british citizen getting married to a canadian citizen

[meth]

I have met a canadian girl a year ago and we have been dating (mostly long distance) ever since. However, we have decided to get married and start living together.

I am currently in the UK and planning to do this in Canada (we will be living there). I am just wondering after we get married, what do I have to do in order to get PR? Can I apply for PR soon as I marry her? How long will it take for me to get PR? What documents will I need while I am there?

I have read other threads similar to this but I couldn't find anything that answers this.

Regards.

 

[brucem]

I have met a canadian girl a year ago and we have been dating (mostly long distance) ever since. However, we have decided to get married and start living together.

I am currently in the UK and planning to do this in Canada (we will be living there). I am just wondering after we get married, what do I have to do in order to get PR? Can I apply for PR soon as I marry her? How long will it take for me to get PR? What documents will I need while I am there?

I have read other threads similar to this but I couldn't find anything that answers this.

Regards.

I think first of all you need to be careful in your language. If you rock on up to CBSA (immigration officers) stating that your getting married and then going to live in Canada, and you bring all your worldly belongings, you could be out on the next flight. Until you have your PR you can only be in Canada as a visitor and you need to retain your ties to the UK.

You can enter on a 6 month visitor visa...get married and then remain in Canada for the six months and apply for an extension to your visitor visa while your PR application is in process (if required). This costs $100 and can be done online. And yes you can apply straight away, however you need to be aware that you have to evidence your ongoing relationship so lots of wedding photos, family and friend involvement would be useful.

Secondly you need to work out whether you would apply outland or inland. If you apply inland the whole process is taking around 2 years to get PR and you have to be in Canada to make an inland application. Up until a few days ago most people would have advised that you apply outland as the processing times are much quicker, as little as 4 months for recent UK citizens. However, it appears CIC are launching a pilot scheme where people who apply inland will get a work permit once they receive AOR, however this is yet to be confirmed officially by CIC and to be honest I would still apply outland as a UK citizen. You can apply outland and still be in Canada during the process.

You need to check the application packages on the CIC website. There are guides which will show you what information you need to provide and the documents required. Getting everything together (relationship evidence/medical/police check etc) can take a few months so I would get cracking reading those. You can also join the London thread on the forum for lots of useful advice as you will have lots of questions when you get started. Here is the link to the outland application package. Read both the sponsorship guide and the immigrant guide and the information guide for western Europe. Once you have got a handle on this you can post some questions on the forum if need be. There really isnt any need to get a representative involved to assist with your application as senior members on the forum can answer most questions, plus they are very costly and frequently give PR applicants bad advice.

There is a lot to take in and understand and it takes a while. Read different forum threads and you will pick up the processes; its amazing how many tips you can get from everyone who has applied in the past!

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp

 

[meth]

Very good info, thanks.

I think I will just apply outland if it only takes 4 months because there is no way I will wait for 2 years while being there without being allowed to work legally.

So my best bet probably is to go there, get married, return to the UK and apply online for the PR visa, right? Do you know if it is possible to call CIC and confirm with them if I can get the work permit soon as I receive the AOR in case I apply inland?

 

[brucem]

Very good info, thanks.

I think I will just apply outland if it only takes 4 months because there is no way I will wait for 2 years while being there without being allowed to work legally.

So my best bet probably is to go there, get married, return to the UK and apply online for the PR visa, right? Do you know if it is possible to call CIC and confirm with them if I can get the work permit soon as I receive the AOR in case I apply inland?

You can still remain in Canada and apply outland, you just have to be careful about what you say when you enter Canada. Lots of people actually do it but it is possible you could be refused entry if CBSA agent believes you are not going to leave after 6 months. If you demonstrate that you know the rules and can still show strong ties to the UK then you will likely be ok. If you want to get an idea of people tripping up go on YouTube and watch Border Force Canada. There are a few brits who get caught out but funnily enough I dont remember any who actually got refused entry on camera.

You dont apply online it has to be printed and sent unfortunately although you can download the application forms and fill it out on the computer. Most people need to add extra pages as there often isnt enough space for the detail required. It tell you how to do this on the form.

In terms of inland CIC hasnt confirmed this new change to the rules it came from an article on CBC news. It is not supposed to be implemented until January and we have no idea who will be included. Bearing in mind there are thousands of people who have been waiting for months for a work permit, so my guess would be they should get processed first. Anyway that aside I think outland is a safer bet at the moment!

 

[meth]

Can I be living in another country while I am applying outland? I am in the UK at the moment but I may have to go to a south american country for a project.

Also, will they ask me for proof of how I have been surviving in the last few years? I read that some people are doing this but I don't see how this is relevant.

 

[taffy7]

YES . You can be away for work and still apply outland as the U.K. is still your residence. No they won't be asking you how you survived. They will be asking your sponsor for an option C tax print out. This will show if your sponsor has collected welfare . If you are in that country for more than 6 months you will need to get a police check from that country .

 

[brucem]

Can I be living in another country while I am applying outland? I am in the UK at the moment but I may have to go to a south american country for a project.

Also, will they ask me for proof of how I have been surviving in the last few years? I read that some people are doing this but I don't see how this is relevant.

I second Taffy's response!

 

[meth]

Thanks a lot guys, I may have to jump into the british thread and ask another question there ;D

edit: This what I asked in case you guys think you can chime on this:

I was just told that applications outland take 4 months on average to complete. Can somebody tell me why some applications are taking way longer than that? I see that some people on this thread (london thread) have been waiting for more than one year.


Thanks once again

 

[taffy7]

Its all an average .. Sponsorship times vary it goes up and down so its hard to predict. I would say the average case is 6 months. Some applicants got sent to Mississauga and that was really fast . They say 11 months is the requested time , but no one can be really sure . My time line differs because i forgot a form for my step son.

 

[brucem]

Thanks a lot guys, I may have to jump into the british thread and ask another question there ;D

edit: This what I asked in case you guys think you can chime on this:

I was just told that applications outland take 4 months on average to complete. Can somebody tell me why some applications are taking way longer than that? I see that some people on this thread (london thread) have been waiting for more than one year.


Thanks once again

Yeah I probably should have said 4 months is rather fast but there has been a few of them lately. My application got sent to Ottawa and although we have received SA back in August I haven't heard a peep since and we are just over the 5 month mark. 6 months is probably about average right now.

 

[Yomaben]

Hi Meth
I am also British Citizen married to a Canadian Citizen, my husband's application for sponsorship has been approved and sent to London office. Am still waiting to be contacted.
To be frank, I totally subscribe to Brucem's post, cos i went through the same process. I got married in Canada this year and sent my Outbound application forms in Canada.

 

[taffy7]

Hi Meth
I am also British Citizen married to a Canadian Citizen, my husband's application for sponsorship has been approved and sent to London office. Am still waiting to be contacted.
To be frank, I totally subscribe to Brucem's post, cos i went through the same process. I got married in Canada this year and sent my Outbound application forms in Canada.

Are you on our spreadsheet for the London office. Brucem and myself are both going through the London office too.

 

[Graihn]

I think I will just apply outland if it only takes 4 months because there is no way I will wait for 2 years while being there without being allowed to work legally.

Are you between the ages of 18-30? If so you can apply for Working Holiday visa (IEC) and work for a year (maybe longer for UK citizens). I worked for two years in Canada on a Working Holiday followed by a co-op visa (you need a job offer and can work for another year).

 

[Yomaben]

Yes i am on the Spreadsheet for London office

 

[Kayaker]

I was just told that applications outland take 4 months on average to complete. Can somebody tell me why some applications are taking way longer than that? I see that some people on this thread (london thread) have been waiting for more than one year.

Reasons for the application taking (much) longer are, in no particular order:
- criminal history
- suspected marriage of convenience (lack of proof of relationship between sponsor and applicant)
- medical inadmissibility (having communicable diseases such as tuberculosis)
- missing forms, or outdated forms
- expired certificates (such as police certificates - if they are expired they will ask you to submit a new one)
- dependents (such as children from a previous relationship) not on the application (even if they are not coming to Canada with you you need to include their names and info and medicals in the application. CIC doesn't like it when you don't include them, because that bans you forever from sponsoring them in the future.)
- when the sponsor lives outside Canada and CIC is not convinced the sponsor is going to move back to Canada

I have also heard that if you have lived in multiple countries (for 6 months or longer), this may contribute to a longer processing time because CIC does their own background/criminal checks on you and some countries take a long time to respond and provide info. (This hasn't been my case (even though I've lived in 2 countries besides my own), but they say this can happen.)

The best idea is to submit a strong application with plenty of proof of relationship and all forms and certificates up to date and correct, because every time CIC contacts you to submit a new form, or additional documents, this can add a few weeks to a few months to the time it takes to process your application.