Common law Spouse Sponsorship UK

[Miss.Canada]

Hey all,

So quick summary of me, I was born in Canada, I have lived in Canada but have lived in England the majority of my life. My father and two brothers currently still reside in Canada. Last time I lived in Canada was 9 years ago and I ended up living with my current spouse in England. We have 2 children currently with a 3rd on the way. We have thought about possibly moving to Canada. We would live with my father as he has the room and has said he would help financially support us as I would have no job there etc. Now my spouse is British born and I would have to sponsor them as this seems the only way really from what I have read but its kind of confusing. This may sound silly but we don't have any savings so we would literally be relaying on my fathers support once we got there. Would our application for spousal sponsorship be accepted even though I would have no income etc? I tried emailing the London embassy they didn't provide much help on the matter just sent me links to which we have read which again can get confusing. From what I have also read my children would be eligible for citizenship already because of myself so wouldn't need to worry about applying for PR for them.
Could someone please provide some advice as to what is involved during the application process and if they have had a similar situation?

 

[smallcoffee]

There is no income requirement for spouse sponsorship. You need to apply for a Canadian citizenship certificate for each of your kids (then when you have that you can apply for their Canadian passports), takes a few months

You will need to sponsor your spouse (takes around one year)

 

[Miss.Canada]

From what I have also read a medical is involved? What happens with this exactly as my spouse has a couple things he takes medication for would he be rejected because of this?

 

[smallcoffee]

From what I have also read a medical is involved? What happens with this exactly as my spouse has a couple things he takes medication for would he be rejected because of this?

Yes there is a medical during the process.

It has to be something major. You can read this https://www.ackahlaw.com/news/medical-conditions-that-can-prevent-you-from-entering-canada and there is a few threads on this also.

 

[Hurlabrick]

Strongly suggest you have a read here:

https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Spousal_Sponsorship-Canada/FAQ_-_New_Application_Forms

There is no minimum income requirement for spousal sponsorship, but you do of course need to outline a plan of how you would support yourselves. Spousal sponsorship is also 'excessive demand exempt' meaning he will not be turned down for medical reasons.

IF you are Canadian by birth, then you must apply for citizenship for your children by descent, then get them Canadian passports. As they are eligible for citizenship, you cannot apply for sponsorship for them (which is good news!).

I too was born and raised in Canada, but spent the vast majority of my life in the UK and recently sponsored my British wife. It can be done, but you reallyu need to start doing a lot of reading and research, including the official site for CIC which is actually pretty well laid out and describes step by step how to go about it.

Start here:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/spouse.asp

You are at the start of a long learning curve with lots of reading, but it can be done, most people do it by themselves without an immigration lawyer.

 

[Miss.Canada]

Thank you both. I know this isn't something that will happen over night but other than currently living in England we don't really have anyone here for us so going to Canada would make sense to us if it is possible. Just worried about applying for my partner and for some unknown reason it is rejected. I guess its the risk we would have to take with it though.

 

[Hurlabrick]

Thank you both. I know this isn't something that will happen over night but other than currently living in England we don't really have anyone here for us so going to Canada would make sense to us if it is possible. Just worried about applying for my partner and for some unknown reason it is rejected. I guess its the risk we would have to take with it though.

It is NOT a 'risk' - there is no 'quota' - you either meet the criteria or you don't. Not only is it possible, it is entirely do-able and completely in your hands.

Do the research, complete and submit all the papers, supporting documents, proof of intent to return to Canada, fees etc. and you WILL be accepted.
You are clearly married for some time with children, so you marriage is obviously genuine. Relax, if you truly want this to happen, it will. Unless your husband has an extremely dangerous disease, he will be fine medically. There is a LOT of paperwork and writing to be done on your part and I wouldn't make light of that, but it can be done. The whole process is likely to take 12 months from the date your papers go in provided you have sent everything in coprrectly. You will also in parallel need to sort your childrens citizenship by descent, which is a completely separate process (I did this for my own kids years ago).

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Hey all,

So quick summary of me, I was born in Canada, I have lived in Canada but have lived in England the majority of my life. My father and two brothers currently still reside in Canada. Last time I lived in Canada was 9 years ago and I ended up living with my current spouse in England. We have 2 children currently with a 3rd on the way. We have thought about possibly moving to Canada. We would live with my father as he has the room and has said he would help financially support us as I would have no job there etc. Now my spouse is British born and I would have to sponsor them as this seems the only way really from what I have read but its kind of confusing. This may sound silly but we don't have any savings so we would literally be relaying on my fathers support once we got there. Would our application for spousal sponsorship be accepted even though I would have no income etc? I tried emailing the London embassy they didn't provide much help on the matter just sent me links to which we have read which again can get confusing. From what I have also read my children would be eligible for citizenship already because of myself so wouldn't need to worry about applying for PR for them.
Could someone please provide some advice as to what is involved during the application process and if they have had a similar situation?

I suggest you apply for the Certificates of Citizenship ASAP, as they require Canadian passports to travel to Canada. Certificate apps can take many, many months to be processed and then they would need to get passports.

 

[canuck78]

Would also try to save as much as possible. Just moving to Canada will be quite expensive plus you’re going to have to pay for passports,applications, medical, etc. You can ask your family if they are willing to provide financial support to your family and whether they have the savings to show the government that they can support a our family. Depending on where you’re moving raising a family is not cheap in Canada (not in the UK either I know). Would start looking at licensing exams, training, etc. You may need to work in Canada to help your transition.

 

[phaeo]

It sounds like you are a little overwhelmed, but I would really go through the guide on the CIC website as well as the guide that Hurlabrick posted. I just finished up sponsoring my British spouse, and from the receipt of our application to him receiving his landing papers, it took us around 4.5 months. Honestly, if you just carefully follow the instructions, include all the necessary proof that your relationship is genuine (which will all be things that shouldn't be too difficult to gather when your relationship is genuine), and there isn't anything in your husband's history that makes him inadmissible to Canada (i.e. certain kinds of criminal charges), you are unlikely to run into many problems. As others have mentioned, you may need to include an explanation of how you're going to support yourself, and you'll also need to show them proof that you are intending to move back to Canada. This page lists the basic requirements of being a sponsor, and the things that will disqualify you: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/family-sponsorship/spouse-partner-children/eligibility.html

But the main points are that you need to be a Canadian citizen or PR, be over 18, and not be on government assistance. There is only an income requirement if one of your dependents has a dependent of their own (which I'm assuming is not the case here since it sounds like your kids are pretty young!), otherwise you just have to satisfy them that one way or another you can support your spouse. I'll also echo the sentiment to get saving. The sponsorship process itself isn't cheap, the fees are $1040, the biometrics are another $85 on top, and my husband's medical cost him 350 quid. Plus getting the documents for your kids, you'll have to request birth certificates, marriage certificate, police report, etc. I know it seems daunting, but it really is just a case of following the instructions step-by-step, they won't steer you wrong. Good luck!