Spouse Open Work permit

[salvatore270]

Hey everybody!

Thank goodness for this forum, this topic, and all of you guys willing to help us out.

This is my situation:

- I am an Italian student, I have applied for a PhD, and have been accepted (UoCalgary, still waiting for other schools though);
- my girlfriend and I want to go to Canada together; we currently live in London, UK;
- we have been in a relationship since July 2011, and lived together since September 2013;

As I understand, she should apply for her OWP at the same time when I apply for my study permit, correct?
To get her OWP as my spouse, we need to prove we are common-law partners, right?
To do so we need:
- the statutory declaration of common law union:
--can the commissioner of oath be a notary here in London, UK?

Then I thought I should add:
- pictures of different years, showing us together in different places (perhaprs with our families as well);
- notarized letters from our family members describing our relationship;
- transcripts from Skype and Facebook conversations since 2010-2011;
- bills showing our same address;

anything else?

Also,
Let's say she does not get her OWP (God forbid!):
- can she come with me as a tourist and the re-apply from inside the country?

Thank you so much for your help!!

 

[fkl]

Hey everybody!

Thank goodness for this forum, this topic, and all of you guys willing to help us out.

This is my situation:

- I am an Italian student, I have applied for a PhD, and have been accepted (UoCalgary, still waiting for other schools though);
- my girlfriend and I want to go to Canada together; we currently live in London, UK;
- we have been in a relationship since July 2011, and lived together since September 2013;

As I understand, she should apply for her OWP at the same time when I apply for my study permit, correct?
To get her OWP as my spouse, we need to prove we are common-law partners, right?
To do so we need:
- the statutory declaration of common law union:
--can the commissioner of oath be a notary here in London, UK?

Then I thought I should add:
- pictures of different years, showing us together in different places (perhaprs with our families as well);
- notarized letters from our family members describing our relationship;
- transcripts from Skype and Facebook conversations since 2010-2011;
- bills showing our same address;

anything else?

Also,
Let's say she does not get her OWP (God forbid!):
- can she come with me as a tourist and the re-apply from inside the country?

Thank you so much for your help!!

Yes, your ideas should be fine. If you have a co mortgage or joint account, those should be added too. Else just bill showing same address is fine.

And you should both apply together showing enough funds for your stay here. In that case mostly both are accepted. If she applies separately latter, that has slightly lesser chances.

I understand that being Italian, she does not require a visa to visit Canada. If that holds, sure she can come with you as a visitor and apply for work permit from inside Canada as well.

 

[salvatore270]

Hey, thanks! No, she is from Slovakia (EU) but I gather she doesn't need a visa to visit Canada just as I wouldn't.


We don't have any joint account (I'm 24, she's 25 we never thought about it! ), but I have over 40k CAD in mine while she's got around 5k CAD in hers, would that be enough proof of funds?
Does she need to show any proof of employment here in London (she got a job as soon as she arrived here)?

Thanks again!

 

[fkl]

Hey, thanks! No, she is from Slovakia (EU) but I gather she doesn't need a visa to visit Canada just as I wouldn't.


We don't have any joint account (I'm 24, she's 25 we never thought about it! ), but I have over 40k CAD in mine while she's got around 5k CAD in hers, would that be enough proof of funds?
Does she need to show any proof of employment here in London (she got a job as soon as she arrived here)?

Thanks again!

You are most welcome. Nationality doesn't matter. Being able to enter Canada without visa is all that matters.

I just suggested joint account as one source. Basically try to include what you can to show your relationship. If showing bills with common addresses for both, may be add two items of different types say one utility bill vs one bank / credit statement.

40k is certainly more than what's needed (i assume you are NOT including tuition costs if any). That is far more than enough for both. However, if she applies separately she just having 5k might be a little low.

General guides lines are enough funds for a year's living. A single student needs around 11-12k for a year. When two people live together, adding a second should be around 6k or so. These were figures from a couple years ago.

She does not need to show proof of employment. But adding those (qualification and /or job experience) certainly strengthens her application. That would just show a bit more stronger ties to home country i.e. she was able to make a decent living there. So it just brings down any concerns that visa officer might have about say her working here illegally.

 

[kakhileshreddy]

please advise...

i am on a PGWP now.. will expire in 2016 july.

if i join my spouse in college will i get a spouse open work permit..

please advise...

 

[dukhi]

My wife got a SOWP...does she still needs to follow the instruction of TRV to leave canada within 6 months?

 

[fkl]

please advise...

i am on a PGWP now.. will expire in 2016 july.

if i join my spouse in college will i get a spouse open work permit..

please advise...

If your spouse is on a full time program at a college / university that CIC approves, yes you can get a SOWP valid until the end of his/her program.

The program length should be reasonable enough i.e. more than a year.

 

[fkl]

My wife got a SOWP...does she still needs to follow the instruction of TRV to leave canada within 6 months?

No. TRV is only for entering or exiting Canada. You don't even need a trv to stay in Canada IF you have a valid SOWP.

Even if she got a resident trv based upon your work permit, she has no condition of six months.

The resident trv is different in the sense that it still requires medicals from home country and processing time similar to work permits. But it also allows spouse or dependent kids to stay with the principal applicant for as long as his work permit is valid.

If your trv has expired at some point and you need to travel out of Canada, you can always apply for renewal from inside Canada.

 

[salvatore270]

You are most welcome. Nationality doesn't matter. Being able to enter Canada without visa is all that matters.

I just suggested joint account as one source. Basically try to include what you can to show your relationship. If showing bills with common addresses for both, may be add two items of different types say one utility bill vs one bank / credit statement.

40k is certainly more than what's needed (i assume you are NOT including tuition costs if any). That is far more than enough for both. However, if she applies separately she just having 5k might be a little low.

General guides lines are enough funds for a year's living. A single student needs around 11-12k for a year. When two people live together, adding a second should be around 6k or so. These were figures from a couple years ago.

She does not need to show proof of employment. But adding those (qualification and /or job experience) certainly strengthens her application. That would just show a bit more stronger ties to home country i.e. she was able to make a decent living there. So it just brings down any concerns that visa officer might have about say her working here illegally.

The declaration of common-union needs to be notarized, right?
Can a British UK notary do that here in London? Or does it have to be someone from the Canadian Embassy?

 

[fkl]

The declaration of common-union needs to be notarized, right?
Can a British UK notary do that here in London? Or does it have to be someone from the Canadian Embassy?

I have never personally looked at it that close (the declaration), but any notarization can be done by the standard options (lawyer, magistrate et al) that are local to you and is accepted by CIC.

E.g. for paper applications, people submit notarized copies of originals as well as notarized translations of documents not in english or french. Any notary works for that. Usually there is a specific format i.e. name, title and signature of the person doing it, plus a statement like "I certify having seen original (in case of photocopy) or i witness this relationship being genuine (some thing along these lines in your case)".

British UK notary should be fine. No one does that from Canadian embassy.

 

[toben]

I applied recently and the online forms says "Statutory Declaration of Common Law (IMM5409) (required)" so I got that, got it signed by a notary and uploaded it. Reading all this I start to get worried that this might not be enough since other people also include joint bank statements, bills, pictures, etc.

I thought declaring under oath is enough, is that not true? Should I have included more?

 

[fkl]

I applied recently and the online forms says "Statutory Declaration of Common Law (IMM5409) (required)" so I got that, got it signed by a notary and uploaded it. Reading all this I start to get worried that this might not be enough since other people also include joint bank statements, bills, pictures, etc.

I thought declaring under oath is enough, is that not true? Should I have included more?

It varies from embassy to embassy. Often people do submit this stuff and CIC asks for additional proof. At other times, only declaration might be enough when the applicant's individual profile is strong enough.

So it is not something really strict. However, if you have applied online, it might be a good idea to add / submit additional supporting material, such as the one cited above. It does no harm, but definitely helps if CIC is looking for it.

 

[toben]

It varies from embassy to embassy. Often people do submit this stuff and CIC asks for additional proof. At other times, only declaration might be enough when the applicant's individual profile is strong enough.

So it is not something really strict. However, if you have applied online, it might be a good idea to add / submit additional supporting material, such as the one cited above. It does no harm, but definitely helps if CIC is looking for it.

Thanks, that makes sense. Unfortunately I can't upload anything to an already submitted application. So I'll wait and see if they require any additional proof.

 

[fkl]

Thanks, that makes sense. Unfortunately I can't upload anything to an already submitted application. So I'll wait and see if they require any additional proof.

You are most welcome. Sure you can. You can still use cic case specific inquiry form (just google it), provide your complete information. Full name, DOB, passport etc. and upload additional docs there. If you recently submitted the app, there is a very good chance that it would be combined with your profile before a Visa officer reviews your app.

In the worst case, they would ask you separately, in which case you already would just resubmit. So be proactive. That is the only way to deal with CIC towards your own benefit.

 

[toben]

I did not know about that form, thank you so much. I'm glad I've asked this question today.