Hello,
I'm hoping the hive mind out there can help clarify some things for my wife and I. First for some context:
I am a Canadian citizen (by birth) I have been living in the UK since 2008. My wife is British. We have been married since 2014 and have recently just had our first child. We now want to move to Canada. We plan to apply for my son's Canadian citizenship either before we go or once we're there and assume either approach is fine (please let me know if you think this is not the case).
We are considering both the Inland (Spouse or Common Law Partner in Canada Class) or Outland approach. Ideally we want to 'move' to Canada by 1st November 2021 (indeed are already making arrangements for renting a house and I am starting to apply for jobs) I understand that there are significant delays to both application approaches.
Inland approach:
Due to the delays and our desire to move to Canada as soon as possible one option I see us having is to apply for my wife's PR once we arrive in Canada. Firstly, I assume this is possible? Someone please correct me if I'm wrong on this.
Another reason for the Inland approach is that my wife will be able to apply for the Open Work Permit (OWP) upon submitting the PR application. In order to be eligible for the OWP I've read you need to have Temporary Resident Status (TRS) however I've not been able to find conclusive information on exactly how to get TRS - it seems you need to enter on a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) however as she is a British citizen my question here is can my wife simply enter on an eTA as this seems to be a type of TRV or does she need to apply for a separate Visitor Visa?
Subsequently, I've read that although an eTA normally only allows a visitor to stay in Canada for 6 months a border officer at the port of entry ultimately can determine the length of time - has any one been, or does anyone know of anyone who has been granted a longer stay on an eTA?
This brings me to my next area of questioning - dual intent: if going this route I assume that when arriving in Canada at Immigration and Customs we would declare to the Border Officer our intent to apply for my wife's PR. My question is do we say that we are 'moving' to Canada then and there? Is saying this problematic e.g. may it make the officer question whether we would leave either when the eTA is up or if my wife's PR application is denied?
Also, in relation to this, is it necessary to have a return flight booked when entering as would normally be the case if entering as a visitor on an eTA?
Finally, I've just read on this forum that when going the inland route the applicant is restricted from leaving the country until PR is granted - or rather you can leave but your entry is not guaranteed. Has anyone been able to leave and re-enter without disrupting their PR application? Or has anyone else heard of first hand stories to the contrary?
It would be great to hear from anyone who knows the answer to any of my questions above and I'd be especially interested to hear from anyone who has done what we are proposing above.
I will now go on to the outland approach.
Outland approach:
I think the only reason we would consider this route is if, firstly, someone flags any serious problems with my Inland approach above or latterly, we think that the processing time would be faster (although based on the current IRCC processing calculator both inland and outland are 12 months)
However, my questions here are:
1. If we submit my wife's Outland PR application from the UK can we still travel to Canada for 1 November and will she be able to enter on an eTA?
2. If my wife enters on an eTA would we declare that we are waiting for her PR application to be processed?
3. Do people think that the Border Officer may potentially grant my wife a longer visiting period given our circumstances?
4. If the answer is 'No' to question 3 - then I'm assuming it would be completely acceptable for my wife to leave the country and re-enter on a renewed eTA?
You have a lot of questions here. I'll try to focus on the most important:
1) You should apply for citizenship for your child right away, along with passport. You may have difficulties travelling with the child if you don't. (I believe the practice is that they will issue a temporary passport fairly quickly, the 'citizenship' may come later, but that's administrative -it's basically recognition that the citizenship is likely even if not formally granted. Caveat, not an expert on this, but as you'll see below, you do need to apply for it asap)
2) Entering on a visa waiver/ETA gives temporary resident status - it just means you've entered as a 'visitor.' (I'm being simple with the terminology).
3) Very unlikely the border agent would give a longer entry right, but it can be extended fairly easily during the process. This answers your question 4 above - she should be able to extend her visitor status without leaving the country.
4) Although 'dual intent' exists, the border officer can refuse entry if they think you won't respect terms of entry. In practical terms, it's not a good idea to eg show up with all worldly belongings as demonstrating no intent to ever leave. (This is a difficult topic).
5) Otherwise the idea to apply inland as you described is mostly okay.
6) If the plan is to move to Canada in november, it may make more sense to apply now as outland. She should still be able to enter on ETA. It's possible it could be done by then - but no guarantee. Important point: you WILL need to show docs that you have applied for child's citizenship/passport, so do that now. (You don't need the response or answer from govt, just a copy that you have applied)
The main decision point for you is whether to apply outland (now-ish) or inland. My guess - and only a guess - is that you would not gain time by waiting and applying inland. You've been married more than five years, have a child, etc - your relationship is unlikely to be questioned and the UK / UK citizens are usually not issues on the security/criminality side.
One note: if you apply outland you will need to show 'intent to return to Canada' - read up on this. Basiclly some evidence that you've made plans to move (where, looked for a place, etc) and have some notion of how you and your spouse will support yourselves (savings, job plans, etc). There are no fixed requirements for this like income or how you demonstrate but you need to show something.