FSW Applied before June 26, 2010 - Now married to Canadian Citizen

[abmf]

Hi Guys

I applied for Canadian FSW immigration scheme before June 26, 2010 (my application reached CIC on June 22, 2010). I am based in Pakistan and my application is supposed to be processed by the London Visa Office. Current e-CAS status is "Received by Visa Office".

I recently got married and my wife is a Canadian citizen by birth so she wont be accompanying me in the immigration process.

I informed London Visa office about the change in my family composition and asked for the procedural and documentation requirements specifically mentioning that my wife is a Canadian Citizen so she wont be accompanying me in the immigration process. I got the following response from the visa office:

We acknowledge receipt of your correspondence informing us of a change in your family composition due to marriage.

If your spouse is NOT a citizen or permanent resident of Canada, he or she must be examined in the context of your application, whether or not he or she will accompany you to Canada. Your spouse will have to undergo a medical examination. We will send you the appropriate form upon reception of the documents listed below.

In order to add your spouse to your application, we require the following documents:

processing fee for your spouse (if accompanying you to Canada)
notarized birth certificate of your spouse
copy of your spouse’s valid passport
recent photographs of your spouse according to the specifications
a notarized “no” criminal activity certificate for your spouse
a completed application kit with all the requirements
updated IMM0008 Generic and updated IMM5406 “Additional Family Information” form for yourself.
a “Certificat de Sélection du Québec” for your spouse ( in his or her name), if you wish to immigrate to the province of Québec

As you can see its a generic response stating the requirements in case the spouse is NOT a Canadian citizen, so I am confused as to what documents / information is relevant to my case and has to be submitted to update my application. More specifically, do I need to send a complete and updated application package and do I need to sign the Declaration of Non Accompanying Family Members as my wife is already in Canada? Further, what other supporting documents / evidence do I need to submit?

Your help is highly valued and appreciated.

 

[OhCanadiana]

Hi Guys

I applied for Canadian FSW immigration scheme before June 26, 2010 (my application reached CIC on June 22, 2010). I am based in Pakistan and my application is supposed to be processed by the London Visa Office. Current e-CAS status is "Received by Visa Office".

I recently got married and my wife is a Canadian citizen by birth so she wont be accompanying me in the immigration process.

I informed London Visa office about the change in my family composition and asked for the procedural and documentation requirements specifically mentioning that my wife is a Canadian Citizen so she wont be accompanying me in the immigration process. I got the following response from the visa office:

As you can see its a generic response stating the requirements in case the spouse is NOT a Canadian citizen, so I am confused as to what documents / information is relevant to my case and has to be submitted to update my application. More specifically, do I need to send a complete and updated application package and do I need to sign the Declaration of Non Accompanying Family Members as my wife is already in Canada? Further, what other supporting documents / evidence do I need to submit?

Your help is highly valued and appreciated.

Congratulations on your wedding

It probably is a good idea to submit an updated application so that they have it on file and later no questions can come up about your disclosure of your wedding - just go through a copy of what you submitted and update the info wherever it changed and submit a copy of your marriage certificate along with a cover page explaining the change in status. Also explain you would like to continue with your FSW application given how far along you are in the process.

You do NOT need to submit the Declaration of Non Accompanying Family Members - that is only to confirm you understand you will never to able to sponsor them which is irrelevant in your case.

Being married, you can now consider applying in parallel under the family stream class with your wife as sponsor. Since your wife is a Canadian citizen, she can sponsor you even if she lives outside Canada as long as you can prove that she (and you) intend to move to Canada as soon as your application is approved. It can take quite some time to be processed depending on your country of citizenship (step 1 is taking 88 days in Mississauga and step 2 - sequential - takes anywhere from 16 months to 26+ months (in Islamabad, 20% of cases completed within 16 months, 30% in 17 mo., 50% in 19 mo., 70% in 23 mo., 80% in 26 mo.). However, it may be worth starting the process so that your application is spousal application is 'in line' just in case anything goes wrong in London given all the FSW changes these days.

Congratulations again with your recent wedding

 

[abmf]

Thank you for you quick reply and warm wishes . I just spoke to a consultant who advised me to approach the london vo again, this time sending copies of my wife's canadian identity documents and marriage certificate (nikah nama) along with the mail. Now my question is, should I just send the documents and forms as you advised or should I shoot another email to london vo (which will be my 3rd email to them) and ask for their clear-cut instructions? Do you think that sending them 3 4 emails might have an adverse impact on the processing as they try to intimidate us sometimes

 

[OhCanadiana]

Thank you for you quick reply and warm wishes . I just spoke to a consultant who advised me to approach the london vo again, this time sending copies of my wife's canadian identity documents and marriage certificate (nikah nama) along with the mail. Now my question is, should I just send the documents and forms as you advised or should I shoot another email to london vo (which will be my 3rd email to them) and ask for their clear-cut instructions? Do you think that sending them 3 4 emails might have an adverse impact on the processing as they try to intimidate us sometimes

I don't think the e-mails will hurt your processing. I do. However, think they will likely frustrate you without clear instructions. Why don't you update the application and submit it along with your marriage certificate and your wife's passport or certificate of citizenship and both mail it and e-mail it to them. Nhopefully that will get you a response. The Folks who answer emails are so swamped and have limited degrees of freedom so they have a bunch of pre-approved emails they can send .... however, your case is not typical.

At the end of the day, you should tell them the info but this won't have any material impact on your application since you are sticking to the FSW path and not adding anyone they actually need to process to your application. So, try not to worry (hard as it may be!)

 

[phasgaya]

Hi,
I also have kind of similar situation that my in-laws incl spouse in 2007 applied for FSW as a whole family. In 2011 I got married and applied for spousal sponsorship for my spouse a month ago sending application to CHC Mississauga. Now I don't know what to do as there are two applications in process for my spouse currently. Her family's application was transferred to London in 2011 as well. Can I ask my father-in-law (principal applicant for FSW application) to withdraw his daughter's application as a dependent? Is that possible?
Thanks.

I don't think the e-mails will hurt your processing. I do. However, think they will likely frustrate you without clear instructions. Why don't you update the application and submit it along with your marriage certificate and your wife's passport or certificate of citizenship and both mail it and e-mail it to them. Nhopefully that will get you a response. The Folks who answer emails are so swamped and have limited degrees of freedom so they have a bunch of pre-approved emails they can send .... however, your case is not typical.

At the end of the day, you should tell them the info but this won't have any material impact on your application since you are sticking to the FSW path and not adding anyone they actually need to process to your application. So, try not to worry (hard as it may be!)

 

[OhCanadiana]

Hi,
I also have kind of similar situation that my in-laws incl spouse in 2007 applied for FSW as a whole family. In 2011 I got married and applied for spousal sponsorship for my spouse a month ago sending application to CHC Mississauga. Now I don't know what to do as there are two applications in process for my spouse currently. Her family's application was transferred to London in 2011 as well. Can I ask my father-in-law (principal applicant for FSW application) to withdraw his daughter's application as a dependent? Is that possible?
Thanks.

In many cases you can have parallel applications with CIC. However, in this case, your father-in-law should write to the London visa office and ask for his daughter to be withdrawn from his application because she got married. He can do this by sending in a case specific enquiry via http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/offices/missions/london.asp.

Once she married you, she no longer qualified as his dependant (while age locks in on application date, dependent status does not). You can show him the following from OP-6:

"Note: The age of accompanying dependent children is locked in on the date the application is made (OP1, section 5.24), but dependence is not. If a child is under the age of 22 on that date but 22 years of age or older when the visa is issued, they may still be included as part of the parent's application as an accompanying dependent, if they are still not married or not in a common-law relationship or, if they are financially dependent due to full-time study (R2(b)(ii)) or due to a physical or mental condition (R2(b)(iii)). If a child over the age of 22 is considered a dependant child on the date of application by virtue of R2(b)(ii) or R2(b)(iii), then the child must still meet the requirements of these provisions at the time of visa issuance in order to be included in the parent's application. See OP 2, section 5.23 for more information on who qualifies as a dependent child."
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/op/op06-eng.pdf

 

[phasgaya]

Thanks OhCanadiana, for your insightful reply. I have asked my father-in-law as you mentioned fill out a case specific inquiry web form and ask for withdrawal of her daughter's application from his application as she is no more his dependent child after our marriage.

What should I do? Should I mail a letter stating the same to CPCMississuaga of this old immigration application as I didn't mentioned it anywhere. I should have written it in may be "IMM5669 - ScheduleA Backgorund/Declaration" form where it asks for previous refusals of immigration/TRV etc. What do you think I should do ? Would it be a reason for them cancelling my spousal application? I hope NOT .

In many cases you can have parallel applications with CIC. However, in this case, your father-in-law should write to the London visa office and ask for his daughter to be withdrawn from his application because she got married. He can do this by sending in a case specific enquiry via

Once she married you, she no longer qualified as his dependant (while age locks in on application date, dependent status does not). You can show him the following from OP-6:

"Note: The age of accompanying dependent children is locked in on the date the application is made (OP1, section 5.24), but dependence is not. If a child is under the age of 22 on that date but 22 years of age or older when the visa is issued, they may still be included as part of the parent's application as an accompanying dependent, if they are still not married or not in a common-law relationship or, if they are financially dependent due to full-time study (R2(b)(ii)) or due to a physical or mental condition (R2(b)(iii)). If a child over the age of 22 is considered a dependant child on the date of application by virtue of R2(b)(ii) or R2(b)(iii), then the child must still meet the requirements of these provisions at the time of visa issuance in order to be included in the parent's application. See OP 2, section 5.23 for more information on who qualifies as a dependent child."

 

[OhCanadiana]

Thanks OhCanadiana, for your insightful reply. I have asked my father-in-law as you mentioned fill out a case specific inquiry web form and ask for withdrawal of her daughter's application from his application as she is no more his dependent child after our marriage.

What should I do? Should I mail a letter stating the same to CPCMississuaga of this old immigration application as I didn't mentioned it anywhere. I should have written it in may be "IMM5669 - ScheduleA Backgorund/Declaration" form where it asks for previous refusals of immigration/TRV etc. What do you think I should do ? Would it be a reason for them cancelling my spousal application? I hope NOT .

Having parallel applications doesn't affect processing up until the very end when they ask you to withdraw the other application before granting the visa so no worries there at all (e.g., spouses both applying as principal applicants in FSW, spousal and FSW etc)

It would not be a reason for them to cancel the spousal application - the FSW was not a refusal (a decision hasn't been made, you simply withdrew her application once she wasn't eligible and you are doing that proactively).

Good luck!