Sponsoring a spouse - confused with inland or outland

[iwannasee]

Hello,

My wife lives with me in Canada. She is currently on student visa and I'd like to sponsor her for PR.
After reading some posts on this forum I'm very confused. Do "inland" and "outland" refer to the application packages or sending to different immigration offices? I'm more inclined to use the outland approach given the various advantages suggested in this forum.

My original understanding is that I need to use this application package - "Application for Permanent Residence in Canada—Spouse or Common-law Partner" because as the package describes "This application is for spouses or common-law partners of Canadian citizens or permanent residents who wish to apply for permanent residence while both the sponsor and the applicant are residing in Canada. If the applicant does not reside in Canada, DO NOT use this form." If I use this package, would it be considered as an "inland" even if I indicate to send this application to her home of nationality?

For outland application should I be using this package - "Application to Sponsor a Member of the Family Class"? However, the description for this package says "If your spouse, partner or dependent child lives outside Canada, use this package..."

I would really appreciate your clarification!

 

[Leon]

Inland is whenever you use the forms suggested for if your spouse lives in Canada.

Outland is whenever you use the forms suggested for if your spouse lives outside Canada.

With inland, you would mail your forms to Vegreville as it says in the instructions. They get processed in Canada. Your spouse would likely have first stage approval in 6 to 8 months and PR some 8 months after that. Go to this page: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/perm-fc.asp and scroll down to see the processing times.

With outland, you would mail your forms to Mississauga. You are allowed to use outland even if your spouse is in Canada. After Mississauga is done with the forms, they will send them to your spouses visa office for continued processing. Processing time in Mississauga is currently a month, see http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/perm-fc.asp and the processing time at the visa office depends on the location, see http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/perm/fc-spouses.asp The time listed is how long it takes to process 80% of applications so the average would be a bit faster.

Note that the outland officers are currently on strike. Therefore it may be better for you to apply inland.

 

[iwannasee]

Thank you Leon!

Two more questions about inland application:

Can my wife leave Canada (even for a short vacation) during the processing time? Her student visa and study permit are still valid for 3 years (to 2016).

In addition, if for any reason the application is turned down, does the "no right to appeal" mean we will have to re-submit the whole application package? Do we have to wait for a certain period of time before we can re-submit?

Thanks again, I really appreciate your input!

 

[Leon]

Thank you Leon!

Two more questions about inland application:

Can my wife leave Canada (even for a short vacation) during the processing time? Her student visa and study permit are still valid for 3 years (to 2016).

In addition, if for any reason the application is turned down, does the "no right to appeal" mean we will have to re-submit the whole application package? Do we have to wait for a certain period of time before we can re-submit?

Thanks again, I really appreciate your input!

It is generally not advised to travel when applying inland because of the risk of not getting back in but if she has a valid student visa and either visa exempt or had a multiple entry TRV, it should be safe for her to leave.

If you are turned down, you can apply again right away. It would however be smart to order your case notes first and find out exactly why you were turned down so you can correct the problem on your 2nd application. However, before you'd be turned down, they would interview you and so you would have a chance to clear things up with them.

 

[iwannasee]

Hi Leon,

Would like to confirm one more question on this topic.

My wife and I live in Canada now but we would like to apply outland since it's faster. Should I still be using this application package?
www .cic .gc. ca/english/information/applications/spouse. asp

Or should I be using this one instead?
www .cic .gc. ca/english/information/applications/fc. asp

Apologize for the spaces in the link, the website doesn't allow me to post a link for some reason so I had to break them.

Thank you.

 

[Leon]

Hi Leon,

Would like to confirm one more question on this topic.

My wife and I live in Canada now but we would like to apply outland since it's faster. Should I still be using this application package?
www .cic .gc. ca/english/information/applications/spouse. asp

Or should I be using this one instead?
www .cic .gc. ca/english/information/applications/fc. asp

Apologize for the spaces in the link, the website doesn't allow me to post a link for some reason so I had to break them.

Thank you.

Outland is not necessarily faster. It depends on your processing country. Besides, there is a strike going on now in the outland offices.

However, if you want to apply outland, you should use the application package that states that your spouse does not live in Canada. That would be this one: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp

 

[iwannasee]

Thank you Leon!

 

[MommyBear]

Outland is not necessarily faster. It depends on your processing country. Besides, there is a strike going on now in the outland offices.

However, if you want to apply outland, you should use the application package that states that your spouse does not live in Canada. That would be this one:

I have read several threads that say that you and your spouse can both be living in Canada but still apply Outland. But in this post you say that you need to use the package that says your spouse does NOT live in Canada. So do you ignore that and just put in a Canadian address as your residence? SOrry, but this is very confusing and seems contradictory. thanks

 

[canuck_in_uk]

I have read several threads that say that you and your spouse can both be living in Canada but still apply Outland. But in this post you say that you need to use the package that says your spouse does NOT live in Canada. So do you ignore that and just put in a Canadian address as your residence? SOrry, but this is very confusing and seems contradictory. thanks

Yes, the way that CIC words things can be a bit contradictory. Do exactly what you said: ignore that, apply outland and put the Canadian address. It's perfectly fine to do that.

 

[Leon]

I have read several threads that say that you and your spouse can both be living in Canada but still apply Outland. But in this post you say that you need to use the package that says your spouse does NOT live in Canada. So do you ignore that and just put in a Canadian address as your residence? SOrry, but this is very confusing and seems contradictory. thanks

What I am referring to is that when you look for the forms on the CIC website, the link will say "your spouse does not live in Canada". Those are the forms for outland. You can still use those forms even if you both live in Canada. Basically, you are just saying you prefer to have your application processed in your home country instead of Canada.