Spousal immigration (Quebec resident, but planning to move to Ottawa)

[beccasilva]

Hi there!

I'm a Canadian citizen (born and raised in Montreal, QC) and my husband (for about a month now, but we've been together for 4 years, living in Britain together since July 2014 on a Tier 5 Youth visa) are planning to move back to Canada, specifically Ottawa, ON.

My entire family lives in Montreal, but we are planning to move to Ottawa as my husband doesn't speak French and we imagined the transition would be easier that way.

I am correct in assuming I can become a sponsor from abroad?
Is there anyway we could move to Canada at the same time or would I have to move there first?
Will he be able to get a soon in Ottawa as soon as possible? He works as a civil engineer in Britain and ideally we would both want to be in work as soon as we move back (I plan to work at National Bank, where I used to be a cashier, but in an Ottawa branch).
Would he be better off applying for a skilled worker visa or is spousal visa our best bet?

Any clarity on the whole process would be great because it looks so much more complicated than a spousal visa to the UK!

 

[Aquakitty]

Spousal is most likely his best bet, unless he has a job offer already (which is very difficult in the engineering fields as the Canadian requirements are different).

Yes you can both be out of the country when you apply, but the onus is on you to prove you will be returning to Canada. They make a big deal about that, so be sure to send lots of proof of your ties to Canada.
Some of this proof could be letters from family stating you are moving back, information on where you will live in Canada/rental agreements/leases etc, Canadian bank accounts/credit cards, job search details for both of you, for your husband in particular proof he's looking into transfer his engineering degree to Canada.

 

[beccasilva]

Thank you for the response!

I was a bit worried about how to explain that we are planning to live in Ottawa in spite of my entire family being in Quebec, but the French language barrier is too difficult for us at the moment. The husband actually has an extended family living in Ontario, so that's another connection for him.

I still have bank accounts in Canada. Regarding rental agreements, we wouldn't rent anything until his visa was approved as we do not want to live separated for many months. Is this usually an issue?