HI LEON ..CAN YOU CONFIRM ME PLEASE.

[dreamerchant001]

Hi. I got PR about 4 years ago. After getting PR, I came to Canada for a month & took my PR Card. Then I returned to my country. After few months I got married & stayed with my wife in my country for over 2 years. About 3 months ago I returned to Canada & got a job. Now I want to sponsor my my wife who is living in my country.

Since I'm not likely to cover minimum stay requirement at the end of five year of PR, will that be a problem while I sponsor my wife? Will I put myself in the risk of of losing my own PR status by CIC (as some are saying so)? What should I do in such situation?

Thanks a lot in advance.

 

[Leon]

Yes, by sponsoring your wife when you do not meet the residency requirements yourself, you risk your PR. Right now, immigration does not know that you do not meet the residency requirements. If you stay in Canada for 2 years and then apply to renew your PR card, they will renew it because they only look at the past 5 years from the time you apply.

If you apply to sponsor your wife now, by listing your address and employment history, immigration will see that you do not meet the residency requirements and they may decide to call you for an interview and let you explain what mitigating circumstances you have that you should keep your PR.

This happened to a woman on this forum who had applied to sponsor her husband and son. She was allowed to keep her PR. However she had mitigating circumstances like taking care of a sick mother in law and not wanting to leave a baby behind in order to go to Canada and sponsor him.

If your wife is visa exempt to Canada, she can come and visit you for up to 6 months and even apply to extend and stay longer. If she is from a country where there is a working holiday program, she may be able to get a one year open work permit. If she is however not visa exempt, it could be hard. She could apply for a visit visa but having a PR spouse will work against her.