Apply outland, go to Canada after

[canuck78]

Thanks guys, this gives me some good food for thought. The inland option may be a good idea after all. I will do a bit more research but you folks gave me something to think about. To add a few more details/replies to what you folks said:

1. There is no constraint on timeframes. My job is remote and I can move/work from anywhere in the world. Our lease at our current overseas apartment is month-to-month so we can just leave any time -- in reply to armoured, we both have equal and a good amount of flexibility
2. However, one thing I will mention is that my job is not from a Canadian employer. Rather, it's based in the United States. I do have a letter from them but they really don't care which country I work in

The only reasons why I wanted to apply for an outland one is that we still need 2-3 months to prepare for the move so I thought it might help to get the process going. But we don't have any other constraints other than to clear out our apartment here.

Given no employment by a Canadian employer and not needing to give notice to an employer abroad becomes a bit harder to prove that you and your spouse are settling longterm in Canada. Does your spouse of proof of notice from their employer? If you have proof of notice to your landlord that would help and then would add proof of home rental/purchase when you get to Canada. Proof that you are in Canada and have reapplied for things like a health card also good proof. If you are in Canada much easier to prove your intent to settle here versus abroad. In case you have thoughts of moving once spouse gets PR would make sure she has established a life in Canada as a PR before you move and not leave right after getting PR. She could potentially run into issues counting time towards PR by living with a Canadian citizen if she never really lived in Canada as a PR.

 

[Edmegbc]

Totally agree with armoured here.
I was living outside Canada when we applied Outland in December. Showed intent on coming back ie bank account, moving quotes, plane ticket searches and a letter from my parents.
No one can make any concrete plans given the timelines being so all over the place- if the plans are loose then it’s nearly impossible.
Just show intent- that’s all that’s needed.
Looking back I wish we had withdrawn and applied inland after we got here. Processing times are much faster and there is zero consistency in the owp process under the new policy. Thankfully, my husband (PA) doesn’t NEED to work immediately, but it’s the simple things like healthcare and driving licence etc that would’ve been handy to get faster.

 

[10thlevelimmigrant]

Thanks for the reply guys. There is one slight hitch in the inland plan however: we want to return to Canada at the same time to start settling down. But my partner needs a TRV (temporary resident visa) to do so. So we were thinking, apply for the TRV first, then wait, then go to Canada, settle and apply inland.

But I heard that if the TRV is refused, it will cause more problems to sponsor her. Given this, would it be a better plan to apply outland?

I know we have the option of my going to Canada BEFORE her, setting up shop, but ideally, due to conditions in our current country of residence, that would be very far from ideal. So we really want to stay together, if possible.

 

[armoured]

Thanks for the reply guys. There is one slight hitch in the inland plan however: we want to return to Canada at the same time to start settling down. But my partner needs a TRV (temporary resident visa) to do so. So we were thinking, apply for the TRV first, then wait, then go to Canada, settle and apply inland.

But I heard that if the TRV is refused, it will cause more problems to sponsor her. Given this, would it be a better plan to apply outland?

I know we have the option of my going to Canada BEFORE her, setting up shop, but ideally, due to conditions in our current country of residence, that would be very far from ideal. So we really want to stay together, if possible.

Since you seemed so certain in your plans, we were all basically assuming that your spouse already either had TRV or from visa waiver country. (And you didn't mention despite the relevance)

It's basically not true that getting a TRV refusal will cause problems to sponsor her. It probably is true, in many cases, that a TRV refusal increases likelihood of future TRV refusals.

What options work for you will basically depend on whether the TRV is approved. We can't really guess how likely that is.

So you have options: you can apply for a TRV now, and if she gets TRV, apply inland. If she doesn't wnat to apply before or gets refused, apply outland and then apply for TRV after getting AOR. (Chances of TRV should still be decent here b/c of the family sponsorship app.)

If she doesn't get the TRV after the spousal sponsorship is in the hopper, she'll have to wait until the PR is approved.

In the outland application cases, you'll have to provide the intent-to-return stuff. It should be a good and complete set if you're not willing to return to Canada without her.

We've seen a fair number of cases of those who got PFL (procedural fairness letter) to provide more info on intent to return, and refusals after. (PFL is a warning that they intend to deny unless convinced). At that point if it should happen, it may be better to return to Canada ASAP and update info / change of address "Here's the info oh and I returned to Canada yesterday".

No-one can really say how best to proceed. If it were me I'd apply for the TRV and prepare the spousal application, and if the TRV isn't approved in, say, a couple of months (with or without actual refusal), submit as outland. (My impression is that most 'easy' TRV cases are approved in a month or two, and after that - can be quite indeterminate.)

 

[10thlevelimmigrant]

Thanks for the reply, armoured. Sorry guys, I didn't mean to omit the stuff about the TRV. It was a psychological blind spot for me because I never imagined that getting a temporary travel visa would be uncertain -- as a Canadian, it seems so easy to go anywhere in the world that I didn't imagine someone else trying to come to Canada would be a much more difficult affair.

Great advice though, I will mull over those options. I really appreciate the help!

 

[Zion761]

Nowadays with outland your spouse can also apply for a work permit while the PR is being processed; it takes a while but still a nice option. She can only apply from within Canada though (and after AOR is received).

Hello Armoured,

I plan to get married with my spouse in her country and apply PR for her outland. Could you please elaborate on the work permit application for outland PR sponsorship?
I did some searching online but only found people saying that you can only apply for work permit when being sponsored inland. Thanks a lot!