Entering Canada while the application is in process

[Caoicaoi]

Hi everyone,
I have a little bit of a situation and need some advice. I am in the middle of common law sponsorship at the moment. My Canadian partner is sponsoring me tof live on Canada. The application is going really well. I applied at the start of March and I have completed my medical exam and sent in my police certs in the last month. We had planned to go to Canada later in the year. However my partners father is sick and we want to go quite soon. Am I ok to do this? Do I need to book return flights indicating that I will be leaving Canada (even though I would rather not at this point) or does the fact that I'm at this point in the application mean that is not necessary. Thanks in advance. We're hoping to leave in max 2 weeks

 

[Hurlabrick]

Hi everyone,
I have a little bit of a situation and need some advice. I am in the middle of common law sponsorship at the moment. My Canadian partner is sponsoring me tof live on Canada. The application is going really well. I applied at the start of March and I have completed my medical exam and sent in my police certs in the last month. We had planned to go to Canada later in the year. However my partners father is sick and we want to go quite soon. Am I ok to do this? Do I need to book return flights indicating that I will be leaving Canada (even though I would rather not at this point) or does the fact that I'm at this point in the application mean that is not necessary. Thanks in advance. We're hoping to leave in max 2 weeks

Yes, you should be able to enter Canada as a visitor - it is called 'dual intent'. Some 'unofficial' reading about this here:

https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Spousal_Sponsorship-Canada#Can_I_wait_in_Canada_while_my_application_is_being_processed:_Dual_Intent

 

[canuck78]

Only problem is you can't work.

 

[evdm]

I presume you do not require a Visa to travel to Canada? If so, make sure you have your eTA. If you do need a visa and you don't already have one, the process is significantly more complicated. The information below is based on not requiring a visa to enter Canada as a visitor. If you already have a visa to Canada, then the conditions of that visa would apply in respect to time allowed to remain in Canada.

What you are proposing is entirely possible, but you will have to convince the CBSA officer that you are entering Canada as a visitor, foremost. This means that you will have to show sufficient ties to a country outside of Canada that convince the officer that you will leave at the end of your allotted stay (normally 6 months).

You cannot work in Canada at all until you are a PR, so you must convince the officer that you will have sufficient means to support yourself for as long as you wish to remain in Canada as a visitor. Your partner or their family may declare that they will support you during this time.

Normally you are given a 6-month visa to enter Canada during which time your PR application may not yet be completed. If you wish to remain in Canada beyond the initial date at which you would be required to leave (so 6 months from date of entry), you would have to apply to extend your visitor status before it expires. During the application you would be presumed to have implied status. If the decision on your visitor extension is negative, you will then be notified of a period in which you must leave Canada.

Remember, sponsorship applications can take up to a year to process, so it's likely that if you enter Canada in the next two weeks, you will have to deal with a visitor extension considering your PR application may not yet be finalized.

Dual intent exists, but the onus is on you to convince the CBSA officer that you will leave Canada should all your options to be able to stay be exhausted. This would mean having a plan in place for the worst case scenario in which you are unsuccessful with your sponsorship application, and your visitor status expires.


All the best with your Partner's father!

 

[canuck78]

If you apply to extend your visitor status on the basis that you are waiting for your inland spousal sponsorship to be processed they are usually approved

 

[Caoicaoi]

Yes, you should be able to enter Canada as a visitor - it is called 'dual intent'. Some 'unofficial' reading about this here:

https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Spousal_Sponsorship-Canada#Can_I_wait_in_Canada_while_my_application_is_being_processed:_Dual_Intent

Thank you for that. That link did not work for me but I Googled dual intent and that was enough

 

[Caoicaoi]

I presume you do not require a Visa to travel to Canada? If so, make sure you have your eTA. If you do need a visa and you don't already have one, the process is significantly more complicated. The information below is based on not requiring a visa to enter Canada as a visitor. If you already have a visa to Canada, then the conditions of that visa would apply in respect to time allowed to remain in Canada.

What you are proposing is entirely possible, but you will have to convince the CBSA officer that you are entering Canada as a visitor, foremost. This means that you will have to show sufficient ties to a country outside of Canada that convince the officer that you will leave at the end of your allotted stay (normally 6 months).

You cannot work in Canada at all until you are a PR, so you must convince the officer that you will have sufficient means to support yourself for as long as you wish to remain in Canada as a visitor. Your partner or their family may declare that they will support you during this time.

Normally you are given a 6-month visa to enter Canada during which time your PR application may not yet be completed. If you wish to remain in Canada beyond the initial date at which you would be required to leave (so 6 months from date of entry), you would have to apply to extend your visitor status before it expires. During the application you would be presumed to have implied status. If the decision on your visitor extension is negative, you will then be notified of a period in which you must leave Canada.

Remember, sponsorship applications can take up to a year to process, so it's likely that if you enter Canada in the next two weeks, you will have to deal with a visitor extension considering your PR application may not yet be finalized.

Dual intent exists, but the onus is on you to convince the CBSA officer that you will leave Canada should all your options to be able to stay be exhausted. This would mean having a plan in place for the worst case scenario in which you are unsuccessful with your sponsorship application, and your visitor status expires.


All the best with your Partner's father!

Thank you. This is very very helpful and has put my mind at ease. You covered everything there. I currently don't have a visa for Canada so this is exactly the route I need to take

 

[evdm]

If you apply to extend your visitor status on the basis that you are waiting for your inland spousal sponsorship to be processed they are usually approved

The OP has already applied in March, so this is an outland sponsorship. But still... Shouldn't be difficult to get the extension.