Applying for visa from Canada?

[johnc1305]

My family and I have decided to move to Canada. My wife and eldest son are Canadian, my other 4 kids have dual nationality and I am British. When we moved to the UK in 2009 we applied for my wife and sons visa from here in the UK. I was wondering if there was a similar option in Canada as we would like to move ASAP.
So what I am asking is, if I came to Canada as a visitor could I then apply from inside Canada?

 

[user828]

You mean get sponsored by your son? as a parent
Parent sponsorship is closed Jan 2014 and there is no way to do it inside Canada, he has to be approved as a sponsor and then it will goto Local visa office, the ordeal is about 4 years + and depending on the family size, the sponsorship process has become very strict
Unless you meant something else

 

[johnc1305]

No, was meaning by my Canadian wife? We would like to move this year but would take over a year if applying from here in the UK so our ideal option would be to move and apply while setting up new home in Canada. Have finances to cover us for first year, possibly a little bit longer.

 

[WoodyKatie]

No, was meaning by my Canadian wife? We would like to move this year but would take over a year if applying from here in the UK so our ideal option would be to move and apply while setting up new home in Canada. Have finances to cover us for first year, possibly a little bit longer.

If I'm not mistaken, you're from a visa exempt country, you can travel to Canada with your family and apply inland being sponsored by your wife. The processing time for inland apps can also take a year (more or less).

 

[johnc1305]

That's what I was looking for thank you very much.

 

[WoodyKatie]

That's what I was looking for thank you very much.

Goodluck! try to posts in some thread for Inland Apps, it will help you alot.

 

[Rob_TO]

If I'm not mistaken, you're from a visa exempt country, you can travel to Canada with your family and apply inland being sponsored by your wife. The processing time for inland apps can also take a year (more or less).

I don't think the poster here should apply inland. He would be looking at around a 1.5 year wait where he is not supposed to leave Canada for any reason.

If he applied outland through the London office, he can apply immediately while still in the UK. With a wife and 5 kids he should be a no-brainer for approval. During the processing time he can stay in Canada or come and go as he pleases on his visa-exempt passport as a visitor, and should be done the entire processes much quicker vs inland (of course not taking into account current strike).

 

[WoodyKatie]

It's up to him, he may weigh outland versus inland application.. he wanted to leave as soon as possible (I think?) and it's not that easy to complete the application and pass it right away.
Can he apply outland when he is already in Canada? It's also nice if he can..

Johnc, here's the link on family sponsorship..

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse.asp

Read it then you can decide what you want.

 

[Rob_TO]

Can he apply outland when he is already in Canada?

Yes he can.

 

[WoodyKatie]

Yes he can.

Then it's good for him, but it's still up to him.

The current processing time in London is only 10 months. 14 months for inland.

 

[Rob_TO]

Then it's good for him, but it's still up to him.

The current processing time in London is only 10 months. 14 months for inland.

The current inland time states "Working on applications received on October 8, 2012". This is around an 8-9 month wait time for stage 1, and is typical of many in the inland thread. Stage 2 takes another 8 months so the average time that should be expected for inland is actually around 16 months.

A straightforward app through London VO (which this one definitely is unless there are any criminal issues involved), should be processed pretty quickly.

Yes the poster is free to do what they like, but as they are coming here for advice, my advice is it's RECOMMENDED they apply outland in this case.

 

[johnc1305]

Thank you both for the information. I know that it would take around a year or so from here in the UK and would probably work out a couple of months quicker by the sounds of things but my preference would be to go there as soon as we can ( October 2013 ) and do it from Canada. We have the finances to keep us going for a little over 1 year and have been advised that I can apply for a Temporary work visa while waiting on permanent residence. I have been on the phone to an immigration lawyer today and although it will cost more I think I may let him deal with our case. He seems to know a lot more about it than I do lol Thank you both again for the info, both very helpful

 

[Rob_TO]

Thank you both for the information. I know that it would take around a year or so from here in the UK and would probably work out a couple of months quicker by the sounds of things but my preference would be to go there as soon as we can ( October 2013 ) and do it from Canada. We have the finances to keep us going for a little over 1 year and have been advised that I can apply for a Temporary work visa while waiting on permanent residence. I have been on the phone to an immigration lawyer today and although it will cost more I think I may let him deal with our case. He seems to know a lot more about it than I do lol Thank you both again for the info, both very helpful

As an additional thought when making your decision... note that you would qualify for the inland open work permit after you get stage 1 (your wife as sponsor) approval, which for inland is taking around 8-9 months these days.

Comparing applying outland through London VO, as i said a straightforward case can be done much quicker than the posted time and if you read the thread here dedicated to visa-exempt London applications, many are done in less than 8-9 months so you "could" have full PR outland, in the same time it takes for just stage 1 of inland.

But the biggest kicker (at least to me) in not wanting to apply inland, is you are supposed to stay in Canada during the entire processing. This means you better make sure for the next 12 - 24 months after you arrive here, you have no intention to return back to the UK or on any trips outside of Canada, for any reason. Travelling doesn't always result in a cancelled PR app, but it is a big risk as it could cancel it so you never know.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Thank you both for the information. I know that it would take around a year or so from here in the UK and would probably work out a couple of months quicker by the sounds of things but my preference would be to go there as soon as we can ( October 2013 ) and do it from Canada. We have the finances to keep us going for a little over 1 year and have been advised that I can apply for a Temporary work visa while waiting on permanent residence. I have been on the phone to an immigration lawyer today and although it will cost more I think I may let him deal with our case. He seems to know a lot more about it than I do lol Thank you both again for the info, both very helpful

Don't waste your money on a lawyer, do it yourself. The app is very straightforward, there are guides and checklists that tell you everything and if you are confused, you can come here and ask. A lot of people have had a hard time of it with lawyers who made mistakes or didn't know 100% what they were doing.

As said by Rob_TO, you would honestly be better to do outland through London. Check out the outland London thread and spreadsheet

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/thread-for-outland-london-uk-applications-t49436.11310.html
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AvI5l_hMO7UKdHc2LUJuZ2Itcld2Vk1WR25GeVZxYVE#gid=18

Most apps go through London around 7-8 months or even quicker (6 of the 2013 apps have already been processed, averaging about 5.5 months).

I agree with Rob_TO that the biggest issue when applying inland is that you aren't allowed to leave Canada for the approx 16 month processing period. If there is a sudden family emergency back home, you would risk your entire PR app by leaving Canada.

 

[johnc1305]

If I am correct I can apply for a Temp work visa while I wait on PR from inland? We would really prefer not to wait here in the UK. We have the finances available to cover the first year although I would like to start working as soon as I can. And thank you for the advice on lawyer, paid for them the first time we got my wife's UK visa but we done the renewal ourselves. Was only looking at lawyer as I would like to work asap.