Thoughts on establishing intent of returning to Canada

[analon]

My case is Canadian wife sponsoring me for PR, while she lives with me in USA, where I am on visa.

Over the course of the last few days and much reading and questioning it seems that establishing proof of intent to return to Canada once my PR is / will be approved is a very important, but a difficult challenge in the application process.

Of the few commonly allowable proofs, none of them seem to work for me.

- Buy house (this is like buying a non-refundable airline ticket before being issued a visa to fly)
- Rent apartment (with no known date for approval, how to begin a rental lease?)
- Job Offer (with no known date for approval, how to begin a job? Must be some super employers who keep job offers open indefinately!!!)
- Application to University (yet again, with no known date for approval how to apply to a University. Also neither, my wife or myself need another degree)

So it seems that all of the above are catch-22 situations. If anyone knows some other means to establish intent of return, kindly advise.

 

[Leon]

Get statements from family/friends. Get a family/friend who runs a business to write a letter of job offer open to you if you want it whenever you arrive. Get a family/friend to promise that you can live in their basement whenever you arrive. It's not perfect but it might be enough.

Otherwise your wife will have to go to Canada and establish residency (while living with family or friends?) and can apply to sponsor you from within.

 

[analon]

Leon, thanks for your advise multiple times that I posted this matter in various ways.

I think I shall be off to make some good friends in Canada before submitting my application!!!

 

[Leon]

Leon, thanks for your advise multiple times that I posted this matter in various ways.

I think I shall be off to make some good friends in Canada before submitting my application!!!

Your wife is the Canadian one. She must have friends and family there or what?

 

[fairouzm]

welllllllllllllll it really depends.. on what they will ask u ... some may ask u to quit ur job. ... like in the gulf countries... they do this... anyways... since u are in the usa...they may or may not ask u...
... now i have a question for u... did ur wife completly cut her ties in canada... when was the last time she filled a tax return... she may still a resident... make sure u don't understand this wrong.... living excusivlay outside of canada means that u are well established there and cut ur ties with canada. she may still be considered a resident........... gooooooood luck... let me know with more info..

 

[thaihubbie]

Thank you for this thread analon, these are exactly the thoughts I've been having. It really seems like a Catch 22 situation. I have been teaching abroad for the past 5 years and it seems that Canadians like me are really confused about what to do about their taxes. For example, when someone goes to teach for 1 year or 2 years in another country they don't want to sever their ties to Canada completely but at the same time many are not filing taxes in Canada but are paying into a tax system in the country they are working. I know many teachers including myself who haven't dealt with their taxes at all for years. What do I do about this regarding sponsorship? What are people doing about their taxes when they are working abroad?

 

[Leon]

If you are not a resident of Canada, you don't have to pay taxes. If you are moving back and forth or working overseas temporarily, you can claim foreign income and hope that the country you are working in has a tax treaty with Canada so you don't pay double tax.

 

[analon]

My wife is away from Canada for a little over 4 years. The first year she filed her taxes, and the next 2 she has not done so. As a matter of fact she should be getting a small refund as she is continuing to pay her student loads back in Canada (the student load interest is tiny...but is tax exempt I believe).

thaihubby: we have not got a concrete answer about filing taxes as a means of maintaining resdency. The question...'is a resident/is not a resident'...is also a tricky one, because she files US taxes, so is definately a US resident for tax and most other purposes. So how can she file Canadian taxes and be a resident there also?

All her ties...friends, family, bank accounts are intact in Canada, and we can get a heap of statements from all saying that they are aware of her intent to return, but alas nothing is striking that perfect intent, that a job or a house there would.

 

[Leon]

If you are a US citizen, you are legally required to file taxes in the US whether you live there or not so I don't think it proves residency in the US if you file taxes there. On the other hand, it might be taken to show non-residency if you don't