Can my spouse arruve as tourist and then sponser her?

[francisco bucchi]

Hi! this is a short question.

I am canadian, and my wife is chilean. We live in Chile now. Our plan to migrate to Canada is to go to Canada together, so she will have temporary residence as a tourist, and then I will sponsor her to get the permanent residency. Is this possible?

Thank you for your answers!

 

[Aguaymanto]

You should apply first, the process is long! I'm Canadian and I was living with my wife in Peru, we applied in June 2016, and are still waiting. We moved up here to Vancouver together and she is on a tourist visa still. My advice to you would be for her to apply for her tourist visa first while you are working on your PR application and then get your application in! Like I said it takes awhile and gathering all your documents takes awhile as well. Good luck!

 

[profiler]

Hi! this is a short question.

I am canadian, and my wife is chilean. We live in Chile now. Our plan to migrate to Canada is to go to Canada together, so she will have temporary residence as a tourist, and then I will sponsor her to get the permanent residency. Is this possible?

Thank you for your answers!

We did this. My wife chose inland sponsorship. You can choose outland while she is here as well. Both have pro's and con's. Processing times have come down considerably, so inland or outland won't matter. Inlanders are now landing in 13 months, which is on par with Outlanders. Inland you shouldn't leave Canada until the application has been processed, but you can apply for an Open Work Permit (OWP). This gives her status, and she can work, if she chooses to. Outland, she can leave, but will require to renew visitor visas to maintain status while she is here. Also, when she crosses the border, she should be aware of "dual intent", and how to defend it.

 

[francisco bucchi]

thanks both for your help!

Well, I don't want to apply outland for her PR because I read that she may be called for an interview here (in Chile) while we will be living in Canada, so she will need to return to Chile just for the interview. I am already gathering the documents for the PR application, but I want to do the application from inland, so she will be with a tourist visa, and then when the first stage is approved she will apply for an OWP.

This is what I have concluded after a LOT of reading in forums, so please tell me if I'm wrong.

 

[profiler]

thanks both for your help!

Well, I don't want to apply outland for her PR because I read that she may be called for an interview here (in Chile) while we will be living in Canada, so she will need to return to Chile just for the interview. I am already gathering the documents for the PR application, but I want to do the application from inland, so she will be with a tourist visa, and then when the first stage is approved she will apply for an OWP.

This is what I have concluded after a LOT of reading in forums, so please tell me if I'm wrong.

Yup. And as long as they didn't write a date in her passport, or give her a day that she must leave by, she will have 6 months to complete the application and file. The application for OWP and PR is sent together, and must be sent before her visitor status expires. As long as she does that, she will also have implied status as well (so if you sent it a few days before the visit expires, she will have implied status until they "decide" on her OWP application).

 

[francisco bucchi]

Your answer was very helpful, thank you so much

She has a child that is not my child, I think that it won't be a problem, will it? I will sponsor her, so I will sponsor his child too.

 

[profiler]

Your answer was very helpful, thank you so much

She has a child that is not my child, I think that it won't be a problem, will it? I will sponsor her, so I will sponsor his child too.

That's where things can get interesting. So, I am not certain how to maintain a child's status. I suspect that you could do it with renewing visitor visa(s), but if not, the child will have to stay in Chile while they work on the application. In our case, I had the kid, she didn't. So for this, I will absolutely defer to someone who has done it.

You might want to read over the paperwork to make sure that she can get or has the appropriate required documents to prove that she can legally take the child out of Chile to reside in another country (permission, court documents, etc).

 

[francisco bucchi]

I've concluded (after reading forums mainly) that my wife's son can maintain the status, because he will be applying as well, so they will both have "implied status" until they get an answer from CIC.

It is very clear for me that I must travel with the application almost finished, and only fill up address and things like that in Canada before applying inland.
All the best to you and thanks for your help.

 

[Aguaymanto]

Buena suerte, Paco!

 

[canuck_in_uk]

I've concluded (after reading forums mainly) that my wife's son can maintain the status, because he will be applying as well, so they will both have "implied status" until they get an answer from CIC.

It is very clear for me that I must travel with the application almost finished, and only fill up address and things like that in Canada before applying inland.
All the best to you and thanks for your help.

Your wife will have Implied Status from submitting the OWP app. The child will not have any form of Implied Status from submitting the PR app. You will need to maintain the child's status separately by applying for a visitor extension. Ask for a year and show that you've applied for PR.

 

[francisco bucchi]

Wow!
Luckily you made me notice that. Thank you so much for your advice.