Sponsor resident outside Canada : Spouse Immigration

[marvelsun]

Hi,

My question relates to the specific situation where the sponsor is a Canadian citizen and is "resident" outside Canada.

My wife is a naturalized Canadian citizen. She hasn't been to Canada since Dec 2006 when she came to India for our marriage. I have moved to Norway on a work/residence permit in April 2007 and she moved with me. To continue her stay in Norway beyond the permitted 3 months (on Canadian passport), she has obtained a Norwegian work/residence permit here.

We are about to apply for my immigration application in the spouse class and are confused about a few things:

1. There is some ambiguity w.r.t her resident status - would she be considered as "exclusively living outside Canada" on the basis of her Norwegian residence/work permit?

2. If she is indeed a non-resident sponsor, what kind of supporting documents can one furnish to demonstrate intentions of re-establishing in Canada once my PR is granted. We dont have any concrete evidence like a job offer, university acceptance, property mortgage, rental agreements etc. yet. Should we look for one of these and possibly delay the application or are there any other documents that would suffice?

3. My wife has just landed a job in Norway here after obtaining the residence/work permit. Does this help improve financial credibility of the sponsor or does it complicate matters further by strengthening ties with Norway (both of us have jobs and resident status here now)?


Would really appreciate if someone could share some much needed advice on these matters.
Thanks in advance.
Sunny.

 

[thaiguy]

Hi

So your wife will sponsor you as a member of the family class living abroad.

1. Since she has a work/residence permit for Norway, she would be considered a non-resident for the purposes of sponsoring.
2. You listed all the possibilities except for "reasonable plans for re-establishing in Canada or severing ties to the other country." The most concrete step, of course, would be to buy a house in Canada to which you would relocate.
3. It probably makes a stronger case that you don't intend to relocate to Canada, unless the job seems to be of a temporary nature. A letter from your wife's employer explaining that they understood your wife will be returning to Canada after the visa is processed would be helpful. One from your employer would do the same. You might also explain that the purpose for her obtaining a residence visa/work permit in Norway was so that she would be eligible to sponsor you without your having to spend a lot of time apart (as otherwise, she'd be in Norway on a tourist visa, and therefore ineligible to sponsor).