Applying for family class visa immediately after marriage

[wetjetter]

A question for those of you who have been through the process of sponsoring your spouse for a family class visa:

A bit of background info:

I am a Canadian citizen and my partner (non Canadian) and I have lived as common-law outside of Canada for the past two years. This summer/early fall, we plan on getting married outside of Canada. I am working abroad on a contract basis, which will end in 2018, so we are not in a huge rush for my partner's family class visa to (*hopefully!) be approved, but I'd like to start the process as soon as possible so we have peace of mind about our future.

I believe it would be better to apply for my partner's family class visa after we are married, rather than now, under common-law status. By this time, we will have been a couple for three years, and just over two of those living together. We decided long ago that we see our future in Canada and would rather our future children to be raised there.

My question is ... would it look to suspicious to the CIC if we apply immediately after getting married?

Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts on our situation.

 

[Aquakitty]

CIC makes a big deal about sponsors who live overseas and don't have ties to Canada, and/or proof they are returning when the spouse obtains PR.
If you aren't planning on going back to Canada till 2018 you should not apply at this time or risk a refusal from CIC.

What country is she from?

 

[wetjetter]

Thank you for your reply, Aquakitty.

Why does the CIC make a big deal about returning Canadians? Do they think you'll return to your spouse's homeland or host country as an expat? Why would people apply for PR for their spouse, and then not return to Canada?

Would it be easier if I was already established in Canada before my partner came? We would hate to be separated.

That leads me to another question ... any ideas on how I can increase my ties to Canada? At the moment, all I have is that to go on is that I will get a job in my field (but no use applying for one now and from abroad) and am planning to be doing a p/t Master's program at the university I graduated from with my Bachelor's. My parents are snowbirds, so they'll be out of the country for 6 months and we can live at their house until we get jobs and housing sorted. We plan on having with substantial savings to support ourselves.

 

[MilesAway]

A lot of people use the PR card as a glorified TRV. Just look at the Residency Obligations section of the forum for people who applied for PR and then never actually lived in Canada.

For Canadians abroad, you do have to prove your intent to return, and yes, they are quite strict about it. If you are in Canada already, then there is no need to prove your intent to reside in Canada. When you closer to your intended date of return, then you should apply. If you apply now for 2018, it will be refused and you will be told to reapply when you actually intend to live in Canada. There was another couple who were denied at their landing interview for the same reason.

You still haven't mentioned what country your spouse is from.

 

[wetjetter]

Thank you MilesAway. I may be naive, but I'm surprised there are people out there who would go to such great lengths in completing the arduous PR application, just to use it as a TRV!

Alright, noted re: the timeline of application - I'll definitely take that into consideration when planning. I wouldn't necessarily have to complete my contract abroad should we be granted PR. We have a lot to think about but I'm still curious, would it look suspicious to the CIC if we applied for PR soon after getting married?

You mentioned a landing interview ... I hadn't heard of this before. Is this compulsory upon arrival in Canada?

And oops sorry - my partner is from Malaysia.

 

[canadausa#11]

People also use it for the healthcare benefits I imagine

 

[MidoRafa]

would it look to suspicious to the CIC if we apply immediately after getting married?

I shouldn't think so. In any case, you and your partner/spouse will have to provide evidence to show that the relationship is genuine (pictures, emails, proof of cohabitation, joint bank account, wedding invitation, etc.). I'm assuming you already have some of these things since you've been together for two years. In this case, getting married will probably be an additional proof that the relationship is genuine and may even have a positive effect (ie, the relationship is evolving). If, on the other hand, you will be building your case entirely on the fact that you'll be married, then clearly that will raise flags with CIC.

You mentioned a landing interview ... I hadn't heard of this before. Is this compulsory upon arrival in Canada?

I could be wrong but I believe what MilesAway refers to is the interaction of the prospective PR with the immigration officials at the borders as they 'land' in Canada for the first time. Usually a few routine and basic questions as they process the paperwork but they like to be assured that the person is in fact intending to 'reside permanently' in Canada

 

[wetjetter]

People also use it for the healthcare benefits I imagine

Of course. That hadn't dawned on me. It's a such a huge shame that people take advantage of the system and spoil it for the rest of us. :-[

 

[wetjetter]

Thank you MidoRafa. We have some of the suggested evidence to show the relationship is genuine, but will get more after marrying. Being an Islamic country, it's technically illegal for an unmarried couple to be living together, so at this point in time, only one of our names is on the rental lease, and we can definitely not have joint bank accounts. This is one reason we're not applying under common-law status ... it would be too tough to prove in our case. The best we currently have are pieces of mail addressed to us separately at our residence. It'd be better to apply after we're married and we'll do our best to show that our relationship has progressed over time and that marriage has always been on the cards, whether or not we could live in Canada.

 

[MilesAway]

The landing interview for outland applicants is generally just a few questions. It's not an arduous process. They ask to confirm all the information on the COPR, and your address to send the PR card to.

 

[wetjetter]

OK good to know, MilesAway. Thank you. I'm not really worried about the landing interview, as my spouse will be a legitimate PR applicant, so hopefully we'll have nothing to worry about.

When you closer to your intended date of return, then you should apply. If you apply now for 2018, it will be refused and you will be told to reapply when you actually intend to live in Canada. There was another couple who were denied at their landing interview for the same reason.

I'm still not sure how to plan accordingly with a timeline. At present, the Singapore visa office has listed a wait time of 27 months, while other offices listed 17 months. If we applied for the family class visa let's say this September 2016, the visa may not be approved until January 2018 (17 months) or November 2018 (27 months) ... which would suit us fine to settle in Canada.

Based on some of the discussions I've read on here, some applicant's visas are approved in much shorter time than this ... others, not or even longer.

Settling in Canada in October or November 2018 would be ideal for us. We could leave earlier than that if need be, but in a perfect world, I wouldn't want to settle in Canada any later than November 2018 and have to sit around in Malaysia waiting for the visa.

How far in advance of our anticipated arrival to Canada should we apply for the visa? At the time of our application, are we technically meant to be ready to leave for Canada on that same date?

 

[MidoRafa]

Thank you MidoRafa. We have some of the suggested evidence to show the relationship is genuine, but will get more after marrying. Being an Islamic country, it's technically illegal for an unmarried couple to be living together, so at this point in time, only one of our names is on the rental lease, and we can definitely not have joint bank accounts. This is one reason we're not applying under common-law status ... it would be too tough to prove in our case. The best we currently have are pieces of mail addressed to us separately at our residence. It'd be better to apply after we're married and we'll do our best to show that our relationship has progressed over time and that marriage has always been on the cards, whether or not we could live in Canada.

This is understandable and I'm sure you won't have any problems re the authenticity of the relationship when you decide to apply. In case you haven't already, take a look at the relationship questionnaires in the application package; that way you know what kind of info and evidence they are looking for, so you can prepare.

Now when it comes to the other issue of proving your ties to Canada and your plans to go back, I'm afraid I don't know much about it, so I'll defer to the experts

Best of luck!

 

[Beaverdiva]

Hi, in terms of getting married immediately before applying you have nothing to worry about. That's what we did and it was fine. Cic are looking for evidence of your relationship so as you have been commonlaw prior to your marriage you'll be okay.

We'd been together as a couple for 6 years, had never co-habited and got married 3 months before applying. I got my.confirmation of permanent residency without any issues. We gave evidence of holidays together, outings, emails, skype conversations, phone logs and photographic evidence from the start of our relationship as a couple and at family gatherings. We also included correspondence about practical issues like finances and some when we'd had a disagreement. You can screenshot Facebook messages and text messages too.

If you can provide evidence of living together for 2 years (which I'm sure you can) then you can apply without having to get married for the purpose of sponsorship.
Hope that helps!


Cic will only think a marriage is suspicious if they think it's solely for immigration purposes and not genuine but in your case you should be fine.

 

[screech339]

OK good to know, MilesAway. Thank you. I'm not really worried about the landing interview, as my spouse will be a legitimate PR applicant, so hopefully we'll have nothing to worry about.

I'm still not sure how to plan accordingly with a timeline. At present, the Singapore visa office has listed a wait time of 27 months, while other offices listed 17 months. If we applied for the family class visa let's say this September 2016, the visa may not be approved until January 2018 (17 months) or November 2018 (27 months) ... which would suit us fine to settle in Canada.

Based on some of the discussions I've read on here, some applicant's visas are approved in much shorter time than this ... others, not or even longer.

Settling in Canada in October or November 2018 would be ideal for us. We could leave earlier than that if need be, but in a perfect world, I wouldn't want to settle in Canada any later than November 2018 and have to sit around in Malaysia waiting for the visa.

How far in advance of our anticipated arrival to Canada should we apply for the visa? At the time of our application, are we technically meant to be ready to leave for Canada on that same date?

You also have to remember that a PR can maintain his/her PR status while living with a Canadian anywhere outside Canada. So CIC is very strict on proving Canadian actually returning to settle in Canada. Otherwise, Canadians can sponsor their spouses and then return after getting PR. This is too convenient for them. And it is rather unfair as PR can return to Canada whenever they need free health care.

I could have easily applied for PR for my wife and returned back to work in US and her PR would be unaffected as she would be living with a Canadian the whole time. But CIC would know better and have denied PR sponsorship to people who didn't satisfied CIC that they were, in fact, moving back.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

I'm still not sure how to plan accordingly with a timeline. At present, the Singapore visa office has listed a wait time of 27 months, while other offices listed 17 months. If we applied for the family class visa let's say this September 2016, the visa may not be approved until January 2018 (17 months) or November 2018 (27 months) ... which would suit us fine to settle in Canada.

The processing time for Singapore is long because of applicants who have to wait for an interview; it can take up to 2 years to get an interview date. When an interview is not required, Singapore is actually a fairly quick office, less than a year. As you guys have been living together for a few years, if you submit a strong app with lots of proofs, there is very little chance of being called for an interview, so your app would most likely be done in a year or less.

I suggest you head over to the Singapore thread to have a look at timelines http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/singapore-timeline-t28993.11295.html.