Spousal Sponsorship questions... please help.

[dgoodman]

Hi everyone. I'm planning on sponsoring my Salvadorean spouse to come to Canada and have a lot of questions. I'll start with our story... very briefly; We met in October 2009. I went on a short term missions trip to Guatemala and she was working for the NGO. I went back to Canada, but we stayed in touch. I went to visit her in Jan, 2010 and we started dating. In Sept 2010 I moved to El Salvador. Was there for until Feb 2011, returned in March, then in April we moved to Panama to work at a school as teachers. In Sept, 2011, we returned to El Salvador for one week where we did all of the paperwork to be married and got her new documents. The formal, Christian wedding will be in January, 2012.

We are hoping to get started with the application, but I have a number of questions. If anyone could help me we some of these questions I would be very grateful.
Is there any place I can contact with questions... within Immigration Canada.

1. Currently I am in Panama on a Visitors visa until December, when the school year ends. We will be going back to El Salvador for 2 mo (summer break), then we will be returning to Panama. I am currently volunteering and the school is paying for my living expenses, but I am not a resident. The school will provide me with a letter. Is my residency status going to be an issue for the application? I am waiting on a criminal record check from Canada in order to apply for a residency here, but even then it will likely be a year before I have a work visa.

2. Along with the previous question, seeing as I have been on visitors visas the entire time I have been in El Salvador/ Panama am I still a resident of Canada even though I have only spent 2 mo. there in the last year?

3. My wife was a student in Spain for 9 mo. Does she need a Criminal record check for her time in Spain? The application says anywhere you have lived for more than 6 mo.

4. Is my financial situation an issue? I'm young, don't have assets in Canada and am 'volunteering' right now. I do have a job offer for when I return to Canada. It is in my parents business, which is incorporated (not sure if it will be an issue that my father is the one offering the job).

5. Is there any type of visa that would allow my wife and I to go to Canada and process our application from there?

6. Time frame, applying through the Guatemala office if anyone has experience.

7. We are not living together as we have only completed the 'Civil' ceremony. As Christians, we will not be living together until after we have completed the Christian ceremony in Jan 2012. Is this an issue for immigration or will they accept the explanation. We are volunteering at a Christian school so that should help prove that we have a religious reason.

I'm sure I will have many more questions throughout the process, but these are the ones I can think of for now.

thanks a lot.

 

[CharlieD10]

Immigration Canada will not provide counseling or assistance on completing applications. You're in a good place for it right here, though.

1) Canadian citizens may sponsor spouses while living abroad. They are required to provide evidence of plans to re-settle in Canada as part of an application to sponsor a spouse if they have been living abroad long-term.

2) You are likely not resident for tax purposes, and also for health care, but as long as you are still on tourist visas, your ordinary residence is still Canada.

3) Yes, she needs a record check from Spain.

4) Spousal sponsorships do not have a minimum income requirement. You need to establish how you will care for your responsibilities as a sponsor, so job offers, employment opportunities, where you will live, you need to document all of that for your application.

5) You can try to apply for a temporary resident permit (visitor's visa). Inland sponsorship has a timeline of 10-11 months for stage one approval, then another 8-9 months for final approval. She would be unable to work or access healthcare until stage one approval. Outland applications can be finalised in less, I know of one Guatemalan application from Feb 2011 that was completed in about 6 months.

6) There is a thread here for such applicants: http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/-t44160.0.html

7) Just explain as you have done here, the lack of cohabitation will not affect your application since you are planning to sponsor her as your spouse and not as your common-law partner.

 

[dgoodman]

Thanks a lot for the reply!

Another question. Regarding the record check from Spain. We're not sure how long it will take, but I'd imagine that it will take a few months. So, are we able to apply now with what we have, then send the criminal record check to Guatemala?

 

[CharlieD10]

It may be more efficient than that, but in any case, yes, you can submit the application previously and advise by way of a cover letter that you have applied for the PCC from Spain and will forward it as soon as it is received. Some kind of proof, like the airwaybill confirming you have sent the request to Spain, will show that you are making every effort to obtain it.

The procedure is listed here for Spain: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/europe/spain.asp

 

[dgoodman]

That's what I was kind of thinking. They shouldn't need it for the initial approval of me (the sponsor) in Canada, only once the application is sent to Guatemala for processing. So, if we go ahead and say we will send it in later, we will need to wait until we have a processing agent in Guatemala, then we can send it directly to them, correct?

 

[CharlieD10]

You will be advised when you are approved to sponsor. After that the file is transferred to the local visa office, at which time you can send the PCC on. It takes about 10-14 days on average for the packages to arrive at the local VO from CPC-M after approval. You won't know the name of your processing agent, so you will have to send the PCC to the Immigration section of the VO, and ensure that you clearly state the names and DOB of sponsor and applicant and request that they match up the PCC with the application.

 

[dgoodman]

A few more questions as we go through the forms...

1. How to fill in my wife's residency in Panama on IMM008. She has a 1 year carnet (temporary resident visa, not a work visa) and is volunteering with a church group. She's not a permanent resident I don't think. Is she still just a visitor?

2. My wife was 'volunteering' in Guatemala for 1 year. Did not have residency and was travelling back and forth every three mo. to El Salvador. How do we fill this in for her background check. Ie. Where she was living and for her list of activities. How do we fill this into the forms. Will they expect a criminal record check for Guatemala as well? I don't know how she could get this seeing as she had no real status in Guatemala. As part of the Central American 4, they don't even stamp her passport for travelling back and forth between the countries. Also, this is where we met so it seems important to me.

3. Before this, over a 6 mo. Period in her home country, she spent 6 weeks volunteering with the same organization as in Guatemala - 2 of it in Guatemala. These 6 weeks Were spread out over the 6 month period. How do we record this in the activity section. Was she simply 'unemployed' or 'volunteering' or do we fill in each week individually?

4. Option -C? I'm suppose to get an option C. I have no idea what this is, but do I really need one. My claimed income is $0. I've been a tourist in Central America for the past year.

I know, lots of questions but I want to get it right the first time

Thanks!

 

[CharlieD10]

1. Yes, her status is just visitor.

2. Break up the periods into each 3 month time. So, for example May-Jul XX City, Guatemala, Volunteering with Church group. That would be followed by the next 3 months period Aug-Oct, XX City, El Salvador, Unemployed/Volunteering/Whatever she was doing back home. Use as much space as you need (you are allowed to continue on plain paper), but ensure you clearly show the breaks in time, and list each relevant period separately.

3. Since her home base was at home in El Salvador, you can record that period as entirely being in El Salvador, you don't need to show weeks individually. You can write she was Volunteering, since this was her main activity. Definitely do get a criminal record check for Guatemala as well. Although she was not there continuously, she has spent a year in the country, and it was recently, so it's a good idea to pre-empt a request for that record check by submitting it with the application.

4. Option C is from Revenue Canada, and it basically lists your income by source, so they can verify you are not receiving social assistance for reasons other than disability. If you have not filed taxes at home or abroad for last year, then get the one for the most recent year filed, and enclose some kind of proof of your travels outside the country and why you have no income to claim. It is important to show you are not receiving social assistance and you can maintain your spouse if they are approved for PR.

Ask questions, it's how you get help!

 

[dgoodman]

For 2, sorry I wasn't clear. She was in Guatemala the entire time. She simply returned to El Salvador every 3 mo. for 4 or 5 days to renew her visitors visa. Should she still record each 3 mo. period individually?

We'll have to look into the criminal record check. She was only ever a visitor so I'm not sure if she'll be able to get one.

 

[CharlieD10]

Ah. No, you don't need to break it up, in that case. She was based in Guatemala, and returning home for a few days at a time, so her primary residence was Guatemala for that period.

Try; because even if she was only visiting she needs to show that for the period she was entirely law-abiding. The point of the record check in this case is to show she has no record because her activities and status did not require either immigration or the police to take any notice of her. If you can't get a PCC because she was only a visitor, do try to get someone official to say so in writing on a letterhead, so you have something to show CIC to say you made the attempt.

 

[dgoodman]

Hi, I have a question about the medical. The receptionist at the DR's office wont really say anything other than, bring the forms and come for an appointment. She did say that there is a fee to send the documents to the office in Guatemala. Do we have to do it this way or can they simply provide us with the form, then send that to Mississauga with all of the other documents? If they do need to send it to Guatemala, does that we will need to wait for them to request it before we can have the medical done?

As far as the paperwork goes, is it only one page (Appendix C in the Immigration guide for Latin America)?

 

[Kedeisha]

the meds fee should be part of the fee to send it to the regional dmp for ur office so thats weird that an extra fee but there is no way around it the dr need to send a copy to the regional dmp and u send the receipt to show it was done so if there is a fee just pay it or ur meds wont go anywhere but ask why that fee isnt part of the meds fee

 

[dgoodman]

Thanks, So in that case do we need to wait until Guatemala requests to medical or can we do that right away? I know it only lasts a year, but we'll be leaving Panama for El Salvador in a month and they don't have registered DR's there so we'd like to get it taken care of.

 

[Kedeisha]

is this for a meds redo? its up to u actually if i was in ur shoes i would redo as once redo are requested sometimes they take 3 mths and i always believe in being proactive others will say dont redo unless requested as they may ask again the chances are slim tho because once u do ur meds with a dmp they will/should be valid

 

[dgoodman]

no, we actually haven't sent the application yet. We'll be sending it in while we are in El Salvador in about a month.