Canadian Pregnant....and Dominican has a visitor's visa...PR in or out of Canada

[kaybee55]

HI EVERYONE....I am new to this forum but in desperate need of some advice.

I am Canadian and have been living in the Dominican Republic for almost the last 4 years with my common law Dominican partner.

We recently found out that I am pregnant with our first child and due Jan 30th.

Luckily, we were recently issued a visitor's visa to Canada for 6 months(without mentioning the pregnancy), which appens to expire Jan 15th, 15 days before the baby is born.

With that said, we are not looking at our options. Should we start the PR from outside Canada, or should we just wait and start it in Canada and pray that they extend hsi visa. Or just apply to change the conditions of his visa, from visit to work ?

I just need him in Canada for the delivery, I don't want to do it alone. Is CIC more flexible when the Canadian is pregnant ??

Any advice would be great !

Thanks

 

[bobshynoswife]

First of all, Congratulations!

Unfortunately, CIC doesn't care that you are pregnant. It doesn't help your case one little bit.

If I were you, I would apply for PR soon after arriving in Canada, and have his visitor's visa extended. If you do it inland, he can stay, and I'm pretty sure he'd get the extension. If you do it outland, he may still be able to get the extension, but would have to return home for an interview.

Personally, with a baby arriving, I would apply inland so I wouldn't have to risk being apart.

One more thing...the visa that he was issued...doesn't the expiry mean that he has to enter Canada before Jan 15? Or leave by?

 

[minna]

Hiya! Our stories are actually pretty similar!

I have been living in Florida for the last 8 years with my American partner- and I am also pregnant and due in January. Although CIC doesn't care about pregnancy per se, you do have some options! Especially since your partner has a valid visitor's visa - that's great! Congratulations on the pregnancy, too!! You must be close to 2nd trimester - I've felt so much better lately, it's not even funny....

I would leave the DR asap, and return with your partner to Canada - from there, you can apply either inland or outland. I'm not sure what PR processing times are for the DR, or what office you will be applying through. But most likely outland will be quicker. your partner should be able to extend his visitor's permit once he is in Canada - of course, there are no guarantees - but if you apply for the extension of the visitor's record, he will have implied status until the application is processed - that should be at least another few weeks, if not longer. There are pros and cons to applying outland and applying inland -- and you will have to sort out for yourselves which works for you. For instance, if you apply inland, the process is very long, but your partner will be able to stay in Canada with you. But he may not be able to work for quite a while - something to consider while you are very pregnant and/or have a newborn baby at home.

Depending on where you are planning on moving to, you should probably find out ASAP what the waiting times/requirements for resuming provincial health coverage are. You really probably want the birth covered, because you will be responsible for paying the bill in full, if you give birth before the waiting period is up. In Ontario the waiting period is 90 days. In BC, it is the remainder of the month in which you arrive, plus 2 full months. In my case, I'm from Vancouver, and I am returning in September, so that I can have health coverage by December 1st. We just sent out PR application off a week ago, so I am hopeful that my partner will be able to come into Canada as a visitor, and then be able to get his visitor's record extended until the PR is approved. The difference is that the US is a visa-exempt country so we just have to show up at the border and hope - your partner can definitely be in Canada until his visit visa is no longer renewed.

Depending on your choice in desired caregiver, you might also want to get on the phone now - I want a homebirth with midwives, and they get very booked up in Vancouver. I was lucky to find one midwifery group that would work with me long-distance until I arrive in September and they still had a few spots open for January, but it took me a lot of work to find them. Depending on your province, again, this might be easier or harder to do.

Good luck with everything!!!

 

[kaybee55]

THanks so much for the info so far !!!

As for health care, I happen to have the good luck of working for a Canadian company here in the DR, so everything is completely in tact and recently saw my OB/GYN in Montreal a few weeks ago.

See that's part of the dilemma that we have. I need to finish my contract with my company here which ends Oct 30th. So at first we were planning to prepare the paperwork here and the the mintue we arrive in Montreal send in the PR application.

However, to not lose "time" on the visa, we were thinking about him going ahead, so tht he can put in an application to extend his visa, and change it to a work permit(which would definitely help out) and at the same time hand in his PR ?

Would this work better ?

 

[EaSt CoAsT GiRl]

Kaybee....your inbox is full

 

[RobsLuv]

OK, a few things to consider. First of all - applicants from the Dominican Republic are non-visa-exempt, so that visitor visa is important. It's not easy for non-visa-exempt citizens to get them - especially when they're married to Canadians; I think the reason your husband got one was because you are living with him in his country and so he has stronger ties to home. If you were living in Canada, he almost certainly wouldn't get one.

Now, you want to move to Canada - so you do have a couple of options. Frankly, I think you're much better off starting the outland process immediately. You preserve your right of appeal, he's much more likely to have PR sooner if you proceed that way (which means he'll be able to work in Canada sooner) and you're not wasting time waiting to get to Canada before you can even start the PR process. It's important that you know that your husband would not get a work permit under the inland process until at least 7-8 months after they received his application . . . so, while he'd be legal to stay in Canada with you under the terms of his original visa (you need to include an extension/work permit application WITH the inland PR ap and make sure they're received by CPC-V before his status expires on Jan 15, 2011), he'd still be in Canada for most of that year without the ability to work. And there is no right of appeal for an inland application.

Assuming you're a Canadian citizen, you're eligible to apply to sponsor him while you're living abroad as long as you can include proof with the application of your intent to re-settle in Canada. What I can't tell you for sure is how long it will take to finalize his PR application because the embassy that processes his country finalizes less than 10 spousal applications per year, so they have no posted timeline (no averages to depend on). I can tell you that your part of the application will be finalized at the Case Processing Centre in Mississauga in about 45 days - then there's about 6 weeks for the Quebec Selection Certificate processing - and then Santo Domingo will take over processing and finalize the application. The positive part of this is that the outland PR application process does not have a residency requirement . . . and your husband has a visa that's valid through January . . . so even if the application isn't finalized before you want to leave for Canada, he can still accompany you to Canada, and stay legally, until the outland PR ap is finalized. You would just apply to extend his status from within Canada, citing the PR ap in process and your legal marriage, and he'd be extended for another 6 months - and you can do that as many times as you'd need to until the PR ap was finalized. He wouldn't be able to work during that time period, but the outland ap should be far closer to being done by the time you get to Canada than the inland ap would take (since you have to wait until you arrive in Canada to even apply) to get to the point where he's eligible for a work permit. And then, with the inland process, you've also got another 6-12 months, after he finally gets first stage approval and the work permit, until he's finalized.

At the end of the outland process he might have to go back to the Dominican Republic to submit his passport to get his Confirmation of Permanent Residence, and then come back into Canada to "land", so that's a consideration. One other thing I would have a concern about with the outland process - not knowing much about how Santo Domingo processes - would be when they actually request the passport because, if the requested it early on - before they were ready to finalize the ap - he wouldn't be able to travel to Canada even with the visa, and that could be disasterous.

Hope this makes sense - I know it's a bit convoluted - but feel free to write me if you have more questions. I'm going to see if I can come up with any estimation of how long SD takes to finalize and come back. I don't like not being able to give you any idea of how long they might take.

 

[RobsLuv]

I found one very recent case on Trackitt.com (YAY ;D)for a spousal application that was submitted to Santo Domingo on January 31, 2010. Passport was requested on July 12 (so that's good news), with a two day turn-around to receive the Confirmation of Permanent Residence. Total processing time - including sponsorship approval - was 188 days. Now you have the added 6 weeks or so for the CSQ, but it's good news that Santo Domingo doesn't request the passport until they're ready to issue the visa because it means your husband could come to Canada with you anytime before his temporary visa expires in January, and then (if he can't mail the passport back to the DR) he can take the passport back to them when they're ready to approve his application and "land" on his return to Canada - able to go to work - probably around mid-March. Considering the fact that this other case did not require an interview, it's safe to assume that 6 months or so after SD gets the application (and, in your case, the approved CSQ) is about the fastest you could expect him to be approved. If you wait until you get here to apply inland, he's looking at probably at least next summer before he's even eligible for a work permit.

 

[EaSt CoAsT GiRl]

Actually, the husband of a facebook friend was recently approved to sponsor her Dominican Husband in 5 months from time appliation was mailed to Mississauga until Visa Issued. A few of my other friends it took about 11 months, but they filed last summer, then the earthquake in Haiti happened which slowed down the process for them unfortunately. Things in Santo Domingo are definitely moving much more quickly than when PR applications were processed in Port Au Prince...yayyyy for Santo Domingo

 

[kaybee55]

Wow everyone...thanks a million for all the bits of advice !!!

Now, I am more confused than ever...

Just something that I am trying to figure out, is it not possible that when we arrive there he requests to change his visitor visa's status to a work permit. And then at the same time send in his IN canada PR application ??

Just a thought on how easy or hard this might be ???

 

[RobsLuv]

Wow everyone...thanks a million for all the bits of advice !!!

Now, I am more confused than ever...

Just something that I am trying to figure out, is it not possible that when we arrive there he requests to change his visitor visa's status to a work permit. And then at the same time send in his IN canada PR application ??

Just a thought on how easy or hard this might be ???

The only way he can apply to change his status from a visitor visa to a work permit is through the inland PR application process - but you can't submit the inland application until he's in Canada, and then he'd have to wait for the 7-8 months that it takes for inland applications to get to the first stage of assessment and be approved before he'd be issued the work permit. That means that for at least the first 7-8 months that he's in Canada (depending on when you actually got the application submitted) he'd still not be eligible to work. That's why it's probably better for you to apply to sponsor him now - using the outland process - because he will be very close to approval by the time you're ready to come to Canada and then, even if his outland application isn't finalized yet, he would still be closer to being able to work than he'd be if you waited until you get to Canada to start the inland PR process. The visitor visa he has been granted gives him the ability, once he's in Canada, to apply to extend so he can stay legally until his outland PR is finalized - but only as a visitor. However, once the outland PR is finalized, he can live and work in Canada without needing a permit, and without restriction. For sure the outland process will get him permanent status a lot earlier - possibly before you even leave for Canada - but for sure a lot sooner, once you're here, than the inland process would even get him a work permit.

 

[pending]

Re: Canadian Pregnant....and Dominican has a visitor's visa...PR in or out of Ca

Please keep in mind that a vistors visa does not mean he can get into Canada, the final decision is left to the customs officer at the point if entry and if I PR app is in progress then can assume he will not leave and deny entry. Not sure if you plan to return to DR after baby is born and can prove that. If not I would suggest coming with return tickets as if he is truly only visting and then once here apply inland unless you need him to be working. I did this and I'm 6 months work permit came through and pr not even two weeks later

 

[kaybee55]

Hello all !

Thanks so much for the advice !

Here is the plan that I came up with !!!

My partner is going to go ahead within the next 2 weeks. By the way, we are not married. I am going to send him with a return ticket, so hopefully there are no issues. If they ask why I am not travelling with him, he can easily say that I am coming in on the next flight I as I fly stand-by as is.

I can only go on November 1st as I need to finish out my last work contract here in DR.

I am really scared to do the outland process for PR, because I cannot risk him not being there for the birth. So I am going to send him with all the papers and he can submit them there.

And right now on the CIC processing page, they put the DR (which is under the Port of Prince but not Santo Domingo) is up to 18 mths and that in Canada it is now 7-8mths. At least inland he can extend to stay within Canada.

But what I am really confused about is that on teh CIC website, they say that you can change or extend the conditions of your stay. So if you were visiting, now you can study or if you were working now you can visit. IS THIS NOT POSSIBLE ?

 

[kaybee55]

HERE IS WHAT IT SAYS ON THE CIC SELF ASSESSMENT FROM VISITOR TO WORKER :

You are eligible to apply for a Work Permit from within Canada if any of these situations apply to you.

You:
•have a Temporary Resident Permit that is valid for 6 months or more;
•have applied for a Work Permit before entering Canada which was approved, but not issued;
•applied for Permanent Residence and was determined eligible for Permanent Resident status;
•are a member of the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class;

You are a spouse, common-law partner or dependent child of a person who:

•holds a Work Permit;
•holds a Study Permit;
•holds a Temporary Resident Permit that is valid for 6 months or more;
•applied for Permanent Residence and was determined eligible for Permanent Resident status;
•is a Live-in Caregiver;
•is a member of the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class; or
•is Work Permit exempt.
You are a citizen or permanent resident of:
•United States of America;
•Greenland; or
•and Miquelon.

 

[EaSt CoAsT GiRl]

Kaybee, just wanted to let you know that outland PR applications are not taking 18 months to process like that cic website says. Now that things are being done in Santo Domingo, they are moving much more quickly. As Robsluv said....when your common law husband is here in Canada on his visitors visa, he can apply to extend it, and when that is in process, he has implied status....so he would likely be here for the delivery of your baby.

I have a few friends that it took 11 months to process, but that is only because they applied before the earthquake and things we kind of messed up. I also have a friend that it only took 5 months from start to finish to be approved.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[bobshynoswife]

You cannot rely on the CIC website for processing times. Those are averages for 2009 and many of those people put there applications in in 2008. Things change, and those statistics won't be changed for another 8 months or more.

For example, it says Accra processes most of it's cases in 20 months. Recently though, they added more agents and cases are now being processed in under 6 months.

Things have definitely changed for the better in DR, so it's best to go by people's actual timelines, not the CIC website, when making your decision.

I would suggest he travels soon, applies Outland from within Canada, and then extends his visitor's status.