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Sponsoring husband who lives abroad

SBatten

Member
May 15, 2010
15
0
Hello, my husband and I are applying for him to immigrate to Canada from England with me being the sponsor
and we've filled out the forms fine so far. We've been told before that he can visit while the application is going through
and he is still currently visiting, but while double checking through the guide we saw this part in it that worries us:

'What happens when you arrive in Canada

When you arrive, you must present your permanent resident visa to a Canadian customs or immigration officer at your first port of entry. The officer will check your visa and travel documents and ask you questions similar to those on the Application for Permanent Residence to verify that you are of good character and in good health. If there are no difficulties, the officer will authorize your admission to Canada as a permanent resident and ask you to sign in his or her presence the Confirmation of Permanent Residence form you will have received from the visa office. The officer will then send this form to a processing centre and you will receive your Permanent Resident Card in the weeks following. Make sure that when you arrive in Canada, you know the address, including the postal code, where you are going to live.' - taken from cic.gc. ca website

we were hoping that he could receive his permanent residence visa without having to leave the country, is there a way we can do this or does he have to go back to England and return to Canada with the visa?
 

Baloo

VIP Member
Nov 30, 2009
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Job Offer........
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MandiF

Hero Member
Sep 7, 2010
484
38
Alberta Canada
Category........
Visa Office......
London, UK
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
22-10-2010
File Transfer...
19-11-2010
Med's Done....
02-09-2010
Passport Req..
05-01-2011
VISA ISSUED...
10-02-2011
LANDED..........
25-02-2011
SBatten said:
we were hoping that he could receive his permanent residence visa without having to leave the country, is there a way we can do this or does he have to go back to England and return to Canada with the visa?
Do a forum search on flagpoling, that's what I'm planning on doing, as I will be in Canada and send my passport from Canada to UK for the visa to be put in and then flagpole in order to 'land'.
 

SBatten

Member
May 15, 2010
15
0
Does the visa need to be in the passport?
I've done a search on it like you suggested and I believe I understand, would I be able to take my husband to the US border and ask
them about flagpoling there? And if I may ask, how are you going to be doing flagpoling?
Thank you :)
 

Leon

VIP Member
Jun 13, 2008
21,950
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Yes, the visa is in the passport. If he is in Canada when he gets the visa, he can contact the local CIC office in town and ask if he can land there. From what I've heard, it can be a while to wait for an appointment though. If you had applied inland, he would land there.

You can also take a trip somewhere and he lands as you return. A logical choice might be the US. Flagpoling is a name for when you go to land or apply for a work permit at the US/Canada border without actually entering the US. This is done by people who either don't really want to go have lunch in the US or don't have a visa to enter the US. They would leave Canada, arrive on the US side, tell the US immigration that they do not want to enter and then will be told to turn around and head back to the Canada side again. Once they arrive at the Canadian side, they can take care of their immigration business.
 

SBatten

Member
May 15, 2010
15
0
Do you know if it will cost anything for us to do this? And we just have to say that we want to flagpole to te us border guards?
Thanks :)
 

Leon

VIP Member
Jun 13, 2008
21,950
1,322
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
There is a very minimal fee to cross the land border over to the US but you probably don't even have to pay that if you don't enter. I do not know if the US border guards will know this behaviour under the name of flagpoling so just tell them that you came to the border for Canada immigration business and do not wish to enter the US but instead wish to turn around and go back to Canada. A lot of people do this. It should not be a big deal.