Canada Entry During Sponsoring UK Fiancé/Spouse For Outland PR

[APDM]

Greetings,

The questions:

-Can I sponsor my fiance (situation details below) and apply for PR, when by the time approval is given we will be married? Or must I wait until we are married and then submit the application to sponsor and PR?

-Can a UK citizen enter canada on a visitor's visa while an application for Sponsorship and outland PR is still underway? i.e. is there no shame in saying at the boarder that these process are underway


The situation:

I have been in a committed relationship with my (now) fiance since February 2012 while working with her overseas. She is a UK citizen and currently living there, while I am living in Canada. We have visited eachother back and forth several times while being engaged since May 2013. I will be flying there and getting married to her at the end of November (all of those visa issues are sorted). After honeymooning and spending Christmas in the UK, we intend to fly back to Canada at the end of December.

I had previously believed that I could not sponsor her at all until we were ACTUALLY married, since I didn't think we would pass as a Conjugal relationship, but I'm not sure on this. Presuming I send in my sponsorship application the day after we're married, I still doubt it would be approved by the the time we're flying in to Canada.

Obviously, we're terribly worried that she will be denied at the boarder and sent back to the UK for intending to stay in Canada Permanently. I would like to know if it's a relatively acceptable thing to say that she's visiting and we're in the process of applying for it, or if it's better to wait to apply until she's inside canada (I think we'd still want to do outland for traveling purposes).

Otherwise if I AM actually able to sponsor her based on our current committed relationship (i.e. if it's conjugal), how will this be affected if right after or during that process she becomes my wife?

Thank you for your help,
Andrew

 

[APDM]

Apologies: forgot to mention that I myself am a Canadian Citizen.

 

[Sweden]

To be able to apply, you have to fit into 1 of the 3 categories: married (not yet), common -law (have lived together for at least 12 consecutive months and can prove it), or conjugal ( unable to get married or live together for serious motives).

In your case: conjugal won't fly, because there is nothing preventing you from getting married (in fact, you have that already planned).

If you have lived together for 12 months already, and can prove it, then you can apply already now. If you haven't, then you have to wait until you are married.

What you can do is: prepare the application, get everything together, proofs, police certificates etc. Then get married, get the marriage certificate, and send the application off to Mississauga ( outland). It will take 1 month for stage 1, and somewhere between 7 to 12 months for stage 2 (London). So indeed - the visa won't be sorted when your then wife will come and visit in Canada.

If she is from the UK, she is visa-exempt, and she can come for a visit. There is always a small risk to be sent back at the border, but a lot of people have done it without issues. Be prepared - have the proof that you have applied for sponsorship, proof that you ( or her) have funds to support yourself and her until she can work, etc. Canada allows "dual intent" - entering as a tourist but with the idea that she will stay permanently as she has applied for PR, so you can be honest at the border. Just make sure you say that she is visiting (not moving to Canada, not coming to live in Canada - just visiting, even for 6 months). Most likely she will be given a 6 months stamp at the border, and it can be extended ( apply for an extension from within Canada 1 month before it expires) until she has her PR. She won't need to send her passport to the UK, once the process is over, she will get the COPR ( confirmation of PR) in the post in Canada (or at any mailing address you indicate).

Good luck,
Sweden

 

[APDM]

This is fantastic information! Thank you so much! No one ever told me about the "dual-intent" before.

In order to have her able to work faster, we're considering the IEC (International Experience Canada) working-holiday visa for her. She meets all the requirements and we know that she's allowed to apply and get approved for it while in Canada... but from a point of view of having a PR application in process, is there any problem with this? (Other than knowing she'll have to pass the boarder and come back to enter on that visa).

 

[APDM]

Never mind, I found the following and should have seen it before. All my questions have been answered

I have applied for permanent residence status and I'm waiting for my file to be processed. Can I go to Canada in the meantime under the IEC initiative?

The IEC initiative is not designed to provide work permits to those waiting for permanent residence status. However, if you meet the eligibility criteria of the initiative, you are welcome to submit an application to participate.

Quoted from IEC website FAQs for UK

 

[Sweden]

Indeed - the two processes are different, so you can apply for both. if she qualifies for IEC, go for it - waiting in Canada without being able to work is really boring!
Good luck,
Sweden

 

[Rob_TO]

Presuming I send in my sponsorship application the day after we're married, I still doubt it would be approved by the the time we're flying in to Canada.

Note that you'll need to wait for your marriage certificate to be released before you can apply, since it must be included in the application. Depending on the city you're getting married in... this can take either days, weeks or months.

Also it would be good for you to start reviewing the entire application requirements now since there is lots that you and your spouse will need to prepare. If you intend to mail the application while you're in the UK, you should call CRA immediately for your Option C printout so you can bring it with you.

For your spouse, she will need to get police certificates for every country she's lived in for at least 6 months since age 18, and also will need to book and do the medical exam. So while many people think they will simply throw together the app right after getting married... reality is that it often takes several months to get all the required docs, fill in all the application paperwork, and actually mail it off.