Sponsorship questions

[Hollianni]

Hi there...

My husband (Canadian) and I (U.S.) recently moved to Canada. I have a 1 year visitors visa. We just started this process so my questions might be kind of silly

He does not meet the min. requirements for financial support in order to sponsor me. I know it states that if we are married he does not have to meet those requirements but I am still worried about it. We are living with his parents right now. Would it be a good idea to have them provide a letter stating that they will provide for me in the event that he could not? I know the biggest concern is that I am not, or will ever be, on any kind of social assistance. If so, what should it say? Or does this even matter since we are married?

Thank you!

 

[truesmile]

Totally not needed. There is NO income requirement for spousal sponsorship.

 

[kevinwhalan]

Can you elaborate at all? I believe there is a section to provide last years income statement.

 

[truesmile]

They do ask sponsors to include an "Option C", which does have income yes, but they can also see on there if the sponsor was the recipient of any social benefits.

 

[kevinwhalan]

Ok that sounds good to me. May I ask how you know what you know? My partner is convinced we will need to speak to a lawyer regarding our financial status and the spousal sponsorship but if I can find enough reliable information without dishing out a few grand to a lawyer that would be preferred.

Thanks again

 

[truesmile]

I READ the whole Guide, went through the process, and have been "trolling" (hahaha, inside joke) here ever since. The forms may seem confusing, if they do then post a question here. We got through our forms BEFORE finding this forum as a resource. It's not a court of law, you just fill out the forms without leaving any fields blank, and with good command of the English language (or French) you will have little or no difficulty. The CIC even warns that using a lawyer or immigration consultant does nothing to help your case. Some will say "they catch your mistakes", I say proof-read it yourself and pay yourself 5 G's as a reward.

 

[Betina]

Ok that sounds good to me. May I ask how you know what you know? My partner is convinced we will need to speak to a lawyer regarding our financial status and the spousal sponsorship but if I can find enough reliable information without dishing out a few grand to a lawyer that would be preferred.

Thanks again

There are indeed no financial requirements for sponsoring a spouse. All CIC is interested in is to make sure you can provide for yourselves. He needs to provide an Option C if he filed for taxes last year, and that's one way that CIC can verify that he was not on welfare.

That being said, there's no harm in including a letter from his parents stating that they intend on offering you "room and board" :-D CIC likes it when applicants have a support system in place, because it makes it likely that you will find help if you ever need it. Also include a letter from yourselves, detailing your future plans of employment.

As far as an immigration lawyer is concerned, I agree with truesmile: read the guides and the forms, ask here when you have difficulties (there's nothing this bunch of people can't answer), fill out the forms review them then fill them out again (we've done it 4 or 5 times before submitting our application). And when it's all done, give yourselves 5k as payment :-D

It may seem really complicated and confusing at first, but you will get the hang of it

Good luck!

 

[Robin35]

I agree with the others who posted .. I'm in 'sort of' the same situation. I'm the Canadian sponsor and my husband (USA) is the source of our family income. I called before we submitted our application ans discussed this with CIC. The worker i spoke to told me there is no income requirement .. HOWEVER you do still need to include all things on the checklist (the option C printout - it takes 2 weeks to get this so don't delay) Plus proof of employment and or income. Since i have no employment or income she advised me to include a letter (for this section of the checklist) explaining how we plan to support our family after he immigrates. So we included several things - A letter from me that explains our situation and plans, a letter from my husbands employer - stating his income and that he will remain a full time employee during and after his immigration (he works for a USA branch of a large Canadian company) and Bank statements and credit card statements that show money being spent in Canada (proof that he supports us). We just got our AOR and expect to get SA in the next week-ish. I don't expect there will be a problem .. but it's in the back of my mind. You can call CIC with any questions you have. They are helpful and friendly. Wishing you all the best !! ;D

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Hi there...

My husband (Canadian) and I (U.S.) recently moved to Canada. I have a 1 year visitors visa. We just started this process so my questions might be kind of silly

He does not meet the min. requirements for financial support in order to sponsor me. I know it states that if we are married he does not have to meet those requirements but I am still worried about it. We are living with his parents right now. Would it be a good idea to have them provide a letter stating that they will provide for me in the event that he could not? I know the biggest concern is that I am not, or will ever be, on any kind of social assistance. If so, what should it say? Or does this even matter since we are married?

As the others above have said, there is no financial requirement for sponsoring a partner, so don't waste your money on a lawyer.

You should definitely include a letter from his parents stating that they are providing you with a place to live and financial support if needed. Along with proof of any savings, proof of his income and a plan about how you guys intend to support yourselves, that should be fine.

 

[Hollianni]

Thank you guys so much! All this information was very helpful. I will take your advice about doing the forms a few times before submitting. It is a process but will be worth it in the end!