UK/Canadian couple - Spousal sponsor timings aaargh!

[chrischris]

We are married and both working "permanently" in the UK. She is a Canadian citizen, I am English, and we want to move back to Canada in the near future as all her family are still there. However, the spousal sponsor system doesn't seem to allow much time for coming to Canada once the visa has been granted. If the processing time is about 9 months then that's only going to allow 3 months maximum before the medical certificate (and hence, visa validity) expires - is that right? What happens if you've got to give several months' notice before quitting your UK job?

I was hoping we could apply, get the visa and then have plenty of time to find jobs and move back, but this sounds unlikely. Ideally we'd move back together with at least one of us having secured a job, but this seems almost impossible to achieve if you don't know the date that your application will be granted and you don't know how long you've got to arrive in Canada after that point, other than "not very long".

Is it better for my wife to move back first and find a job and then make the application from Canada? That seems a harsh way of having to do it as it would force us to be apart.

Perhaps better still would be for me to get a job in Canada with an accompanying work permit and then we make the application from within Canada. However I am under the impression that it's not that easy to get an offer of employment if you're not Canadian (I am an urban planner).

Any advice would be gratefully received

 

[Baloo]

We are married and both working "permanently" in the UK. She is a Canadian citizen, I am English, and we want to move back to Canada in the near future as all her family are still there. However, the spousal sponsor system doesn't seem to allow much time for coming to Canada once the visa has been granted. If the processing time is about 9 months then that's only going to allow 3 months maximum before the medical certificate (and hence, visa validity) expires - is that right? What happens if you've got to give several months' notice before quitting your UK job?

You can "land" then leave Canada and return to the UK.

I was hoping we could apply, get the visa and then have plenty of time to find jobs and move back, but this sounds unlikely. Ideally we'd move back together with at least one of us having secured a job, but this seems almost impossible to achieve if you don't know the date that your application will be granted and you don't know how long you've got to arrive in Canada after that point, other than "not very long".

Is it better for my wife to move back first and find a job and then make the application from Canada? That seems a harsh way of having to do it as it would force us to be apart.

Perhaps better still would be for me to get a job in Canada with an accompanying work permit and then we make the application from within Canada. However I am under the impression that it's not that easy to get an offer of employment if you're not Canadian (I am an urban planner).

You are right, it is not that easy.

Any advice would be gratefully received

 

[pinklady]

Also, if you look at actual processing times of the people on this forum going through the London VO, you will see that none of them take 9 months, average from start to finish being about 4 months.
I made a spreadsheet showing actual processing times. Mine was completed in 2.5 months!
Good luck!

 

[Baloo]

General info' on Spousal sponsorship.

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/spousal-sponsorship-t46995.0.html;msg344291#msg344291

 

[fleo]

As Baloo said, you could land in Canada solely for the purpose of, well, landing ... giving for instance your in-laws as a reference, and then go back to UK to tie any loose ends. However, keep in mind that applications with sponsors living outside of Canada have to do a very good job of proving intention to resettle in Canada once PR is approved, so you will have to start making certain arrangements (looking into jobs and housing, having your wife's family agree to support you for a while if necessary etc.) even before you start the whole process. (Not that you have to have anything firmly black-on-white, but you have to convince CIC you will be ready to move shortly after they issue your visa.)

If you manage to get a work permit and you both come to Canada, I think you would have to do an inland application (I don't think it's possible to apply outland with applicant obviously living and working in Canada, but someone will correct me if I'm wrong), and that takes significantly longer - a year, year and a half, sometimes longer if your file gets transferred to a particularly busy local office - compared to a few months of London actual processing times. Applying inland also gives you no right of appeal if your application is denied.

 

[chrischris]

Thanks everybody for your replies. As we are both outside of Canada can you confirm it's Mississauga we have to apply to?

Also, with reference to Fleo's comments I assume the convincing CRC of the sponsor's intention to settle back in Canada comes in the form of whatever "supporting documents" we can provide to Section F? Will they accept for example a letter from my wife's sister and/or parents stating that we will be welcome to stay with them until we have found a home? Given that the application takes about 9 months, at the time of applying it would be unreasonable to expect us to have job offers, rental agreements etc. - those can only come closer to the time.

Any tips from anybody else who's had to convince the CRC of this?

 

[fleo]

Will they accept for example a letter from my wife's sister and/or parents stating that we will be welcome to stay with them until we have found a home?

They will, happily Other options include showing that you're looking into the job market in the specific area you are planning on moving to - doesn't have to be anything firm; just demonstrate there are options for your set of qualifications; give proof of any savings you have that might help you with the transition; your wife could start a French course if needed... in short, anything that can prove you are preparing to settle in Canada permanently.

P.S. Mississauga it is, and they will forward your application to London office once sponsorship is approved.

 

[chrischris]

Thanks again Fleo - I am actually able to gain provisional membership of the Canadian equivalent of my professional association without being a Canadian resident - hopefully that should help too, or are they only interested in my wife's efforts at job hunting and my wife's work/financial position? We have savings and investments we can show too.

If the application goes to Mississauga and is then forwarded to London once the sponsorship is approved, then I assume we'll be on the (shorter) london processing time rather than the (longer) Mississauga processing time?

Finally (for now), is the visa validity always to the expiry of the medical (or passport), or do they sometimes set an 'artificial' earlier date? What I'm getting at is that if we submit the application immediately after the medical and with a fair wind the whole application is processed in say, five months, can I safely assume that I'd have a whole seven months left before the visa must be 'activated'?

Very grateful for everyone's comments so far.

 

[kiwikris]

You can be in Canada and apply outland

 

[fleo]

or are they only interested in my wife's efforts at job hunting and my wife's work/financial position?

No, by all means show the efforts on your side as well. It's not like they want her relocating without you

If the application goes to Mississauga and is then forwarded to London once the sponsorship is approved, then I assume we'll be on the (shorter) london processing time rather than the (longer) Mississauga processing time?

Now you got me confuzzled.
For outland applications, CPC Mississauga processes the sponsorship part and the PR part is done in Canadian visa offices in applicants' respective regions (in your case that's London). Inland applications are processed in CPC Vegreville and that takes forever and a day (some 18+ months at this point), but doesn't concern you in the least since 'Spouse/common law partner in Canada' is not your category. So, your total time will be Mississauga+London, which can indeed be as little as 4 months.

Finally (for now), is the visa validity always to the expiry of the medical (or passport), or do they sometimes set an 'artificial' earlier date?

Always, don't worry

 

[Mrs Mojo]

Hiya Guys can anyone answer my question. My husband is British and I am Canadian. I have sent his application off in November and was approved as a sponsor in early December. Our application was sent to the London office on 17th December and started being processed on 26th Feb. I haven't seen my husband since October when I was on holiday for a month. I miss him sooooo much but my job is not giving me time off to go to England. I was wondering can my Husband come to visit me here in Canada while his visa is being processed? the websites say 6-9 months processing. when is that from? Is it from November when I sent the full application or is that the processing time once they receive it in London?

Please help me....


Thank you

 

[canadianwoman]

It's from when they start processing in London.
And yes, he can come visit you while you wait. UK citizens don't need a visa to visit, but may be questioned by the border officials when they arrive, so he should be able to show that he will be going back to the UK after his trip.