Applying from Turkey

[astute1199]

Greetings! ;D

I am a Canadian citizen living in Istanbul, Turkey, with my common-law spouse who is a Turkish citizen. We have been living together in a common-law relationship in Turkey for more than five years.

In October 2015 she applied for and received a visitor visa, after which we took a two-week trip to Canada (her first visit to the country). Her visitor visa is multiple entry and valid until 2022.

Now, we are considering our options for sponsorship, as the situation in Turkey is degrading by the day and we are anxious to begin the next chapter of our shared life in Canada.

We have a fair understanding of what is needed for the application and are close to compiling everything and submitting it. However, we need some information about the timing of the process.

Specifically, if we apply from Turkey today, could we travel to Canada tomorrow while the sponsorship/permanent residency application is being processed? My understanding is her visitor visa would allow her to go, however she could only stay in the country for up to six months, while the processing time for the application from Turkey is listed as 12 months. I have read conflicting information, some saying she would be allowed to remain in the country while her application is being reviewed, while others have said this is not the case.

Conversely, how would the situation change if we were to apply from within Canada? The goal here is ultimately to get this process over with as quickly as possible and get settled in Canada long-term without having to spend any time apart, and as you can tell we're clearly confused about the best course of action.

Any information or advice about this situation would be most welcome and greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[CanUkrz]

I cannot answer as to the requirements for Inland fully but for Outland you can be in Canada together and apply while she is on a visitor visa. 30 days before the six months you can apply for another six month extension for her stay, and this is rarely refused when you have an active sponsorship application in process. You will need to prove the following since you're common law.

joint bank accounts or credit cards.
joint ownership of a home.
joint residential leases.
joint rental receipts,
joint registration or payment of utilities (electricity, gas, telephone),
joint management of household expenses,
joint purchases, especially of household items, or
mail addressed to either person or both people at the same address.

Time lines will never be solid because it depends on many factors such as other applications, the status of your documents (are you missing anything), did you pay up front for all costs, are there any red flags about your application, ect... I would expect up to a year for this to go through as per: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/ Your best bet is to search for other Canadian sponsoring someone from Turkey and seeing. My application was listed as 17 months on the site, and got approved in 2 months for me, and 2.5 months at the Visa office (total 4.5 month).

If you apply Inland you need to meet requirements and stay within Canada, both of you. I believe she can also work right away during this process, however finalization will take a lot longer than Outland. As I'm not aware of what goes on with inland status for her staying during the term, someone else will have to answer this. Inside Canada shows 26 months - http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/ I already know Inland usually takes 2+ years for countries in the East.

If you intend on doing this all within Canada on Outland (Which doesn't matter if she's here or not) have all your documents ahead of time as she wont need to go back and forth to collect papers. Once approved you will need to send Passport to Ontario if she stays in Canada unless you want her to fly back home and finalize it there. If she stays in Canada you have to re-enter Canada to land, either by coming back in through flying, or border flag polling between Canada and USA. You can also make an appointment for landing which takes many weeks.