Sponsoring my Wife and Son on Visit Visa - What to do ??? - Please Help!!!

[mujeebshah]

Hello
I am a Canadian citizen and my wife and son has a Pakistani nationality. They got the visit visa, and I moved back to Canada from US with them. I want to mention that she was also pregnant at that time.

We came to Canada in Oct 09, and I starting working with a company here (with a good job). My wife gave birth to a baby girl in Nov 09.

They are still living with me on visit visa, and I am planning to apply for their immigration/sponsorship by the end of this month.


I have following questions:

1. Under present circumstances, if I apply for their immigration, will they be able to live with me in Canada until they get immigration?

2. If I get a letter from the doctor mentioning that my daughter, who is just 6 months old, needs periodic vaccinations and it would be hard for her to acclamatize in a different environment (if she goes back to Pakistan), would they allow them to live with me?

3. Any other suggestions?

I will appreciate QUICK replies as I have to act fast.

Thanks

 

[RobsLuv]

If your wife and son still have valid temporary status in Canada, you should be applying to sponsor them via the inland PR process. The KEY to this is that you have to get the inland PR application submitted to the Case Processing Centre in Vegreville, Alberta BEFORE their current visit visas expire. Include WITH the inland PR application an extension application for the temporary status - this protects their temporary status until the first stage of assessment is completed about 6-7 months after the application is received at CPC-V.

So that's how you do it - you keep their temporary status valid by including the application to extend it WITH the inland PR application. This gives them "implied status" to remain in Canada past the expiration of their original visas - and when they are approved after first stage assessment, they will get new temporary status documents. (You can even apply for a permit for your wife to work, if you want. You'd just check the box next to "Initial Work Permit" and pay the $150 work permit fee, rather than the $75 visitor fee. You pay another $75 fee for your son.) In the meantime, the inland PR ap continues to assess for second stage and that takes another 6-12 months before finalization and their PR being granted.

Your daughter is a Canadian citizen - she does not have to go to Pakistan . . . although I understand that you would not want her separated from her mother if her mother has to go. But if you get the PR application and the extension application submitted to CPC-Vegreville BEFORE their current status expires, your wife and son do not have to leave. They can stay until PR is decided. In fact, they can't leave while PR is being decided because your wife and son would likely not be re-admitted to Canada after being away and the inland PR ap would be forfeited. They are required to be present, with you, in Canada in order to be approved inland.

Track the mailing of your PR package/extension application and get delivery confirmation. You will not receive ANYTHING from CPC-Vegreville until after first stage approval - which is 6-7 months after you send the application. The tracking is the only proof you'll have that you sent an application and that your wife and son have "implied status" to remain in Canada.

 

[mujeebshah]

I am interested in short processing time (6 months). I talked to CIC call center sometime ago and they advised me to apply in out-of canada class as it will take take-8 months, whereas In-Canada class will take 12-24 months.

Any comments on this?

 

[RobsLuv]

I am interested in short processing time (6 months). I talked to CIC call center sometime ago and they advised me to apply in out-of canada class as it will take take-8 months, whereas In-Canada class will take 12-24 months.

Any comments on this?

Actually Islamabad is not one of the faster embassies for processing spousal applicants. Their posted timeline is a minimum of 7 months, and could take as long as 14 months . . . plus you have to add another 45-60 days to the start of that for the sponsor part of the application to be assessed within Canada before the application even goes overseas. So you're looking at anywhere from 9 -16 months for her PR to be issued through them. In addition, Islamabad will request your wife's and son's passports during processing, and because some countries do not allow passports to be mailed over international borders, it's possible that your wife and son would have to leave Canada at that point to take their passports to the embassy, and they would not be able to come back to Canada until after their PR was approved. Some embassies request the passports at the very beginning of the process and they do not give them back until the application is finalized. I don't know for sure if Islamabad does this or not, you can ask specifically of other applicants who have processed through there, but imagine if they were to request the passports at the beginning of the process and your wife and son would have to leave Canada and wait in Pakistan for the applications to be finalized. A letter from a doctor confirming that your daughter needs vaccinations will not keep your wife and son from having to leave Canada if passports are requested a few months into the process. CIC will say your daughter is a Canadian citizen and (even if she can get into Pakistan in the first place) she does not have to leave Canada just because her mother does . . . so her welfare is not in question.

Outland processing is always available, but sometimes (and frequently with non-visa-exempt nationals) the inland process is actually preferable. As long as your family has valid temporary status when the application is received at CPC-V, and you include the extension application to protect that status - and you include the proper proofs of your "genuine" relationship - you can usually expect to benefit from straight-forward processing through Vegreville and finalization in about a year. In the meantime, in several Provinces your wife and son will be eligible for healthcare and other benefits after first stage approval (which would come 6-7 months into the process). If you apply outland, they will not be eligible for those benefits until after PR is approved (and your wife would not be eligible for a work permit if that's a consideration) - even if they do manage to stay in Canada for the duration of outland processing.

I never recommend inland processing for visa-exempt nationals - but when an applicant is non-visa-exempt and they are already in Canada, it can be very beneficial to have the entire process happen within Canada. However, if it's important for your wife to be able to travel during processing, then outland is your best option. And if the right to appeal a refusal is important, file outland. But if your objective is to keep your family with you in Canada, and there are no issues that will significantly delay inland processing or cause a refusal, inland might actually be more beneficial for your situation.

 

[mujeebshah]

I was actually preparing in-canada class application, but when I called the call center, they recommended the out-of-canada process, as per them Islamabad is faster.
Now I am confused...

 

[RobsLuv]

I'm only going by the outland processing timelines posted on the CIC website. Keep in mind, it's not unusual for agents at the CIC call centre to give out information that's not entirely correct. Typically, outland processing is faster than inland - but not always - and if your family DOES have valid temporary status in Canada now, that's actually what the inland process is designed to do . . . allow them to remain in Canada with family while the application is in process. There are definitely some drawbacks - the loss of appeal rights being one of them and, usually, the longer processing timeline. But, again, according to the posted timeline for Islamabad, you're not looking at a longer processing timeline going inland and there is a significant risk - with the passport issue - that your wife and son will end up having to return to Pakistan before processing is finished and wait it out there.

Best of luck to you.

 

[mujeebshah]

I am going through the guide and I have following questions:

Question-1: Can someone explain to me what does this mean and how can it affect our case?


On Page 3 of the In-Land process guide, it says:

"A foreign national cannot become a permanent resident in Canada if he or she is inadmissible for reasons other than lack of legal immigration status in Canada. A temporary resident permit (TRP) holder is inadmissible unless the circumstances that lead to the issuance of the TRP are resolved."

"Must resolve the circumstances that resulted in the inadmissibility (other than those from lack of status) before submitting an application for permanent residence. Refer to the Guide for Temporary Resident Permit Holders: Applying to Remain in Canada as a Temporary Resident Permit Holder (IMM 5554)".

I will appreciate your replies.
Thanks

 

[canadianwoman]

A Temporary Resident Permit is not the same thing as a Temporary Resident Visa (a TRV).
Your wife entered Canada on a TRV, so this section of the guide does not apply to your family. It doesn't affect your case at all.