confused by inland outland choice -

[jclark]

Hi
My fiance is coming over from England in a couple of weeks and were going to get married here. (he is from England) I just returned from two months in England exploring the possibility of living there, but I know that I wouldn't be happy there. We are tired of being apart. So if we marry here then what? If he comes here on a holiday and then marries, will he have to return? Can he apply for outland if he is here in Canada? As my husband can he stay here while applying inland? I think what matters to us most is not being apart anymore, but there are realities to face; would he be able to work while waiting for approval?
The unknown is the most unsettling part of all this.
Also I heard that if he stated to customs he was coming here to be with his girlfriend he might be given a hard time...I'd really appreciate thoughts from others who have experienced some of these issues. We aren't getting any younger and every day apart feels like a wasted day.
thanking you in advance
J

 

[ColorMePanda]

Outland is faster and you might prefer to go that route since alot of people on here are getting PR status within 2 months when going through London.

Outland you can't work until you land as a permanent resident.
Inland you can apply for an open work permit along with your permanent residence application and as long as you do that before the expiry of his visa then you will have implied status which will allow him to stay until they make a decision on the first stage of approval.

First stage approval normally takes 5-6 months to receive and if you put a straightforward application in then he will be issued the open work permit which will allow him to work for anyone in canada and this will be his new temporary visa. After that it can take anywhere from a few weeks, to months, to even years to officially land as a permanent resident.

If whatever reason they have a doubt about anything with your application then you won't get first stage approval within the 5-6 month timeline and they will send it to your local CIC to be further assessed. You are then subject to that local offices timeline whether it means them taking a few weeks to years to get to you then that is however long it takes. And it is not encouraged to go outside of Canada during the wait of an inland application.

You can apply for either outland or inland while he is canada with you. Only thing with inland is he has to stay in Canada during the whole processing. Outland he can fly back and forth.

And no one can tell you if they will give your partner a rough time or not when crossing. Really sometimes it is just based on their mood. Be honest though with the answering. And greet officials with a smile and manners.

 

[The Littlest Hobo]

Hi jclark,
you are among friends here, most of us are going through exactly the same thing! It's described in a lot of detail in other threads, but the normal conclusion is that Outland is much faster, and your fiancée/husband would normally have the right to visit Canada and travel back and forth while waiting. though he couldn't work. If your case is very straightforward, you might be as lucky as some of the others going through London who had their files approved in just a few months (see posts by JamesM in the thread for october applications). Getting an appointment for the medical can cause a delay, as well as ordering police certificates, and gathering some of the other proof. We called some of the doctors in Canada to see if we could do our medical there even though we were applying outland through Berlin. They said no (but I suspect others have successfully done this!). But we also had some problems here in Switzerland getting it organised, so finally went to Germany to do it and even they didn't seem to know the procedure and kept askign for our file number - although we hadn't applied yet! So I don't know what to think, if these clinics are all out to lunch or what. I would check into that before you leave the UK in case it's easier for you to get the medical done there.

Based on our experience recently marrying in Canada, I don't recommend you marry in Ontario if you are in a hurry! They take a long time to process the marriage, although I don't think in our case this will delay our application by much. When we flew over to got married there we did not tell immigration. We figured we were not carrying a white wedding dress or anything with us that would have proved our plans to marry (except our wedding bands with the ceremony date already inscribed) and we had decided before that we would not say anything. Although my fiancée had a round-trip ticket, he had not brought any other proof that he would leave Canada (eg showing ongoing employment, owning a house, etc) so they didn't ask and we didn't tell. It was planned originally as a holiday for us, so that's all we told them. It might be harder for your fiancée if he is travelling alone and cannot carry with him some proof that he still has ties in the UK in case it comes to that. I somehow doubt that they would hassle a Brit too much though, I think nationals from visa exempt countries usually have an easier time getting through. If you fly together and you approach the immigration desk together and you say that you are a citizen returning to reside in Canada and "this is my fiancée, but he's just visiting!" then they really might not believe you... There is always a risk but I think for a brit with a round-trip ticket who just says he's visiting a friend... you could be ok.

We decided to apply while we're both together in Europe, so we can be together for most of the wait. Then after a couple months I'll move to Canada alone and my husband will stay another month or two to tie up loose ends and wait for his visa. Still it will be a lonely couple of months!

By the way, if you (the Canadian) are not residing in Canada when you apply to sponsor, you have to prove you intend to resettle, ideally with a job offer or something concrete (it's all explained in the forms).

Good luck!
TLH

 

[Swede]

When I crossed the border and was about to apply for residency I just told the immigration lady that I was going to apply for residency and wanted a six month visiting visa. She asked a lot of questions but was very helpful and she even told me what I should supply for my extension application.

Just be upfront and honest and you'll be fine.

 

[K1203]

I was in the exact same position as you are in when I first came to Canada in April 2007. My husband is Canadian we married in December 2007. I am from the UK, English ...we are also not getting any younger.

The comments given here are excellent advice already. I would strongly advise you not take the inland application route because doing one from the UK is much quicker - I opted for inland and it was a big mistake - my application went in March 2008 and am still only at first stage approval. I would have long since had PR had I chosen to do my application via London. Your partner can apply for PR from London and still stay in Canada - you have 6 months as a visitor and can apply for extension to that if he does not wish to return to the UK. Alternatively he can cross the border every few months - with an outland application though he'd only probably have to do this once before the PR is complete.

I experienced some tough times at the border when crossing as I had to return to the UK on a number of occasions in 2007 because unfortunately my father passed away in October of that year. Due to his illness I'd already made 3 trips back and forth. I am not suggesting you lie to the border officials but when I told them I was coming to Canada to visit my fiance I was called into the office and it was quite an ordeal. The last time I came through after my father's funeral I simply said I was visiting family and friends - which isn't really telling lies - I got through without any further problem ... keeping it simple and being polite. Best wishes and every happiness to you both.

 

[jclark]

Thank you all for your responses...it's informative and comforting to know your not alone.
My fiance is going to come here in a few weeks and after looking at some of the application forms I was wondering if he should do his physical while he is in England and obtain a police check there. I think we will apply for outland and do that while he is here. I was hoping that anyone could tell me what he should have done over there before he books his ticket. It's going to get costly flying back and forth so we want to do all we can to be thorough and efficient.
Your knowledge and experience is greatly appreciated
thank you

 

[Leon]

Yes, he can get the police records and do the medicals while in England but it's not a big deal if he doesn't because it's usually not hard to get police records through the mail and medicals can also be done in Canada. The police record can not be more than 3 months old when you apply but the medical is valid for a year. The forms are here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp

 

[jclark]

thank you
it's good to know that the police records are only valid for three months...might as well wait on that one till we are closer to the time.
Thanks for the direction to the website...it is a sea of forms and information over there....quite overwhelming!

 

[Suin]

When I crossed the border and was about to apply for residency I just told the immigration lady that I was going to apply for residency and wanted a six month visiting visa. She asked a lot of questions but was very helpful and she even told me what I should supply for my extension application.

Just be upfront and honest and you'll be fine.

in our case we even produced them a letter of sponsorship approval and were given 6 months stay right away and explained the way to have it extended.

 

[Suin]

thank you
it's good to know that the police records are only valid for three months...might as well wait on that one till we are closer to the time.
Thanks for the direction to the website...it is a sea of forms and information over there....quite overwhelming!

yes, police certificate is valid just for 3 months, but as soon as you file the application it's validity time gets frozen, i.e. it's valid till the end of your process, though they always have a right to ask for updated one closer to the end.

 

[tgchi13]

yes, police certificate is valid just for 3 months, but as soon as you file the application it's validity time gets frozen, i.e. it's valid till the end of your process, though they always have a right to ask for updated one closer to the end.

Rah! Excellent news and good to know, but I guess it makes sense since so few applications get approved in three months. It does say that they can not be more than three months old when submitted but i appreciate the clarifiaction Suin. Thank you.

 

[Suin]

you are welcome, tgchi13. in our case, when we submitted our application, my police certificate was already two months old. our case was in process for 6 months, and they never asked for updated police certificate at all even when they sent a passport requests and issued visas.

 

[Karlshammar]

I believe it is actually three months old when they receive it, not when you mail it. Small difference, but it can be _the_ difference if you are last minute.

Rah! Excellent news and good to know, but I guess it makes sense since so few applications get approved in three months. It does say that they can not be more than three months old when submitted but i appreciate the clarifiaction Suin. Thank you.