Kingston,Jamaica

[CharlieD10]

Hello and welcome LHNB (sorry, that name is too long to type!). There's plenty of info around, you just need to know where to look and who to ask.

First, you don't need to be working full-time to sponsor your husband, because there is no minimum income requirement for sponsoring your spouse. With that said, though, you need to know that CIC will want to know how you plan to support yourselves and fulfill your responsibilities as a sponsor. So have that in mind when you prepare your application.

Second, KG's quiet time actually seems to be the summer. I've been on this forum about a year now, very little seems to have happened in the summer months before I joined, and then things picked up around September and people began rolling out that I found on the forum waiting. There has been a slow down since April or so this year, we've had a couple applications closed but they have been waiting quite some time!

Abbreviations abound in the process, this is government we're dealing with, after all. Don't worry, they will come to you after a while. For now, AOR = Acknowledgement of Receipt, which is a letter the embassy will send to the applicant when they receive the application and create the file. Don't worry, Kingston won't bother your husband with one, they haven't issued any to any applicant on the board for 2011! Can't speak for anyone else, though.

POS refers to Port of Spain, Trinidiad, which is the Regional Medical Centre for the Caribbean and northern Latin American countries. When your husband does his medical, the results will be sent there to be uploaded.

Hahaa, morning Nae! Thanks for the help out!

 

[nae-nae]

canuck was kind enough to post the abbreviations awhile ago which I found for you

see below

Good morning everyone, here is some info for your requests
Immigration acronyms:
========================



AOR - Acknowledgement of Receipt

CAIPS - Computer Assisted Immigration Processing System. This is the computer system used by Citizenship and Immigration Canada for storing all overseas visa application information. This system records every bit of information you provide. It is like an electronic identity; existence of the applicant. This is very helpful when anything abnormal happens (e.g. delay in reply, lack of updation, long processing time). It is also helpful when you are selected for the interview. You can know the probable cause of interview requirement by obtaining the CAIPS notes.
CANN - Community Airport Newcomers' Network
CELPIP - Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program. This is one of only two English language testing organizations approved by CIC (IELTS is the other). CELPIP testing is only available in Canada (Vancouver and Toronto) and China.
CPP - Canada Pension Plan
CIC - Citizenship and Immigration Canada
CICIC - Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials
CIDA - Canadian International Development Agency
COPR - Confirmation of Permanent Resident Form
CSQ - Certificate du Selection du Quebec (Quebec Certificate of Selection)

DMP - Designated Medical Practitioner. Under the Skilled Worker Program application all family members must undergo a medical exam, performed by a doctor that has been approved by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
IRPA - Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
IRPR - Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations
EAL - English as an Additional Language
e-CAS - e-Client Application Status. This on-line service allows CIC clients to view securely the status of immigration and/or citizenship application(s) on-line, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You may use this service if you have sponsored a member of the family class, applied for permanent residence from within or outside Canada, applied for a permanent resident card (initial, replacement or renewal), applied for a grant of Canadian citizenship, or applied for a proof of Canadian citizenship.
EFL - English as a Foreign Language
EI - Employment Insurance (also sometimes referred to as unemployment insurance)
ELT - English Language Training/Teaching
ESL - English as a Second Language
ESOL - English for Speakers of Other Languages
ESP - English for Specific Purposes
GIC - Guaranteed Investment Certificate
GST - Goods and Services Tax
H&C grounds - Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds. In the case of Canadian immigration, refers to section A25(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Any person who does not comply with the three categories of immigration to Canada (family, economic and refugee) may ask to be considered for immigration selection on H&C grounds.
HRDC (see HRSDC) - former Human Resources Development Canada
HRSDC - Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. The government agency responsible for performing both Arranged Employment Opinions and Labour Market Opinions for the purposes of obtaining employment confirmation letters. Such letters may be required by Skilled Worker applicants when attempting to qualify for the additional ten points under the Arranged Employment Factor.
ICCS - International Council for Canadian Studies
ID - Identification
IELTS - International English Language Testing System. One of only two English language testing organizations approved by CIC (CELPIP is the other). Note that Skilled Worker applicants will want to complete the IELTS 'General Training' exams, not the 'Academic Training' exams.
IRPA - Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
MSP - Medical Services Plan
NOC - National Occupational Classification
NGO - Non-Governmental Organization
OLA - Open Learning Agency
PST - Provincial Sales Tax
RCMP - Royal Canadian Mounted Police
RRPF - Right of Permanent Residence Fee
RRSP - Registered Retirement Savings Plan
SIN -Social Insurance Number
SWP - Skilled Worker Program
TEF - Test d'Evaluation de Français. The only French language testing organization approved by CIC. Note that Skilled Workers are to complete the following tests: Comprehension Ocrite / Comprehension Orale / Expression Ecrite / Expression Orale.
VSO - Voluntary Services Overseas
WCB - Workers' Compensation Board
YMCA - Young Men's Christian Association
YWCA - Young Women's Christian Association
IA-Intial Assessment
PPR-Passport Request

 

[nae-nae]

morning charlie! no problem!! lol

 

[Kedeisha]

Hahahaha that's a good one canuck!!!

Good afternoon everyone! Well its long weekend coming up, hopefully kgn gets well rested and starts next week off with a bang.
Lil man doesn't have soccer this weekend for once! So not to sure what we will do this weekend. They do have this thing here called Marshville. Its a whole bunch of crafts and homemade foods and stuff so I think we will be going to that. Hope everyone enjoys their weekend. Goodluck on your big day Ked!!!

Lonely wifey- where yuh at girl???? All ready for hubby??? Ahhhhhh one more day!!!!! Can't wait to read that landing story

Thanks Mrs. P

 

[lovehasnoboundaries]

Hey nae-nae & CharlieD, thanks for the warm welcome! Nae-nae, I noted to call revenue Canada for option C printout--what is that exactly? Glad to know the winter season doesn't hold things up in KG. I'm blown away to know that I don't have to have a source of income to sponsor my spouse, always thought it would be rejected. So when putting in my app would I include a letter indicating my intention to work? (ie. job searching) and include my school records? I saw the post with the abbreviations, wow thanks ladies! I think I will be spending quite some time here ;D I'll keep u posted!

 

[nae-nae]

you're welcome LHNB! the option C printout is from Revenue Canada noting your income for the previous year. It is required to be submitted with your application to sponsor. My recommendation is to get both applications and guides, read them from front to back at least twice. You'll need the Country Specific guide for Jamaica as well. Use the document checklists to make sure you gather together the information required to be submitted with the app's.

I don't think you need to send your school records. You may want to include a letter, it's up to you, but I don't think it is required. Someone else may want to comment on that as I honestly do not know...I wasn't a student when we applied.

 

[Mrslwsn]

Hey everyone! It has been so long since I have checked in with u guys...how is everyone?...Although I am a very newish and hardly here member welcome to all newer members! I have been here in Jamaica with my husband and kids for almost 3 months and I am going back up to Canada in a couple days..So FINALLY me n hubby are working out our application hopefully to send off in or around November of this year...So I have a question for you experts...How important is it for us to have notarized letters from friends and family authenticating our relationship?..we are coming up to 2nd anniversary..5 yrs together, loads of pics, etc fairly standard straight forward proof, my husband has no record, is a mechanic, the only thing they might scrutinize is my income is so low (abt 7000/yr) even tho I kno I dont need to meet the LICO, but still, these are things i am paro over, because I have 4 children under 12 yrs. My husband has no children biologically and is college educated so on his end no issues really..so that being said now I am wondering how much more proof we need or rather how important is all the extras? I do have a plan to add a letter from my employer, also to explain that I do spend about a total of 3-4 months out of the yr in Ja with my husband PLUS that I pay for visits by finding very cheap airfare, pardner money and tax refund etc..How much do they really fass in the actual sponsor? Thanks in advance to all replies or advice and I hope everyone is well and in good spirits...bless

 

[CharlieD10]

Hey Mrs Lwsn! Glad to hear you are still about, and have been in Jamaica with your husband! I bet you have been enjoying the time together.

Regarding the letters, for a married couple, none of the letters from family or friends need to be notarized, that is for common-law couples. However, letters from family and friends can show that your marriage is known to the people important to you both, those around you whom you interact with. It goes toward the genuineness of the marriage, especially in a small country like Jamaica where ties to extended family (auntie sistah husband daughta!) are not uncommon.

In your case, it is still a good idea to show how you finance things. The reason is that even though sponsoring spouses do not need to meet a LICO, there is a section in IRPA called A39, which allows for a sponsorship to be denied if the IO is not convinced that the sponsored member is able/willing to support himself and the sponsor has not made arrangements for their care that do not involve relying on social assistance.

Include the proof of your financial planning, and also include proof of your husband's employability, i.e. his degree/certificate/diploma and his CXC's to show he can function in English. This will pre-emptively dispel any A39 concerns that may arise because of your income.

Good luck with completing the application, we are here to help and also cheering you on!

 

[Mrs Proper]

Good evening forum, I hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend. Don't get me wrong I love time off I just wish KGN still had to work! Lol I used to love my weekend and look forward to them, now I look forward to weekdays lol.
Well outdoor soccer season almost over for my son, this week is registration for indoor soccer which he will be joining. He wants to play all year round so imma make that happen!
We had some wicked weather here this morning around 4 I swear a tornado was blowing through, lots of ppl were without power till 2pm today. The kids slept thro it ofcourse and I on the other hand was beyond scared! Lol
Well I hope everyone enjoys there night and day off tomorrow. Its september now so hopefully KGN kicks off this week with a huge BANG!!!!!

 

[CharlieD10]

Hey hey Mrs P. Long weekend, where? LOL, I hope everyone there in Canada enjoys the Labour Day weekend. Glad little Mr P is enjoying football (bleh, can't call it soccer) so much he wants to keep playing during the indoor season too!

I hope everyone who is getting a long weekend enjoys it, including KG, haha! For those of us who don't get the day off, onwards and upwards and all that good jazz, it's another day.

 

[Mrs Proper]

Hahahah forgot not everyone has long weekend, in that case I hope the ppl who don't have a good day at work tomorrow lol

 

[Mrslwsn]

Hey Mrs Lwsn! Glad to hear you are still about, and have been in Jamaica with your husband! I bet you have been enjoying the time together.

Regarding the letters, for a married couple, none of the letters from family or friends need to be notarized, that is for common-law couples. However, letters from family and friends can show that your marriage is known to the people important to you both, those around you whom you interact with. It goes toward the genuineness of the marriage, especially in a small country like Jamaica where ties to extended family (auntie sistah husband daughta!) are not uncommon.

In your case, it is still a good idea to show how you finance things. The reason is that even though sponsoring spouses do not need to meet a LICO, there is a section in IRPA called A39, which allows for a sponsorship to be denied if the IO is not convinced that the sponsored member is able/willing to support himself and the sponsor has not made arrangements for their care that do not involve relying on social assistance.

Include the proof of your financial planning, and also include proof of your husband's employability, i.e. his degree/certificate/diploma and his CXC's to show he can function in English. This will pre-emptively dispel any A39 concerns that may arise because of your income.

Good luck with completing the application, we are here to help and also cheering you on!

Oh wow that is great info..Thank you so much for that CharlieD!!! I did know about the A39 which is why I was so concerned..he will have no problem showing his employability, as he is a smartie lol..also anyone have any idea about how much they going to investigate me to determine if I am an eligible sponsor? I am just very curious as to the process..

 

[CharlieD10]

Sponsor eligibility is fairly well-defined in the sponsor evaluation, Mrs Lwsn. In other words, so long as you can show you are eligible as per the requirements on the IMM 1344 and 5481 (employment history, income, not in default of any previous undertakings, not convicted of any of the applicable crimes, not in receipt of social assistance for reasons other than welfare, not an undischarged bankrupt) then you should be accepted as a sponsor with no issues.

The important thing to focus on as a sponsor is why you are willing to undertake this responsibility on behalf of the person you are sponsoring. That is, documenting the development and subsistence of your relationship over time. So, make a good selections of those pictures you have accumulated with time, show your visits together, document how you developed to marriage and how you communicate during the times you are apart, and how you live your lives together while you are with him in Jamaica.

 

[Mrslwsn]

Ok, this is good to know..yep all those things isnt an issue, so I should pass ;D Yes we have soooooo manyy pictures, endless phone bills, and I hope they believe my reasoning for travelling so often or how we will manage after as my husband is the breadwinner. I have a son who had a stroke at age 2, and since then I havent been able to get back into the workforce full time away from home, because he was injured at the babysitters (causing the stroke) and demanded a lot of my attention in the years following during his recovery. Would that be beneficial to explain? My son is almost fully recovered now 8 yrs later and is not on disability or anything thank god he is doing well but has issues that require me to be near to him and I have no family to help me in Canada, so it just basically me. However, I also dont want to use it as a crutch either. So much to think about gosh man my head swimming...di amount of kissteet me and hussy buss today at the paper work today is not a joke lol....

 

[CharlieD10]

Whatever you write about, confirm it, and show how your family has dealt with it together. If you have copies of your son's diagnosis and progress reports, then just copy these. Oh, as your children are not all your husband's (I think?) you need to show how he is developing a relationship with them. This is VERY important. They will want to see that he is in fact blending into the family and taking a role in bringing up the children, even at a distance.

Haha, my husband took one look at the paperwork and said, "Here, you deal with this!" I basically just asked him the questions, filled in his answers on a draft copy, sent that to him, and he read through them to make sure I got everything correct as he told me, then he filled out a neat and proper copy, signed it and he was done. It took me about 4 months to put it together, took him a week to do his part.

It's important to take the time to do it right, though. Follow the document checklists and the regional guide to ensure you have everything needed, and organize them accordingly.