Looking to marry my gf and move her to Canada from the US
- Thread starter T1000
- Start date
Hello again everyone. I have another question for you all. For my gf to get her days in that is needed for permanent residency what is the absolute max amount she can stay for and also how long does she have to go back to the US before she can come back again?
There are no "days required for permanent residency." Residency obligations are only an issue after a person becomes a permanent resident. She will be at the beginning of the application stage, which will mean approximately a year until she becomes a resident. If she comes to Canada on a visitor visa, she will have 6 months in Canada, unless the border agent gives her a date before that where she has to leave. If you are applying outland, if she intends to remain in Canada, then she will need to file an extension for her visitor visa at least 30 days before her 6 month stay expires. If you apply inland, and include an application for an open work permit, then she should submit that as soon as possible after entering Canada. Once her OWP is processed, she will be able to remain in Canada until your application is completed on implied status. If, however, her OWP was not done processing by the end of the 6 month stay, then she'd need to file an extension, same as with outland. In the event that she leaves Canada and re-enters at a later date, there is no minimum time to remain in the US prior to returning to Canada.
I'd advise doing some reading on the different application processes (inland v outland) because I believe that might answer a lot of these questions that you have. Remember that permanent residence and citizenship are not the same thing.
I feel so silly. I keep mixing up the days for citizenship with permanent residency. I keep thinking those 3 years worth of days needed for citizenship. We just want to get married and start the process of permanent residency. I keep getting ahead of myself.
There are residency requirements for Permanent Residency as well, but that's only after you've been approved. You have to have lived in Canada for 2 of 5 years to meet the requirements to stay a Permanent Resident.. Or if you are living outside of Canada with a Canadian citizen then that can still count for your PR residency. Living outside of Canada will not count for Citizenship however.
For right now, listen to what @mrs_december said about visitor visas as that is what your girlfriend would be on in Canada.
We plan on getting married on the 17 and she will be going back to the states later in that week. So can we start the paperwork for permanent residency or does she need to be in Canada for so long before hand?
There is no minimum number of days that she is required to be in Canada for application, as long as the application is an outland application. You do, however, need to have all the documentation related to your marriage (i.e. finalized marriage certificate from your jurisdiction) before you can apply. The criteria for spousal sponsorship is that you're validly married, so you need to have the docs on hand to prove that. As long as you do, then you can apply whenever you like.
Okay so how long does it take to become a permanent resident and where do we go from there?
It will take approximately 12 months for the PR application to be processed from the time it's received by CIC.
I'm not sure what you mean by "where do we go from there".
Oh wow that sure takes awhile! So in between the processing time, can she still apply for a visitor visa or does it really matter? We would like to see each other for a couple weeks every few months. Also once the application has been processed and accepted what do we do after that?
Isn't she American? If so, she doesn't need a visitor visa.
My biggest advice to you at this point is to spend A LOT more time reading through the information on the CIC web site and also through historical discussions on this forum. The questions you're asking are extremely basic and you also seem to have a number of misconceptions about how things work. Very very important that you understand the process clearly so that you don't encounter or create hurdles for yourself. If you're not comfortable (or don't have time) to do this research on your own, strongly recommend you hire an immigration lawyer to assist you. Good luck.
I apologize for my ignorance. There is so much to learn and it seems I have so many questions. Thank you for helping though. I really do appreciate it.
There's no need to apologize - we have all been there. Having said that, there's really no short cut to extensive research. You're going to have to spend a great deal more time researching and understanding the process on your own if you are going to be successful in applying without the assistance of a lawyer or consultant. Improperly completed applications can have bad consequences - it's critical you spend the time to understand exactly how all of this works.