Spousal Visa

[stevenjones]

Hi there,

My wife and I am looking to move to Toronto later in the year and I have some questions
about the process and what would be possible in our circumstance.

My wife is a Canadian citizen and was born in Canada and I am a British National.
I assume my wife is free to live and work in Canada and as a British National I would be
able to enter Canada without a visa. My questions are:

- How long can I stay in Canada on my British passport as either a holiday maker and/or
temporary worker?
- Once in Canada can I apply for a spousal visa from within Canada if I am British?

I assume it would be easier for us to enter Canada and then begin the process of sponsorship
once there.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks
Steve

 

[wilson]

Of course, you will be admitted to Canada without a visa being you are a Brit. Usually one entry is allowed for six months period.

Spousal sponsorship applications within Canada should be submitted at the CIC Case Processing Centre in Vegreville, Alberta. When your application receives preliminarily approval, you will be entitled to apply for a work permit or study permit to bridge the gap between preliminary approval and getting an appointment to be landed as an immigrant.

 

[stevenjones]

Hi there,

Thanks very much for the swift response. It's good to know so that we can
now forward plan for the move over without too much hassle!

Best,
Steve

 

[SchnookoLoly]

Hello,

You might want to consider applying outland vs inland - applying outland (having London process your application) takes about 5-6 months for spousal applications; applying outland (having Canada process your application) can take up to two years.

There are pros and cons to both; the main pros of applying outland is that everything is sorted pretty quickly (assuming you don't have any extenuating circumstances) so you can have your PR within a few months. Con of applying outland, though, is that if you get called for an interview, you'll have only about 2-3 weeks' notice, and you'll have to interview in London. Very, very few people get called for an interview, but it's a chance you take. Again, main pro is the speed.

Pro for applying inland is that if you're called for an interview then yo ucan do it locally, and that after a certain stage of approval you can get a temporary work permit, but the work permit usually takes about an year to obtain; if you apply outland you likely will have already been PR at that point.

Check out this forum, it's specifically for Brits looking to be sponsored by Canadians: http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=33; also check out the wiki (http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Spousal_Sponsorship-Canada) as it has a ton of helpful information as well as more detail on the pros and cons of applying inland vs outland.

Hope that helps!

 

[Rob_TO]

Another big con of applying inland, is that you pretty much need to stay on Canadian soil for the entire duration of the application process (around 1.5 years), and can't leave for any reason be it vacation, family etc etc. If you try to re-enter Canada with an inland application in process, there is a higher chance for refusal at the border and your application being completely scrapped.

For this reason most people from visa-exempt countries choose to apply outland.