Sponsoring My Wife

[o.some56]

My wife is a British citizen currently residing in her home country Bangladesh. I want to sponsor her here in Canada as I'm a Canadian PR. It takes up to 27 months to process the PR application from Bangladesh. So the questions I have are:
- Can she come here as a tourist (as Brits can enter for six months with a valid passport) and apply for PR as my spouse?
- Can she get a temp work permit while the application is in process?
- Is the process going to be faster to become a PR if there is any option to come as a tourist and apply for PR?

Thanks in advance.

 

[km9203]

My wife is a British citizen currently residing in her home country Bangladesh. I want to sponsor her here in Canada as I'm a Canadian PR. It takes up to 27 months to process the PR application from Bangladesh. So the questions I have are:
- Can she come here as a tourist (as Brits can enter for six months with a valid passport) and apply for PR as my spouse?
- Can she get a temp work permit while the application is in process?
- Is the process going to be faster to become a PR if there is any option to come as a tourist and apply for PR?

Thanks in advance.

If she is a British citizen can she not apply through the UK?

Yes she could arrive as a tourist but has to convince the officer that she will leave Canada when her time is up - have a return ticket, money (so they are convinced she won't work illegally). Just because she is a British citizen it is not a given that she will get 6 months although most people do.
If she is applying outland she can extend her visitor visa - make sure it's done before her visa runs out.
If she is applying outland then there is no work visa for her while her application is in. However, if she applies inland then there is the option of the Open Work Permit.

No one can tell you how fast the process will be. Everyone's is different depending on the circumstances.

Give this a read. It tells you the difference between inland and outland. http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Spousal_Sponsorship-Canada

I arrived as a visitor (from UK), got 6 months and applied inland as I wanted to be able to work. Hopefully I will get my OWP by November.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[km9203]

Thanks for your reply.

Yes she can apply from UK too but again the processing time is up to 23 months. And once applied from outland, there will be no option to get the OWP.

I believe she can follow your steps. Come here as a visitor and apply inland. In that case she will hopefully get an OWP. I believe she will be able to convince the immigration officer as her husband is here to look after her. I do a full time job and make moderate income to bear the expenses of my wife.

Do you think it will be helping her cause that I'm here working and ready to bear all expenses?
Also when the immigration officer asks, how long she should say that she will stay? Does she need to mention that she is planning to apply for PR inland?

Good luck with your OWP application.

Thanks again.

I actually had a return flight booked for 3 months after I arrived. I was advised to not book a 6 month ticket as that is the maximum that you can visit for and the officer may get suspicious that I would over stay as I was visiting my boyfriend (now common law partner).
I was given 6 months no problem after a few questions: why was I coming to Canada, how long for and how much money did I have on me. I told them I was visiting my boyfriend and I had $3,000 on me in cash.

I do not advise telling the officer that she is applying for PR otherwise they may worry she won't leave if her PR is denied. She can tell them that she is visiting you. Keyword is 'visiting', not planning to live in Canada. Never offer the officer more information than what they ask for.
She really needs to convince the officer that she won't overstay her time illegally, especially as you are her husband. They will probably ask her if she works in the UK and if so how did she get so much time off to visit.

If you don't mind me asking, what caused you to be separated, her in UK/Bangladesh and you in Canada? If she was born in Bangladesh and has UK citizenship, does she have duel citizenship? Is her passport UK? If she was visiting from Bangladesh under a Bangladesh passport then she would have to get apply for a visitor visa.

 

[jamsham12]

My wife is a British citizen currently residing in her home country Bangladesh. I want to sponsor her here in Canada as I'm a Canadian PR. It takes up to 27 months to process the PR application from Bangladesh. So the questions I have are:
- Can she come here as a tourist (as Brits can enter for six months with a valid passport) and apply for PR as my spouse?
- Can she get a temp work permit while the application is in process?
- Is the process going to be faster to become a PR if there is any option to come as a tourist and apply for PR?

Thanks in advance.

If your wife is a British passport holder it is more than likely her application will be processed in the London VO. I was born in Hong Kong and am a naturalized U.S citizen and my file is being processed not in Hong Kong but in Ottawa, however if I was processed in Hong Kong, id probably have my P.R by now but that's another story lol.

 

[o.some56]

I actually had a return flight booked for 3 months after I arrived. I was advised to not book a 6 month ticket as that is the maximum that you can visit for and the officer may get suspicious that I would over stay as I was visiting my boyfriend (now common law partner).
I was given 6 months no problem after a few questions: why was I coming to Canada, how long for and how much money did I have on me. I told them I was visiting my boyfriend and I had $3,000 on me in cash.

I do not advise telling the officer that she is applying for PR otherwise they may worry she won't leave if her PR is denied. She can tell them that she is visiting you. Keyword is 'visiting', not planning to live in Canada. Never offer the officer more information than what they ask for.
She really needs to convince the officer that she won't overstay her time illegally, especially as you are her husband. They will probably ask her if she works in the UK and if so how did she get so much time off to visit.

If you don't mind me asking, what caused you to be separated, her in UK/Bangladesh and you in Canada? If she was born in Bangladesh and has UK citizenship, does she have duel citizenship? Is her passport UK? If she was visiting from Bangladesh under a Bangladesh passport then she would have to get apply for a visitor visa.

We knew each other in London but that time I already applied for Canadian PR from London. But she was waiting to get her Brit citizenship. When I got my PR I moved to Canada while she was still in UK. After she got her UK citizenship, she went to stay with her family in Bangladesh after a long time. We got married in the mean time and now we are planning to settle down in Canada.

So I believe she should have a return ticket booked after three months or so. Also she is not working at the moment so time off is not an issue.

One question, are you able to travel within the time of you inland application? How long does it take on average for the inland PR application to get processed? The link you sent, they encourage outland applications over inland as outland takes less time in comparison. Do you have any suggestion on that?

Thanks again for your kind advise.

 

[km9203]

We knew each other in London but that time I already applied for Canadian PR from London. But she was waiting to get her Brit citizenship. When I got my PR I moved to Canada while she was still in UK. After she got her UK citizenship, she went to stay with her family in Bangladesh after a long time. We got married in the mean time and now we are planning to settle down in Canada.

So I believe she should have a return ticket booked after three months or so. Also she is not working at the moment so time off is not an issue.

One question, are you able to travel within the time of you inland application? How long does it take on average for the inland PR application to get processed? The link you sent, they encourage outland applications over inland as outland takes less time in comparison. Do you have any suggestion on that?

Thanks again for your kind advise.

It's not about her getting time off. If she doesn't have a job to go back to (ties to her home) then the officer may get suspicious that she will stay in Canada since, you, her husband is here.

No, you cannot travel outside of Canada while inland application is in. Currently, CIC website says 26 months processing but it varies case by case. I think they encourage outland because you can travel if needed and your application won't be cancelled, also you have the right to appeal if for some reason your application is denied. You can't appeal inland. However, she will not be able to work if she does an outland application. Generally outland apps are processed quicker though so shouldn't be too much of an issue.

 

[o.some56]

It's not about her getting time off. If she doesn't have a job to go back to (ties to her home) then the officer may get suspicious that she will stay in Canada since, you, her husband is here.

No, you cannot travel outside of Canada while inland application is in. Currently, CIC website says 26 months processing but it varies case by case. I think they encourage outland because you can travel if needed and your application won't be cancelled, also you have the right to appeal if for some reason your application is denied. You can't appeal inland. However, she will not be able to work if she does an outland application. Generally outland apps are processed quicker though so shouldn't be too much of an issue.

Then I guess it's best for her to do an outland application as the process is faster and she can travel outside Canada if need be. The link you provided mentioned 'As of April 2015, outland applications are being processed on average in 10 months (from the time the application is first filed via CPC-M to the time a decision is made on the file)'. I believe this time span is for London office.

I was wondering what if she comes as a tourist and then we'll go to the USA on the fifth month and re-enter Canada. So she will probably be getting another six months. Please share your thoughts.

Thanks in advance.

 

[scylla]

I was wondering what if she comes as a tourist and then we'll go to the USA on the fifth month and re-enter Canada. So she will probably be getting another six months. Please share your thoughts.

No - don't do this. Flagpoling just to get a longer stay in Canada is sometimes frowned on and it's uncertain what will happen at the border. Higher chances of success if she instead applies to extend her visitor visa from within Canada towards the end of her allowed visit.

 

[o.some56]

No - don't do this. Flagpoling just to get a longer stay in Canada is sometimes frowned on and it's uncertain what will happen at the border. Higher chances of success if she instead applies to extend her visitor visa from within Canada towards the end of her allowed visit.

Thanks for your advise.

 

[o.some56]

No - don't do this. Flagpoling just to get a longer stay in Canada is sometimes frowned on and it's uncertain what will happen at the border. Higher chances of success if she instead applies to extend her visitor visa from within Canada towards the end of her allowed visit.

One quick question. My wife is a dual citizen. Brit and Bangladeshi. She is currently residing in Bangladesh. Is this ok for her to send her application to the London office or she has to do in the Bangladeshi office (Processed in Singapore) since she is living there now?

Thanks,

 

[kangamoose]

One quick question. My wife is a dual citizen. Brit and Bangladeshi. She is currently residing in Bangladesh. Is this ok for her to send her application to the London office or she has to do in the Bangladeshi office (Processed in Singapore) since she is living there now?

Thanks,

All applications go to Mississauga, once sponsorship has been approved they will forward it to the VO (London or Singapore).

 

[canuck_in_uk]

One quick question. My wife is a dual citizen. Brit and Bangladeshi. She is currently residing in Bangladesh. Is this ok for her to send her application to the London office or she has to do in the Bangladeshi office (Processed in Singapore) since she is living there now?

Thanks,

CIC chooses the VO. Given that she is now living in Bangladesh, they will most likely choose Singapore.