Questions about sponsor's residency

[acnmk]

Hello,

I am a Canadian citizen, and would like to sponsor my wife to become a PR. We are both outside Canada.

Based on Part 1 - The Sponsor's Guide (page 7):

Who can sponsor?
You may be eligible to sponsor if:

....
• you reside in Canada;
Canadian citizens not residing in Canada may sponsor their spouse,.....Sponsors not residing in Canada must provide evidence that they reside exclusively outside Canada on the date of giving the undertaking and will reside in Canada at the time their sponsored spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner and/or children become permanent residents of Canada. Evidence that they will reside in Canada may include one or more of the following:
· letter from an employer;
· letter of acceptance to a Canadian educational institution;
· proof of having rented/bought a dwelling in Canada;
· reasonable plans for re-establishing in Canada or severing ties to the other country.....

HOWEVER,

Based on the instructions for Applying for a Permanent Resident Card (Appendix A-Residency Obligation, page A-1):

Time spent outside of Canada-
You may also count the days spent outside of Canada in the following circumstances as days for which you satisfy the residency obligation:

Option 1. Accompanying a Canadian citizen outside Canada

You may count each day that you accompanied a Canadian citizen outside Canada provided that the person you accompanied is your
• spouse or common-law partner;.....


My questions are:

1) When is does the applicant officially become a PR? The day of landing, the day the applicant gets the PR card, or.....?

2) Do I have to reside in Canada once my wife becomes a PR?

2a) If yes, doesn't it conflict with the rule that the days that my wife accompanied me outside Canada can be counted toward the 2-year residency obligation?

2b) If no, does that mean my wife and I can go back and reside in Canada whenever we both are able to do so, and this won't influence my wife's PR status as long as we live together?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Leon]

1) The applicant becomes PR on the day of landing.

2) Yes and no. When you sponsor from another country, you have to convince immigration that you and wife are planning to move to Canada when she gets her PR. If you don't, nobody will go after you for it but you break your word to immigration as well as you might make it harder for people who want to sponsor a spouse from overseas in the future. The more people who lie about their plans to get PR for their spouse, the more likely it is that they will just close off the possibility to sponsor from overseas.

2a) How so? You are talking about a completely different rule. The 2 out of 5 years goes for everybody. You could have lived in Canada for years, sponsored a spouse while you are still living in Canada, lived with your PR spouse in Canada for years, then first moved to another country. They don't have a special rule just for people who sponsor from overseas and then go back on their word to move to Canada after they get their PR.

2b) Yes, it means that even if you go back on your word and don't move to Canada after your wife gets PR, her PR status is still protected as long as she is living with you for at least 2 out of every 5 years.

Any reason why you can't wait with the sponsorship until you actually want to live in Canada?

 

[acnmk]

Hello Leon,

Thank you for your reply again.

I do want to move back to Canada with my wife. The reason I asked those questions is because my wife is still in school, and the date of graduation is unsure. If I can take advantage of satisfying the residency obligation outside Canada, why not?

The processing time is usually shorter and any financial statements, academic records, federal and state police records, etc are easier to obtain. Also, should the processing time delays, she won't have to worry about having to exit and re-enter Canada every 6 months with a visitor visa.

Thank you again for replying.

 

[Leon]

I don't believe the graduation date would be that hard to determine. Apply give or take a year before she figures she'll graduate. That way, you should be finished processing before she graduates, might even be able to move to Canada at the same time she lands. Saves you a trip.

I do not believe that the processing time for an outland application from outside Canada is any shorter than an outland application from inside Canada. It is either exactly the same or if might be slightly longer because they have to take extra time to look at your evidence of moving to Canada when she gets PR.

If you applied for sponsorship from inside Canada, your wife would also not have to exit and re-enter Canada every 6 months. In fact, that would likely cause her to get stopped at the border because they'd figure she's living in Canada on a visit visa without using proper channels. The proper way to stay as a visitor for longer than 6 months is to apply for a visit visa extension when the 6 months are almost up.