Best steps for Spousal Sponsorship - Not married yet - Please Help!

[kmbm91]

Hi All -I appealed an official decision and got to keep my PR status (outland for 20+) just got the notification (haven't processed any travel permit just yet, but that's another subject). We have been dating with my boyfriend for 2 years and we had started to plan our wedding before the notification was received by my contact in Canda (I haven't landed yet) We are not engaged but do have some quotes from places in case that's needed as proof. Question here is, what would be the best steps to take, considering that we both want to start our life together in Canada?

- We are thinking of waiting a couple of months after I land, get a job (even if it's only for survival) and then get back to Central America and get married, get back alone and submit an application outland... is this the best path to follow? or should he apply for a visitor visa and apply inland? Should we get married before I leave? We really don't want to spend any time apart from each other, but will do if this will be for the best interest of our future as family.

Any suggestion/recommendation/life experience that you may have on this will be tremendously appreciated.

We have record and proof of our relationship. I know all of his family and he knows mine, we have gone to each family and social event together so we are thinking of getting letters from anyone possible to back up our genuine relationship.

Please do take your time to advise.

Thanks

 

[schonkatze]

Acording to CIC

"You may apply to sponsor a common-law partner, of the opposite sex or the same sex. If so, you have to prove you have been living with your partner for at least 12 consecutive months in a relationship like a marriage.

That means living together for one year without any long periods where you did not see each other. Either partner may have left the home for work or business travel, family obligations, and so on. However, that separation must have been temporary and short."

and as far as i know it doesn't matter where in the world you have been living together, as long as you can prove it. if you can, you wouldn't need to get married to apply for sponsorship.

the other thing is almost all the latinamerican outland applications are being processed in Mexico, and that process is taking about 17 months (2nd stage)+ 60 days of processing in Canada (1st stage), and probably you wouldn't be able to be together for that period of time.

 

[Rob_TO]

Hi All -I appealed an official decision and got to keep my PR status (outland for 20+) just got the notification (haven't processed any travel permit just yet, but that's another subject). We have been dating with my boyfriend for 2 years and we had started to plan our wedding before the notification was received by my contact in Canda (I haven't landed yet) We are not engaged but do have some quotes from places in case that's needed as proof. Question here is, what would be the best steps to take, considering that we both want to start our life together in Canada?

- We are thinking of waiting a couple of months after I land, get a job (even if it's only for survival) and then get back to Central America and get married, get back alone and submit an application outland... is this the best path to follow? or should he apply for a visitor visa and apply inland? Should we get married before I leave? We really don't want to spend any time apart from each other, but will do if this will be for the best interest of our future as family.

Any suggestion/recommendation/life experience that you may have on this will be tremendously appreciated.

We have record and proof of our relationship. I know all of his family and he knows mine, we have gone to each family and social event together so we are thinking of getting letters from anyone possible to back up our genuine relationship.

Please do take your time to advise.

Thanks

Have you ever lived with your boyfriend for 12 consecutive months? And how did you get your own PR?

Right now your COPR is for a SINGLE person. So when you do your official landing in Canada, it must be as a SINGLE person meaning you can't be married or common-law. So if you land as single, then you can get married or become common-law afterwards and can sponsor him for PR.

There are pros and cons to outland and inland. To do an inland app (where it will take 2+ years during which he will need to stay in Canada, but will have an OWP) he'll need to get a TRV approved first to visit, which is not guaranteed.
For outland processing times you should check the thread for your outland visa office to see what actual times are as you can't go by what's on the CIC site.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Right now your COPR is for a SINGLE person. So when you do your official landing in Canada, it must be as a SINGLE person meaning you can't be married or common-law. So if you land as single, then you can get married or become common-law afterwards and can sponsor him for PR.

From previous posts, OP is already a PR. She just won an appeal to keep PR status based on being removed from Canada as a minor.

OP, despite the fact that you've retained your PR status, you don't meet the Residency Obligation and therefore don't actually qualify as a sponsor. Another member in the same situation who did submit a sponsorship app has gone over the first stage processing time by several months and has had their application transferred to a different office for further investigation.

 

[Rob_TO]

From previous posts, OP is already a PR. She just won an appeal to keep PR status based on being removed from Canada as a minor.

OP, despite the fact that you've retained your PR status, you don't meet the Residency Obligation and therefore don't actually qualify as a sponsor. Another member in the same situation who did submit a sponsorship app has gone over the first stage processing time by several months and has had their application transferred to a different office for further investigation.

Technically if you win an appeal and CIC allows you to keep status on H&C grounds despite not meeting RO, that in itself should mean you now automatically meet the RO, as you can apply immediately for a new PR card.

However I wouldn't be surprised at all if processing of an immediate sponsor application after this does take longer in these cases, since it is a messy situation that any random visa officer might not be totally familiar with.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Technically if you win an appeal and CIC allows you to keep status on H&C grounds despite not meeting RO, that in itself should mean you now automatically meet the RO, as you can apply immediately for a new PR card.

However I wouldn't be surprised at all if processing of an immediate sponsor application after this does take longer in these cases, since it is a messy situation that any random visa officer might not be totally familiar with.

But does it actually bring a PR back into compliance with the RO? Or does CIC just allow them to renew their PR cards in spite of not meeting the RO, based on the H&C reasons that allowed them to retain their status?

If it were true, then a person who wins an appeal could renew their PR card and then immediately leave Canada for 3 years and still be able to meet the RO upon return.

 

[Rob_TO]

But does it actually bring a PR back into compliance with the RO? Or does CIC just allow them to renew their PR cards in spite of not meeting the RO, based on the H&C reasons that allowed them to retain their status?

If it were true, then a person who wins an appeal could renew their PR card and then immediately leave Canada for 3 years and still be able to meet the RO upon return.

H&C reasons being accepted by a visa officer, bring the PR back into compliance with the RO. There would be no way to renew PR card if this was not the case. The wording in the manuals is the H&C finding "overcomes" the RO breach.

H&C falls under the same general rules as if a PR is living with their Canadian spouse outside Canada. It's a way to be found compliant with the RO despite living outside Canada for over the allowed time.

And yes someone that wins an appeal based on H&C reasons and then returns to Canada and renews PR card, could then technically leave Canada again for up to 3 years and still be in compliance with the RO since the RO breach before the H&C finding is essentially erased.

You can read more on the topic here:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/op/op10-eng.pdf
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/enf/enf23-eng.pdf

 

[kmbm91]

Hi,

Thank you all for your replies. Yes, I just won a case where the IAD decided that I didn't meet my RO due to my impossibility to make decisions at such an early age and the hardships that I encounter at my home country. I haven't lived with my boyfriend (not something very common here to do before marriage) reason why we would be aiming for an outland (our corresponding office is Guatemala) spousal sponsorship which wouldn't be submitted not until we get married next year (4-5months after landing in Canada). Again, these are the plans but we want as much information possible to make the best decisions. What we fear when thinking in getting married before is making this case look as marriage fraud when it is something that we had planned before I got the notification.

In another note (and I'll make sure to start another thread under the corresponding subject) I would like to know what would be the steps to follow once I get the notification from IAD. I have to go to the embassy/consulate and apply for a travel permit to go back to Canada, correct?

Thanks again.