Evidence of intent to reside in Canada

[Dave2222]

I am a Canadian citizen and my husband is a British citizen. We got married in the UK last year (mainly because we found this to be easier both financially and in terms of visas). Our intention was always to get married in the UK, for me to apply for the ‘FLR’ spousal 2 year visa and then to save money as quickly as possible to fund our permanent move back to Canada. We have just started looking into the process of me applying to be a sponsor and my husband applying for permanent residence from outside of Canada and it seems that we will be able to satisfy the vast majority of the requirements relatively easily.

The only problem that we can see is proving that we intend to move to Canada and sever our ties with the UK once my husband gets his permanent residence visa. This has always been our intention but it seems hard to prove given that we will be living outside of Canada at the point when we apply, and for the 6-12 months whilst the application is being processed.

The guidance notes on the CIC website state that we would need the following:

• letter from an employer;
• letter of acceptance to a Canadian educational institution;
• proof of having rented/bought a dwelling in Canada;
• reasonable plans for re-establishing in Canada or severing ties to the other country.

Each point raises issues:

How am I supposed to get a letter from an employer for a job that I cannot start for potentially 12 months?

We have both finished our education so the second point in not an option.

We do not have the funds to purchase a property so are we expected to rent a property in Canada now and leave it empty for the potential 12 months that the sponsor/visa application can take?

‘Reasonable plans for re-establishing in Canada’ seems somewhat vague especially when applications like this are assessed upon proof not intentions.

From these bullet points I get the impression that they want me to move back to Canada before my husband, get a job and rent an apartment as proof that we will actually be moving there. Being forced to spend 6-12 months apart surely defies the point of applying from outside of Canada.

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Leon]

When you don't have "any of the above" you have to make do with what you have or what you can think of. Write an essay about your plans once you get to Canada. This may include scouting for job ads and printing them out and including them with your application stating these are the type of jobs you are planning to apply for once you know when you are moving. Also get your family/friends in Canada to write statements saying that they know of your plans and will support you and help you in every way. If you are planning on staying at somebody's house temporarily while you look for an apartment, get a statement from that person to that effect.

Applying through the UK shouldn't take a year, it should be more like average 5 months.

 

[toby]

Look on Craigslist for cheap accommodations in the city you will settle in, negotiate a lease for (say) 10 months in the future, give the landlord a deposit, and they send you the signed lease, which you sign too and send back their copy.

Then attach that lease to your application. The dificulty is finding a landlord willing to commit so far into the future. So, alternatively, look for rental agent, explain your criteria, and get from the agent a letter describing what he or she will be looking for on your behalf, slightly before you come to Canada.

 

[IsleChik]

Don't waste your money
Get a family member to write you a letter saying they are willing to let you stay with them when you return to Canada until you can find a place of your own

CIC is stupid but not so stupid that they expect you to have a job that far in the future - nor do they expect you to rent a place & keep it empty

Since everyone's situation differs - they give you examples

Look on Craigslist for cheap accommodations in the city you will settle in, negotiate a lease for (say) 10 months in the future, give the landlord a deposit, and they send you the signed lease, which you sign too and send back their copy.

Then attach that lease to your application. The dificulty is finding a landlord willing to commit so far into the future. So, alternatively, look for rental agent, explain your criteria, and get from the agent a letter describing what he or she will be looking for on your behalf, slightly before you come to Canada.

 

[wpsteel79]

I had exactly the same circumstances as you, I am english and my wife is Canadian.

I agree, got a letter from my wife's parents stating that they were aware of our intention to move back to Canada and that they would support us initially. Also included copies of the drivers licence as evidence of who they were and where they live.

I also put a copy of my wifes visa in as evidence which is due to expire and stated that she did not intend to renew it.

This seem to work as I have just sent my passport to London for issue of my PR visa.

 

[toby]

Interesting. Two immigration consultants told me that an invitation from my sister or brother would look fishy, and less convincing than a real lease. The money you lose is the half month's rent that is the deposit in B.C., so if you choose a cheap place to rent, the loss is small.

When I compare actual (successful) experiences of some of you with the contrary (and wrong) advice I have received from several consultants, on several issues, I begin to wonder why anyone runs the risk of hiring any consultant. The few good ones might help, but the majority seem to hinder more than help.

And how to identify the good ones? They all want your money up front, and then if you find out they are not very good, it's too late.

By the way, who runs this website and why?

TOby

 

[whoopi83]

Hi Dave

I agree with wpsteel, we simply had sponsors parents supply a letter stating that we would be living with them and included UK house for sale details from estate agent - severing ties. Sponsor was approved so this must have been ok for them.

Good luck.

 

[Leon]

By the way, who runs this website and why?

This website is owned by an immigration lawyer. I don't know why he keeps this forum open, maybe because people might hire him or maybe it's for the people who can't afford him but whatever the reason, it's a good forum.

 

[Liuzhou]

When I compare actual (successful) experiences of some of you with the contrary (and wrong) advice I have received from several consultants, on several issues, I begin to wonder why anyone runs the risk of hiring any consultant. The few good ones might help, but the majority seem to hinder more than help.

Doctors, Lawyers, Immigration Consultants and people on the CIC help desk are human (naturally..), and typically don't like to admit if they don't know something. When they don't know, they oftentimes will guess using their opinion, which unfortunately can create terrible situations for the people they are trying to help.

The best thing is to get their advise, and then do a lot of research on your own to ensure what they told you is correct, especially when getting advise from the people on the CIC helpdesk. They may be kind, friendly and helpful, but often don't know the OP Manual and Immigration Laws well enough to give sound advise.

 

[Dave2222]

Thanks for all of your advice. I have a lot of friends and family in the area that we will be moving to so we should be able to sort out something regarding a tenancy agreement or at least get my parents to right a letter saying that they would initially support us. Also, my old boss has said that he would draw me up a job offer for whenever my husband gets his PR visa.

We will also photocopy my current 2 year spousal visa as suggested, saying that we have no intent to renew it.

Hopefully all of this together should be enough to prove our intent to reside in Canada.