Questions regarding outland spousal forms.

[KovalToCanada]

Hello guys

I have a couple questions regarding the outland forms.

Before I ask, here is some background information about us.

• We are a mid-twenties couple.
• I am the husband, 24 years old, from toronto ontario/Canadian Citizen.
• My wife is 24 years, from Ukraine/Ukrainian Citizen.
• We got married a couple months ago; small marriage. It was just a couple of our friends; no parents. However, both parents on both sides know we are married. We have photos.
• My whole family has met her, and I met her parents online through skype. We have 100s of photos, honeymoon photos, travel photos, expenses/receipts, etc.
• We are in the process of doing the application.
• I personally haven't had a stable income for the past 3 years, 0 dollars declared, mainly school, creating business ideas/talking to a lot of suppliers on the east side of the world, and helping my parents out.
• This year I am starting a business, and expecting to make roughly 2-4k a month. However, I am not sure, also my parents can support us too.
• My wife currently has been in Canada for roughly 2 years, she studied here, and had a study visa, and then a work permit. Her work permit will expire in 4-5 months.

These are the questions we have.

A) Employment - Sponsorship Evaluation - Form IM5481

1. I am currently unemployed, and the business will not be launched after 3 months or so, so should I check "unemployed" and then explain my situation?

2. For my "Your net personal income", I have written 0, because it is 0, will that be an issue? My wife has no dependent children, nor do I have any outstanding loans/loans not being paid.


B) Sponsor Questionnaire - IM5540E

1. Question 4 - I do not live with my biological father (nor do I have any clue where he is/what he is up to), so do I write "N/A" for father information, or do I write my step-father's information (I lived with him since I was 5ish).

2. Question 7 - I haven't been employed by an employed for the past 5 years, so do I have any previous employers to mention, so do I write "N/A", and should I then write an explanation why? (School/self studying business ideas/plans). Also, will this void my application?

C) Questions regarding about my wife.

1. My wife was in the USA in two different years for about 4 months each time. Does it count as if she lived there for more than 6 months or no? Should she provide a criminal background check from the USA?

2. Is there any other type of employment that doesn’t require a WP, so she could still do something while waiting on her PR here in Canada? Can she volunteer? (While on her visitor's visa, when her work permit expires)

3. Joint bank account was not a requirement under the spousal application, however, what is the trend for the married couples? Is it better to open it?

4. My wife is currently getting EI does that matter at all for the application process? She had a job, but she got laid off.

Thank you so much,

KovalToCanada

 

[CDNPR2014]

a) 1. sure, that sounds like a good plan. it is not required for the sponsor to be employed, and an application will not be rejected solely because the sponsor is unemployed.
2. no, having 0 income will not be an issue because there is no income requirement for sponsoring your spouse. However, CIC WILL want to you to prove how you plan to financially support your spouse for 3 years after landing, without having to go on welfare. if she takes welfare within that time, you are obligated to pay it back. People prove their plans by showing money saved, letters of support from family members, etc...

b) 1. i would recommend putting both down. since you don't know your father's current location, put unknown, and explain you have not been in touch. put as much information you know about him, and then provide your step-father's name on additional paper if there is no room.

2. yes, provide an explanation for not being employed. no, being unemployed will not solely void the application. as stated above, it is not a requirement for sponsoring your spouse. many people are approved without being employed.

c. 1) yes, since the TOTAL time she's been there since the age of 18 is more than 6 mo, it would be a good idea to get an FBI clearance. THey are taking a long time directly from the FBI these days, so it may be best to go through a channeler. CIC has recently approved using them for spousal sponsorship applications.
2) no, absolutely not. ANY type of work done in canada for a canadian employer requires a work permit or Permanent status. She CAN work remotely for a NON Canadian employer/customers, but she can NOT work for a canadian employer until approved for PR or a work permit. Yes, she can volunteer, but she needs to be careful about what "volunteering" she does. If the opportunity is marketed to the public as "volunteer" work, then it is allowed. Anything that is "volunteer" work that someone would normally hire a canadian to do is NOT volunteer work and is considered working illegally. For example, a food banks market volunteer opportunities to the public, and welcome anyone to participate - This is an example of volunteering. Your friend or family member asks your spouse to "volunteer" around the office, shop and she does work that the owner would otherwise pay someone to do - this is NOT an example of volunteer work.
3) it doesn't hurt your application. it will probably help show validity of your relationship. it's up to you.
4) no. it doesn't matter if the applicant is unemployed and receiving EI benefits. The application won't be rejected solely because of this. since this is not an economic stream, CIC doesn't care whether the applicant is working or not.