Is My Friend's Husband Here Legally or Not?

[MapleSyrup321]

My friend recently got married to a New Zealand man and I am really unsure if he is in Canada legally anymore, so a bit worried. I will walk you through the timeline and what has transpired:

- They met in January 2015 in New Zealand and after 4 weeks of dating decided to get married sometime in 2016

- He sold everything he owned in New Zealand including his residence and moved to Toronto to live with her in late September 2015. At this time he was given a 6 month visitor record. Expiration would be late March 2016.

- They got married in early March 2016. A couple of weeks before his visitor record expired.

- Family and friends know nothing about or heard anything about him extending his visitor record to stay in Canada. Everyone seems to be assuming the clock starts ticking automatically from the day they were married to get his PR. But of course you have to apply for that and stay in Canada for that to occur.

- Instead of applying for PR (spousal sponsorship) right away they honeymooned in South Africa for 6 weeks, coming back in late April. He did get back into Canada. But I am not sure how. If he had applied for an extension, that doesn't allow you to leave and come back does it? Wouldn't his time here have expired?

- Since being back in Canada he has also crossed the land border into the US and come back.

- His plans are to go on a backpacking/discovery journey for 5-6 months in Europe from late July 2016 to January/February 2017. Then back to Canada to live and apply for PR via spousal sponsorship.


I would like to know a couple of things:

Is there anyway he is here legally, freely leaving the country and coming back? What would allow that to happen? Is it actually that easy to just leave everything behind and live here?

What are the chances he gets back into Canada in early 2017 given Canada's new rules requiring a electronic travel authorization (ETA)? I have reviewed the form myself and it asks about where you live and whether or not you've applied to visit Canada before. Surely those questions might be tricky to get around?

Any help or opinions would be great.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Is there anyway he is here legally, freely leaving the country and coming back? What would allow that to happen? Is it actually that easy to just leave everything behind and live here?

What are the chances he gets back into Canada in early 2017 given Canada's new rules requiring a electronic travel authorization (ETA)? I have reviewed the form myself and it asks about where you live and whether or not you've applied to visit Canada before. Surely those questions might be tricky to get around?

Any help or opinions would be great.

Yes, he is here legally. Each time a visitor enters Canada, it is assessed as a new entry. As he was not given a visitor record limiting his stay, he has 6 months from the date of his last entry.

Chances of being allowed back into Canada are pretty good, especially if they have a spousal sponsorship app in process. They should apply outland now. The PR app will most likely be approved before they even return from their trip.

 

[MapleSyrup321]

But he is just living in Canada. He no longer has any ties to New Zealand. He packed and left despite not having any application or anything in the works in Canada for long term other than being a visitor.

When he flies from somewhere in Europe in early 2017 to Canada and fills out his ETA form, what will he put as his place of residence, the Toronto address? How can he basically be applying to enter Canada when he is already living in Canada permanently? Isn't that contradicting?

 

[MapleSyrup321]

Yes, he is here legally. Each time a visitor enters Canada, it is assessed as a new entry. As he was not given a visitor record limiting his stay, he has 6 months from the date of his last entry.

He was also given a 6 month visitor record, so that changes things doesn't it?

 

[Alurra71]

But he is just living in Canada. He no longer has any ties to New Zealand. He packed and left despite not having any application or anything in the works in Canada for long term other than being a visitor.

When he flies from somewhere in Europe in early 2017 to Canada and fills out his ETA form, what will he put as his place of residence, the Toronto address? How can he basically be applying to enter Canada when he is already living in Canada permanently? Isn't that contradicting?

As far as CBSA is concerned he is only visiting Canada. He was assessed each time he left and requested reentry. They allowed him in so they aren't concerned he is not following the rules.

If he applies for an ETA and is not already in the system for PR sponsorship then he will have to figure out how to list his 'home' address. He very well could use his parents as a permanent address. I suspect there are many things going on in the background that you and others are not aware of, but it sounds very much like this couple is following the rules as far as him visiting. CBSA aren't slouches and would've caught on to any 'scam' he might be trying to run by now.

 

[MapleSyrup321]

As far as CBSA is concerned he is only visiting Canada. He was assessed each time he left and requested reentry. They allowed him in so they aren't concerned he is not following the rules.

If he applies for an ETA and is not already in the system for PR sponsorship then he will have to figure out how to list his 'home' address. He very well could use his parents as a permanent address. I suspect there are many things going on in the background that you and others are not aware of, but it sounds very much like this couple is following the rules as far as him visiting. CBSA aren't slouches and would've caught on to any 'scam' he might be trying to run by now.

So CBSA actually assesses him for re-entry when he is flying out of Canada? I am learning about this so not aware of that. So issues could also come up then that could prevent him from getting back (Potentially)? What would they be?

And then each time he is allowed back into Canada, is it correct that it's treated as a "new" entry and he is given 6 months all over again?

If that is the case then why doesn't he just leave once every 6 months and come back right away? That way he can delay applying for PR and travel outside Canada on occasion freely. I just thought CBSA would want to discourage it being that easy to live in Canada without applying for PR - I thought they'd steer couples in this situation towards applying for PR immediately.

 

[Rob_TO]

So CBSA actually assesses him for re-entry when he is flying out of Canada?

No, they just assess a traveler when they attempt to enter Canada at any time.

And then each time he is allowed back into Canada, is it correct that it's treated as a "new" entry and he is given 6 months all over again?

Yes each entry is it's own unique situation. If he just gets a regular stamp in the passport and allowed in, it's assumed as a new 6-month status.
Or CBSA can decide to give him something shorter than 6 months, or they could reject him altogether.

If that is the case then why doesn't he just leave once every 6 months and come back right away? That way he can delay applying for PR and travel outside Canada on occasion freely. I just thought CBSA would want to discourage it being that easy to live in Canada without applying for PR - I thought they'd steer couples in this situation towards applying for PR immediately.

He can certainly try leaving/re-entering every 6 months. However if he has really severed ties to his home country, then there is a stronger chance on any one of his attempts to re-enter CBSA could figure all this out and ultimately deny him entry since he is not truly a "visitor". It really depends what kind of interaction he has with CBSA on any given entry, what kind of questions they ask, and how he answers. Depending on the agent you can have very different experiences, from being allowed in within a few seconds, to being sent to secondary inspection and ultimately denied entry.

As mentioned though if he gets his outland PR app submitted, just showing proof of this usually makes it much easier to enter Canada as a visitor.

 

[gabba50]

But he is just living in Canada. He no longer has any ties to New Zealand. He packed and left despite not having any application or anything in the works in Canada for long term other than being a visitor.

When he flies from somewhere in Europe in early 2017 to Canada and fills out his ETA form, what will he put as his place of residence, the Toronto address? How can he basically be applying to enter Canada when he is already living in Canada permanently? Isn't that contradicting?

The fact of not having a house does not totally mean that he no longer has any ties to the country of his Citizenship, he is not stupid. The CBSA agents are the only ones who can prove it but if he leaves and comes back there is no indication of abusing our system. Let's the couple have fun.

 

[canadianwoman]

What he is doing is legal. Every time he enters Canada, the border agent assesses him, and if he is allowed in, that means the border agent thought it was OK. He might not be let back in if the border agent feels he is living in Canada and will not leave, which is why going in and out every six months carries a slight risk.

They should apply for his PR now, outland. He does not have to be in Canada to be sponsored by his wife.

 

[MapleSyrup321]

If he applies for an ETA and is not already in the system for PR sponsorship then he will have to figure out how to list his 'home' address. He very well could use his parents as a permanent address.

That would be a lie and not something that should be condoned unless true. He has no plans of living in New Zealand again at all. He just moved to Canada permanently and is living here permanently despite how he should be going about it.

 

[MapleSyrup321]

The fact of not having a house does not totally mean that he no longer has any ties to the country of his Citizenship, he is not stupid. The CBSA agents are the only ones who can prove it but if he leaves and comes back there is no indication of abusing our system. Let's the couple have fun.

Unlike members of this forum, he doesn't seem to care about regulations or procedure or knowing the ins and outs of immigration. He is abusing the system in my opinion because he is living in Canada permanently and did so from his very first visit here. He actually isn't a visitor anymore.

 

[nope]

Unlike members of this forum, he doesn't seem to care about regulations or procedure or knowing the ins and outs of immigration. He is abusing the system in my opinion because he is living in Canada permanently and did so from his very first visit here. He actually isn't a visitor anymore.

Got it, you're looking for dirt on your friend and don't care that she and her husband aren't, by the details you gave, doing anything wrong.

 

[Rob_TO]

Unlike members of this forum, he doesn't seem to care about regulations or procedure or knowing the ins and outs of immigration. He is abusing the system in my opinion because he is living in Canada permanently and did so from his very first visit here. He actually isn't a visitor anymore.

He is following all the rules, is leaving Canada each time before his status expires, and each time he re-enters it's up to CBSA to assess his status as a visitor and allow entry. Really he's doing nothing wrong.

What would be illegal or wrong, is if he flat out lied to CBSA if asked (about ties to home country), if he stays in Canada beyond the visitor status time given to him without getting an extension, or if he works here illegally. Other that those, you really shouldn't worry about it.

 

[MapleSyrup321]

What would be illegal or wrong, is if he flat out lied to CBSA if asked (about ties to home country), if he stays in Canada beyond the visitor status time given to him without getting an extension, or if he works here illegally. Other that those, you really shouldn't worry about it.

Yes I think it is a wait and see situation on how CBSA handles the next re-entry.

To me, the new mandatory ETA requirement will make things more transparent for CBSA. In my opinion it's a very contradicting statement to say you are living permanently in Canada already when you're applying to come into Canada as a visitor.

And if he uses some New Zealand address, then it really is a lie and he would be taking his chances in a big way with the CBSA. Anyhow I think a lot does depend on his interactions with CBSA and what he tells them, if he gets put over to secondary screening it could spell trouble.

 

[Aquakitty]

It's all up to the CBSA officer. Since he's back in the country and has not stayed beyond the 6 months, he's fine. As for the living without an app part, my spouse lived in Canada for about 6 years just on visitor renewals and was still allowed back in. It makes a big difference what country you are from.

And really, why is it your business what he's doing?