Sponsoring my husband coming to Canada

[SarahL]

Hi guys, hoping you can clear a couple of queries me and my husband have.

I'm a Canadian citizen and he is a British citizen, we got married recently with no problems at all while he was over here, and we are looking into applying for spousal support so we can live together in Canada.

We have most of the forms set, apart from a few (mainly ones where we need to get all of the proof together and attach it due to there being so much; there is over 1800 pages of conversation we've had on Skype, the conversations we've had, we only have logged back to December while we have been speaking since September (although we do have a phone call history within September, apart from that, there really isn't that much because of unforeseen circumstances) anyway the first question is will having too much information delay the process in any way? In other words, are they going to realistically read through 1800 pages (or is that the norm for these applications?), or just scan through to make sure its legitimate.

The second question I have is about my income, I am only on a part time job at the moment (although I am looking for full time), he however makes significantly more money, I've heard that the income doesn't matter as we are married however will him being a co sponsor (is that possible with him being a British citizen though, as from what I've gathered they are only interested in money coming into the account, when in reality I have a lot of savings and he'd be wiring his wages over to me too before he left). In short, I don't make much money, but I already have a lot of money to support him, would him being a co-sponsor help our chances? Do they even know about any funds or anything I have, I can't seem to find any questions about it in any of the forms?

Also, we are planning on him moving here pretty soon (obviously he can stay here without a visa for up to 6 months) after he leaves job while the application is underway. Is this possible, or again would it go against us? We want to be together as soon as possible and if he leaves a couple of months after the application then we should get an answer just before the 6 months runs out at the latest. There is no reason we would get denied, he is fit and healthy and has no criminal convictions (so the medical and background check would be okay), and we do have plenty of proof our relationship is genuine. If it didn't come back in those six months that he was here would we able to get an extension on the basis that we were waiting for a response from the government and that we want to live together as husband and wife?

Also on his behalf,, does any of you know that with the registered doctors can he just turn up with the forms to the doctors or will he need to make an appointment with the individual doctor he is going to see?

Sorry for being so long winded and a bit confusing at times. Any help is appreciated, thanks.

 

[kelKel]

He can apply to extend his visitor status as many times considering the application is in process and you provide proof such as receipt in extension app. Being that he is your spouse they usually extend for a year based on what I've reading in the forum!

 

[SarahL]

Thanks.

Does anyone have a link to this specific form so we can save it for whenever (if) we needed it when the time arose.

And if you need any more information to answer any of the other questions, just ask. Thanks again. ^_^

 

[bobshynoswife]

I'll try to answer most of your questions.

For evidence, 1800 pages of skype chat is WAY too much! What we did was just look at the logs showing the actual calls (not IMs) and took screen captures of the log. Phone bills are excellent. For emails, we did screen captures of our inboxes, and then printed out approx 1 email from each week of our relationship. Photocopies of postcards/greeting cards are good too.

We sent a total of 417 pages of communication evidence, which is a lot. However, we are processing through Accra which has a 40% rate of refusal. London is not the same. Was he born in UK? Has he got British heritage or is his family from another country? If he is of British heritage and born there, your application will process much, much faster.

As for income, if you are working part-time, that's fine. There is no minimum income for spousal sponsorship. You cannot use a co-signer, so don't worry about it. They just want to make sure you're not on social assisstance.

As for him coming here, he can come here as a visitor, but cannot 'live' here until his PR is approved. There are many Brits living/visiting Canada while their apps are in process, so it happens all the time. He should use a UK address though on his forms, and have someone in the UK checking the mail frequently for correspondense from the London office.

To give you an idea of timeline, I am on the May thread. 2 Brits who have submitted their applications to CIC-Mississauga in May of 2010 have already received passport requests for issuing the visa. Like I said, if he is British by birth and has no background/medical issues and as long as you have sufficient proof of your relationship (photos too!) he should be able to get his visa easily within his 6 month visitor status. If not, he can apply to extend, or leave Canada for a short while and return.

 

[bobshynoswife]

Oh, and about the DMP - he will have to make an appointment. He should do that soon as I know the UK doctors are pretty busy.

 

[SarahL]

Thanks for the help, its cleared up a lot!

He was born in British and of British heritage too.

Sounds like the paperwork would be easier without the co-signer anyway, but do you know if I could show how much money I actually have to help us?

I'll get him to do the medical asap, do you know if that goes of to Missisauga (sp?) immediately, or the London office until it gets confirmed? Or does he get that back and we send it off with the rest of the paperwork? I imagine it goes off to London...

Our main method of communication is through Skype, and we talk everyday (mostly through webcam and microphone, so a lot of it has random gaps as the more fluent conversation is while we are away from one or the others computer leaving messages and talking to the other with phones etc). Would us just starting up video calls be enough as proof? If so, do I get rid of the actual conversation we've had?

Heres an example of what it looks like anyway:
[06/12/2009 1:50:12 PM] *** Call to Sarah, duration 3:45:57. ***


We very rarely send each other emails as most of the communication is done through skype. We communicate through facebook (assumedly that is more proof?), and the emails we do send are itineraries of the flights we've taken. No postcards or anything though, we have a boatload of photos from all the times we've met, and a whole load from the wedding especially. As well as random cinema tickets and other things and receipts from when we were together, boarding passes etc. We are both just absolutely paranoid we won't have enough proof, and apart from the odd message on facebook and the phone bills there isn't anything else in September and October. Where we originally met the archive of that was deleted and we originally spoke on MSN and neither of us thought to save the conversations we had. Will that be an issue been as our relationship started in September?

 

[bobshynoswife]

Please don't stress about your income. It does not matter! For example, I have good savings, received an inheritance and also get child support from my ex-husband. I provided none of that, and only the income from my home business which showed a net income of $21,000 which as you can imagine, is not much for supporting a family of 4 and sponsoring a spouse! They didn't care and I was approved without a problem.

The medical will be sent to the regional medical office in Paris. He has to bring in a form that he will find in the Region Specific Guide for UK in the forms and guidelines, and then the doctor will give him back a greenish form that he will submit with his application. He will also need police clearance from the UK (doesn't take long...a couple weeks) and from any other country in which he has lived for 6 months or more.

Skype is our main method of communication as well. All you do is click on his name, then the tab above called Conversations. Then at the bottom you'll click on Show History and there will be a little drop down menu at the top where you can choose what to display. We showed All Calls. Then we took screen caps and saved them as jpgs and put them in a word document.

Facebook printouts are good too. Showing communication, when your relationship status changed, if his family is on your friends list, and also your friends comments to photos of the two of you, etc.

Just write a letter explaining that you have no evidence of communication in Sept or Oct due to the program you were using. You could get a letter from a friend or family member stating that they knew your relationship started in Sept. If you have phone bills and a few comments on facebook, you are fine.

Provide evidence of your trips to see each other, and yes, even cinema tickets and other receipts for your 'dates'. Photos are one of the best pieces of evidence though, and try to have some of you with his friends/family and him with yours. Candid shots are also very good, so ask friends and family if they have any pictures where you may be in the background (holding hands, laughing, touching each other when you didn't know your picture was being taken) and finally, don't be afraid to send a few 'romantic shots'...like you kissing at your wedding. Nothing R-rated of course...LOL

Good luck with your preparations! Feel free to ask any other questions.

 

[SarahL]

Thanks again!

One more thing, sorry to be a nuisance!

The method you suggested for Skype calls only seems to go back for a couple of weeks? Do you have a method to go ALL the way back, or am I just doing something wrong? The history is set as to show forever. :/

 

[bobshynoswife]

Hmmmm....my history is only showing back to April 18. I will ask my husband tomorrow (he's already asleep in Nigeria!) and get back to you.

 

[addntox]

Well with my PR app (i'm from UK) i was never asked about proof of relationship, didnt send anything except the marriage cert and was never asked to provide anything. Although we'd been married 4 years before we submitted the PR app. There's generally less scruinty for UK apps from my experiences, similar cultures etc etc. You should get the extension for 12 months. If you're inland you'll have AIP long before the visa expires. Its good practice to send along an open work permit app with your PR app, and as soon as they grant AIP you'll get an open work permit which will be sufficient enough to last the remainder of the processing time which varies it could be you get AIP and DM at the same time, it could be you wait a couple of extra months after AIP, no one can really say.

Dont worry about income, as long as you're not on Social Assitance spousals are exempt from income requirements.

Dont stress too much send what you have, if they need more they'll ask for it. Generally as long as there's no admissibility issues, and as long as its all filled in correctly and nicely organised it'll be a smooth process 99% of the time.

 

[SarahL]

Thanks for all of the help with this guys

And sorry, but what does AIP and DM?

 

[addntox]

I filed inland so for outlander someone more experienced with an outland can tell you how it works

So for an inlander it goes as follows

AIP means approved in principle, this means that you've passed the first stage of the process and you meet all the requirements. Usually at this stage they mail you sponsor and tell them they meet the eligability to sponsor you. And if you're inland they mail you and tell you to apply for a work permit if you didnt submit one with the application. And they will also request you to obtain police certs from your home country, and do a medical with a designated medical practitioner if you didnt submit one already.

When this is all submitted your file goes under final review, at this stage the officer checks to make sure you meet all the eligability requirements set forth in the IRPA, and as long as everything is in order the application state changes to Decision Made or DM. At this stage you get a letter saying they are pleased to inform you processing is complete and your file has been transfered to your local CIC office for a landing interview. They tell you to pay the RPRF (right of permanent residency fee) and you will get our COPR (confirmation of permanent residency) at this interview (generally its a formality an administrative term not an interview that should raise any concern)

Hope this helps

 

[SarahL]

Thanks addntox, much appreciated!

My husband also has some questions. IF we need to go for an interview to check the authenticity of our relationship; where would the interview be located? When would we hear if we were to have one? Who would go? And, if its England and he was in Canada at the time, could he go for one in Canada?

AND. He wants to know the answers to the same questions above, but about the 'final' interview; after everything has been sorted, processing has been completed. Etc.

Again, any help is very much appreciated!

 

[plumosa]

that's the risk involved with an outside application. the interview can only be done in that country. If your husband gets called in for an interview he'll have to go to London.

 

[SarahL]

Thanks plumosa, we'll keep that in mind

Anymore information on our questions would be much appreciated!