Non-Accompanying Dependents and COPR - Senior Members Help Please !

[FlashG]

OK, Now I am really confused.

My wife just got her COPR back and passport with Visa. My step-daughter's passport was also requested and sent together with hers and appears to have no new visa in it. She already had a TRV and a study permit and is in Canada currently so was "non-accompanying" on the application form - she was already here studying legally (dual intent).

Does this mean she is not covered under her mom's application? How can this be? They had her passport, requested she re-medical and everything.

Does anybody know how she can become a PR of Canada ?? She currently is an International Student here. She is 19 and a dependent. We assumed when her mom came, we would take the daughter's passport with visa and flagpole to get landing and PR.

My wife is in China so I am trying to get more information on the documentation she received from the Embassy. But if anyone understands this situation - please, please enlighten me.

Thanks!

 

[scylla]

Was the step-daughter specifically listed as non-accompanying in the application?

Non-accompanying has nothing to do with where someone is located.

Non-accompanying means that you are not sponsoring the dependent for PR at this time. So if you did in fact indicate the step daughter was non-accompanying in the application, then it makes perfect sense that she wasn't issued a CORP.

Can you confirm that you did in fact list her as non-accompanying?

 

[FlashG]

The question on the form is as follows:


Question 11

a) Will accompany principal applicant to Canada ? [No]

b) Reasons why dependent is non-accompanying? [Coming in Canada with Study Permit/TRV]

We answered honestly based on a plain language interpretation of the question. In effect, I thought our answer showed that she was not going to come with her mother ("accompany her") when she comes because she is already here studying !!

What options now?

 

[scylla]

Unfortunately you completely misunderstood what you were being asked.

"Non-accompanying" has nothing to do with where someone is physically located. This question is asking if you want the dependent included in the PR visa issuance process.

By flagging your step-daughter as non-accompanying, you instructed CIC not to include your step-daughter in the PR process. So it was 100% correct of CIC to only issue a CORP for your wife - unfortunately they were following your instructions when they excluded your step-daughter.

You have two options:

1) Your wife can go ahead and land. Then file a brand new application to sponsor her daughter for PR status. You'll have to do all of the paperwork again from scratch unfortunately.

2) Your wife can return her CORP and indicate that she wants to change the status of her daughter to accompanying. CIC will then issue new visas for both of them.

I have no idea what the turn-around time for the second option might be. Hopefully someone else here can suggest.

 

[FlashG]

Thank you Scylla, I really appreciate your insight !

I had no idea that by simply choosing one check box as "non-accompanying" that I was un-sponsoring our dependent daughter. What a monumental mistake! On the other hand - how am I or anybody else supposed to know that. The documentation does not indicate it at all that I can see. You would think they would have a note such as: "If your dependents do not accompany you, they are not being sponsored at this time", or something to that effect.

Maybe you can shed some light then for us. I understand the options you gave. If we tried the second one (send the passports back for our daughter's COPR) do you think would we be able to do the following ?

• once (and if) the COPR is affixed, send the passport from China to Canada where our daughter lives now with me, have her travel back to China with her passport, then "accompany" her mom as they both come to Canada for the landing.
  
  Given the inaccessibility of VO, how should I go about this ? Just send a Case Specific Enquiry e-mail and return the passports ?
  
  Anybody else with experience or knowledge of this kind of thing, some info would be greatly appreciated!
  
  Thanks all!

 

[FlashG]

I think I may need to get legal advice on this

 

[scylla]

I think I may need to get legal advice on this

You can easily do it without legal advice. See Leon's response to your other post. However if you feel more comfortable hiring a lawyer - by all means go ahead.

 

[FlashG]

Thanks Scylla,

My concern was about this statement that accompanying dependents cannot land before their parents. My daughter is here, but can I assume she is not really "landed" because she is here under a TRV and not a PR visa?

You wouldn't believe the stress levels - my wife is now trying to take back her work resignation of yesterday in order to have more time to send the passports back.

 

[scylla]

Your step-daughter hasn't "landed" from an immigration perspective. She is in Canada temporarily on a study visa. As Leon has already explained - the process is very straight forward. Once both your wife and step-daughter have their CORPs - your wife must land first by arriving in Canada and activating her PR visa. Once she has done this, your step-daughter can flagpole at any land border to "land" and activate hers. There are tons of cases here where the principal applicant and the dependent haven't landed together. This is perfectly normal and done often. The only rule is that the principal applicant must land first.

 

[Leon]

Or if you want, let your wife land first and then apply to sponsor the daughter.

 

[FlashG]

Thanks Leon and Scylla,

+ ratings for both of you! You have explained it well now.

Really appreciate having access to the experience of this forum.