Can my wife postpone receiving her PR visa?

[lawlypops]

Hi - My wife recently received a letter from CIC saying that she's been approved for PR and that she needs to send in her passport and photos. There is no mention that we need to go in for a interview but we need to send her passport, photo within 30 days of receipt of the letter dated March 10th 2012. Our kids have dual citizenship (U.S and Canada) so they are not an issue. My question is, can she postpone sending in her documents and ultimately delay receiving her PR visa to Canada because one of my daughters is ill and my wife may need to delay her entry until my daughter's condition stablilizes? We have medical letters and documents to support this.

Thanks.

 

[evanhindra]

I'm sorry to hear your daughter's condition.

Anyway, from what I understand, and I could be WRONG (I'm new to this too!):

The time you're required to submit your passport to be stamped with the PR Visa, and the time you're required to do your First Landing are two different timelines. You can always get your passport stamped with the PR Visa, but do your first landing at a later time.

Essentially, you might (don't quote me) have the necessary time to let your daughter return to full-health, before your wife does her First Landing.

Best wishes for your wife and your daughter's speedy recovery!

 

[CharlieD10]

Or, she can submit her documents, receive her COPR and complete the landing process at a nearby border POE and then go straight back to the US. There is nothing that says she needs to remain in Canada immediately after, if she needs to return to the US a day after landing, she can do so.

If her medical expires soon, she MUST submit her documents, or you are looking at re-doing the entire process.

 

[lawlypops]

CIC said that it would take up to 30 days to return her passport once she submits it for the PR visa. However she may need it during this period. In addition, CIC said that the passport must be "valid for 1 year". Do they mean it has to have at least 1 year remaining on the passport or does the passport's valid period be greater than 1 year. I've never heard or seen a passport issued only for a 1 year period which is why the wording is confusing me. So does anyone know if she can put the process on hold without closing the file and restarting?

 

[CharlieD10]

They mean the passport must have an expiry date at least one year in the future. In other words, if her passport expires in or before Mar 2012, you can't send that one, you have to renew it first.

 

[scylla]

The passport needs to have a remaining validity of at least a year (i.e. at least one year remaining).

Unfortunately I don't think there's anything you can do to put the process on hold. If you don't submit the passport within the times specified, CIC closes your file and you have to start from scratch.

Where are you located and which US office is handling your wife's application? (Buffalo?) If you live close to Buffalo, your wife could go there in person on either Tuesday or Thursday (you have to get there early), to get the visa in person. Doing so would mean she wouldn't have to let go of her passport for a month.

 

[lawlypops]

The New York City office is handling her file. Her passport expires Nov. 2012 and there is no way her country of citizenship (Venezula) can renew it before then. In the past when she had to renew her passport, the Venezuelan consulate said they ran out of passports and then they said because of this, your passport has to officially expire first before they will issue you one. Do you suppose she can send in her photos and a photocopy of her passport indicating it will expire soon just to keep the file open until she can renew?

 

[RobsLuv]

Passport has to be submitted, typically, within 30 days. Takes them about 30 days after that to get it back with the COPR and visa attached - which is the paperwork your wife will need to take with her to a Canada port-of-entry to "land". The COPR and visa have an expiry date on them that coincides with the expiration date of her passport, or the one year anniversary of the immigration medical exam, whichever comes first. She MUST land before the expiry date of the COPR. So, it's possible to estimate what the landing date needs to be if she can remember when her immigration medical exam was conducted.

If it's soon and she is not certain the child will be well enough to be left, she can fax a request to Buffalo with Drs letter/confimation explaining the situation and ask to delay submission of the passport. I don't think this would be an issue. It may end up that she is required to obtain a new medical exam - because there has to be validity to the medical results in order for them to issue the COPR, but if she tells them about her daughter, that she is aware that her medical expires at such-and-such time, and that she would be willing to redo the medical in order to extend the validity of the COPR issuance - BEFORE they issue the COPR - it's possible they would just put things on hold until her daughter is better. Possibly more effective is for you to try to get your Member of Parliament to make an inquiry of Buffalo for you, considering the circumstances - especially if time is short. They usually have contacts at the office of the Minister of CIC, and they can talk to someone in Buffalo directly to get answers.

The difficulty is trying to get Buffalo to respond to "outside" correspondence. You could sit on pins and needles waiting not only to find out whether they agree, but waiting to find out if they even got your original request. Better, if at all possible, to comply with what they ask - if it turns out there are several months until the medical expires, and she has some time. If not, she's either going to have to try to get a response from them, or do the landing and then return home immediately after.

 

[lawlypops]

Passport has to be submitted, typically, within 30 days. Takes them about 30 days after that to get it back with the COPR and visa attached - which is the paperwork your wife will need to take with her to a Canada port-of-entry to "land". The COPR and visa have an expiry date on them that coincides with the expiration date of her passport, or the one year anniversary of the immigration medical exam, whichever comes first. She MUST land before the expiry date of the COPR. So, it's possible to estimate what the landing date needs to be if she can remember when her immigration medical exam was conducted.

According to some of the people here who replied, if her passport doesn't have at least 1 year left she will need to renew her passport first before she can submit. Given the 30 day timeframe CIC gave us, how is this possible as she cannot have this rushed by her country of citizenship's passport office? Also her medical exam was done back around July 2010 so it's way pass 1 year. So I'm not sure if this is a limiting factor but I can understand why it could be.

 

[OhCanadiana]

According to some of the people here who replied, if her passport doesn't have at least 1 year left she will need to renew her passport first before she can submit. Given the 30 day timeframe CIC gave us, how is this possible as she cannot have this rushed by her country of citizenship's passport office? Also her medical exam was done back around July 2010 so it's way pass 1 year. So I'm not sure if this is a limiting factor but I can understand why it could be.

She doesn't need to renew her passport before submission (although it typically is a good idea to maximize flexibility). Folks suggest having the passport be valid for a year because otherwise her immigration visa will expire when her passport expires in November - she will have to land before then (or reapply unless you somehow manage to get an exception to a hard rule).

The confusion regarding medical is because they are usually valid for one year. However, at the Visa Office's discretion they can be extended. This often happens in the US for spousal applicants (who are excessive demand exempt anyway). Therefore, this becomes more of a mute point for your specific case.

Note that getting the immigration visa doesn't mean she needs to move, but it does mean she has to cross the border to land and become a PR. An important distinction is that in Canada (contrary to the US) you can land and become a PR for immigration purposes but not for other other purposes (eg. you can still be a non-resident for healthcare, taxes, needing to drive with a Canadian driver's license, etc). There are specific rules for each case on when you become a resident. Should she choose to do this, she will be subject to minimum # of days in Canada to maintain her residency (although time outside may count if she is with you, her husband, a Canadian citizen - again an exception that you may qualify for).

Some reading that may help:

Sponsorship of Spouse - http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/3999Etoc.asp

How long is a permanent resident visa valid?

A permanent resident visa is issued for a period not exceeding the earliest expiry date of the following documents:

the medical results for you and your family members or
your or your family members' passport.

Important information. Permanent resident visas cannot be extended once issued. If applicants do not use the visas within their validity period, they must re-apply for immigration to Canada. Their sponsor will have to submit a new sponsorship application and pay new processing fees.

Residency Obligation
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5445ETOC.asp#appendixA

Appendix A: Residency obligation
Minimum residency obligations

You must meet the residency obligation to obtain a Permanent Resident Card. The following table represents the minimum requirements.

If you have been a permanent resident for Five (5) years or more
you must have been physically present in Canada for a minimum of 730 days within the past five (5) years.
If you have been a permanent resident for less than five (5) years
you must show that you will be able to meet the minimum of 730 days physical presence in Canada at the five (5)-year mark.

Time spent outside of Canada

You may also count the days spent outside of Canada in the following circumstances as days for which you satisfy the residency obligation:

OPTION 1. Accompanying a Canadian citizen outside Canada

You may count each day that you accompanied a Canadian citizen outside Canada provided that the person you accompanied is your

spouse or common-law partner or
parent, if you are less than 22 years of age

Evidence that you are accompanying a Canadian citizen
You must provide supporting documents to prove that:

The person you are accompanying is a Canadian citizen; and
You are the spouse, common-law partner or child of that person.