UK citizen, married to a Canadian......

[welshincanada]

Hello everybody,

I am British, living in Ontario, married to a Canadian citizen. I am the de facto step father to a fantastic little girl. I would like to get PR....... I overstayed my visitor visa by 3 months because I fell in love and wanted to get married to my Canadian partner. We are now married and want to "normalise" my situation here..... I would like to get a bank account, see a dentist etc.

I am a qualified teacher with no criminal record. Happily, I am independently wealthy and can support myself here in Canada. What are the recommended steps I should take?

Thanks,

C

 

[kevwoodfine]

When did you get married?

Are you still overstating now?

Are you going for inland or Outland application... The overstaying issue is not a big problem someone on here overstayed longer and got pr .. You just have to make sure the relationship is genuine.


Your'll be alright - congrats on getting married.

 

[welshincanada]

We got married earlier this month in a civil ceremony. Our relationship is very genuine and several family members and friends were present at our wedding. Thanks for the congratulations. We're very happy too!

I am still overstaying because we didn't want to apply and then change my circumstances shortly after beginning this seemingly complicated process. I assumed that doing so wouldn't drastically harm my chances in this process.

I'm living in Ontario and therefore will be applying for an inland application. I don't intend to leave Canada over the next several years, I want to make my life here.

 

[Rob_TO]

I'm living in Ontario and therefore will be applying for an inland application. I don't intend to leave Canada over the next several years, I want to make my life here.

Keep in mind when applying inland you should not leave Canada for ANY reason during the 1.5 or so years it takes to do your application... be it a small vacation or just visiting family.

If you apply outland through London office the entire PR process would take an average of around 6-8 months for a straightforward app. Although in this case you would need to arrange on your own to get a new visitor visa here, or possibly need to spend some of the time waiting in UK.

 

[angelbrat]

It took me 7 months from start to finish to get my Inland PR under common law.

I am British too, really did not have any problems, although I did have legal status during the process.

Good Luck.

 

[welshincanada]

I wont be leaving Canada for any reason during the application process.

Glad to hear about your success angelbrat! I hope my process goes well.

I think that my overstaying the visa could present an issue.....I'm beyond the 90day window of grace to renew/reapply. Anyone got any thoughts on that?

 

[rebecassss]

How overstayed are you? After the 90 day window I mean.

 

[UKZippy]

Congrats on getting married.

I'm a brit, too, engaged to a Canadian. Been here since July 2011. Just sent in application for PR.

I applied for another VR in December, it's still not arrived, seems there is a back log/long processing times. Maybe they can back date your VR?

Good look with the PR application

Col

 

[welshincanada]

I have overstayed by more than 90 days Rebeccasss, aprox 120 days. I'm getting mixed feedback regarding this. Some lawyers act like I've told them I murdered a bunch of people and others say "Oh we'll just explain that it was an honest mistake. Happens all the time.". I'm inclined/want to believe the latter.

I hope they can sort out my visa too UKZippy. I hope yours arrives soon. CIC seem to be slow at everything. My jaw dropped when I found out this could take 2 years!

Fortunately I'm able to retain good council and I hope to have this cleared up. I'll post my experiences as this will probably help other love struck Welshmen in the future lol.

 

[Gary_87]

Congrats on getting married.

I'm a brit, too, engaged to a Canadian. Been here since July 2011. Just sent in application for PR.

I applied for another VR in December, it's still not arrived, seems there is a back log/long processing times. Maybe they can back date your VR?

Good look with the PR application

Col

Hey! I think were pretty much in the exact same boat haha.

Im a brit, engaged to a canadian, been here since jan 2011! The IO must get so bored reading the same thing over and over and over again haha.

How did you submit your application for a VR? I'm thinking of doing mine on return into Canada in March before my current one expires. Did you do yours online or by paper?

 

[rebecassss]

I have overstayed by more than 90 days Rebeccasss, aprox 120 days. I'm getting mixed feedback regarding this. Some lawyers act like I've told them I murdered a bunch of people and others say "Oh we'll just explain that it was an honest mistake. Happens all the time.". I'm inclined/want to believe the latter.

I hope they can sort out my visa too UKZippy. I hope yours arrives soon. CIC seem to be slow at everything. My jaw dropped when I found out this could take 2 years!

Fortunately I'm able to retain good council and I hope to have this cleared up. I'll post my experiences as this will probably help other love struck Welshmen in the future lol.

The best advice I got from a lawyer re: immigration was just tell the truth.

It probably does happen all the time. I had to get restoration before because I just totally blanked. I got the application in on day 90 so I was in a better place than you, but my point is that they probably know people mess up sometimes. I would apply for the restoration and explain the situation honestly. At worst you'll have to leave temporarily, but as long as you don't wait so long they send you notice of deportation getting back shouldn't be an issue.

Good luck!