Spousal Application - Canadian Citizen born in the UK...

[StephLouise]

Hi all -

I was just wondering if anyone would be able to advise me on a couple of queries I have regarding spousal sponsorship. I am a UK resident, but hold dual-nationality (British/Canadian). I still have all of the documentation proving this (Certificate of Canadian Citizenship - both the certificate and photo card) and an expired Canadian passport from when I was a child. My first question is; am I eligible to sponsor my common-law spouse from the UK, despite the fact that I have never actually resided in Canada for any extended length of time? Will this affect or harm my application in any way?


My second question is, is it necessary to update my Canadian Citizenship card and the outdated photograph for the purposes of the spousal sponsorship application? As with my expired Canadian Passport, the picture on the photocard is of me as a baby, when my parents first applied for my citizenship from the UK. If it is necessary to renew the photocard with a recent photograph, how do I go about doing this from the UK?

I'd appreciate any help or advice.

Thanks!

- Steph.

 

[Leon]

Talk to the Canadian embassy in London about renewing your passport and to ask if you must renew your citizenship card. You are equally able to sponsor a spouse as any other citizen but if you want to do it while still living outside Canada, you must show that you intend to move to Canada when the spouse gets his PR.

 

[StephLouise]

Thanks for the reply Leon -

I eventually got hold of a contact number for the Canadian High Commission in London, passport renewal should apparently only take around 3 weeks, and as you said, I am eligible to sponsor despite the fact I haven't lived in Canada.
They did, however, say it would take around a year to update the photograph on my photo card...God knows why it would take that long, but she said that for the purposes of the application it *should* be OK. I find it difficult to believe that it will be OK, considering my height is listed on the card as 49 cm tall, but I guess I'm going to have to trust her regardless! I don't want to wait another year on top of the application processing time...

Has anyone else ever heard of/ experienced something like this?

Fingers crossed it'll be OK in it's current form.

 

[fox82]

hi stephlouise

i know some canadian woman living all her life in london same as you she never beeen in canada since she was 10 years... and now shes sponsoring her egyptian husband,,,all she sent is valid passport and birth certificate and marriage certificate ..plus her hbby papers and other application ofcourse ,,,she was approved by CPC-M and now her hubby's PR visa is being processed in egypt ,,

so yes u r eleigable to sponsor ur bf ,, but i think u will need to proofe that u will move to reside in canda once ur bf got his visa ,,

and ofcourse it is so much better to have all ur documnets new

good luck

 

[Leon]

She didn't say you would have to wait for the citizenship card to start the sponsorship, did she? I know it takes a year to get it. That is normal processing time

 

[StephLouise]

The lady I spoke to (who admittedly, worked in the passport office - I wasn't able to speak to anyone in Immigration) said that I could try with my current citizen's photo card. She said it wasn't her department, but that it COULD be OK as it is, with the photograph of myself a a child.

It's all so confusing. I hope it will be OK, but I'd like a bit more reassurance than it 'could' be sufficient in it's current state!

Thanks to all for all the help so far!

 

[AlieW]

I'm no expert,

But i'm pretty sure that on the document check list for sponsors under supporting documents it says "Photo copy of Canadian citizenship card with photo (both sides) or Canadian Passport" (amoung a bunch of other options.

I think the 'OR' is the operative word here. It seems to me that you only need to provide one piece of documentiong. If you provide your renewed passport (which you said should only take 3 weeks) then I don't see why you don't need to also send them the Canadian citizenship card - in which case the photo is a non issue.

Again not an expert on this but that's my understanding of the check list.

Cheers,

 

[Leon]

If you had been born in Canada, you would have a birth certificate instead of a citizenship card and a birth certificate doesn't have your photo at all so I don't see why a citizenship card you got as a child would not be equally valid as long as you have other current ID (passport) to prove that you are the person whose card that is. Anyway, if the check list also says passport or citizenship card, then you just have to renew the passport and you will not have a problem. I think it will be a bigger hurdle for you to prove plans to move to Canada since you don't have any history in Canada.