Question Regarding Sponsoring A Russian Wife

[CyberHawk]

Hello all,

I'm a naturalized Canadian and I plan to go marry a girl I know for 5 years from Russia.
I want to sponsor her to come to Canada, however the processing timeline for applications in Moscow is incredibly long (18 months)!
I have two questions:
1. Can she come visit me while her application is being processed?
2. Can I go to stay with her after I/we apply (me from within Canada)?

Thanks.

 

[MilesAway]

She can certainly try for a visa, however it's not a guarantee to receive it (my fiancee has been refused 4 times).
You can go stay in Russia, however you'll have to prove your intent to return to Canada once PR is approved. Moscow is sticky about that, I've seen cases drag on forever and a few refusals for this.

 

[CyberHawk]

She can certainly try for a visa, however it's not a guarantee to receive it (my fiancee has been refused 4 times).
You can go stay in Russia, however you'll have to prove your intent to return to Canada once PR is approved. Moscow is sticky about that, I've seen cases drag on forever and a few refusals for this.

What if we had a baby?
Would he become instantly a Canadian citizen because of me being Canadian?
Would she be able to get her visa more quickly?

 

[keesio]

What if we had a baby?
Would he become instantly a Canadian citizen because of me being Canadian?
Would she be able to get her visa more quickly?

The baby will be eligible for Canadian citizenship (it doesn't automatically happen, there is some paperwork to do). But it won't help her chances of getting a visa. In fact it may hurt - having a Canadian husband and Canadian baby in Canada will make it seem to the visa officer that her ties to Canada are too strong and she is a big risk for overstaying her visa.

 

[CyberHawk]

The baby will be eligible for Canadian citizenship (it doesn't automatically happen, there is some paperwork to do). But it won't help her chances of getting a visa. In fact it may hurt - having a Canadian husband and Canadian baby in Canada will make it seem to the visa officer that her ties to Canada are too strong and she is a big risk for overstaying her visa.

This is weird... any baby in the world has his rights to have his mother with him.
I thought that would make their chances coming to Canada 100% either as visitors or as residents.

 

[keesio]

This is weird... any baby in the world has his rights to have his mother with him.
I thought that would make their chances coming to Canada 100% either as visitors or as residents.

If that was the case, then don't you think many people would try this tactic to easily get their wife a visa?

 

[CyberHawk]

If that was the case, then don't you think many people would try this tactic to easily get their wife a visa?

I know that in the past many women traveled to Canada to deliver their babies here and get them the citizenship automatically.
But I thought having a baby with a Canadian citizen would have proved the relationship is legit and would have made things easier, that's why I said it's weird the way it is...

 

[keesio]

I know that in the past many women traveled to Canada to deliver their babies here and get them the citizenship automatically.
But I thought having a baby with a Canadian citizen would have proved the relationship is legit and would have made things easier, that's why I said it's weird the way it is...

You're absolutely right - it is a positive in helping CIC decide if the relationship is legit. That's why if you do have a child, her PR would not be the conditional one with the 2 year requirement to stay together, but the full PR with no conditions. Having a child HELPS your sponsorship application.

Where it (may) hurt is the visitor visa. They judge that criteria on different metrics. All they care about for that is will the person applying for the visa honour the requirements of the visa - that is, will they leave before the visa is up. And they look at things like how strong are the applicant's ties to their home country vs Canada. If the ties in Canada are too strong, the applicant is considered a risk of overstaying and that hurts the application. Having a spouse living in Canada is considered a strong tie in Canada. Having a child also in Canada is another strong tie. Now if you have a child and the child STAYS IN RUSSIA for the whole sponsorship process, then that is considered a strong tie for her in her home country and that helps her case that she will not overstay. But I am assuming you want both wife and child in Canada.

So yeah it is a bit weird but I guess when you look at it, it does make sense (though a bit cold hearted).