Outland application from where?

[rmt]

I'm an Australian with a Canadian boyfriend, and I'm here in Canada on a working holiday visa. Once we're eligible for common-law status in November, we'll be applying to sponsor me so we can live here permanently. The problem is, we plan to travel to the UK early next year for a year, so we can't apply in Canada... can we lodge the application in London, or does it have to be done in Sydney?

 

[RobsLuv]

"Applicants for Permanent Residence: You must apply in your country of residence, your country of nationality or the country where you have been legally admitted for at least one year." That means that if you (the applicant) are granted legal temporary status in the UK for at least one year (with documentation that you can submit with your Canadian PR application), your application can be processed through London. But that would mean that you'd have to wait until you arrived in the UK before you could file the application. Otherwise, it would be Sydney.

 

[rmt]

Thanks for that, RobsLuv! I'm a dual UK/Australian citizen, so I should be okay for proving I can be there legally for a year, do you think? Am I right in assuming that I'd have to stay put in whatever country I start the application process in (whether it be Canada, UK or Australia)?

Also, I've heard that applications take longer to process if done in-land (if we did stay in Canada for longer). Is that just by the 42 or so days it takes for my boyfriend's sponsorship application to get approved, or is it significantly more?

 

[Leon]

They always need to approve sponsor no matter where you apply from. If you apply outland, you would be getting your PR around the same time as somebody applying inland is getting first stage approval and work permit. For inland, getting the PR can take 1-2 years. I can only assume it's slower because inland people are already in Canada with their spouse and with a work permit so it's not so important that they get PR right away.

 

[rmt]

Thanks Leon!

Can you leave while the application is in process? Meaning, could we apply in Canada, and then leave to spend some time in the UK and/or Australia while it's processing?

 

[Leon]

If you apply inland, it's normally not advised to leave while you are being processed because in case you aren't let back in, you forfeit your application.

 

[rmt]

I read that it was hard for the applicant to prove that they intend to come back to Canada to live... how would my boyfriend go about this? I mean, the sponsorship process takes up to a year, so we can't rent an apartment or start looking for work that early, and we weren't planning on buying a house or sending him to university until we'd settled back in again? Any other suggestions?

 

[Leon]

If he could get a job offer, that would help. If he could get a letter from family who says they will put you up while you find accommodation, that would help too.