record will be required or issued.

Fair warning: I have dealt with work permits and am familiar with the manuals, but I have never personally applied for permits with accompanying family.

Good luck!

 

[PMM]

Hi

The generic forms can be a bit challenging.

In your case, because your family are all visa exempt, they do not need to complete the IMM5257, and thus they don't have any forms of their own - so they don't need to be signed.

Assuming your work permit is for something other than six months, they will be given visitor records at the POE when you get your work permit. From ENF 4 "Port of Entry Examinations":

Your children may require study permits as well in order to attend school in Canada. FW 1 "Temporary Foreign Workers" discusses this (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/fw/fw01-eng.pdf) and OP 12 "Students" discusses student visas (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/op/op12-eng.pdf). In that case, you should apply for their student permits at the same time as your work permit. Because your spouse will not be working, nothing other than the visitor record will be required or issued.

Fair warning: I have dealt with work permits and am familiar with the manuals, but I have never personally applied for permits with accompanying family.

Good luck!

1. The kids are 1 & 3 so unlikely that they will be attending school.

 

[computergeek]

1. The kids are 1 & 3 so unlikely that they will be attending school.

Good pick-up. In addition, as I recall one does not need a student visa for kindergarten either, so they should be safe for a couple of years.

 

[david5]

Thanks for the advice. Perhaps some of the generic forms apply to non-visa exempt and older (school or working age) children. It is tricky to see where you fit into the grand scheme! Best wishes.

 

[bridgesmj]

This is similar to the position I have just been in. I applied through the London consulate for my own work permit, but not for my wife who won't be working as she'll be looking after our baby. Our son definitely won't be of schooling age (as he's not born yet) so we will be revisiting their statuses in the next round of visa or PR applications.

I just received my WP letter but there was not mention of my wife, so I understand that (seeing as we are visa exempt) she will be granted a TRV for as long as my WP is valid. We are not traveling until the baby is born, so I will be contacting the embassy to advise them of his birth and details.

Good luck with your application.