Sponsoring new wife and family

[Nell72]

Hello,

This is my first post and I would like to thank all of you for allowing me to participate in this forum. I am a Canadian resident working in Bermuda. I am engaged to a non-Canadian who also lives in Bermuda. She has a 4 yr old son who she adopted as a single mother. My mother-in-law lives with us in Bermuda and has just recently retired. My mother-in-law receives substantial income from her pension, her deceased husband's pension and a widows pension from the Government of Bermuda so she is more than able to support herself. We would like to move to Canada to be closer to my family in the next 14 months or so.

How can I sponsor my new wife, her son and my mother-in-law to move to Canada? Can I do it while living in Bermuda? I still pay taxes in Canada (if that matters). We have a house in Canada for all of us to live in.

We cannot leave her mother alone in Bermuda as there are no other family members in Bermuda and of course, we want her to continue to live with us - I lucked out with a great mother-in-law!!!

I appreciate any advice you may have.

Thank you and best,
Nell

 

[mitamata]

You say you're a Canadian resident. Does that mean you're a permanent resident or a citizen?

I ask because as a citizen, you would be able to sponsor your fiance and her child (either as a common-law partner if you have lived together for 1 year or as your wife after you marry) while you're living in Bermuda. You would need to supply evidence that you intend to relocate to Canada when they get their visa.

Permanent residents don't have that option - that have to live in Canada while applying to sponsor someone, so if you're a PR, you would have to move to Canada first.

Sponsoring your partner and child should be simple, there aren't any financial requirements to it. All you have to do to qualify as a sponsor is not be bankrupt or on social assistance.

As for your mother-in-law: unless you find a way to get her into Canada on her own (if she would qualify as a skilled worker), your wife will probably have to sponsor her. To do that, she has to first become a permanent resident herself, meaning you have to sponsor her first. There are financial requirements for sponsoring parents - you have to show a set amount of income in Canada in the last year. You can co-sign for the sponsorship, so your income would be counted towards that as well. But it will have to be earned in Canada.

I'm sorry, I don't think there's a way for all of you to move to Canada at the same time. It will be a while before your mother-in-law can be sponsored and the sponsorship of a parent is unfortunately very lengthy - it literally takes years.
In the mean time, you can try getting your mother-in-law a visitor's visa, so she could come stay with you. But, if she can't show significant ties to Bermuda (something that outweighs her family in Canada), that will probably be rejected.

Congratulations on having a great mother-in-law btw. Mine's pretty nice too, but as much as I love her, I certainly wouldn't want to live with her xD

 

[Nell72]

Hello, thank you for replying so quickly. Sorry, I am a Canadian Citizen. Would an offer of employment be evidence that we intend to relocate when they get their visa? Or the fact, that we own a house together in Canada?

My mother-in-law is a US Citizen. She is 65 so I am not sure what the age requirements are for a skilled worker. She has always worked for the US Government - almost 43 years!

How long would it take for my wife to become a PR? That would mean that I would sponsor my wife who would then have to work in Canada for a year after sponsorship before she could sponsor her mother?

This is not going to go down well....Her only significant tie to Bermuda is my fiance. She also takes care of my wife's son when he is not in pre-school. Wow, didn't realize how hard it was to bring family to Canada.

 

[mitamata]

Yes, a job offer would be great. Owning a house in Canada would also be a big plus. People also include letter from family/friends who know they intend to relocate. It's not uncommon to stay with relatives until you can find your own place in Canada, so if anyone will be helping you with that (letting you stay with them for example), you can include a letter from them showing they're willing to do so.

The sponsorship for your wife would be done through Buffalo, USA. The current processing times for Buffalo are 4-10 months, but I've heard many have gotten their visas faster than that. Processing times are here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/international/05-fc-spouses.asp
Add to that about one month that it would take for Mississauga to first approve your sponsorship, so you can probably assume some 5 months if everything is ok (all the forms are filled out, enough relationship evidence included, police certificates and medicals done before applying).

Since your mother-in-law is a US citizen, she won't need a visa to visit Canada, but could still be denied entry if the officer at the border decides she's trying to stay in Canada for longer than that - which might happen if you show up there with all your worldly possessions in tow.

As for the income: you know, I'm not sure about it here, so I won't get into it to not give wrong information. I know much more about partner sponsorships. Maybe somebody else can tell you about this.
Here's the guide to sponsorship, to give you an idea: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/guides/5196E.PDF
And more info here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/family.asp


Bringing family (spouse and children) into Canada is for the most part that hard, but when you get into extended family - yeah, it takes a while.

 

[helios]

Hello,

This is my first post and I would like to thank all of you for allowing me to participate in this forum. I am a Canadian resident working in Bermuda. I am engaged to a non-Canadian who also lives in Bermuda. She has a 4 yr old son who she adopted as a single mother. My mother-in-law lives with us in Bermuda and has just recently retired. My mother-in-law receives substantial income from her pension, her deceased husband's pension and a widows pension from the Government of Bermuda so she is more than able to support herself. We would like to move to Canada to be closer to my family in the next 14 months or so.

How can I sponsor my new wife, her son and my mother-in-law to move to Canada? Can I do it while living in Bermuda? I still pay taxes in Canada (if that matters). We have a house in Canada for all of us to live in.

We cannot leave her mother alone in Bermuda as there are no other family members in Bermuda and of course, we want her to continue to live with us - I lucked out with a great mother-in-law!!!

I appreciate any advice you may have.

Thank you and best,
Nell

You may sponsor your wife and child through the federal family class stream and the process is fairly quick 6months-12months. As stated by Nell72, if you are not a citizen, then you must apply for sponsorship in Canada.

Which Canadian province do you plan to live in? Some provinces have PNP that allow sponsorship of in-laws. You may want to do some research concerning your specific provincial nominee program. If your mother-in-law is not eligible through PNP, then your wife may apply to sponsor her once your wife receive her PR status as stated by Nell72. However understand that parental sponsorship process is very lengthy, it may take up to or beyond 4 years. PNP is usually much faster.

Your mother-in-law may apply for TRV to come to Canada to visit her daughter, son-in-law and grandson. Initial TRV is valid for 6 months, however it is fairly easy to extend it several times.

 

[PMM]

Hi

You may sponsor your wife and child through the federal family class stream and the process is fairly quick 6months-12months. As stated by Nell72, if you are not a citizen, then you must apply for sponsorship in Canada.

Which Canadian province do you plan to live in? Some provinces have PNP that allow sponsorship of in-laws. You may want to do some research concerning your specific provincial nominee program. If your mother-in-law is not eligible through PNP, then your wife may apply to sponsor her once your wife receive her PR status as stated by Nell72. However understand that parental sponsorship process is very lengthy, it may take up to or beyond 4 years. PNP is usually much faster.

Your mother-in-law may apply for TRV to come to Canada to visit her daughter, son-in-law and grandson. Initial TRV is valid for 6 months, however it is fairly easy to extend it several times.

1. The M/in law is too old (65) for any of the 3 family PNP streams, 49 maximum age.
2. The M/in law is a US citizen, she doesn't require a TRV to visit Canada.

PMM