One-way UK to Canada, India travel, then spousal sponsorship?

[northstar]

I've been scouring this forum for info and the wealth of knowledge has been so invaluable to me!! Thanks to all, especially to those who work in travel & immigration related industries, for taking the time to give your advice and expertise for free. So here's my story. I'm a UK born citizen, my fiancé is a Canadian citizen and we'll be getting married in October, then applying for spousal sponsorship (outland in London)

My plans so far:

- Fly one-way to Canada in August,
- Fly to India in Sept for 3 weeks for some celebrations & back to Canada
- Get married in Canada in Oct
- Apply for PR

My questions:

1) Does it make more sense to just tell customs that I'm visiting, rather than mention anything about marriage or PR application?

2) Since I'm visa-exempt for 6 months, will I have issues with my one-way ticket at customs or anywhere in the airport at check-in, boarding etc? As far as I remember, nobody at customs has ever asked to see a return ticket, but rather only asked in general terms, 'how long do you plan to stay for? why?' etc. I don't see any dates on the passport stamps that indicate they didn't 'allow' me the 6 months. So I'm hoping they don't ask me to show a return booking, and I'll just say I'm staying for a few weeks as a visitor, though do they have any record of my flight information to query? To my knowledge, they don't.

3) Can they choose to allow me less than 6 months (and if so, can I just apply online for extension)?

4) I don't need to apply for travel to India as I have a lifelong visa/dual nationality, so I assume I'll have no issues here (right?). Will my 6 months allowance in Canada be 'reset' when I land there?

5) If they DO ask to see a return and there are issues, would showing them my India outbound ticket help in any way? Might I have issues re-entering Canada if I don't have a ticket to leave after that? Does it make sense here to tell them I'll be applying for PR or is it possible that they'd deny me entry?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[Laurenhannah]

Hi Northstar,

I am a British Citizen but am a PR in Canada, I'm currently sponsoring my common - law partner (also British).

My boyfriend has been here as 'visitor' for over a year now, and the couple of times we have left Canada, it has been so nerve racking coming back in!

If i were you, before coming to Canada in August, i would have your flight booked for India to show that you are actually leaving the Country. There shouldn't be any issues then.

Either before you go to India, or whilst there, book your flight back to Canada, but that's when you need to decide whether to have a 'return' flight to the UK. My boyfriend and i left for a week to the Caribbean and upon arrival back in Canada, we were hoping to be granted 6 months visitor visa for him as we were about to apply for his PR. Immigration didn't think he was going to leave, so gave him a couple of weeks and said he had to be gone. To answer your question, yes you can apply to extend it online ($75). We have had to do that many times. You are able to stay in Canada while a decision is made and hopefully they grant you an extension. Chances are they aren't going to send you on the next plane back to the UK, even if they only gave you a week, just apply for an extension as soon as you leave the airport!

You shouldn't have any issues with check-in on a one way ticket, like you said, just when you arrive. They will most likely ask for proof of how you're going to support yourself and you will have a much better chance at being granted a 6 month visa if you can provide them with that info. Basically, immigration can give you however long they like, or they might decide not to give you anytime at all if they believe you're not going to leave Canada. Like i said, you should be fine entering on a one way ticket, just try to have proof that you can support yourself whilst your here.

I wouldn't mention anything about getting married or applying for PR, just say you are visiting your Girlfriend who lives here, it will only give them more reason to think you wont leave. Of course once you're married and applied for PR, it's all good

Not sure i answered all your questions but that's our experience with immigration so far, not usually very pleasant!

Let me know if you need any more info at all. The whole process can be very stressful!

Best of luck!

Lauren

 

[northstar]

Thanks Lauren, great info here

Like you said, I'll be booking all of my tickets at the same time (Canada & India), so I'll have my India ones to show I'll be leaving the first time. Hopefully this will help with the initial one-way ticket issue, and now I realise coming back in the second time will be the possible problem.

I've just read about the Dual Intent rule:
[intention of a foreign national to become a permanent resident does not preclude them from becoming a temporary resident if the BSO is satisfied that they will leave Canada by the end of the period authorized for their stay. A person's desire to await the outcome of an application for permanent residence from within Canada may be legitimate and should not automatically result in the decision to refuse entry. A BSO at Immigration Secondary should distinguish between such a person and an applicant who has no intention of leaving Canada if the application is refused.]

So I'm wondering if may be better to notify them, when I return to Canada, of my intent to marry/apply for PR, along with proof of the marriage (and money to leave the country if I'm rejected - hopefully not though!).

When you applied for extension for the two-weeks your partner was given, did they give you any hassle? How much of an extension did they permit? Is it normally a fixed amount or is it just random?

I really appreciate your help, so thank you again!

 

[Laurenhannah]

Hi Northstar,

Sorry for the late reply. We have extended his visitor visa maybe 8 or 9 times now, and have never had any hassle. We have asked for different lengths each time (for example, last time we applied in March and asked until end of April because we were going on vacation and knew we would get another one when we came back), sometimes we ask for 6 months. We have always been granted whatever we have asked. Its just quite time consuming, and you have to explain why you would like an extension (providing proof if you can) and you have to show a bank balance etc. Doing it online is fairly quick, but doing it by mail is okay... that takes a lot longer but you're allowed to stay in Country obviously while a decision is made, so if you're in no rush you can do it that way

Good luck with everything, i hope all goes well for you!