Canadian Resident Living outside of Canada to sponsor common law partner

[arwen]

Hi all,

My partner is a Canadian permanent resident since the end of 2010 (Originally a UK citizen). He hasn't lived in Canada since obtaining residency for family reasons.

He has a contract role starting at the end of September in Toronto (11 months contract).
I am a French citizen and we have been together for over 4 years. He didn't include me on his residency at the time of application as we had only been together for a short time then.
My questions are the following:
- how long after he starts his job in Toronto is deemed reasonable for him to sponsor me?
- Can he sponsors me while he is in a contract role?
- As I don't want us to be separated for too long, I was thinking to meet him in Toronto mid October on a tourist visa (French people can stay up to 6 months) and send an inland sponsorship application upon arrival. Is this the best option we have?

Thanks a lot in advance for all the help you might be able to provide.

 

[scylla]

To meet the PR residency requirements, your partner must live in Canada for 2 out of every 5 rolling years. It sounds like your partner doesn't meet this residency obligation at this time. And he won't be able to sponsor you until he meets the residency requirement. If he hasn't lived in Canada since 2010, this means he will have to return to Canada and live in Canada for 730 days before he will qualify to sponsor you. So unfortunately you're a long way off from being in a position to be sponsored.

 

[rhcohen2014]

DO NOT SEND AN INLAND APPLICATION! I will guarantee you any inland applicant from a visa exempt country is wishing they applied outland instead! The processing time is way beyond what an outland application from Paris would be. It makes absolutely NO sense for visa exempt applicants to apply inland. You can apply OUTLAND while in Canada as a visitor, even using a canadian mailing address. If you have enough to prove commonlaw status now (a full 365 consecutive days of cohabitation), then you can send the application in at any time. For visa exempt applicants, it's best to send in the application prior to visiting. When CBSA (border patrol) can confirm you have an application submitted, entering as a long term visitor is easier.

It does not matter if your partner has a contract job. There is no income requirement for spousal sponsorship. CIC is only concerned about bankruptcy and welfare usage. If he plans to return to canada soon, then it might be a good idea to wait until he is there. Generally, when the couple applies when the sponsor is living outside of canada, CIC will ask for additional information to prove intent to settle in canada. Waiting until he is already there will make it easier to prove this.

*Edit* - and well it seems scylla has just explained the issue you will face in regards to your spouse being eligible as a sponsor. Seems like applying isn't even an option right now.

 

[Rob_TO]

To meet the PR residency requirements, your partner must live in Canada for 2 out of every 5 rolling years. It sounds like your partner doesn't meet this residency obligation at this time. And he won't be able to sponsor you until he meets the residency requirement. If he hasn't lived in Canada since 2010, this means he will have to return to Canada and live in Canada for 730 days before he will qualify to sponsor you. So unfortunately you're a long way off from being in a position to be sponsored.

Just to add, when he actually returns to Canada in September, there is a chance CBSA will notice he does not meet the PR residency obligations, and will report him to CIC. If this happens, then he will have a hearing with CIC where they would most likely revoke his PR status, after which he would need to stop working and possibly leave the country.

It will involve some luck to enter Canada without them noticing his residency info, and as Scylla mentioned once he arrives in Canada and if he doesn't get reported... he will need to remain for 2 straight years without leaving even once... to renew his PR card and then sponsor you. Each time he leaves/re-enters, he would face danger of being caught & reported for PR obligations.