Spouse sponsorship (italian)

[Hypno73]

Hi there! First of all i would like to thank everyone who contributes to this forum...very helpful!
I have search and read many discussions but would like a few answers regarding my situation.
I'm Canadian Citizen with a dual citizenship (Can/Italy). Left Canada 4 years ago to be with my fiancé of 9 years. It was much easier for me to move to Italy because of my citizenship and we were tired of going back and forth for 6 years so I moved here and after a few years we got married. We now have a child on the way(due Jan 2015).
We have started talking about a move to Canada as the situation here in Italy is not that great and have many question on the fastest, easiest method. We were thinking a move sometime after April/May 2015. The questions I have are as followed.

-Can we move to Canada after we file an Outland application? And would we have to state that we have applied for sponsorship when we get to Canada?

-We have no problem demonstrating our relationship but I'm worried about my wife getting called back to Italy for an interview....what are the chances of that happening? We do not want to be separated once in Canada because with a Baby it would be complicating.

-Once in Canada I would have to wait 3 months for my OHIP because of my absence. What are my options for my wife to get health coverage while waiting for approval?

-If my wife is approved and a reguest for passport is made will we have to ship it to Rome or in Canada.

-Baby is due in Jan 2015 would I have to wait for the birth to start the application? And what steps would be involved in getting full status for him in Canada? Ie. citizenship certificate, passport. Can I do it in Canada if he travels with an italian passport(thinking it would be faster to obtain then a Canadian)

-Will I have to submit a medical for my wife with the application or will it be requested after? If after, will it be possible to to do it in Canada?

-Would it be an issues extending her visitor Visa if the application approval takes longer then expected? If we can apply now and move to Canada in May that would give us 7-8 months + 6 months visitor visa for a total 12-14 months...I would think that it wouldn't be necessary to extend.

For now that's all...very confusing process to say the least. If anyone has any other information on how to make this move as smooth as possible given our situation it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

[Rob_TO]

-Can we move to Canada after we file an Outland application? And would we have to state that we have applied for sponsorship when we get to Canada?

She can "visit" Canada while the application is processing. As long as she is visa-exempt and has the outland PR application already in progress, she shouldn't have any difficulty to enter Canada. She just need to stress she is visiting, and not "moving" to Canada (which can't officially happen until she gets PR)

-We have no problem demonstrating our relationship but I'm worried about my wife getting called back to Italy for an interview....what are the chances of that happening? We do not want to be separated once in Canada because with a Baby it would be complicating.

Odds of having an interview is incredibly small. If you have a long relationship, have been married a while, have a kid on the way, and she is visa-exempt, I would say 99% chance an interview is NOT required.

-Once in Canada I would have to wait 3 months for my OHIP because of my absence. What are my options for my wife to get health coverage while waiting for approval?

Basically, she will be eligible for OHIP 3 months after landing as a PR. Better have private travel medical insurance in the meantime.

-If my wife is approved and a reguest for passport is made will we have to ship it to Rome or in Canada.

If visa-exempt passport, you don't need to send passport anywhere. You only need to email a photocopy of the passport.

-Baby is due in Jan 2015 would I have to wait for the birth to start the application? And what steps would be involved in getting full status for him in Canada? Ie. citizenship certificate, passport. Can I do it in Canada if he travels with an italian passport(thinking it would be faster to obtain then a Canadian)

No, you can start the app any time before the birth. Assuming you can pass on your citizenship, your baby would not even be part of the main application. You would just need to get his citizenship info. Baby could travel on Italian passport in the meantime.

-Will I have to submit a medical for my wife with the application or will it be requested after? If after, will it be possible to to do it in Canada?

For outland apps you are supposed to submit medical (and police checks) UPFRONT. However since she is pregnant, she can't (or shouldn't) complete the x-ray part of medical exam. So she could do all the medical EXCEPT x-ray, with a note that it will be done after she gives birth.

The medicals in general can be done from any country in the world, as long as it's from the CIC list of panel physicians.

-Would it be an issues extending her visitor Visa if the application approval takes longer then expected? If we can apply now and move to Canada in May that would give us 7-8 months + 6 months visitor visa for a total 12-14 months...I would think that it wouldn't be necessary to extend.

In case she needs to extend visitor status, it shouldn't be a problem. Many people get additional 6-12 months extension.

 

[Hypno73]

Thanks for the help Rob_TO. I was hoping the medicals could be done after in Canada. The big problem i have is that the nearest Doctor that performs the exams is 7 hour drive away...i have no car and a pregnant wife. i was hoping to start the application and have the exams done at a later date or in Canada if possible.

 

[Rob_TO]

Thanks for the help Rob_TO. I was hoping the medicals could be done after in Canada. The big problem i have is that the nearest Doctor that performs the exams is 7 hour drive away...i have no car and a pregnant wife. i was hoping to start the application and have the exams done at a later date or in Canada if possible.

You can certainly try, and put a note in the application that medical exam will be done later. Eventually the application will come to a point where they will request medicals and if you hadn't already done them by then, everything would be put on-hold until she did them.

Worst case scenario is that if you submit the initial outland PR application to CPC-Mississauga, they may send it back as incomplete due to not including the medicals. Apparently this has happened to a few people. However for other people the application is accepted but they just get a request to send medicals afterwards. If you include a letter detailing your situation, hopefully the latter would happen for you.

 

[Hypno73]

Well I'm gonna start my application tonight. I downloaded the checklist and I'm ready to start gathering evidence (photos, chats, travel documents)...even though I'm not sure how much is enough, I noticed here that my people really over do it and others bare minimum...10 year relationship, so I have tons of stuff to search through. Wish me luck!.....pretty sure I'll be back for info.

 

[Hypno73]

Ok i just ran into my first issue. DOCUMENT TRANSLATION this is going to be a nightmare in this remote part of Italy....I'm thinking about sending them to my sister in Canada and have it done. Can I do it and have it certified? Things like this in Italy are very very costly and long.

 

[Kayaker]

The only problem is that your wife won't be able to get PR until she gives birth and takes the x-ray part of the medicals. But everything else looks fine!

Translations of official documents such as marriage certificate and what not must be done by a certified translator. Often you can find one online (in Canada, or in Italy). You might have to mail the translator the original document, or maybe a scan/copy will suffice. The translator will tell you. Bear in mind, though, that certifications outside Canada might not be "good enough" for them. They want Canadian certification I think.

If you already know where you are going to live in Canada, you could see if your city (or maybe a city where you have family) has something like a "multicultural association". It's an organization funded by CIC to help immigrants settle and integrate. They also provide translation/certification services.

 

[Christoph100]

You might have to mail the translator the original document, or maybe a scan/copy will suffice. The translator will tell you. Bear in mind, though, that certifications outside Canada might not be "good enough" for them. They want Canadian certification I think.

Providing you can find a CERTIFIED translator recognized by the Italian Government it should be sufficient, It would be best if you take the original document and translated document and have them Certified/legalized/authenticated by Department of Foreign Affairs of Italy. Then you could also bring them to the Canadian Embassy and have the translations stamped/signed/certified by them. Doing it this way there should be no problem at all for translations not being "good enough"

Chris

 

[Hypno73]

Well after spending a few nights looking into everything (medical, document translation + certification of copies...I'm starting do get discouraged...my current situation doesn't allow me to move around and travel just to get a document stamped and looked at...I'm talking hours and hours of travel. I'm starting to think it might be better to start the application when I get to Toronto. Do you guys think it is a good decision doing an Outland when I get to Canada? What should my wife and I prepare before the move? Thanks again for all the patience and info.

 

[Christoph100]

Well after spending a few nights looking into everything (medical, document translation + certification of copies...I'm starting do get discouraged...my current situation doesn't allow me to move around and travel just to get a document stamped and looked at...I'm talking hours and hours of travel.

Sometimes we just have to bite the bullet and do what we need to do... example I had to be present in Thailand for my wife to be able to apply for her PCC (unusual yes) but they would not permit her to apply with out me being there and signing in front of them a photocopy of my passport and giving them a copy of our Thai marriage certificate as well, and of course the signing of her copies of passport, ID's etc..

Chris

 

[Hypno73]

I guess your right...i think i was just overwhelmed by the process .

 

[princessofmylife]

Start getting documents and proof ready. Rome office is very fast. Check their forum for more accurate info.
Most applications were processed within 6-8 months.

 

[Christoph100]

Start getting documents and proof ready. Rome office is very fast. Check their forum for more accurate info.
Most applications were processed within 6-8 months.

Yes start preparing now... Do what you can before you need to travel to get the other requirements completed.
Start with the filling out of the sponsor and applicant forms. This in itself takes some time as you want them done properly.

Consider also to have the medical completed just before your ready to send in the application.

 

[Kayaker]

Your wife can't have an x-ray because she is pregnant, but I think the panel physician can do all the other tests so that CIC will see you already started the medicals. She will have to go back for the x-ray once she has given birth.

We took 4 months to prepare the application, but a lot of that was spent on relationship proof. (You shouldn't forget to include proof that she is pregnant.) You will also have to include proof that you intend to return to Canada - a job offer or evidence of looking for jobs and contacting employers, a lease or house ownership or evidence of looking for housing, etc. I've heard that they can be a bit strict on this point - some people have been refused because CIC was not convinced the sponsor was really planning to go back to Canada.

It's a looooot of paperwork, and you'll want to make sure everything's perfect, so start working on it now. Just remember that the police certificate(s) cannot be older than 3 months when you submit the application.

 

[Hypno73]

Yes I'm preparing myself for the paperwork. What scares me the most is that I would like to get back into Canada ASAP and bringing my wife and newborn with me...but I have heard that they can refuse my wife's entry even with an application filed. I think it might be better to get all the documentation ready, get on a plane to Toronto and when asked I'll just say that I'm here to visit my Parents with my wife and newborn. Then once in Canada file an Outland and extend my wife's visitor visa and hope for the best.