Send passport abroad while wife in Canada?

[smary]

Hello,

I've got a question and looking to see if anyone on this forum happen to come across this situation. I've applied for my wife's immigration under family class, spousal. Given the rise in processing times for sponsorship applications from India at this time of year, I was hoping to apply for visitors visa for my wife while the immigration file is still in process. Assuming that she gets the visitor visa, and comes to Canada while her immigration file is still in progress; is it possible to send the passport to India from Canada for stamping when her immigration is granted? I'm not sure if there are any regulations that do not allow to send/receive passport from India. Also, please do let me know if you know of any other road-blocks with this?

Your comments/suggestions are much appreciated.


Cheers,

S

 

[OhCanadiana]

Usually you can mail passports. However, my understanding is that it's illegal to mail a passport into or out of India so check the Indian laws carefully. That being said, if she has legal status in Canada, she could land within Canada. See http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/bulletins/2012/ob402.asp for detailed instructions internal to CIC on how they do this.

Also, if the visa office requests an interview, she would need to fly back for it.

 

[smary]

Landing should not be a problem, I presume. I can do the landing stuff from a Service Canada location. But I'd need to send her passport out to the visa office in India to get it stamped, right? Is there a way to have the passport stamped within Canada itself?


Cheers,

S

 

[OhCanadiana]

Landing should not be a problem, I presume. I can do the landing stuff from a Service Canada location. But I'd need to send her passport out to the visa office in India to get it stamped, right? Is there a way to have the passport stamped within Canada itself?


Cheers,

S

No, you cannot land at Service Canada. You can only land at the border when you arrive to Canada or at an inland CIC centre with an appointment.

 

[scylla]

You have to get the passport to India for visa issuance (this cannot be done within Canada). However as OhCanadiana has said, it is illegal to send the passport via mail or courier. You have two options for getting the passport to India. Either your wife can travel to India with the passport - or you can send the passport with a trusted person who is traveling from Canada to India. If you chose this option, you should note that the visa office will not send the passport back to Canada. So you'll need to find someone who can then transport the passport from India back to Canada with them.

 

[mapplelover]

this is a bad idea. they take more than 6 months for processing mean the spouse will be without any passport in canada

 

[CharlieD10]

You should also check very carefully on the regulations regarding someone else carrying your passport around.

It may also be illegal for someone to be found in possession of an Indian passport that does not belong to them, even if they have permission from the owner to carry it about for them (I recently learned this is the case with Jamaican passports). Consult the Indian Consulate for advice before you ask someone else to carry it about for her.

 

[smary]

Looks like waiting for PR and then coming to Canada is the only economic and safe option.

Thanks all for your comments/suggestion with this!

 

[RobsLuv]

Looks like waiting for PR and then coming to Canada is the only economic and safe option.

Thanks all for your comments/suggestion with this!

I agree. In addition, it's likely that your wife would not be issued a TRV in the first place. In order to be granted a TRV, she must be able to convince the officer assessing her application that she intends to remain in Canada only temporarily. Being the subject of a sponsorship application for permanent status makes it nearly impossible for her to support a claim of temporary intent. Most non-visa-exempt nationals who are under application for permanent status are refused TRVs while waiting, and the whole passport issue might factor into that as well.