Leon said:
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.
Exactly that.
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.
We moved together to London, UK, three years ago, and have lived together ever since. Shared everything, but we have separate bank accounts. Is that very bad?
Outland or inland?
Now you need to decide if to apply outland or inland. ... For faster processing and freedom of travel during the processing time, outland would be better.
Fantastic paragraph, so clear, so much info. Is it all still valid, as the post is 3 years old?
One question, there's one bit I don't understand:
Leon said:
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.
Does that mean sending 3 applications all bundled together? Or is it only 2?
1. sponsorship PR
2. extension of the visit visa you got on your way into the country
3. open work permit? What it this?
Everything else is really clear. In our particular case, I'm Canadian and she's Italian, we've lived in London, UK, for 3 years. We want to move to Vancouver as soon as possible. I understand now that it may be best to apply "outland" (with the London, UK offiice, as it is faster than the Rome, Italy, office). It should also apparently be faster than applying "inland", which I find surprising. Why is "inland" so much more difficult?
I have another question: while having a visitor visa, and already having applied for PR through family sponsorship, can she also apply for the "working holiday" permit? That way she could start working while waiting for the PR gets processed. I've been told it's a bad idea, but I don't understand why. Would that raise any kind of suspicion? It seems like a legitimate desire to me, to want to work instead of sitting around waiting. I've heard there is a DUAL INTENT problem, but I'm not clear on how it is defined and how it applies.
This forum is great, it could be a real lifesaver. Let us know your thoughts.
Kindly,
Alexander