Canadian Engaged to American Looking For Advise (Moving to Canada)

[elithx]

Hi there,


I am a Canadian who is engaged to an American. We were both born in our own respective countries.

We got engaged last week. We will be getting married in 5 months, and she will be moving to Canada with me.

I have been doing quite a bit of research on these boards and through the government websites.

I haven't really found a comprehensive plan or step by step guide, but this is what I am planning to do. I would love to have some people check it over to see if it is sound:


ASAP:
- Work on the sponsorship paperwork to get it ready (from what I understand I can't submit this until we are legally married)
Get fiancée's Health, and Police paperwork that are required

At time of wedding (in America):
- Bring all her paperwork with us (birth certificate, etc) I don't know if we will have the marriage license in our hands at this time. I believe they will have to mail it to us in Canada after it gets all signed)

From what I understand Americans can live in Canada 6 months with no questions asked, however what do we tell the person at the boarder? Do we say that we are married and that we will be filling her application for PR status?

I don't see a whole lot of advice with this particular aspect of the process.

Then while we are living together as a married couple. I will be purchasing private health insurance for her. We will have submitted our applications. And then I'm assuming we will need to extend her 6months stay since the application will take longer than that to be approved.

We are thinking of opting for the outland method due to the speed or processing as well as the travel freedom.


Any advise on any of the above steps would be greatly appreciated!


Eli


EDIT: Would there be any benefit of getting married in Canada over the US? Also, would it be wise to just get married at city hall before our official wedding so that I can start the application process?

 

[bradybunchmom]

Congrats!!

We had a similar plan except we were married in Canada however that doesn't really matter. I would agree outland is much faster. I would suggest being honest at the border crossing if they ask about your relationship/plans. I told them that we were getting married and applying for PR but I also made it clear that we were VISITING for 6 months and would be going home to the states when the 6 months was up. They just want to be sure you won't stay if your application is denied or takes a long time.

 

[elithx]

Congrats!!

We had a similar plan except we were married in Canada however that doesn't really matter. I would agree outland is much faster. I would suggest being honest at the border crossing if they ask about your relationship/plans. I told them that we were getting married and applying for PR but I also made it clear that we were VISITING for 6 months and would be going home to the states when the 6 months was up. They just want to be sure you won't stay if your application is denied or takes a long time.

Thank you Brandybunchmom

I definitely want to be as honest as I possibly can. I understand that they would want to confirm that my wife has the means to leave Canada if her application is not approved.

How did that 6 month period work for you? Did you have to apply to get it extended? Does it automatically get extended if you apply for PR status?

 

[iiiEllie]

Thank you Brandybunchmom

I definitely want to be as honest as I possibly can. I understand that they would want to confirm that my wife has the means to leave Canada if her application is not approved.

How did that 6 month period work for you? Did you have to apply to get it extended? Does it automatically get extended if you apply for PR status?

You apply online to extend it, it's 100$ and one piece of paper to sign, you attach your supporting documents, and that's it. We just applied to extend ours last week.

 

[bradybunchmom]

Thank you Brandybunchmom

I definitely want to be as honest as I possibly can. I understand that they would want to confirm that my wife has the means to leave Canada if her application is not approved.

How did that 6 month period work for you? Did you have to apply to get it extended? Does it automatically get extended if you apply for PR status?

We went back to California for 1 week when the 6 months was up and then returned and got 6 more months. You can apply online to extend it also. Also depending on which province you live in you may be able to get health benefits prior to receiving PR.

 

[elithx]

Thank you both for the replies, that helps me to feel better about the whole situation. My worst fear is that my future wife will be denied entry into Canada or forced to leave after living with me for 6 months.

With all the Americans and Canadians marrying, I've very surprised no one has put together a comprehensive "kit" to walk through the process.

Sell it for something like $100, and outline in detail all the things to consider (including links to all immigration forms).


Eli

 

[Ponga]

Thank you both for the replies, that helps me to feel better about the whole situation. My worst fear is that my future wife will be denied entry into Canada or forced to leave after living with me for 6 months.

With all the Americans and Canadians marrying, I've very surprised no one has put together a comprehensive "kit" to walk through the process.

Sell it for something like $100, and outline in detail all the things to consider (including links to all immigration forms).


Eli

I'll sell you my `information kit' for $99.99 today only! LOL!

Some of the biggest mistakes are:

Submitting an Inland application because the applicant has no idea that they can submit an Outland application from within Canada.

Submitting an Inland application because of the `carrot on the end of a stick', also known as the Open Work Permit. Sure, the American applicant will probably receive the OWP ~ 4 months after it was submitted, but the >2-1/2 year overall process is not pleasant.

Submitting an Inland application, because it is...an Inland application.

Submitting an Inland application.

(you get the idea).

The biggest piece of `free' advice that I have, is for her to understand what Dual Intent is and how CBSA uses that to determine whether or not a person should be admitted into Canada. Read about it, here:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/temp/visa/dual.asp

Officers are reminded to use their own judgment and the flexibility afforded to them by A22(2) when making decisions in cases with a dual intent aspect. CAIPS/FOSS/GCMS notes should clearly demonstrate the officer’s reasoning when assessing a case.


Your future wife should have solid proof that she still has a home to return to, or at least a place to stay, as well as other ties there. Basically, she may need to convince the CBSA officer that if her PR is denied, she will leave Canada. She may have no issues at all entering Canada and getting the standard 6 month authorization to stay. Unfortunately, every person is assessed differently and sometimes it comes down to what kind of day the CBSA officer is having. Honestly.

Plan and prepare for the worst (lots of questions) and hope for the best.

Good luck!

 

[Rob_TO]

ASAP:
- Work on the sponsorship paperwork to get it ready (from what I understand I can't submit this until we are legally married)
Get fiancée's Health, and Police paperwork that are required

Do NOT get her medical exam done asap. This is the very last thing you want to do right before you mail the app, since it's only valid for 12 months. Do it too early, and it may expire during processing meaning you may be asked to do it a 2nd time. Plus usually the medical is much cheaper if done in Canada.

Also if beginning to fill out paperwork already, make sure to keep an eye on if any documents get updated by CIC. At the time you are ready to submit the app after getting married, do a final check to make sure all docs are still the most up-to-date revisions.

From what I understand Americans can live in Canada 6 months with no questions asked, however what do we tell the person at the boarder? Do we say that we are married and that we will be filling her application for PR status?

No, Americans can NOT "live" in Canada for 6 months no questions. Americans can only "visit" Canada, until they have full PR status. If you tell CBSA she intends to "live" or "move" to Canada permanently, you could find she is rejected at the border. She needs to act like a visitor, and be prepared to leave within 6 months (of course once in Canada you can extend to apply visitor status accordingly). This also means she shouldn't be bringing tons of luggage that would reflect she'll be living here, she needs to have luggage reflective of a visitor.

That being said, if you apply for her PR before coming to Canada just make sure to bring proof of the PR app in progress. Usually CBSA is more lenient on visitors who are basically just waiting out the PR process in Canada.

 

[elithx]

Do NOT get her medical exam done asap. This is the very last thing you want to do right before you mail the app, since it's only valid for 12 months. Do it too early, and it may expire during processing meaning you may be asked to do it a 2nd time. Plus usually the medical is much cheaper if done in Canada.

Also if beginning to fill out paperwork already, make sure to keep an eye on if any documents get updated by CIC. At the time you are ready to submit the app after getting married, do a final check to make sure all docs are still the most up-to-date revisions.

No, Americans can NOT "live" in Canada for 6 months no questions. Americans can only "visit" Canada, until they have full PR status. If you tell CBSA she intends to "live" or "move" to Canada permanently, you could find she is rejected at the border. She needs to act like a visitor, and be prepared to leave within 6 months (of course once in Canada you can extend to apply visitor status accordingly). This also means she shouldn't be bringing tons of luggage that would reflect she'll be living here, she needs to have luggage reflective of a visitor.

That being said, if you apply for her PR before coming to Canada just make sure to bring proof of the PR app in progress. Usually CBSA is more lenient on visitors who are basically just waiting out the PR process in Canada.

Thanks so much Rob, this was very helpful!

 

[elithx]

I'll sell you my `information kit' for $99.99 today only! LOL!

Some of the biggest mistakes are:

Submitting an Inland application because the applicant has no idea that they can submit an Outland application from within Canada.

Submitting an Inland application because of the `carrot on the end of a stick', also known as the Open Work Permit. Sure, the American applicant will probably receive the OWP ~ 4 months after it was submitted, but the >2-1/2 year overall process is not pleasant.

Submitting an Inland application, because it is...an Inland application.

Submitting an Inland application.

(you get the idea).

The biggest piece of `free' advice that I have, is for her to understand what Dual Intent is and how CBSA uses that to determine whether or not a person should be admitted into Canada. Read about it, here:


Officers are reminded to use their own judgment and the flexibility afforded to them by A22(2) when making decisions in cases with a dual intent aspect. CAIPS/FOSS/GCMS notes should clearly demonstrate the officer’s reasoning when assessing a case.


Your future wife should have solid proof that she still has a home to return to, or at least a place to stay, as well as other ties there. Basically, she may need to convince the CBSA officer that if her PR is denied, she will leave Canada. She may have no issues at all entering Canada and getting the standard 6 month authorization to stay. Unfortunately, every person is assessed differently and sometimes it comes down to what kind of day the CBSA officer is having. Honestly.

Plan and prepare for the worst (lots of questions) and hope for the best.

Good luck!

Great info Ponga! This is very helpful. Thanks so much for this free advise

 

[elithx]

I just want to get advice on one of the other points I brought up in my posting.

We are planning to get married in about 5 months. She will be visiting me in Canada in 1 month. Would it be wise to get officially married at city hall at that time and then file an outland PR application?

From all that I have been reading I am a little nervous that we will be stopped between me flying to her in the states to get married, or is flying to our US honeymoon destination or when we both fly back to Canada. From what was mentioned they key term to use is that she will be "visiting" me. I have also heard people state that you should have a return ticket purchased (that I'm assuming you will cancel after), for maybe a month or 2 from the time we will entering Canada.

So to summarize, would it be safer to get married earlier or wait and cross the boarder without any documentation of a PR application.

 

[Aquakitty]

I just want to get advice on one of the other points I brought up in my posting.

We are planning to get married in about 5 months. She will be visiting me in Canada in 1 month. Would it be wise to get officially married at city hall at that time and then file an outland PR application?

From all that I have been reading I am a little nervous that we will be stopped between me flying to her in the states to get married, or is flying to our US honeymoon destination or when we both fly back to Canada. From what was mentioned they key term to use is that she will be "visiting" me. I have also heard people state that you should have a return ticket purchased (that I'm assuming you will cancel after), for maybe a month or 2 from the time we will entering Canada.

So to summarize, would it be safer to get married earlier or wait and cross the boarder without any documentation of a PR application.

The main reason people get in trouble at the border is because they are obviously intending to move to Canada (like showing up with household goods in tow). Your wedding won't really make a lot of difference because she's American. If you get married in a month, you'd have a head-start in preparing your PR application.

Keep in mind a couple things, the FBI check takes 3 months to go through, and if you get married in Ontario I think it takes 3 months to get your marriage certificate.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Pay the PR fees in full and carry the receipt when you guys enter Canada. Generally, CBSA is very lenient when they know that people are following the rules and immigrating to Canada properly.

 

[Gary_87]

I mentioned I was coming back into Canada (after my work permit expired and after we had submitted out outland PR app) because I wanted to come as a visitor to see out the remainder of my application. they put a 6 1 year visitor visa into my passport as i told them we had approximately 1 year processing time to look forward to.

also get police certs and meds done at the end. fbi check takes a while so you can get that early, but they are the last things you want to slot into your app, cos the meds are valid for 12 months and the police checks must be issued within 3 months of submitting.

 

[elithx]

Thank you canuck_in_uk & Gary_87 for the replies.

Canuck_in_uk, I didn't think to purchase the PR application fees before actually applying, but that would make sense and provide at least some sort of proof of intent.

Gary_87, I wasn't aware of those timelines, very useful info, thank you. If we are getting married in Sept, I'll have her apply for the FBI check in the middle/end of may to be safe. We will call to see how long the med exam takes to receive. I'm thinking we do that in August if it won't take very long.

I feel much better about the situation now. I will continue to "rough in" the paperwork now to make sure we are on track to submit the application in September when we get married.