Sponsoring my Korean wife for permanent residency

[Korea2Canada]

Good news on my front. My wife's Criminal Rehabilitation application was submitted to CIC Detroit/Windsor on March 10th and approved March 13th. Just 3 days to process it, compared to 12 months in Manila. No interview required.

The approval letter arrived in Michigan yesterday and I drove her back to Canada this afternoon.

I just emailed a copy of the approval letter to Manila. Now that her criminality issue is resolved, hopefully her PR app in Manila can move forward.

Congrats. on that! Strange it got done from US vs trying to get it done in Canada. Anyway you must be happy.

 

[bartjones]

Congrats. on that! Strange it got done from US vs trying to get it done in Canada. Anyway you must be happy.

Thanks. I'm really happy to have her back. It's nice to deal with an immigration office where time lines are measured in days and weeks as opposed to months and years. I just fired off a letter to them, thanking them for having dealt with it so quickly.

 

[CanNZ]

Question for you guys

One of the things that Manila has asked for is a list of addresses my wife has lived at since June 2013(when her file got transferred) to present, should I include the addresses she has been living at with me here in Canada? Even though she is just 'visiting' me here?

 

[bartjones]

Question for you guys

One of the things that Manila has asked for is a list of addresses my wife has lived at since June 2013(when her file got transferred) to present, should I include the addresses she has been living at with me here in Canada? Even though she is just 'visiting' me here?

Yes.

 

[CanNZ]

I was thinking the same way, just wanted to hear someone else's opinion. Thanks

 

[Rob_TO]

I was thinking the same way, just wanted to hear someone else's opinion. Thanks

I'll second that also and say definitely "yes". While you can't tell a border officer you are living in Canada, in reality it's no problem to live/reside in Canada as a visitor. Some people do it for years by continuing to extend their visitor status.

 

[bryguy]

Hello

We are about to send off our sponsorship forms this Thursday. I have gone through everything a million times over, but 2 things are left bothering me.
Do I need to fill out the relevant info and submit the form IMM3907E and sign the last page? The second question is #14 on the checklist, do i need to submit a photocopy of my marriage certificate?? We had the Korean marriage certificate translated and notarized, but am I obligated to submit a photocopy to?

 

[bartjones]

Do I need to fill out the relevant info and submit the form IMM3907E and sign the last page?

Are you sure you meant IMM3907E? That is the country specific guide. You need to follow the instructions contained in it and include the document checklist (Appendix A), but you don't need to include the whole guide in your application package.

The second question is #14 on the checklist, do i need to submit a photocopy of my marriage certificate?? We had the Korean marriage certificate translated and notarized, but am I obligated to submit a photocopy to?

It's not on the document checklist unless you have a co-signer and he or she is your spouse , but most of us Korean applicants have have included a copy of it anyway. It can't hurt.

 

[Rob_TO]

Are you sure you meant IMM3907E? That is the country specific guide. You need to follow the instructions contained in it, but you don't need to include it in your application package.

Note that it states you should include the checklist from the country specific guide. Lots of this is repeat from the main application checklist.

It's not on the document checklist unless you have a co-signer and he or she is your spouse , but most of us Korean applicants have have included a copy of it anyway. It can't hurt.

According to the guide you should include a notarized/certified photocopy of marriage certificate, if it's being translated: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/3999Etoc.asp
Translation of documents
Any document that is not in English or French must be accompanied by:
- the English or French translation; and
- an affidavit from the person who completed the translation; and
- a certified copy of the original document.

 

[bartjones]

Note that it states you should include the checklist from the country specific guide. Lots of this is repeat from the main application checklist.

Yes. I modified my message before you posted. I wasn't sure if he was talking about the checklist, or the whole guide.

According to the guide you should include a notarized/certified photocopy of marriage certificate, if it's being translated: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/3999Etoc.asp
Translation of documents
Any document that is not in English or French must be accompanied by:
- the English or French translation; and
- an affidavit from the person who completed the translation; and
- a certified copy of the original document.

Maybe the OP can clarify. Is he talking about the document he got and registered at the Canadian embassy when he got married? If so, that one should already be in English. But I don't think that is in fact a "Marriage Certificate" for Korean purposes. My wife was told by the local government office that for legal purposes the "Marriage Relation Certificate" is the equivalent of what we would call a marriage certificate. Obviously that one needs to be an original, translated and notarized.

 

[Rob_TO]

Maybe the OP can clarify. Is he talking about the document he got and registered at the Canadian embassy when he got married? If so, that one should already be in English. But I don't think that is in fact a "Marriage Certificate" for Korean purposes. My wife was told by the local government office that for legal purposes the "Marriage Relation Certificate" is the equivalent of what we would call a marriage certificate. Obviously that one needs to be an original, translated and notarized.

The document you get from the Canadian embassy before the marriage, is just an affidavit saying that you are single and legally able to marry. After the marriage is registered at the gu office, that paper is pretty much useless I think. There is no need to tell anyone at Canadian embassy that you actually got married.

I'm assuming also that he is talking about the "marriage relation certificate". This is the only paper we have that is a legal record of our marriage. If i remember though, there is really no "original" copy. The certificate is just printed on regular paper, and you can actually download it from some government website in Korea and print it at home. So i'm not sure if that would qualify as an "original" or "copy"? (we were actually common-law when applied, so didn't have to worry about this at the time)

Did you have an official certificate, that has a seal or stamp or something in ink on it?

 

[bartjones]

The document you get from the Canadian embassy before the marriage, is just an affidavit saying that you are single and legally able to marry. After the marriage is registered at the gu office, that paper is pretty much useless I think.

I'm assuming also that he is talking about the "marriage relation certificate". This is the only paper we have that is a legal record of our marriage. If i remember though, there is really no "original" copy. The certificate is just printed on regular paper, and you can actually download it from some government website in Korea and print it at home. So i'm not sure if that would qualify as an "original" or "copy"? (we were actually common-law when applied, so didn't have to worry about this at the time)

Did you have an official certificate, that has a seal or stamp or something in ink on it?

I didn't keep a copy but think you're right, it didn't look overly official. I think Korea2Canada and CanNZ got the same thing from the gu office. We all just had it translated and notarized and Manila hasn't taken issue with it.

When we were married back in 2005 we actually got 2 documents; the one you are talking about that's an "affidavit of eligibility" and a second, more official looking document called "Report and Certificate of Marriage". Maybe they don't issue the latter any more, but it is in English and I threw a photocopy in with my wife's PR application out of caution. I thought that was the document the OP was talking about. Perhaps he can clarify.

 

[bartjones]

Another update on my wife's PR app. I didn't think this process could get any more ridiculous, but yesterday it did.

While my wife was away in Michigan last month I got a call from the clinic where she did her re-medical. They said CIC had requested a "follow up assessment" and she would have to come back to the clinic for some more tests. They wouldn't tell me what the tests were.

Yesterday we went back to do the tests. I asked the doctor what this was all about, as my wife had passed the original medical in Korea without issue. He said the examining physician at his clinic had noticed an "abnormality". I asked what the "abnormality" was and he said "tremors". When I asked what specifically that meant he said, "her hands were shaking". I suggested that this was probably due to being nervous, but he said it might also indicate a neurological problem so further investigation was necessary. I said "okay, so you are a neurologist?". He said "No. I'm a chiropractor".

He then proceeded to ask my wife a series of absolutely bizarre questions like "Are you able to use the toilet without assistance?", "Do you need help to get out of bed in the morning?", "Can you dress yourself?" etc. They were the sorts of questions you would ask a 75 year old Alzheimer's patient. Then he had her perform a series of physical tasks like going up and down a flight of stairs and walking up and down a hallway.

Twenty minutes and $150 of my money later, he announced that she was "fine". I'm beginning to wonder what else CIC can dream up to delay granting my wife's application.

 

[Rob_TO]

Twenty minutes and $150 of my money later, he announced that she was "fine". I'm beginning to wonder what else CIC can dream up to delay granting my wife's application.

I have to think maybe the clinic put that info in the medical report purposefully, just in order to get her to do a second check and to charge you more $$. I would blame this on the clinic for mentioning this in the first place.
Also I thought CIC contacted the applicant directly to do further medical checks, not get the clinic to call? Though not sure here... but sounds suspicious on the clinic's part...

 

[bartjones]

I have to think maybe the clinic put that info in the medical report purposefully, just in order to get her to do a second check and to charge you more $$. I would blame this on the clinic for mentioning this in the first place.
Also I thought CIC contacted the applicant directly to do further medical checks, not get the clinic to call? Though not sure here... but sounds suspicious on the clinic's part...

Yes, that occurred to me as well so I asked both yesterday and in the initial phone call I received asking her to come back in, whether the additional tests were being required by the clinic, or at the behest of CIC. Both times they said CIC had demanded them, though I never got any email from Manila requesting a re-attendance. Since I want this process to come to a conclusion sooner than later I thought that we'd better just go ahead and comply.

Maybe it was all a bunch of BS. I wonder how I could find out.