Korea to Canada Spousal Sponsorship

[rotato]

Hello!

My wife and I are starting to prepare for our permanent residency application and we have a few questions. But first, I'll give a bit of information about us. I'm Canadian by birth and my wife is Korean. We've been together for over 2 years and just married last month. We don't have any children together.

I'd really appreciate it if anyone could help us with some questions. The official documents are a bit confusing and there's so much information to sift through!

• 
  1. I've been in Korea for a year now and I recently filed my taxes as a non-resident to avoid paying both Korean and Canadian taxes. Will that cause any problems?
  I know I have to declare intent to return to Canada and provide proof. But I just want to be sure.
  
  
• 
  2. I filed my taxes as a non resident for the most recent tax year. Do I still need the Option-C Printout? If still needed, can I have it sent to Korea?
  I did work in Canada and so had earned income and had the automatic tax deductions from my pay for the 2014 year. But I filed as a non-resident, so I'm not sure if that's still relevant. Also, can I have the CRA send it to Korea, or will I have to have it sent to a family member in Canada and have them forward it to me?
  
  
• 
  3. About proof of intent to go to Canada; how much is really needed?
  I've read about some people providing what seems like tons and tons of documents as proof. Such as correspondence between employers (potential and current), real estate agents, letters from family members, etc. But how much is sufficient in the CIC's eyes? We're planning on having me go to Canada a few months before my wife comes to secure a job, apartment, etc. So I'm not sure how to get any proof out of that.
  
  
• 
  4. As part of the sponsored person's supporting documents, my wife will have to supply a medical/background check for her and her "family members." What's a family member in this case?
  I saw something somewhere (I don't have the source now) that made it seem like "family members" only referred to children, but that seems weird. When we submit her documents, will she have to submit a medical check for her mother, father, sister, sister's husband and their children, etc.? I also read that if you don't submit the medical checks, those family members just can't be sponsored at a later date. Her family isn't planning on coming at all anyway, but does that mean that they'd never be able to come at all, even if we got a new medical check for them? I don't want to mess something up and somewhere down the road they decide they want to come.
  
  
• 
  5. My wife lived in Japan for 5+ years so she will have to get a background check for Japan too, correct? But we're confused about the required documents for the check.
  You can find the source here for reference: cic[dot]gc[dot]ca/english/information/security/police-cert/asia-pacific/japan.asp
  I'm not allowed to post links, so sorry for the weird format.
  
  According to that link, these are some of the required documents:
  One of the following documents:
  - An official copy of your Residence Record (Juminhyo) (issued within the last six months) OR
  - A document issued by the government or other public agency that shows your name and address (such as your Resident Card (Zairyu) Special Permanent Resident Certificate (Tokubetsu Eijusha Shomeisho) or a driver’s license)
  
  And since she's not a Japanese citizen, she must also provide the following:
  - Proof of your current address (ex. Japanese driver’s licence or mail addressed to you)
  - A document that shows you lived in Japan (ex. official copy of your Alien Registration Card (Gaikokujin Toroku Gempyo)
  
  But, what confuses me is that these all sound like proof of living inside Japan now. She moved back to Korea in 2011, and hasn't lived in Japan since then. Some of these documents might be impossible to get or a huge pain to get. They also ask for "proof of current address" which would be in Korea, but list a Japanese driver's license as an example document to provide as proof. Does anyone have any idea about these?
  
  

Thank you for all your help! Sorry for the huge amount of text!

 

[floomy]

1& 2. no wouldn't be any problem.
CRA would not send option-c print to s. korea so we had to ask our in-laws to received the letter from CRA and send us to s. Korea.
( My husband talked to his accountant before he did anything with CRA (tax), so if you can, you could talk your accountant first )

3. We did not send any letters from employers or family, we sent only a letter saying we wanna move to Canada for our daughter's future..
After my husband approved as sponsor, VO(visa office) requested to send more supporting doc to prove our intention to settle down in Canada.
luckily we were in Canada and my husband got a job, so we sent a letter from his work and his pay stub (two previous one) then VO did not request
any more docs.
so if you would come to Canada after sending app, and have a job etc, you could send more supporting doc after /when vo request it.
(its possible that VO would ask more supporting doc anyway)

4.only she would need to do medical.
You sponsor only your wife (not her families).

5. not sure about it, but she would need to have criminal record check since she lived in foreign country more than 6 month.
and if you apply for outland, this is forms that you need .
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp#immigrate

hope it helps and you can ask and find more info.

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/sponsoring-my-korean-wife-for-permanent-residency-t137874.2565.html

good luck

 

[rotato]

Thank you for your response!

Your answers make me feel a lot better. I'm worried about making a mistake or not including enough information and then having the application significantly delayed or just outright denied.

• 
  1 & 2. I'll talk to my accountant before doing anything with CRA. Do you know what kind of things your husband talked to his accountant about? If I remember correctly, all I need to know is my declared income on line 150 of my tax return. Was there something else your husband talked about?
  
  
• 
  3. How long after you sent in your application did you get the request for more proof about your intention to settle down in Canada? We're planning on applying soon as I have another 6 months contract here in Korea. So we want to get a head start. After my contract ends I'll go to Canada first to find a job and apartment. So I think it would also be great if we got that request after moving to Canada. Proof might be hard to come-by before then unfortunately. :/
  
  
• 
  4. Great! That seemed weird that her whole family would have to do it.
  
  
• 
  5. I'll have to check more about it. I was just hoping someone might have had experience with this particular situation.
  

If you don't mind me asking, has your application been approved and if so, how long did it take overall?

Thank you!

 

[rotato]

I just thought up a couple more questions.

• 
  1. For Korean citizens, we have to provide a few extra documents I just want to make sure about. Are these Korean translations correct?
  Family Relation Certificate = 가족관계 증명서
  Old (deleted) Family Census Register = 호적등본
  
  
• 
  2. Another document we have to provide is a "Marriage Relation Certificate." Is this just the paper we get from our local 구 (gu) office when we register our marriage?
  
  
• 
  3. For all these documents, we just provide copies, correct?
  
  
• 
  4. When looking at the immigration guide, I came across this sentence for required civil status documents (#12 on page A-2):
  "Other official document confirming relationship (including all pages of Household Registries) for
  you and each of your family members."
  
  Is this another separate document we have to include, or will this be covered by the Korea-specific documents I asked about in my first question of this post?
  
  
• 
  5. #14 Travel Documents and Passports on page A-4 says we have to provide documents for the sponsored person and his/her spouse. That means I also have to include my documents here. Underneath there is a sentence "If you live in a country different from your nationality, include a copy of your visa for the country in which you currently live." Does this mean only the sponsored person, or should I (as the sponsor) also provide a copy of my visa as I'm currently on a special teaching visa (E-2) in Korea?
  
  
• 
  6. #15 Proof of relationship to sponsor on page A-5 mentions about relationship to spouse and mentions wedding photos or "proof you are partners" as well as a bunch of other examples such as emails, plane tickets, phone call lags, etc. If we're married, do we need to provide all of that? Wouldn't a marriage certificate be enough, or do we need to provide more as well?
  

Thank you!

 

[floomy]

will try answer as much as I can.

1.2.3. this is for korean national according to form
For nationals of Korea:

• Family Relation Certificate and one certified true translation into French or English of your Family Relation Certificate. This document should have been recently issued.
• Marriage Relation Certificate and one certified true translation into French or English
• Old (deleted) Family Census Register and one certified true translation into French or English

가족 관계 증명서, 호적등본, 결혼 증명서
you need to be translated and notarized by authorized person (not by you and your wife or family members) - need to do all of pages.

4. no need any other docs.

5.you would need photocopy of your passport (first page with photo on it) and your korean visa and photo copy of your wife's passport (first pages)
- there is document check list you need to check and send with your application.

6. yes , you are married but vo wanna know if your relationship/marriage is genuine .. but you do not need to send everything.
what I sent- photocopy of our plane tickets (when we travel in/outside CANADA and s. korea) and photos ( only major events and with family )
do not need to send a lot of photos only you and your wife in it.
photos with your family and her family, family vacation or wedding etc.

7 .My husband asked his accountant how his international income would work for Canadian tax etc.


8. I sent my app on end of NOV. 2013 and requested more doc on July, 2014 (5 month after my file transferred to Manila)
I am approved PR now , it took me full 17 months.- you can see my time line under my ID.
think mine took more than usual ( I really think they forgot my app until I emailed for update )
I read some of applicant approved in a year or much shorter time than mine.

p.s I would do medical right before you send application.
Sure, you do not have to make an appointment for medical in S. korea (I didn't ).
If your wife app process fast (in an year ) then she would not need to do re medical in Canada (hopefully)

 

[rotato]

Thank you for all your help!

I've been very inactive, but we're planning on starting the application process ASAP and I just wanted to be sure about a couple things:

• Medical checks for family members
  I know I've already asked this, but re-reading the CIC documents again and again makes it sound like we must have medical checks for family members. Specifically, on the guide to sponsorship (Guide 3900) it says "All family members, whether or accompanying or not,will have to complete a medical examination." So we're extremely confused about this.
  
• Translation of documents
  How did you translate your documents?
  
  I emailed the Canadian consulate and they gave me a list of translators and notary publics. Since I believe there are no translators recognized by the Canadian government here, we will have to use a normal translation service and then have them sign an affidavit, correct? Is it difficult to get them to go to the notary publics to sign the affidavit? My wife and I are worried about that.
  
  I read online that some people just translated their own documents. But it says in the guide that translations must not be done by us or our family.

Thank you!

 

[floomy]

1. only she need to do medical ( your wife is your family )
if she has a kid (adopted or from previous marriage ), the kid also need to do medical whether comes with her or not.
she can do medical after all docs prepared and ready to send , bcuz medical is only good for a year.

2. I went agency to translate and notarize my docs.
you cannot translated by yourself : CIC used to accept docs translated by applicants but not anymore.

you can find a lot of translation agency in Seoul (jong no /city hall area)
I called some places to shop around the prices, so you could do that .
I paid for about 200.000 won : translated and notarized all docs (family census, marriage cert. etc) so costed 10.000won per a page.

FYI: you have to translated all docs especially for old family census cert. (mine was 7 pages and costed the most )

good luck.

 

[rotato]

Thank you for your quick reply!

1. Great! I couldn't find any specific information on the medical check. What will we have to tell the hospital we need when we go there? Is there a specific name for the medical check? I did read that the hospital won't give us the results, but rather send it directly to CIC, is that right? In that case, should we give the hospital the same address that we will send our application to?

2. Great! Did you have to also get the documents checked at the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs? I emailed the consulate and they mentioned that we might have to do that. We're living in Busan, so we'll have to look around for translators.

Thank you again for all your patience and replies!

 

[floomy]

1. there is panel physician list on CIC so if you find a doctor in Busan , call them and tell that you wanna have a medical check for Canada immigration.
they do all the time so would know what you are asking for.
the result go to CIC right away, unless there is something wrong with a result then would call you to redo (blood test/x ray etc)
you can give same address where you live now in Busan.

2. not sure what kind of docs you refer. but don't think I got a doc from Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

[Rob_TO]

You must go to a panel physician from this list: http://www.cic.gc.ca/pp-md/pp-list.aspx
3 options in Busan, all located at the same hospital:
City: Busan
Name: Dae-Hwan Kim
Address: Inje University Haeundae Paik Hospital,
Visa Medical Examination Centre,
875 Haeun-daero, Haeundae-Gu,
612-030
Telephone: 82-51-797-0372
Spoken Languages: English, Korean

City: Busan
Name: Sangyoon Lee
Address: Inje University Haeundae Paik Hospital,
Visa Medical Examination Centre,
875 Haeun-daero, Haeundae-Gu,
612-030
Telephone: 82-51-797-0372
Spoken Languages: English, Korean

City: Busan
Name: Ji Young Ryu
Address: Inje University Haeundae Paik Hospital,
Visa Medical Examination Centre,
875 Haeun-daero, Haeundae-Gu,
612-030
Telephone: 82-51-797-0372
Spoken Languages: English, Korean

Tell the hospital it's an "upfront" medical check (so you don't require a letter with a file number from CIC requesting the exam). You don't need to give any special address to the physician. They will send the results to a standard regional medical intake office where the medical is processed, and this won't be the same location as your outland visa office. Make sure you get a receipt number from the doctor, that you will include with your PR app. The visa officer processing the app can then use the receipt number to simply download the medical results from wherever it was processed.

And there is no need to go to a ministry of foreign affairs for anything. Simply get the docs requested in the CIC guide (police, family relation cert, etc), and get them translated. That's it, no need for any other efforts.

 

[rotato]

Thank you floomy and Rob_TO!

I feel much better about the medical checks now. About the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I asked the Canadian consulate in Korea about translators and they told me I may need to go to the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs to get translated documents further approved. I guess I don't need to do that then?

I have a few other questions too:

• Proof of employment (item #18 on IMM 5491, document checklist)
  The checklist says to submit a letter from my employer or proof of income. 'll be finishing up my contract as a teacher in Korea before or not long after we submit our application and I'll be going to Canada to look for work there while my wife stays in Korea working and waiting for the application. So I'll most likely be jobless before they actually get to processing my application.
  
  Should I just not send any proof of employment/income and when I get a job in Canada submit a letter from my employer to show I obtained a new job? What if I don't find a new job before the application is processed?
  
  
• Further proof of employment (item #19 on document checklist
  It states "if you must meet the minimum necessary income requirement and not submitting Option-C printout or my income is lower than the necessary income" then I must submit some other proof of income.
  
  Because it's only my wife and I, no dependants, then I don't need to do this, right?
  
  
• Received interest on income earned
  Last one for this post, I promise! Both #18 and #19 mention interest earned in a bank account. I have a savings account in a Canadian bank where I earn monthly interest. But it's not much at all, less than $20 per month. Do I still have to declare that?
  

Thank you again for all your help! You guys have been so helpful for my wife and me!

Rob

 

[floomy]

1. you do not need further approval from the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Most agency offer translation and notarization together.

2. I would submit a letter from your former employer and your tax receipt or income proof in Korea: it shows your previous employ history and how much you would make and save for yourself and wife. Furthermore, you might wanna explain how you and your wife would financially supported in Canada after PR or till you would get a job (so income should be mentioned and you should send all proof you can)

3. you do not need a job while her file is processing, but mostly likely VO would request to send more proof that you are gonna settle in Canada.
(I was requested and seems like many applicants was) so you can send a proof that you are in Canada and job search when you are requested.

4. don't think you need to mention bank interest, but you could mention that you have bank account, credit card , asset etc in Canada (as a proof of tie in Canada)

don't know much about option -c, hope ROB_TO give you more info.

 

[Rob_TO]

About the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I asked the Canadian consulate in Korea about translators and they told me I may need to go to the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs to get translated documents further approved. I guess I don't need to do that then?

I have no idea what that means, "further approved". If you get your docs translated by an accredited translator, that should be sufficient.

• Proof of employment (item #18 on IMM 5491, document checklist)
  The checklist says to submit a letter from my employer or proof of income. 'll be finishing up my contract as a teacher in Korea before or not long after we submit our application and I'll be going to Canada to look for work there while my wife stays in Korea working and waiting for the application. So I'll most likely be jobless before they actually get to processing my application.
  
  Should I just not send any proof of employment/income and when I get a job in Canada submit a letter from my employer to show I obtained a new job? What if I don't find a new job before the application is processed?

• 
  
  Just submit the employment details/letter you have as of the date you send the application. There is no need to further update CIC with employment changes after you submit the PR app.
  
  

  • Further proof of employment (item #19 on document checklist
    It states "if you must meet the minimum necessary income requirement and not submitting Option-C printout or my income is lower than the necessary income" then I must submit some other proof of income.
    
    Because it's only my wife and I, no dependants, then I don't need to do this, right?

  • 
    
    Right there is no min income required for spousal sponsorship so you can put N/A through question 19.
    
    

    • Received interest on income earned
      Last one for this post, I promise! Both #18 and #19 mention interest earned in a bank account. I have a savings account in a Canadian bank where I earn monthly interest. But it's not much at all, less than $20 per month. Do I still have to declare that?

    • 
      
      I wouldn't bother mentioning the small amount in interest here.
      
      However on an unrelated note, you mentioned that you've declared non-residency status with the CRA to avoid paying Canadian income tax. You should research the rules around non-residency very carefully. Even if you aren't physically residing in Canada, the more secondary ties you have to Canada the more chance there is CRA may deem you a resident for tax purposes despite how you actually filed your taxes, and demand you pay your Canadian income tax owed. So if you maintain Canadian bank accounts, credit card accounts, other financial accounts, car lease, etc etc... all of these are considered ties. So just be cautious when doing your taxes, as if you're ever audited in the future all of this could come up.
      Section 1.14: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/tchncl/ncmtx/fls/s5/f1/s5-f1-c1-eng.html

 

[rotato]

Great! Thank you so much again for your replies!

Translations
Then I won't bother with the further approval of translated documents. But when searching for translation services, do I have to find one that is specifically approved by the Canadian government? The CIC website seemed to say that, so I'm not sure what we should be asking for when we contact translators. I'm worried even if they provide translation and notarization, it won't be approved by CIC.

Employment Information
Great! Then I'll get a letter from my former employer and submit as much information as I can. It's better safe than sorry, I guess. How do I go about getting a tax receipt in Korea? Do I need to get that from my employer or from the Korean government?

Tax
Thank you for the heads up! I went through my accountant for everything, so I hope everything is taken care of. But I'll be sure to keep that in mind and check on it, especially when moving back to Canada.

Thank you again for all your help! We have a lot of questions and your answers are extremely helpful!

 

[bartjones]

Great! Thank you so much again for your replies!

Translations
Then I won't bother with the further approval of translated documents. But when searching for translation services, do I have to find one that is specifically approved by the Canadian government? The CIC website seemed to say that, so I'm not sure what we should be asking for when we contact translators. I'm worried even if they provide translation and notarization, it won't be approved by CIC.

You don't need to find one approved by CIC. Translators are not certified in Korea. You just need to find a translator and they will attach an affidavit stating that it's an accurate translation. CIC will accept that. It's not hard to find a translator in Korea. Call any lawyers office and they'll either have one in their office or be able refer you to one nearby.