Spousal sponsorship

[parker24]

Someone asked me if PP has ever bn requested to be followed later by a refusal. My answer was no, but then not really sure. Can someone advise? I have never read of same however.

There have been some eff ups with CIC, they ARE human. So it CAN happen, but it's rare.

Not sure what that had to do with my answer to another poster's question though haha (As you quoted me)

 

[tamarindball]

Thanks. I was just reading something else about landing and came across that answer too. I know too well about human error.

There have been some eff ups with CIC, they ARE human. So it CAN happen, but it's rare.

Not sure what that had to do with my answer to another poster's question though haha (As you quoted me)

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.

 

[constantine_tiberius]

Depends on the VO, anywhere from one month and up to 10 if it's New Delhi.

how about in manila visa office, sir?

 

[parker24]

how about in manila visa office, sir?

I would say around 1 to 3 months. Check the manila thread and spreadsheet, it would give you a better timeline Congrats by the way!

 

[chaptr3]

You can certainly try. But there's no guarantee a new visitor visa will be issued to you. And if you're not allowed back into Canada, this effectively cancels / abandons your application and you'll have to start again from scratch.

I got through to CIC today about my specific situation. Maybe it will help someone else.
1) Concerning my expired Visitor Visa, although I failed to renew it or include it in our Family Class application, there is a 90 day grace period to file for an extension. I am doing so now.
2) Concerning travel outside Canada. The officer told me that I am free to travel but re-entry would be doubtful with my expired Visa. However, he told me that once I received my Receipt of Application for Visitor Visa extension, along with my receipt of payment, that if I presented THAT, along with a copy of our Family Class application, that I would not have any problems re-entering Canada.
3) He said that the Border would have no authority to authorize an extension now that the original Visitor Visa had expired.
4) Since I did not apply for the Open Work Permit with my PR and Family Class application that I will be notified when to apply (he indicated it would probably be nine months from now, instead of six). Critical, painful error on my part.
5) The fee for Visitor Visa extension is now $200, instead of $75, since it has expired. Another costly mistake.
Live and learn (the hard way).
Good luck to everyone.

 

[scylla]

2) Concerning travel outside Canada. The officer told me that I am free to travel but re-entry would be doubtful with my expired Visa. However, he told me that once I received my Receipt of Application for Visitor Visa extension, along with my receipt of payment, that if I presented THAT, along with a copy of our Family Class application, that I would not have any problems re-entering Canada.

The above answer is incorrect (unfortunately the CIC call centre is known for not always providing full/accurate info). The right answer is that you should have no issues re-entering Canada - however there is absolutely no guarantee that you will be allowed back in. Whether you are allowed back in or not is entirely at the discretion of the immigration officer you encounter when re-entering Canada. So there is always a risk in leaving (no matter how small).

 

[shan30]

Hi everyone.

I am a July applicant for Colombo office. I got my AOR but not SA yet.

Do you know the current processing time for Colombo VO? I know some of my friends have got the visa in 6 months from the submission.

 

[mir023]

This is going to be the first of the million questions I am probably going to have regarding the PR application. My husband and I got married earlier this year and I am currently on the work visa and post graduate work permit. We have not yet applied for my PR as we will be going on vacation later this year and want to do inland after that (as outland processing time for my country would take 26 months)

So i have been thinking....when we are coming back to Canada from the trip, am i supposed to disclose of the change in my marital status or will that lead to me being denied entry to Canada? I got married in Canada and have changed status to married with the CRA. I am currently working here with a full time job and have the open work permit and multiple entry work visa.

I hope someone can help me out with this

 

[parker24]

This is going to be the first of the million questions I am probably going to have regarding the PR application. My husband and I got married earlier this year and I am currently on the work visa and post graduate work permit. We have not yet applied for my PR as we will be going on vacation later this year and want to do inland after that (as outland processing time for my country would take 26 months)

So i have been thinking....when we are coming back to Canada from the trip, am i supposed to disclose of the change in my marital status or will that lead to me being denied entry to Canada? I got married in Canada and have changed status to married with the CRA. I am currently working here with a full time job and have the open work permit and multiple entry work visa.

I hope someone can help me out with this

This is just my honest opinion and it's a little blunt.

I wouldn't go on vacation and just apply now. Because if you don't have any ties to your home country, no lease, no job etc, and you are married to a Canadian, the chances of them denying you and making you return to your home country, is very high. You could pay the fees and have the receipt to show that you are going to apply for PR, but that is also a crapshoot. Some border agents will accept that and let you in, some will not.

 

[alisiddiqui83]

Hi,


I am really sorry if I am interrupting someone's post as I don't know how this thread works but my question is Where can I get this Option C form as described in Sponsorship Evaluation form IMM5481 ( which is regarding personal net income ). I tried calling the toll free number and had a dead end. Can someone please help me out with this form.

Thanks again,

 

[computergeek]

Sir Leon, how long does it take to wait for the visa after the passport request? thanks...

The shortest I've heard is two weeks, the longest I've heard is two years. So probably something in between.

 

[tamarindball]

Two years sounds unreal! Why would someone receive a PPR and then wait two years to get PP.That must have fallen in the cracks for that to have happened or something very serious came up after PPR. That's very discouraging to say the least.

The shortest I've heard is two weeks, the longest I've heard is two years. So probably something in between.

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.

 

[parker24]

I am sure that I could post this in Housing, but hardly anyone checks that so I'll ask here.

Hubby and I are applying for social housing. The wait list is 2-3 years, so he may or may not be a citizen by then. On the off chance he is still a PR, is it allowed to live in social housing, or would that be social assistance that I (sponsor) would have to pay back? We're struggling with hubby's constant driving to work and would like to live closer, thus social housing since we have a fair amount of debt to pay off.

Thanks

 

[CanadianJeepGuy]

I am sure that I could post this in Housing, but hardly anyone checks that so I'll ask here.

Hubby and I are applying for social housing. The wait list is 2-3 years, so he may or may not be a citizen by then. On the off chance he is still a PR, is it allowed to live in social housing, or would that be social assistance that I (sponsor) would have to pay back? We're struggling with hubby's constant driving to work and would like to live closer, thus social housing since we have a fair amount of debt to pay off.

Thanks

I think that would count as social assistance but your undertaking is only for 3 years isn't it? I would put your name on the list and hope that it takes as long as you need for the undertaking to run its course.

 

[constantine_tiberius]

I would say around 1 to 3 months. Check the manila thread and spreadsheet, it would give you a better timeline Congrats by the way!

Thanks...i appreciate your response...it gave me hope...the strike really is affecting us all...