Get married and apply for spouse sponsorship while visiting from Italy

[Simgarg]

Hi!
I’m sure that there are bits of the information I need all over the forum, I read many of them and went over and over the CIC website, but if you are so nice so synthesize and clarify them here it would be great.

I would like to have some information about the procedures for getting married, Spouse Sponsorship and Co – Sponsorship in order to obtain a Conditional Permanent Residence in Canada and while waiting asking for an Open Work Permit in Vancouver.
I am an Italian citizen and my partner is a Canadian citizen, we want to get married and live together in Vancouver. In order to do that I would like to have some clarifications about some procedures and their legal and practical application as I understood by reading them on the CIC website.
The procedure we thought to actuate is this:
1- Enter Canada as a visitor
2- Get a Marriage License in Vancouver and get married
3- Once married to ask for a Spouse Sponsorship
4- While waiting for the answer to the sponsorship ask for an Open Work Permit, in order for me to be able to look for a job even if for just a short time.

My questions are:
First od all: Does this procedure have any incorrect step?
1- - Could I have problems by entering Canada as a visitor and get married?
- Should I declare to someone that I intend to get married?
- Is there a specific Wedding Visa in Canada?

2- - Do I need any document I should carry from Italy other than my Certificate of Birth in English to get married in Vancouver?
- Once married could I have problems in traveling in and out of Canada?

3- About the sponsorship:
This is our condition now: My partner (30 years old) is a student in a Post Graduate Master Class, she doesn’t have a continuous job, she has a student loan and a scholarship. She has really good work perspectives, there are many job offers in her field and she is finishing her Master in less then one year. I (33 years old) am an Architecture School Master Graduate and a Bachelor in Design, I work in Contemporary Public Art Project Management and there are many job opportunities for me in Vancouver and around the city, both as a Project Manager and as an Architect. We both have families that want to support us in our family journey and we both have some money away and good job perspectives in our fields.

- Does this present condition could create big obstacles in having our Sponsorship approved?
- Could it be useful to attach to our Sponsorship request letters from our families declaring their will to support us in case of need?
- Could it be useful to attach also a bank statement showing my (the sponsored person) savings to demonstrate that we have enough to support the both of us for a good amount of time?
- Do I have to be a Canadian Permanent Residence to Co – Sponsor myself?
- Can anyone else be a Co – Sponsor?

4- Once I asked for an Open Work Permit, if I will finally get my Conditional Permanent Residence, will that allow me to look for a job erasing the Open Work Permit efficacy?

I apologize for the length and complexity of my questions.
Thank you for your time and patience.

 

[canadianwoman]

1. Your procedure is fine. What you are describing is known as applying inland. You send in the application for the open work permit with the sponsorship forms. You could also apply outland, which is much faster (usually). However, with an outland application, you do not get a work permit. You can stay in Canada as a visitor while waiting for the outland application to be processed.
There is no problem with entering Canada as a visitor and getting married. You are just visiting Canada, so I would not tell the border agent your plans when you arrive - unless specifically asked. Say you are visiting, and it is good to have proof of ties back home, such as a return ticket. There is no fiance visa in Canada.
2. If you apply inland, you are advised to not leave Canada for the duration of the processing - more than two years. If you leave and are not let back in, the inland application is over. If you apply outland, you can leave and reenter Canada, usually with no problem.
Look at the application forms, in particular the checklists, to see if you need any other documents from back home. At the very least, you should bring proof from back home of the genuineness of your relationship. You will also need police certificates.
3. The fact your sponsor is a student does not matter. You are both young and have good job prospects, so the visa officer will most likely not have an issue with her ability to sponsor. You cannot be a co-sponsor, but you can certainly include an explanation of how the two of you will support yourselves once you arrive in Canada. Part of this explanation can include support letters from family, proof of your savings, etc. No one else can co-sponsor either.
4. Once you have conditional permanent residency, you are a PR and can work without a work permit. You will be treated like any other Canadian citizen or Canadian PR when applying for jobs. (Note there are a few jobs for the government where PRs cannot not apply.)

 

[Simgarg]

Thank you very much for your quick and complete answer, so this is partially reassuring and partially troubling.

If I apply inland it would take about 27 months, I was reading it on the CIC website, and if I have to take a big risk every time I leave Canada to visit my parents and grandparents back in Italy, or go for the honeymoon or if there is an emergency with my grandparents or sisters it would be really really complicated.
On the other hand to apply outland it would take about 15 months but I’m not going to be able to work in Vancouver. Pay for many flights back and forth and have to be separated from my future wife…
Is this the scenario I’m going to have to face?
Isn’t there any way to work while waiting for processing the outland application?
If I travel with my wife and I have an open work permit, may I still have big troubles in coming back to Canada?
How long does it takes to process an open work permit?
If I apply inland, do I also have to ask for a different kind of visa? Italy doesn’t require a visitors visa…

Thanks again for your time, this is really helpful and clarifying for me.

 

[canadianwoman]

You can stay in Canada as a visitor if you apply Outland. You can apply to extend your stay about one month before the time is up. (You would probably be allowed in for 6 months at first.)

 

[aledima89]

Thank you very much for your quick and complete answer, so this is partially reassuring and partially troubling.

If I apply inland it would take about 27 months, I was reading it on the CIC website, and if I have to take a big risk every time I leave Canada to visit my parents and grandparents back in Italy, or go for the honeymoon or if there is an emergency with my grandparents or sisters it would be really really complicated.
On the other hand to apply outland it would take about 15 months but I’m not going to be able to work in Vancouver. Pay for many flights back and forth and have to be separated from my future wife…
Is this the scenario I’m going to have to face?
Isn’t there any way to work while waiting for processing the outland application?
If I travel with my wife and I have an open work permit, may I still have big troubles in coming back to Canada?
How long does it takes to process an open work permit?
If I apply inland, do I also have to ask for a different kind of visa? Italy doesn’t require a visitors visa…

Thanks again for your time, this is really helpful and clarifying for me.

Hi, my name is Alessandra and I am Italian. I'm married to a Canadian citizen and we are currently living together in Mississauga; my current status in Canada is student: I am on a student visa and working permit for students, both valid till November 2017.
We are gathering our documents to do the inland application in order for me to become a PR, along with an open working permit which will allow me to work. I totally understand your concerns but here's what I understood about all these complicated laws.

Outland sponsorship: it's faster, no doubts. But that means that your residence must be outside Canada (not valid in my case as I study in Toronto); also, this means you can stay in canada with your fiancee/wife ONLY on a touristic visa: you are not allowed to work, you need to leave the country after 6 months.. We tried to do that, my husband and I were apart for 5 months (first Christmas as a married couple? He was in Canada, I was in Italy.. Awful!!!!)

Inland sponsorship: if you have your residence in canada, this is the program you should apply under. I know, it can take forever. But in the meantime you can work, as long as you send an Open Working Permit along with your sponsorhip. Again, for this type of application you need a status OTHER THAN tourist. now, about your concerns.. Beside being permanent resident or a citizen, there is no status that can guarantee 100% your re-entry in Canada. I mean, I went to the States and I brought all my documents with me (passport, Visa, marriage certificate etc.) and I howed my visa at the border upon re-entry in canada; now, let's say I did something stupid in the states, I got charged or for god know what: the border agent might deny my entry, despite my visa. So, if you are planning on going to italy to see your family, on vacation, etc.. You should need only to show the border agents the documentation about your status in canada.

Now, I'm not an immigrant lawyer but I've been reading forums and CIC website for 2 years now and I collected some info. Maybe you could try and see if anybody has ever been rejected at the border, after a vacation, during an inland sponsorship.

Also remember, and I don't really like to say this cause I believe in equality and equity (I'm a poor Social Worker, can't help it), that a lot depends on your country of origin: some countries are better looked at than others.

Ok so, Hope you got some additional info. If you need clarification, don't hesitate to contact me.

Good luck!!

 

[canadianwoman]

I would apply outland. You already have permission to work, and are studying, so do not need the open work permit you can get with an inland application. You do not need to be living abroad to apply outland; you can be in Canada.

A person can also apply inland even if they are in Canada on a visitor visa.

 

[Rob_TO]

Outland sponsorship: it's faster, no doubts. But that means that your residence must be outside Canada (not valid in my case as I study in Toronto); also, this means you can stay in canada with your fiancee/wife ONLY on a touristic visa: you are not allowed to work, you need to leave the country after 6 months.. We tried to do that, my husband and I were apart for 5 months (first Christmas as a married couple? He was in Canada, I was in Italy.. Awful!!!!)

This is not correct. You do not need to have a residence outside Canada to apply outland, you can have all your residence info within Canada, and still apply outland with no problems.

Also if applying outland and in Canada with visitor status, you should easily be able to extend that status each time it's about to come due, or simply leave and re-enter Canada to refresh and get a new 6-months.

The outland app does not offer an OWP, so in order to work with an outland app you'd need to get a work permit separate from the PR app (i.e. through IEC/working holiday, LMIA closed work permit through specific employer, etc).