UK Outland Family / Spouse Sponsorship - General Queries

[Alex_Spouse]

Greetings,

My wife and I are about to embark on the daunting process that is immigration Canada

Brief Background:
- I am a Canadian citizen and had been dating my wife for 4 years before we recently got married.
- We intend on applying for a family class sponsorship.
- My wife is an EU citizen.
- We live in the UK.

Questions:
- After the application has been lodged, will my wife be eligible to visit Canada indefinitely until the application has been processed?
- Is it possible to apply for sponsorship WITHIN Canada while my wife is visiting on a regular tourist visa? If so, is there any advantage in doing so as opposed to applying through London, UK?

Many thanks in advance,
A

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Re: Visiting Canada Whilst Application Pending

Hi

"EU citizen" doesn't mean anything. If you don't want to state which country she is from, you need to at least state whether she is visa-exempt or not.

 

[Alex_Spouse]

Re: Visiting Canada Whilst Application Pending

Hey Canuck_UK,

Thanks for the quick reply.

My wife is a Greek national and my understanding is that she is visa-exempt.

As a follow-up question, is it possible for me to first apply to become a sponsor and once approved to then lodge the immigration documents for my wife or must these applications both be submitted at the same time?

Thanks again,
A

 

[Gary_87]

Re: Visiting Canada Whilst Application Pending

Hey Canuck_UK,

Thanks for the quick reply.

My wife is a Greek national and my understanding is that she is visa-exempt.

As a follow-up question, is it possible for me to first apply to become a sponsor and once approved to then lodge the immigration documents for my wife or must these applications both be submitted at the same time?

Thanks again,
A

You lodge sponsor and applocant documents together in one package.

Inland means your apouse wont be able to leave canada until the visa process is complete without risking issues with the application. Your spouse will also be able to get a work permit, most likely 4 months after lodging.

Outland means your spouse can visit canada but not work at all.

The difference is timing. Inland takes upwards of 2 years. Outland for uk takes approximately 8 months through the london visa office.

Outland is better in my opinion as the whole process is done sooner without having to wait the long waiting time for inland.

To answer your question thougj you must decide which route you want to take then apply with all the forms and supporting docs in one package.

 

[Alex_Spouse]

Re: Visiting Canada Whilst Application Pending

Hey Gary,

Very helpful thank you.

The reason I asked about lodging the documents for the sponsor separately is because my wife had a stint in the US (> 6 months) and the US police record documentation is a bit of a bottleneck (approx 13-15 months + delivery).

For us, it is best to have the option to travel outside of Canada and a shorter wait time vs. the ability for my wife to work thus it is very likely we will pursue the outland application.

Is it possible at the time of sending through the application to also apply for a visitor visa extension? It appears likely that we will require an extension as the 6 month visitor deadline will have lapsed before the approval is processed. Is there any generic information about how this process works (i.e. dual intent)?

For reference, our likely time line is as follows:
- Submit sponsor + immigration applications mid-August
- Move to Canada mid-October

Are there are any visa offices in Greece? If so, are their waiting times readily available? I note that a few older posts include links to calculating processing times for the various offices, however they do not appear to be working anymore.

Is the 8 month quote that you stated based on the excel spreadsheet based on people's experience on this forum?

Very many thanks to all for their time and effort!
A

 

[MilesAway]

Greek applicants are generally processed through the Rome VO.
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/rome-office-t189732.555.html

 

[Alex_Spouse]

Thanks MilesAway.

My wife is also a UK resident and so my understanding is that she has the option to apply either through the London office or the Rome office.

Is there a way to check to see what the different processing times are?

Thanks,
A

 

[scylla]

Thanks MilesAway.

My wife is also a UK resident and so my understanding is that she has the option to apply either through the London office or the Rome office.

Is there a way to check to see what the different processing times are?

Thanks,
A

She doesn't really have an option. CIC will pick a processing office for her.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Re: Visiting Canada Whilst Application Pending

The reason I asked about lodging the documents for the sponsor separately is because my wife had a stint in the US (> 6 months) and the US police record documentation is a bit of a bottleneck (approx 13-15 months + delivery).

For us, it is best to have the option to travel outside of Canada and a shorter wait time vs. the ability for my wife to work thus it is very likely we will pursue the outland application.

Is it possible at the time of sending through the application to also apply for a visitor visa extension?

Are there are any visa offices in Greece?

Is the 8 month quote that you stated based on the excel spreadsheet based on people's experience on this forum?

If you send it separately, it will just be returned as incomplete. The US PCC takes 13-15 weeks, not months. You can send the app with a letter of explanation and proof you've applied for it and then send it in once you get it.

Yes, outland is the better choice.

A visitor extension is done separately from the PR app. With proof of the PR app and proof of finances, there should be no issues with an extension.

As said above, Greek applicants are processed through Rome. There is the possibility of the app being sent to Lonon but most of the time, CIC sends it to the VO of nationality.

The spreadsheets on here are the most up-to-date way of seeing processing times.

 

[Alex_Spouse]

Hi Canuck,

Apologies - grave typo to state 13-15 months! Of course this is 13-15 weeks. Thanks for clarifying.

Is there a particular rule you are aware of that confirms that the app can be submitted with the US criminal report to follow? Just want to be sure that the app is submitted correctly without having to resubmit and incur additional fees / delay.

Thanks again to all for your help!!!

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Is there a particular rule you are aware of that confirms that the app can be submitted with the US criminal report to follow? Just want to be sure that the app is submitted correctly without having to resubmit and incur additional fees / delay.

Many people do this. Search the forum and you'll see quite a few recent threads about exactly this since the FBI cert takes so long.

We sent our app without 3 of my partner's PCCs, which we later sent in. No issues.

 

[Aquakitty]

Hi Canuck,

Apologies - grave typo to state 13-15 months! Of course this is 13-15 weeks. Thanks for clarifying.

Is there a particular rule you are aware of that confirms that the app can be submitted with the US criminal report to follow? Just want to be sure that the app is submitted correctly without having to resubmit and incur additional fees / delay.

Thanks again to all for your help!!!

The best way to check processing times is look at one of the spreadsheets (such as the 2015 spreadsheet in my signature.) Looks like Rome is pretty quick, one on there claims to be under 4 months to DM. London seems to average 8 months or so for visa-exempt persons.

 

[canadianwoman]

Keep in mind that you can move back to Canada, but your wife cannot move to Canada before she gets her PR. She can visit Canada, and at the border she must be clear with the agent that she is just visiting while waiting for the PR application to be processed. She should have a return ticket, proof of ties to the UK, and proof of the PR application. She shouldn't have any problem getting in, but don't say 'move'.

 

[Alex_Spouse]

@Canuck_in_UK

I will have a look around the forums. This certainly gives me a good level of comfort.

@Aquakitty

Thanks for the tip. Great to see that Rome doesn't get as much traffic - hopefully that will work in our favour.

@canadianwoman

Duly noted. I understand that 'dual intent' will apply and that primarily my wife would enter Canada as a visitor pending receipt of PR.

A return ticket and proof of PR app are easy. Any indication as to what people use for proof of ties to the UK? In our case this would be very limited (perhaps bank account). However ties to Greece are much more extensive.

 

[canadianwoman]

Oh, ties to any country outside of Canada will be fine. The border agent probably won't ask for them, but it is best to be prepared. Things like a job; a lease, mortgage, or home ownership; bank accounts and investments; family; etc. If you don't have much, I wouldn't worry, because a return ticket and proof of the PR application are generally enough.