Inland Vs Outland for UK citizen

[Jeffuk88]

Hi... I was just looking for clarification on a couple of things.

If applying inland, I would have to change my current WP to a visitor visa to maintain status while we get things together - once the spousal sponsorship is sent and received would implied status ensue until the OWP is received or would I have to keep reapplying for visitor visas to maintain status?

If applying outland, I would stay in canada on a visitor visa as long as I could and then return to england to teach for a few months and then return to be with my wife again (allowing me to have some form of income whilst reducing the time apart) - would this affect the application in any way with me leaving and coming back?

Thanks in advance for any information

 

[Hurlabrick]

If applying outland, I would stay in canada on a visitor visa as long as I could and then return to england to teach for a few months and then return to be with my wife again (allowing me to have some form of income whilst reducing the time apart) - would this affect the application in any way with me leaving and coming back?

Perfectly fine! If by the time you are in the UK and wanting to return on a visitor basis, your application is at least 'Sponsor Approved', then you can return on a 'dual intent' basis. See link below:

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Spousal_Sponsorship-Canada#Can_I_wait_in_Canada_while_my_application_is_being_processed:_Dual_Intent

But of course you would still not be able to work in Canada until your outland application is approved and you have 'flagpoled' to activate your PR.

The whole outland process would take and average of between 6 - 10 months if sent to London VO or 3 - 6 months if sent to Ottawa VO (see the spreadsheet link in my signature line for real world processing time experiences

 

[Jeffuk88]

How would applying to different offices affect it other than processing time? Wouldnt I need to show I'm living in canada if applying through ottawa and then be here for any interviews? Same with London, would I have to be in England for checks and interviews?

 

[canuck_in_uk]

How would applying to different offices affect it other than processing time? Wouldnt I need to show I'm living in canada if applying through ottawa and then be here for any interviews? Same with London, would I have to be in England for checks and interviews?

Different offices, different caseloads, different nationalities, different staffing levels etc.

You don't choose where your app is sent. IRCC will either send it to Ottawa or to London. It doesn't matter where you are and you won't be requested for an interview.

 

[Hurlabrick]

How would applying to different offices affect it other than processing time? Wouldnt I need to show I'm living in canada if applying through ottawa and then be here for any interviews? Same with London, would I have to be in England for checks and interviews?

Wot Canuck in UK said!

I am assuming from your original comment about 'returning to England' that you are a UK citizen.

You apply for spousal sponsorship by sending the whole pack to CPC Mississauga, that is the only place you can send it. They then assess your sponsor's for eligibility for sponsorship.

If (when) approved, CPC Mississauga will normally send it to the overseas visa office that deals with the principal applicant's (i.e. you!) nationality, to assess the PA and make the final decision. If as I suspect you are a UK citizen, this would normally be London UK. However, in the last couple of years, they have also been sending applications to Ottawa (probably coz London is creaking!).

As Canuck said, you have no say where they send it and it really does not matter to you, except that Ottawa is normally quicker in processing than London.

Please refer to the spreadsheet link in my signature line. This tracks all forum users who volunteer their information for outland spousal sponsorship where the PA would be expected to be sent to the London office. You will see that it is running at about 50/50 London / Ottawa recently.

PS - I don't know your personal situation, but it is HIGHLY unlikely they would call you for an interview, especially if (as I suspect) you are a 'visa exempt' UK citizen - I have known UK citizens to be staying in Hong Kong, Canada, Phillipines etc. and still had their app processed through London or Ottawa as they are UK citizens.

 

[Jeffuk88]

Thanks for the input! We'd be living together at time of applying and because she's gone back to school for a 5 year degree her parents will be taking us both in when my current WHV expires. Yes I'm a uk citizen and the returning home would be so I can earn some money since I don't want to be completely reliant on her family (I was a teacher in England and supply work wouldn't be an issue)... I was just concerned that if this was for 2/3 months then they might treat it as suspicious or a 'seperation'.

 

[Hurlabrick]

Thanks for the input! We'd be living together at time of applying and because she's gone back to school for a 5 year degree her parents will be taking us both in when my current WHV expires. Yes I'm a uk citizen and the returning home would be so I can earn some money since I don't want to be completely reliant on her family (I was a teacher in England and supply work wouldn't be an issue)... I was just concerned that if this was for 2/3 months then they might treat it as suspicious or a 'seperation'.

I take it you are applying under 'common law'. I assume you have lived together for at least one year continuously and can provide the indicated 'proof' etc. As you say, you will still be in Canada when you apply but plan to return to the UK for a while after applying. No problem at all with any of that - relax.

You might also be interested in reading the extensive wiki articles on the British Expats forum (and join up there as well). Many of us on here are also members there.

Here are a few wiki articles to get you going:

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Spousal_Sponsorship-Canada/FAQ

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Spousal_Sponsorship-Canada

Enjoy!

 

[Jeffuk88]

We're getting married 29th April ... we won't have lived together 12 months because she wanted to stay at home due to university costs (werl are both nearly 30 it's not a teenage romance).

I saw an immigration lawyer and he said to get married ASAP... this is a few months ago and my work also said that because they don't wanna replace me (won't do an LMIA though) however we aren't getting married for me to stay in work so we are sticking to our own time line whether or not it means some time apart.

Had she not decided to go back to school I would be persuading her to move to england

 

[Hurlabrick]

We're getting married 29th April ... we won't have lived together 12 months because she wanted to stay at home due to university costs (werl are both nearly 30 it's not a teenage romance).

I saw an immigration lawyer and he said to get married ASAP... this is a few months ago and my work also said that because they don't wanna replace me (won't do an LMIA though) however we aren't getting married for me to stay in work so we are sticking to our own time line whether or not it means some time apart.

Had she not decided to go back to school I would be persuading her to move to england

Congratulations! So I assume you will apply immediately after you have got married on a 'married' basis.

You can't apply as 'common law' unless and until you can prove 12 months continuous co-habitation (i.e. living together as though you were married etc. etc.).

 

[Jeffuk88]

Thanks

Yeah we know we can't do the common law route. We will be applying once the marriage certificate comes through so 2/3 months after the wedding. Hence my concern about an interview since it all seems rushed. We aren't worried about the interview per se but that's where I was wondering whether it would be in canada or england and how moving around would affect things.

 

[Hurlabrick]

Thanks

Yeah we know we can't do the common law route. We will be applying once the marriage certificate comes through so 2/3 months after the wedding. Hence my concern about an interview since it all seems rushed. We aren't worried about the interview per se but that's where I was wondering whether it would be in canada or england and how moving around would affect things.

As part of the application you will be asked to 'describe your love story' (as someone put it to me!) - how and when you met, how your relationship developed, holidays you have been on together etc. As you say you have known each other some time (years), then you have nothing to worry about. I did three pages on this and 20 pages of photographs!

Interviews for visa exempt citizens are incredibly rare to the extent that you should not let it affect any plan you have on where you might be at any particular time.

I really don't mean to sound patronising, but you have nothing to worry about!

 

[Jeffuk88]

Do you know if that still stands with the new application pack? I've seen a lot of posts on how much less they want submitted and all could find in the pack itself where I would put this info is the box for any other information supporting your application.

 

[Hurlabrick]

Do you know if that still stands with the new application pack? I've seen a lot of posts on how much less they want submitted and all could find in the pack itself where I would put this info is the box for any other information supporting your application.

You are now limited to 20 photos - make them good ones.

Yes, you can definitely add 'attachments' if the space provided is insufficient on the forms themselves - just say 'see attachment' or 'continued on separate sheet' etc.. I made up Word documents with the form no and name of the person in the header, page x of y in the footer and left a place for sign and date at the end. I repeated the question then added the additional information I wanted to.

You can worry about all of this when you actually start completing the forms I would suggest.

 

[Jeffuk88]

Yeah we don't need to complete any forms for a while... I'm just a worrier for better or worse - I like knowing what I'm doing in advance haha. Thanks for your input

 

[danawhitaker]

Yeah we don't need to complete any forms for a while... I'm just a worrier for better or worse - I like knowing what I'm doing in advance haha. Thanks for your input

I was in your shoes once. I spent a lot of time reading this forum after I got engaged in May trying to do what you're doing now.

I would actually suggest, if you're a worrier (like my husband and I both are), that you guys basically go through a practice run of filling out the forms. It'll give you an idea of anything you're missing, if you have questions you can get them answered sooner rather than later, and it might bring to light anything you need to include that you might not have thought of. We ended up doing ours twice. We filled them out after getting married in July, not realizing how long the marriage certificate was going to take to arrive and that, at least in Ontario, we could have faxed them asking for it more quickly due to trying to get the application done. Then we re-did them before we mailed them off in September because we didn't want older signatures on everything. Having gone through them once made it easier to go through them the second time. Certainly not a necessity, but from one worrier to another, it might not be a bad idea.