Spousal Sponsorship

[UKcitizen2323]

Hi!
I've recently just concluded a 2 year working holiday visa to Canada, in which I met my current girlfriend who I plan to marry - we are both young but as we are both from different countries we cannot stay with one another without me obtaining some kind of visa to live with her in Canada (As she is currently studying at the University of British Columbia, and will be continuing to do so for the next 3/4 years). Next week I plan to return to Canada as a visitor - it's easy for me to obtain as a UK citizen. However, this isn't a long-term solution as I won't be able to work whilst over there due to the lack of a permit. My question is mainly based on our ability to marry and pursue spousal sponsorship - I had previously disregarded it as she can't currently provide financial support for our application. As we are both young we don't have enough money for a wedding ceremony but are willing to have a small civil ceremony for now until we can afford something a little more in the future. She is eligible to sponsor me, and I'm eligible to become a resident. Is there any way that if we applied for sponsorship once we have a marriage certificate that we could succeed? Is there any advice anyone that has successfully completed the spousal sponsorship program could give us, time frames? hidden costs? Would it be worth paying for an immigration lawyer? And how do open work permits function/ would I be eligible for one during the process of our application?

Thanks to any help in advance!

 

[monkeys89]

You may wish to read some of the threads on this forum as you are basically asking every question possible!

One question for you, though - is she a Canadian citizen?

- Yes, if married, you can apply for a spousal sponsorship.

- Timeframes are approximately 12 months if everything goes well.

- Paying for a lawyer or consultant is worth it if you feel that your case is considerably complex, but not everyone needs one. Read here and educate yourself about common issues (proving relationship, staying in status as a visitor, OWP and how to apply for it inland because you cannot outland, etc.)

- You are eligible for an open work permit in most cases IF you have status when you apply (as a temporary resident or otherwise) AND you apply inland AND your application is not returned in a way that causes you to lose status while you re-apply.

 

[UKcitizen2323]

You may wish to read some of the threads on this forum as you are basically asking every question possible!

One question for you, though - is she a Canadian citizen?

- Yes, if married, you can apply for a spousal sponsorship.

- Timeframes are approximately 12 months if everything goes well.

- Paying for a lawyer or consultant is worth it if you feel that your case is considerably complex, but not everyone needs one. Read here and educate yourself about common issues (proving relationship, staying in status as a visitor, OWP and how to apply for it inland because you cannot outland, etc.)

- You are eligible for an open work permit in most cases IF you have status when you apply (as a temporary resident or otherwise) AND you apply inland AND your application is not returned in a way that causes you to lose status while you re-apply.

She is a Canadian citizen - would being in Canada as a visitor qualify me as a tempory resident? I thought I'd ask the questions as I wasn't too sure how the application varies depending on my home country, and I don't seem to be able to get any of the application PDF forms on the CIC website currently which means I can't read through those for some reason :'(
Thanks for the advice!

 

[monkeys89]

Yes, being in Canada as a visitor qualifies you as a temporary resident.

Try the guide to spousal sponsorship - it helps you understand the process a bit better. If you're using Chrome as your browser and try to open many of the forms, it won't work because you need to open the forms in Acrobat as they are dynamic forms.

But don't just read the forms - they just tell you what info to put where. Strategies, choices, and what to do are better learned through the guide and through many of the threads on this forum. : )

 

[UKcitizen2323]

Yes, being in Canada as a visitor qualifies you as a temporary resident.

Try the guide to spousal sponsorship - it helps you understand the process a bit better. If you're using Chrome as your browser and try to open many of the forms, it won't work because you need to open the forms in Acrobat as they are dynamic forms.

But don't just read the forms - they just tell you what info to put where. Strategies, choices, and what to do are better learned through the guide and through many of the threads on this forum. : )

Thanks for the help - if we can even start our application and get an open working permit during that time, it means we'll at least have more time to plan!
Thanks again!

 

[monkeys89]

Thanks for the help - if we can even start our application and get an open working permit during that time, it means we'll at least have more time to plan!
Thanks again!

You have to get married first.

Then apply, and include your OWP application in the sponsorship application.

Read some threads here about what it means to "prove" a genuine relationship, as this will be your biggest challenge

Also be aware that you may not be able to leave Canada without risking your application during the processing time.

 

[UKcitizen2323]

You have to get married first.

Then apply, and include your OWP application in the sponsorship application.

Read some threads here about what it means to "prove" a genuine relationship, as this will be your biggest challenge

Also be aware that you may not be able to leave Canada without risking your application during the processing time.

Yeah, I've read a lot about that, that's my worry with us not being able to afford a large ceremony, we take a lot of pictures together and started dating about a year into my working holiday so we have plenty of photographic evidence of the relationship, so hopefully, that will be enough. We were also considering including our chat logs but that might be a little too much pda for an official government application haha - regarding me leaving Canada, my visitor only lasts 6 months, however, I believe I can return once its over again almost instantly, so hopefully that won't be an issue, fingers crossed.

 

[monkeys89]

Yeah, I've read a lot about that, that's my worry with us not being able to afford a large ceremony, we take a lot of pictures together and started dating about a year into my working holiday so we have plenty of photographic evidence of the relationship, so hopefully, that will be enough. We were also considering including our chat logs but that might be a little too much pda for an official government application haha - regarding me leaving Canada, my visitor only lasts 6 months, however, I believe I can return once its over again almost instantly, so hopefully that won't be an issue, fingers crossed.

But once you've become married and applied for a PR, the border officer may not let you back into the country because you are at a high risk of overstaying.

 

[UKcitizen2323]

But once you've become married and applied for a PR, the border officer may not let you back into the country because you are at a high risk of overstaying.

Ah, I see, hopefully, the fact that I left within my visitor visa both times will at least help convince them I want to do this the right way, as I'm assuming the chance of the application being approved within the initial 6-month period is slim. But I was reading a few posts earlier of some applications being approved within 4 months. I wouldn't want to risk getting deported for overstaying my visitor visa - then I wouldn't even be able to see my girlfriend through any means! other than her coming to me, which she can't do for more than weeks at a time because of school.

 

[np08]

Yeah, I've read a lot about that, that's my worry with us not being able to afford a large ceremony, we take a lot of pictures together and started dating about a year into my working holiday so we have plenty of photographic evidence of the relationship, so hopefully, that will be enough. We were also considering including our chat logs but that might be a little too much pda for an official government application haha - regarding me leaving Canada, my visitor only lasts 6 months, however, I believe I can return once its over again almost instantly, so hopefully that won't be an issue, fingers crossed.

Visitor visas can be extended usually for additional 6 months at a time. This is how couples do it if they take the common law route (you need to be living together for 12 months in order to qualify as common law, so a one time extension brings it to 12 months.)

Anyway, if you apply from within Canada and apply for a work permit, you need valid status when you apply for the work permit. Once you get the permit (within three to four months from applying), then that gives you valid status and you no longer need to extend your visitor status. If applying from within Canada, it's definitely not advised to leave the country for the duration of the process (currently about 12 months).

If you're applying from outside of Canada (these are the two options: inland and outland), then you can't apply for a work permit nor would you need status extensions since you'd be doing it from the UK and your case would be at the London Visa Office.

Don't rush this. Take your time, read threads online and get a grasp on how it works. The vast majority of cases don't need lawyers, as long as you research the process properly and come here with questions you have later on. Other posters are right - you've posted a lot of very basic questions which means you should hit the brakes a bit and start at the beginning. Read the guides, you can download your application package just to see how the forms look and what the requirements for UK citizens are, read threads here, etc.

 

[UKcitizen2323]

Visitor visas can be extended usually for additional 6 months at a time. This is how couples do it if they take the common law route (you need to be living together for 12 months in order to qualify as common law, so a one time extension brings it to 12 months.)

Anyway, if you apply from within Canada and apply for a work permit, you need valid status when you apply for the work permit. Once you get the permit (within three to four months from applying), then that gives you valid status and you no longer need to extend your visitor status. If applying from within Canada, it's definitely not advised to leave the country for the duration of the process (currently about 12 months).

If you're applying from outside of Canada (these are the two options: inland and outland), then you can't apply for a work permit nor would you need status extensions since you'd be doing it from the UK and your case would be at the London Visa Office.

Don't rush this. Take your time, read threads online and get a grasp on how it works. The vast majority of cases don't need lawyers, as long as you research the process properly and come here with questions you have later on. Other posters are right - you've posted a lot of very basic questions which means you should hit the brakes a bit and start at the beginning. Read the guides, you can download your application package just to see how the forms look and what the requirements for UK citizens are, read threads here, etc.

Yeah, I've just been reading about the extension process, I did rush into asking the questions on here because I wasn't sure how active it was and if I'd get any replies at all - it seems like as long as we can prove our relationship is a real one then we have a pretty good shot at this. thanks for the advice. When I was initially applying for another work permit through a lawyer while I was on my working holiday, they did a pretty good job at convincing me I'd need a lawyer for spousal sponsorship, even after what little research I've done in my last few days of panicking about being apart from my S.O I realize that simply because I was asking a lawyer if I should get a lawyer haha

 

[np08]

Yeah, I've just been reading about the extension process, I did rush into asking the questions on here because I wasn't sure how active it was and if I'd get any replies at all - it seems like as long as we can prove our relationship is a real one then we have a pretty good shot at this. thanks for the advice. When I was initially applying for another work permit through a lawyer while I was on my working holiday, they did a pretty good job at convincing me I'd need a lawyer for spousal sponsorship, even after what little research I've done in my last few days of panicking about being apart from my S.O I realize that simply because I was asking a lawyer if I should get a lawyer haha

Absolutely not - spousal PR sponsorship costs thousands of dollars in lawyer fees and it's 100% unnecessary in the vast majority of cases. You guys are both native English speakers, that's a major hurdle out of the way. You also don't seem to have any special circumstances that could complicate things so that's another.

This forum is extremely active, has been here for years. God knows how many threads there are, but even a glance will tell you that there's a substantial amount of people here every day. There are spreadsheets that follow everyone's progress, there are threads by year and category (inland/outland sponsorship 2018, for example), down to the month (inland applicants June 2017, for example), based on visa offices for outland applications (there's a specific thread for every visa office in the world, further split into threads based on year of application, such as London/Vienna/Manila VO 2018, for example), not to mention all these other individual threads like the one you started.

The resources on this forum are vast and invaluable. In addition to the official guides and application packages, you should have very little issue deciding which way to go, what exact kind of application you want to pursue (inland/outland, married/common law) and putting it all together.

Don't worry, just take your time.

 

[UKcitizen2323]

Absolutely not - spousal PR sponsorship costs thousands of dollars in lawyer fees and it's 100% unnecessary in the vast majority of cases. You guys are both native English speakers, that's a major hurdle out of the way. You also don't seem to have any special circumstances that could complicate things so that's another.

This forum is extremely active, has been here for years. God knows how many threads there are, but even a glance will tell you that there's a substantial amount of people here every day. There are spreadsheets that follow everyone's progress, there are threads by year and category (inland/outland sponsorship 2018, for example), down to the month (inland applicants June 2017, for example), based on visa offices for outland applications (there's a specific thread for every visa office in the world, further split into threads based on year of application, such as London/Vienna/Manila VO 2018, for example), not to mention all these other individual threads like the one you started.

The resources on this forum are vast and invaluable. In addition to the official guides and application packages, you should have very little issue deciding which way to go, what exact kind of application you want to pursue (inland/outland, married/common law) and putting it all together.

Don't worry, just take your time.

Thanks for the support! I've just been reading about some of the steps we can take into making a more substantial case proving our relationship is a genuine one, joint bank accounts, joint lease, even stuff like old tickets we might have from day trips out. We both like to collect a lot of sentimental stuff like that. So we'll start putting our portfolio of sorts together. Having this forum really is so valuable, being able to see the hurdles other people have faced and how to avoid them is completely priceless.
Thanks again, this has really settled my worries I've had over the past few weeks!

 

[np08]

Thanks for the support! I've just been reading about some of the steps we can take into making a more substantial case proving our relationship is a genuine one, joint bank accounts, joint lease, even stuff like old tickets we might have from day trips out. We both like to collect a lot of sentimental stuff like that. So we'll start putting our portfolio of sorts together. Having this forum really is so valuable, being able to see the hurdles other people have faced and how to avoid them is completely priceless.
Thanks again, this has really settled my worries I've had over the past few weeks!

Yep, no worries.

A few tips on proof of relationship:

The kind of proof you have to submit differs depending on inland/outland and some other questions that you can find in the application checklist.

For both inland and outland, with photos, keep in mind maximum is 20 so quality over quantity. Show them different times, occasions, etc. If you get married, of course pictures of the ceremony, if there's a honey moon then that as well. Same goes for letters of support - your friends and family can write you guys letters in which they basically vouch for you and the genuine nature of the relationship (doesn't have to be a lot, I think we had five?). Then there's the option of showing screenshots from social media where it's obvious that your friends and family know about your relationship (FB, IG, etc posts).

Other things depend. If you apply outland, they'll ask for proof of communication so emails, text messages, whatever you guys used. Of course you don't have to just send thousands of pages of everything - pick out stuff from different times (where you can see passage of time in the timestaps).

If you apply inland, then you need to show things that show you've combined your affairs as much as possible (you need to do the same for outland, but there's more things you can do if you're inland and living together), such as different kind of mail and documents that show you guys share an address, both your names on utilities, joint bank accounts (not all provinces allow visitors to open bank accounts so it's okay if you can't do this - in that case it's great if she can make you a supplementary user on her account and then you get a matching credit card with your name that you can show as the next best thing), being each other's beneficiaries on insurance policies, renting together (again, not all places will be willing to put a visitor on a rental agreement, but if you can) or if the property you live in is owned by her, putting your name on it as well, anything else basically where you can declare each other as spouses "in a serious way" and show a common address and all that.

Also, generally, you will probably come across things that you will feel like explaining a bit and that's okay - you can write cover letters in which you cover (heh) any discrepancies, explain anything, give more info, etc.

Lastly, follow the instructions. We all have hundreds or thousands of photos with our SO, but they said 20 so send 20. If you're applying inland, you'll see that they only ask for communication history for outland which might make you think, "But we do have all of these things that I could send, all of the different chat screenshots that would make the application stronger." If they need it, they will ask. They do, as part of the process, request stuff additionally anyway and they never just reject an application without giving the applicant their concerns and a chance to submit additional proof or clarification on things.

Anyway, just to give you a bit of an idea. The document checklist will have all the things needed laid out very nicely, just make sure you get your proper application package - they differ based on whether or not you're applying from Canada or from outside, and where you're from and all that.