Spousal sponsorship

[SINIP]

hi,
actually i came with pr in may 2012 in alberta, now this am planning for marriage which will b in may, later i want my husband to come here, what are the procedure for it, how long will it take.....

 

[CanFamily]

Hi,

what if you lie about you living in Canada while you were living with your wife outside of Canada for few years? In wife's application there is a section - proof of visits: tickets and so on. If she says that her Sponsor did not keep the tickets and receipts? How will they find out you are not in Canada anyway?

To lie or not to lie - here is the question.

 

[scylla]

Hi,

what if you lie about you living in Canada while you were living with your wife outside of Canada for few years? In wife's application there is a section - proof of visits: tickets and so on. If she says that her Sponsor did not keep the tickets and receipts? How will they find out you are not in Canada anyway?

To lie or not to lie - here is the question.

It's generally a really bad idea to lie.

CIC has access to airline manifests and shares information with US immigration to cover land border crossings. Pretty easy for them to find out where you've been and haven't been. They may also request further proof of Canadian residency (e.g. credit card bills, utility statements, rental agreements, employment, tax returns, etc.). If you can't provide any of these - it won't take them long to piece the facts together. They see this kind of stuff all the time.

If you lie in the application and CIC finds out, then it's possible they might make a finding of misrepresentation which would result in your wife's application being refused and she would be banned from reapplying for 2 years.

 

[CanFamily]

Thank you, I have to agree with you.

Then what about this: if I have a Canadian bank account, friends and I do online business through a Canadian bank - should I consider myself "Canadian citizen Living exclusively outside of Canada"? Because up on return I will file all my taxes as a resident, because I think I qualify. What I'm getting is: what do I select in sponsor residency declaration if I was out of Canada for over 6 years?

 

[scylla]

Thank you, I have to agree with you.

Then what about this: if I have a Canadian bank account, friends and I do online business through a Canadian bank - should I consider myself "Canadian citizen Living exclusively outside of Canada"? Because up on return I will file all my taxes as a resident, because I think I qualify. What I'm getting is: what do I select in sponsor residency declaration if I was out of Canada for over 6 years?

You're a Canadian citizen living exclusively outside of Canada.

I don't understand why you would lie in the application. The risks are high and there's really no reward. Since you are a Canadian citizen, you can sponsor your spouse while living outside of Canada. You just have to provide proof that you have plans to return to Canada and make Canada your home once your spouse's PR visa is issued.

Again, I really don't understand why you would lie given the risks and lack of any real benefit.

 

[CanFamily]

Well, I just asked for an opinion as I though it would be easier but then again.

The thing is they need proof: I have my wife and out year old son. I make more than enough and have enough in my Canadian bank account.
People are taking about the proof of resettlement, why else would I want to apply for my wife? Best I can do is to show my financial assets in Canada - bank account with funds on it and a letter from my friend that I will stay with him until I find a good place to rent. I graduated, I do not have property there, what else should I dish out as a proof? My virtual plans to apply for a loan and buy a house? All I want to do is to take my family back to Canada, considering our child is a Canadian by birth as I'm his father.

Thank you for the reply.

 

[qtazngal]

Well, I just asked for an opinion as I though it would be easier but then again.

The thing is they need proof: I have my wife and out year old son. I make more than enough and have enough in my Canadian bank account.
People are taking about the proof of resettlement, why else would I want to apply for my wife? Best I can do is to show my financial assets in Canada - bank account with funds on it and a letter from my friend that I will stay with him until I find a good place to rent. I graduated, I do not have property there, what else should I dish out as a proof? My virtual plans to apply for a loan and buy a house? All I want to do is to take my family back to Canada, considering our child is a Canadian by birth as I'm his father.

Thank you for the reply.

Hi CanFamily

I am a Canadian Citizen living outside Canada like for for nearly 20 years and my husband is British. When I decided to try to relocate my family to Canada (both children also Canadian Citizen) I was given an advice on what proofs I need to show that you are serious of going back home and you still have connectios with Canada (as I read in your post you still have connections with Canada). Yes, I am sponsoring my husband.

First, you need to give them bank account details (such as original bank statements), original letter/s or emails from friends telling them your plans to go back, another letter/s or email again regarding a place where you can stay in a meantime (mine was my sister's letter telling CIC that we will be staying with them until such time), any pension, business etc you have in Canada or anything else you might have to tie you to Canada.

Mine I added a little bit more because my children are at school age so I added letters from schools in Canada and their response about my plans. OK it took long to get something back from CIC regarding my sponsorship but I got an spousal approval at the end.

Dont Lie

Hope this helps.

 

[CanFamily]

Thank you Dear,

as I like to say: getting to Canada is just a matter of time in my case as if disproved I will reassess and apply again)

Thank you.

 

[wasim_ahmad1]

I came to Canada as Student in 2009 and I finished my masters degree in 2011. After that I got post graduate work permit. At the moment I am working on an Engineer position in Alberta on my PGWP. I have filed my provincial nominee application under AINP engineering category which is under process.

But now I am going to get married in June 2013. And my future spouse is a Canadian Citizen. I want to ask what is best case for me to do? Should I continue on the application which I put for AINP after I get the nomination from Alberta or I should wait till June 2013 and file my papers of immigration on basis of marrying Canadian citizen. Which process is fast and easy? And is there any application fee difference in both cases?

Please help me, I would highly appreciate you guys help in this regard.

Thank you

 

[computergeek]

I came to Canada as Student in 2009 and I finished my masters degree in 2011. After that I got post graduate work permit. At the moment I am working on an Engineer position in Alberta on my PGWP. I have filed my provincial nominee application under AINP engineering category which is under process.

But now I am going to get married in June 2013. And my future spouse is a Canadian Citizen. I want to ask what is best case for me to do? Should I continue on the application which I put for AINP after I get the nomination from Alberta or I should wait till June 2013 and file my papers of immigration on basis of marrying Canadian citizen. Which process is fast and easy? And is there any application fee difference in both cases?

I'd continue with the AINP process. Otherwise, you're looking at applying in August/September 2013 (you need to get your marriage certificate back which can take a month or two) for spousal. You may actually be in the final stages of AINP by then and you'd qualify for the open work permit. If in June your AINP application hasn't moved forward and you haven't qualified for the open work permit, you could then submit a spousal application - you are allowed to have parallel applications (economic and spousal) at the same time - you just can't have two of the same class of application (e.g., economic or sponsored family) at the same time.

In addition, PR under AINP means you have an unconditional PR. PR under spousal sponsorship is conditional - you must remain in the qualifying relationship for at least two years after landing, your spouse has promised to support you for three years, and you are yourself barred from sponsoring someone to come to Canada for five years after landing. While I hope none of these are an issue for you, these are reasonable issues to consider as well.

On a personal front, I think it's preferable to obtain PR on your own when possible - it eliminates any possibility that your spouse (or friends and family) suggest you used her or him to "get into Canada".

 

[tamarindball]

Can someone pls advise whether the post graduate work permit only applies to studies done in Canada or would studies done in UK allow you to get such permit? Just curious!

I'd continue with the AINP process. Otherwise, you're looking at applying in August/September 2013 (you need to get your marriage certificate back which can take a month or two) for spousal. You may actually be in the final stages of AINP by then and you'd qualify for the open work permit. If in June your AINP application hasn't moved forward and you haven't qualified for the open work permit, you could then submit a spousal application - you are allowed to have parallel applications (economic and spousal) at the same time - you just can't have two of the same class of application (e.g., economic or sponsored family) at the same time.

In addition, PR under AINP means you have an unconditional PR. PR under spousal sponsorship is conditional - you must remain in the qualifying relationship for at least two years after landing, your spouse has promised to support you for three years, and you are yourself barred from sponsoring someone to come to Canada for five years after landing. While I hope none of these are an issue for you, these are reasonable issues to consider as well.

On a personal front, I think it's preferable to obtain PR on your own when possible - it eliminates any possibility that your spouse (or friends and family) suggest you used her or him to "get into Canada".

So you are in the situation that you want to sponsor your foreign spouse for permanent residency of Canada and don't know where to start. Here are some tips:

Married, common law or conjugal partners

First you need to pick an application class. There are three of them: married, common-law and conjugal. For all of them, you need to prove the genuineity of your relationship. For common-law, you need to prove that you have lived together for 12 months or longer. For conjugal, you need to prove that you have combined your affairs as much as possible but there are real immigration barriers or other barriers preventing you from living together or getting married. Conjugal is the hardest to prove. For example, if your partner could get a visit visa to come to Canada for 6 months and then apply for an extension to get the full year, even though they will not be allowed to work, that is not considered an immigration barrier. An immigration barrier is if your partner tries to get a visit visa to come to Canada and is repeatedly refused. Some people have had luck with the conjugal class but try to avoid it if possible.

Outland or inland?

Now you need to decide if to apply outland or inland. If your spouse is not in Canada and can not get a visa to go to Canada, you must apply outland. That means that you will send your application to Mississauga and they will approve you as a sponsor. The time that takes is usually 1-2 months to but current processing times can be seen here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/canada/process-in.asp#sponsorship After that, the application is forwarded to your local visa office. If your spouse is residing in a country other than the country of their nationality, you can pick which of the two visa offices you want. Otherwise it will be processed in their country of nationality. You can see the processing times here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/international/05-fc-spouses.asp

If your spouse is staying in Canada as a visitor or on some other visa, you can pick whether you want to apply outland or inland. Outland is generally faster and has appeal rights but a downside to outland is that if an interview is required, your spouse will have to travel to the visa office in the country where it's being processed. Inland has the downside that it's generally not advised that your spouse travels while you are waiting for your processing because it is a requirement of inland that they reside in Canada and if they are denied entry at the border for some reason, your application is gone. If an interview is required for inland, you may also have to wait a long time for it. The inland application would be sent to Vegreville and if all goes well, you would get a first stage approval, usually in 6 to 8 months. The current processing times can be seen here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/canada/process-in.asp#perm_res Then the file is forwarded to your local CIC office where you live and they will contact you for a landing appointment. Getting the PR with inland usually takes 12-18 months. If an interview is required for inland, Vegreville will not give first stage approval but instead will forward the application to the local CIC office without it and you will have to wait for them to have time for your interview. In some cases that can take a year or two. If you do get the first stage approval, your spouse will usually be eligible for health care and an open work permit. It is actually a good idea when applying inland to send an application form for a visit visa extension as well as the open work permit to be given at first stage approval all in one package so it's tied together.

Which method to pick depends on your situation. If your spouses country of nationality has a long processing time or your spouse does not want to have to travel there for a possible interview, then inland is the way to go. For faster processing and freedom of travel during the processing time, outland would be better. You can find the application forms for inland at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/spouse.asp and the application forms for outland at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp

Avoiding potential problems with your application

The most common reason for people to be called for an interview is that the visa officer has doubts about the relationship being genuine. It is up to you to send immigration some quality data, emails, chat logs, phone records, photos, letters and other material to prove to them that your relationship is the real thing. Other reasons you might have problems with is eligibility of the sponsor. The sponsor can not be on social assistance, can not be bankrupt and can not have a record of violent crimes or crimes against family members. If that is the case, better talk to a lawyer and get that cleared up before attempting to apply.

Dependent children

If your spouse has dependent children, they must be included in the PR application, even if they are not coming to Canada. They will need to have medicals as well to keep the option open to sponsor them later. The only way that immigration will accept the application without those medicals is if the children are no longer minors and refuse to have it or if the children are in the full custody of their other parent who refuses to make them available for medicals. In that case, your spouse needs to sign a statement stating that they know that they will never be able to sponsor these children to Canada in the future.

Dependent children are classified as single and either under 22 years of age or if they are older, they must have been full time students since before age 22 or dependent on their parent due to a disability or medical problem.

Refusals due to income and medicals

You will be asked to provide information about your income but you will not be denied to sponsor your spouse and dependent children because you do not make enough money. It is possible though that if you make absolutely no money at all that immigration may ask you how you plan to support yourselves.

Spouses and dependent children are also exempt from the clause about excessive demand on health care so you do not have to worry about them being refused for that reason.

Sponsoring your spouse while living in another country

If you are a Canadian citizen, you can sponsor your spouse without being in Canada but you do then have to prove that you are planning on moving to Canada when your spouse gets approved for permanent residency. Such proof can include having arranged jobs, being accepted to college, having arranged housing or letters from friends & relatives stating that they know of your plans and that you can stay with them while you look for housing etc.

If you are a PR, you must reside in Canada in order to sponsor your spouse. You can chance short vacations (remember that a Canadian vacation is generally no longer than 2 weeks) but if immigration finds out that you are not in Canada, you risk getting your application refused.

 

[computergeek]

Can someone pls advise whether the post graduate work permit only applies to studies done in Canada or would studies done in UK allow you to get such permit? Just curious!

A PGWP would only apply to study in Canada.

Separately, the PNP process now offers an open work permit after a point in the application process. See OB 485

 

[cempjwi]

Hi CanFamily

I am a Canadian Citizen living outside Canada like for for nearly 20 years and my husband is British. When I decided to try to relocate my family to Canada (both children also Canadian Citizen) I was given an advice on what proofs I need to show that you are serious of going back home and you still have connectios with Canada (as I read in your post you still have connections with Canada). Yes, I am sponsoring my husband.

First, you need to give them bank account details (such as original bank statements), original letter/s or emails from friends telling them your plans to go back, another letter/s or email again regarding a place where you can stay in a meantime (mine was my sister's letter telling CIC that we will be staying with them until such time), any pension, business etc you have in Canada or anything else you might have to tie you to Canada.

Mine I added a little bit more because my children are at school age so I added letters from schools in Canada and their response about my plans. OK it took long to get something back from CIC regarding my sponsorship but I got an spousal approval at the end.

Dont Lie

Hope this helps.

We have a similar situation. Sponsor is a born citizen of Canada, adopted in the US at age 2.5. Basically never lived in Canada and no connecions to Canada except for business visits and deals. Applied for sponsorship with a plan to go back to Canada (as we in fact are as soon as this process is over) and sponsorship was approved in 76 days. By what I have read on here it is not uncommon for CIC to misplace files for a while and I may even especulate that such was your case. Although not totally out of character as I have seen a handful of sponsorship applications that took about as long - if not longer, it still seems outrageous that they took 200 days to decide that you were ok to sponsor your spouse.

 

[tamarindball]

thanks for your advice. I applied for PR outland so wouldn't be eligible for OWP.

A PGWP would only apply to study in Canada.

Separately, the PNP process now offers an open work permit after a point in the application process. See OB 485

So you are in the situation that you want to sponsor your foreign spouse for permanent residency of Canada and don't know where to start. Here are some tips:

Married, common law or conjugal partners

First you need to pick an application class. There are three of them: married, common-law and conjugal. For all of them, you need to prove the genuineity of your relationship. For common-law, you need to prove that you have lived together for 12 months or longer. For conjugal, you need to prove that you have combined your affairs as much as possible but there are real immigration barriers or other barriers preventing you from living together or getting married. Conjugal is the hardest to prove. For example, if your partner could get a visit visa to come to Canada for 6 months and then apply for an extension to get the full year, even though they will not be allowed to work, that is not considered an immigration barrier. An immigration barrier is if your partner tries to get a visit visa to come to Canada and is repeatedly refused. Some people have had luck with the conjugal class but try to avoid it if possible.

Outland or inland?

Now you need to decide if to apply outland or inland. If your spouse is not in Canada and can not get a visa to go to Canada, you must apply outland. That means that you will send your application to Mississauga and they will approve you as a sponsor. The time that takes is usually 1-2 months to but current processing times can be seen here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/canada/process-in.asp#sponsorship After that, the application is forwarded to your local visa office. If your spouse is residing in a country other than the country of their nationality, you can pick which of the two visa offices you want. Otherwise it will be processed in their country of nationality. You can see the processing times here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/international/05-fc-spouses.asp

If your spouse is staying in Canada as a visitor or on some other visa, you can pick whether you want to apply outland or inland. Outland is generally faster and has appeal rights but a downside to outland is that if an interview is required, your spouse will have to travel to the visa office in the country where it's being processed. Inland has the downside that it's generally not advised that your spouse travels while you are waiting for your processing because it is a requirement of inland that they reside in Canada and if they are denied entry at the border for some reason, your application is gone. If an interview is required for inland, you may also have to wait a long time for it. The inland application would be sent to Vegreville and if all goes well, you would get a first stage approval, usually in 6 to 8 months. The current processing times can be seen here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/canada/process-in.asp#perm_res Then the file is forwarded to your local CIC office where you live and they will contact you for a landing appointment. Getting the PR with inland usually takes 12-18 months. If an interview is required for inland, Vegreville will not give first stage approval but instead will forward the application to the local CIC office without it and you will have to wait for them to have time for your interview. In some cases that can take a year or two. If you do get the first stage approval, your spouse will usually be eligible for health care and an open work permit. It is actually a good idea when applying inland to send an application form for a visit visa extension as well as the open work permit to be given at first stage approval all in one package so it's tied together.

Which method to pick depends on your situation. If your spouses country of nationality has a long processing time or your spouse does not want to have to travel there for a possible interview, then inland is the way to go. For faster processing and freedom of travel during the processing time, outland would be better. You can find the application forms for inland at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/spouse.asp and the application forms for outland at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp

Avoiding potential problems with your application

The most common reason for people to be called for an interview is that the visa officer has doubts about the relationship being genuine. It is up to you to send immigration some quality data, emails, chat logs, phone records, photos, letters and other material to prove to them that your relationship is the real thing. Other reasons you might have problems with is eligibility of the sponsor. The sponsor can not be on social assistance, can not be bankrupt and can not have a record of violent crimes or crimes against family members. If that is the case, better talk to a lawyer and get that cleared up before attempting to apply.

Dependent children

If your spouse has dependent children, they must be included in the PR application, even if they are not coming to Canada. They will need to have medicals as well to keep the option open to sponsor them later. The only way that immigration will accept the application without those medicals is if the children are no longer minors and refuse to have it or if the children are in the full custody of their other parent who refuses to make them available for medicals. In that case, your spouse needs to sign a statement stating that they know that they will never be able to sponsor these children to Canada in the future.

Dependent children are classified as single and either under 22 years of age or if they are older, they must have been full time students since before age 22 or dependent on their parent due to a disability or medical problem.

Refusals due to income and medicals

You will be asked to provide information about your income but you will not be denied to sponsor your spouse and dependent children because you do not make enough money. It is possible though that if you make absolutely no money at all that immigration may ask you how you plan to support yourselves.

Spouses and dependent children are also exempt from the clause about excessive demand on health care so you do not have to worry about them being refused for that reason.

Sponsoring your spouse while living in another country

If you are a Canadian citizen, you can sponsor your spouse without being in Canada but you do then have to prove that you are planning on moving to Canada when your spouse gets approved for permanent residency. Such proof can include having arranged jobs, being accepted to college, having arranged housing or letters from friends & relatives stating that they know of your plans and that you can stay with them while you look for housing etc.

If you are a PR, you must reside in Canada in order to sponsor your spouse. You can chance short vacations (remember that a Canadian vacation is generally no longer than 2 weeks) but if immigration finds out that you are not in Canada, you risk getting your application refused.

 

[qtazngal]

Hi Cempjwi

I know, took to long in my opinion. I was worried for a while coz I was thinking all of our personal information floating somewhere and I dont know where. They did not even give me an AOR. I also thought that maybe I have been away sooo long that they had to dig my files (any files about me from before) from the corners of the CIC world and that is why it took 200 days. Now, I think if I was thinking right, that we are exempt from any interview at ecas is now showing in process (second stage). I wont be surprise it this one takes long too. Well at least its moving on, slowly (very) but its moving.

Thanks Cempjwi