Family

[sterion75]

I have my PR card and have returned to the UK. I only have to spend 2 years out of 5 in Canada I was told by the immigration officer and had ties back home I needed to sort out. I have since settled and living with girlfriend and her child. My question is what would I need to do in order to take them to Canada? I'm guessing we would need to be married? what other applications would I need to go through and what is the time involved with those?

Thanks

Robbie

 

[sterion75]

I've just done some digging around and it appears we do not need to be married? and I can sponsor? But does that apply as I have not been in Canada for one year? I will need to be living together for at least one year if not married. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse-apply-who.asp

What are the financial requirements for myself, her and baby anyone have the figures? it was 10600 for me last time I read if I didnt have a job offer. Now I have my PR I can probably get a job remotely without a problem

Any thoughts welcome

Thanks

Robbie

 

[Jen85]

I believe that since you are a Permanent Resident and not a Canadian Citizen, you cannot sponsor your girlfriend (or wife) if you are living outside Canada. You must be living in Canada. Only Canadian citizens can sponsor from outside Canada and need to prove they are going back to Canada with their partners. You do need to be living together for at least one year to be considered common law and you would need to really show lots of proof that your relationship is genuine.

There are no financial requirements to sponsor a spouse or common law partner.

Spousal sponsorships through London office usually take approximately 6 months to go through. Some faster than that for straight forward cases and some take longer. Just depends on individual circumstances.

I am sure some of the more experienced members of this forum will probably be able to give you more advice.

 

[sterion75]

thanks I am thinking of the future and trying to make the plans for this to work. It might be that I have to go through the Skilled Worker application again as a family once that time comes I don't know? I'm sure someone does and can enlighten me thanks for the info appreciate it

I am also guessing there is the option to bring her out in a 6 month visitor visa and apply for the sponsorship whilst in Canada

 

[missmini]

yes that's right what is said before; only Citizens can live outside Canada during the sponsorship

there's no financial requirement but u need to satisfy the officer that u'll be able to support ur gf and her child once they arrive in Canada

u can sponsor her without being married; however u have to live with her for at least one continuous year prior to the start of the application and u need proof of that (lease under both names, common bank accounts, common share of utilities, bank/utility statements coming for both at the same address, common loan/mortgage, naming her in ur will or life insurance and vice-versa, statutory declarations from friends/family abt ur relationship and that u live together); u would b under the common-law category

if u r already a PR don't throw it away; immigrating to Canada is getting tougher these days, the SW category has more demands now; maybe this year they need ur profession but next year they don't; plus, they receive only a specific number of applications per year so it will become longer and longer; also, if they see u got ur PR once and u didn't live in Canada, maybe it's a signal to them for not giving it to u again...

as for the visitor visa that depends from what country she is; some countries (like UK) are exempted and probably she will get her visit visa at the airport; she just needs to satisfy the officer that her stay is temporary and that she still has ties to UK; it should not look that she moves to Canada; if she needs to apply for visit visa before that's very hard to get; in my case, i live outside Canada with my partner and each time we wanted to go to Canada to visit my family his visa was rejected on the basis that they were not convinced that he would leave Canada; this is a very common rejection and that is also why many couples here live long distance during the sponsorship process

 

[rjessome]

thanks I am thinking of the future and trying to make the plans for this to work. It might be that I have to go through the Skilled Worker application again as a family once that time comes I don't know? I'm sure someone does and can enlighten me thanks for the info appreciate it

I am also guessing there is the option to bring her out in a 6 month visitor visa and apply for the sponsorship whilst in Canada

The FSW applications have changed significantly since you applied before. Check out the new requirements. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/index.asp

You may not qualify for the program any longer and should seriously consider what will be in the best interests of you and your family before you decide NOT to utilize what you already have (PR). You still have time to make this decision so some serious thought and discussion might be in order.

 

[sterion75]

I am aware of that just need to know what my options are. I assume there is know way to add them to my PR retrospectively other than sponsorship then? and the only to sponsor them is for me to be in Canada. This isn't the best way to do things but as my partner is from the EU is it a possibility that they could fly in after me with a return ticket and then apply for sponsorship whilst she is in the country or would that be frowned upon and rejected? Does a PR have to be in a job for a certain length of time to sponsor?

I don't want to waste my PR but I also don't want to leave a mother and child alone for 6 months. In that instance I would choose to waste it. Thoughts welcome

 

[missmini]

1. There's no income requirement to sponsor dependent children and/or spouse/partner; it does not matter if u r a PR or citizen.

2. For the visitor visa, again it depends from what country in EU she is; the citizens from the countries which recently entered into EU need to apply for a visitor visa; based on your circumstances she might get rejected on the reason that she will not leave Canada (especially if the ties with Canada r stronger than the ties with her home country); check the Immigration website to see in what category she is; if she does not need to apply from before than it's easier to enter; many people r waiting in Canada with their spouse for their outland application (outland is faster usually)

3. I see u got ur PR recently and i hope that during ur PR application u did declare ur spouse (if u were married to her or in common-law that time); if not, this could be a potential big problem for ur future sponsorship application

4. Lastly I know that u r weighing the options but keep in mind also that these laws could change this year, next year and then we'll all b in the dark; don't consider these options for a long period of time

 

[sterion75]

She is from Lithuania which from what I can see no longer requires a visitor visa

This is a newish relationship 4 months in terms of living together have known longer. I didn't declare this on my application as obviously it wasn't relevant then. Some people might think this a little premature to be considering sponsoring etc as new relationship etc however I do know I am lucky to have my PR and if I can use it without wasting it then all the better.

When you say "people r waiting in Canada with their spouse for their outland application" are you saying that other peoples families are doing just that coming over and applying for sponsorship on arrival?

 

[missmini]

yes she could visit u in Canada before or while the sponsorship is in process; but she needs to show she does not move to Canada, she has where to go back; don't apply inland, after a little research u'll know it's a lot of headache; apply outland whenever u decide to start

 

[missmini]

here r some people who r in visit with Canada while waiting for their PR application outland...if u have more specific questions they will help u for:

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/are-you-waiting-as-a-visitor-in-canada-for-your-pr-t59780.0.html

 

[rjessome]

I am aware of that just need to know what my options are. I assume there is know way to add them to my PR retrospectively other than sponsorship then? and the only to sponsor them is for me to be in Canada. This isn't the best way to do things but as my partner is from the EU is it a possibility that they could fly in after me with a return ticket and then apply for sponsorship whilst she is in the country or would that be frowned upon and rejected? Does a PR have to be in a job for a certain length of time to sponsor?

I don't want to waste my PR but I also don't want to leave a mother and child alone for 6 months. In that instance I would choose to waste it. Thoughts welcome

You have only just recently landed and become a PR. Your relationship did not have to be declared at the time of your landing as it was not relevant. You do have more time to think about the best opportunity for your family and time to research possible settlement in Canada. As a PR, you must be residing in Canada to sponsor her and the child. However, unless you get married, you must live together in a common law relationship for a total of 12 months before she would be considered your common-law partner for immigration purposes. If marriage is not in the cards, you have 8 more months to go.

What the immigration officer told you was true. In order to maintain your PR, you must spend 2 out of 5 years in Canada. So basically you have 3 years to make up your mind and decide if Canada is the right place for you and your family. If after you meet the requirements for common-law, you decide that you do want to settle in Canada, then you could come here to become established and your partner, being visa exempt, could "visit" you and potentially stay with you while the sponsorship is in process. That can be discussed after you decide what you want to do.

There are no financial eligibility requirements to be approved as a sponsor other than not being in receipt of social assistance (the dole) or having an undischarged bankruptcy. However, in processing the application for PR, the visa officer must be satisfied that your family could adequately support itself without being a burden to Canadian social services. That can be satisfied by you getting a job in Canada and/or having adquate financial means available to you. This is NOT a big issue for most people but it can be for some.

My advice would be to take your time and decide two things:
1. Is this relationship going to be permanent; and
2. Is Canada for you and your family?

In the meantime, just in case, save things that would adquately show proof of your relationship to CIC if you decide to sponsor at a later date. Read through some threads here regarding proof of relationship and read through OP Manual 2 starting at Section 5 to see how CIC processed common-law relationships. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/op/op02-eng.pdf

Good luck.

 

[sterion75]

You have only just recently landed and become a PR. Your relationship did not have to be declared at the time of your landing as it was not relevant. You do have more time to think about the best opportunity for your family and time to research possible settlement in Canada. As a PR, you must be residing in Canada to sponsor her and the child. However, unless you get married, you must live together in a common law relationship for a total of 12 months before she would be considered your common-law partner for immigration purposes. If marriage is not in the cards, you have 8 more months to go.

What the immigration officer told you was true. In order to maintain your PR, you must spend 2 out of 5 years in Canada. So basically you have 3 years to make up your mind and decide if Canada is the right place for you and your family. If after you meet the requirements for common-law, you decide that you do want to settle in Canada, then you could come here to become established and your partner, being visa exempt, could "visit" you and potentially stay with you while the sponsorship is in process. That can be discussed after you decide what you want to do.

There are no financial eligibility requirements to be approved as a sponsor other than not being in receipt of social assistance (the dole) or having an undischarged bankruptcy. However, in processing the application for PR, the visa officer must be satisfied that your family could adequately support itself without being a burden to Canadian social services. That can be satisfied by you getting a job in Canada and/or having adquate financial means available to you. This is NOT a big issue for most people but it can be for some.

My advice would be to take your time and decide two things:
1. Is this relationship going to be permanent; and
2. Is Canada for you and your family?

In the meantime, just in case, save things that would adquately show proof of your relationship to CIC if you decide to sponsor at a later date. Read through some threads here regarding proof of relationship and read through OP Manual 2 starting at Section 5 to see how CIC processed common-law relationships. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/op/op02-eng.pdf

Good luck.

Thanks that was the answer I was looking for