Bringing spouse to visit after wedding her abroad

[Jadran]

I learned that once you marry your spouse outside Canada you won't be able to bring him/her as a visitor to Canada and do the sponsorship application within. Well some countries like EU members do not need visa anyway. Serbia is now the official candidate for EU membership and its citizens do not need visa to travel to any EU countries.
My question is will I be able to bring my wife, Serbian citizen, to visit me and wait together for PR aproval here?
Christmas holidays are coming, I realy miss her

 

[Sweden]

I learned that once you marry your spouse outside Canada you won't be able to bring him/her as a visitor to Canada and do the sponsorship application within. Well some countries like EU members do not need visa anyway. Serbia is now the official candidate for EU membership and its citizens do not need visa to travel to any EU countries.
My question is will I be able to bring my wife, Serbian citizen, to visit me and wait together for PR aproval here?
Christmas holidays are coming, I realy miss her

Hey Jadran,

Unfortunately, your wife, even if from a country that is candidate to the EU (and as such does not require visa for EU countries), does require a visa to visit Canada. See here the list from CIC website http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/visas.asp#exemptions Serbia is listed as needed a visa.

So if you want to bring your wife to Canada, for a visit, you will have to apply for a visa. Being married to a Canadian will not help her case, it's rather the contrary, as CIC doesn't believe that she will leave after her visa expires... so if you do apply for a visa, you have to include very good proofs that she will return to Serbia afterwards, when her visa expires.
You can apply outland, if you don't get a visa for your wife, and go and visit her in the meantime ( if you are a Canadian citizen, you can stay outside of Canada. If you are a PR of Canada, you will need to come back to Canada and only go for short visits).
Good luck,
Sweden

 

[frege]

I learned that once you marry your spouse outside Canada you won't be able to bring him/her as a visitor to Canada and do the sponsorship application within. Well some countries like EU members do not need visa anyway. Serbia is now the official candidate for EU membership and its citizens do not need visa to travel to any EU countries.
My question is will I be able to bring my wife, Serbian citizen, to visit me and wait together for PR aproval here?
Christmas holidays are coming, I realy miss her

As you allude to, there is a process for applying within Canada. However, it's a bad idea on a tourist visa, because if she has to leave Canada (e.g., because her tourist visa runs out) during the processing of the application, and she can't return to Canada (e.g., because she is refused entry), then the PR application is abandoned.

Unless she has a way of obtaining a work or study permit for Canada, it's best to apply outside Canada. She can also apply for a tourist visa at the same time, although there's a chance she'll be refused. If she gets it, there is nothing to prevent her staying with you while you wait for your application to be processed in Vienna. Before her time runs out you can apply to have it extended. If she has an interview, she'll probably have to go to Vienna for the interview.

Given that she's married to you and you live here, a visa officer will have to be convinced that she'll leave Canada voluntarily if her time runs out, and that she doesn't plan to work in Canada during her stay.

 

[Creampop]

If your wife does enter Canada on a visitor's visa you can apply from with-in Canada and she can remain in Canada after the visitor visa expires, when you file the in-land application and work permit application, she will get implied status and can remain in Canada until a decision is made, as stated before it will be very hard to obtain a visa and proving ties to her home country will be the biggest problem.

 

[Jadran]

I was actually having dificulties persuing her to come here because, as a head nurse she has good job there, owns her appartment, we share the other one and collect the rent from it but we are not able to live together in Serbia because my obligations here. And she does not like idea that, in mid age with over 25 year experience as a general nurse, dialisys nurse, head nurse ... she must go back to school. She and other nurses from former Yugoslavia are performing duties there what doctors only do here in Canada. By experience she is excellent in diagnosys of people's illnesses by just looking at them. Good old Yugoslavian education, their diploma is recognized all over the World but not here

 

[AnaMaria]

I was actually having dificulties persuing her to come here because, as a head nurse she has good job there, owns her appartment, we share the other one and collect the rent from it but we are not able to live together in Serbia because my obligations here. And she does not like idea that, in mid age with over 25 year experience as a general nurse, dialisys nurse, head nurse ... she must go back to school. She and other nurses from former Yugoslavia are performing duties there what doctors only do here in Canada. By experience she is excellent in diagnosys of people's illnesses by just looking at them. Good old Yugoslavian education, their diploma is recognized all over the World but not here

I can truly understand her pain and feel so disgusted at the way Canada treats immigrants with supposedly desired skills. ???

I would think outland application would be better off. It seems it is quicker and she can continue working in her country while application is in process. Surely you will miss each other.

 

[truesmile]

Just be aware that, even after applying and getting PR status here, her qualifications may not so easily be transferable. Maybe country of origin will make a difference BUT, I know a nurse (nurse in their homeland) . . . here - they are a forklift truck driver.