has anyone moved to Canada before Permanent Residency is approved?

[CDNPR2014]

These answers are so conflicting.
And scary.

What is the real answer? I need to know.

Our application has gone through the initial approvals, so now we just wait for the final approval.
I am about to buy my tickets for flying from overseas with our (Canadian) son to Canada approx. 5 months into the application process.

My wife will obviously be considered a visitor for up to 6 months when we first arrive.

Is it true that a visitor cannot become a PR?
Will she get banned from Canada because we moved there as a visitor while waiting for the PR?

I thought that if we update our outland application with my new Canada address we could just switch her from visitor to PR?

These answers are so conflicting.
And scary.

What is the real answer? I need to know.

Our application has gone through the initial approvals, so now we just wait for the final approval.
I am about to buy my tickets for flying from overseas with our (Canadian) son to Canada approx. 5 months into the application process.

My wife will obviously be considered a visitor for up to 6 months when we first arrive.

Is it true that a visitor cannot become a PR?
Will she get banned from Canada because we moved there as a visitor while waiting for the PR?

I thought that if we update our outland application with my new Canada address we could just switch her from visitor to PR?

hi,

this post and those answers are from 2011. it is now 2017. those answers are not necessarily relevant today. please refer to current threads on the first page of this board. there are quite a few dedicated to this topic.

it sounds like you are very confused here. your wife's current pr application has nothing to do with her ability to be a visitor in canada. a visitor in canada can certainly have a pr application in process. your wife can ONLY be a visitor right now, so technically she can not "move to" canada until she is officially approved as a pr. YOU and your son (assuming he has Canadian citizenship) can move to canada as citizens, and she will be accompanying you as a visitor.

changing her address to a canadian one during the application process does not automatically change her from visitor to PR. Her PR application is not approved yet. So her flying to canada as a pr applicant and entering as a visitor does not mean her status will change to PR upon arrival. and to be clear, YOU can not change her status to PR. SHE is applying for pr status, the immigration officials are vetting her for approval and SHE Will be the one changing her status to PR upon landing. the sponsor has nothing to do with the application once sponsor approval has been made, and the sponsor does not participate in the landing process. Getting the approval paper doesn't automatically make a person a PR. Once her application is approved and she receives her paper, then she will need to officially land to become a PR. this is done at airports when flying to canada, at land borders and can be done by appointment at some local IRCC offices.

you are not doing anything wrong by flying to canada with your non-pr wife. just know that you need to use the right language to avoid issues. you and you son are resettling while SHE is "visiting" you until she is approved by pr. you are not in a unique situation. this is done every day.

also, depending on when you applied and what visa office the applicaiton is at, she may be close to approval. if she has not received her passport request yet, she will soon. The passport request will include instructions for having the approval paper sent to canada, if that's where she will be.

 

[Sous02]

Basically I will be switching my wife's status from VISITOR to PERMANENT RESIDENT.

From the CIC website, it says

"Becoming a permanent resident of Canada

To stay in Canada as a permanent resident, you must leave the country and apply from outside Canada, except in the special cases listed below. To become a permanent resident, you must meet Canada's immigration requirements.

You can apply to become a permanent resident from inside Canada if you:

are a refugee or a protected person,
are a spouse or common-law partner of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident,
are a live-in caregiver,
hold a valid temporary residence permit or
are applying under the Canadian Experience Class."

So what I am doing, according to this, is totally allowed.

You are quite confused and need to slow down. If your wife has a visa she can come as a "visitor" not moving here. That is very important. As long as she has visiting privledges she can wait here for the completion of her application. She is not a PR. Does not qualify for medical coverage etc. If you say at the border that she is moving here you risk her being sent back. Yes there are cases where the border will still allow her in. But it is not certain.