Spouse sponsorship

[mpanchal]

Hi All,

I am getting married in Feb 2017 and I would like to bring my wife to Canada right after the marriage (1st week of March 2017).

Accordingly, I have been thinking of applying for her visitor's visa right now so that she can travel with me on that visa right after marriage. That said, right after the marriage is complete, I intend to submit the PR application for her once we have the marriage certificate.

Is that a valid course of action?

Also, is there something called provisional approval of PR after which a person can apply for an open work permit allowing them to then start working in Canada?

Any response will be greatly helpful!

Thank you in advance.

 

[scylla]

Yes - she needs to apply for a visitor visa if she wants to travel to Canada. Unfortunately the refusal rates for visitor visas are quite high in cases where the spouse is Canadian. So you should be prepared for the possibility she will be refused.

If she is refused, you will need to sponsor her using the outland process. If you are a Canadian citizen, you can remain outside of Canada with your spouse and sponsor her from there. If you are a permanent resident, then you must be living in Canada in order to sponsor her and you will have to be separated while the paperwork is processed.

If she is able to obtain an approved visitor visa, then you can both come to Canada and you can sponsor her inland. With the inland application, you can include an open work permit with the application. It will be approved around four months after the application is submitted.

 

[mpanchal]

Yes - she needs to apply for a visitor visa if she wants to travel to Canada. Unfortunately the refusal rates for visitor visas are quite high in cases where the spouse is Canadian. So you should be prepared for the possibility she will be refused.

If she is refused, you will need to sponsor her using the outland process. If you are a Canadian citizen, you can remain outside of Canada with your spouse and sponsor her from there. If you are a permanent resident, then you must be living in Canada in order to sponsor her and you will have to be separated while the paperwork is processed.

If she is able to obtain an approved visitor visa, then you can both come to Canada and you can sponsor her inland. With the inland application, you can include an open work permit with the application. It will be approved around four months after the application is submitted.

Thank you so much for the reply!