Ukrainian on TRV & PR app but child in Ukraine. Can child join parent in Canada?

[CanadianPrairieGent]

Good day.

Like so many of you, my story is both similar and yet unique enough that I don't have a clear answer to my dilemma, so I'm turning to the experts here, because trying to get through to the CIC is next to impossible, and I can't afford to waste time. In advance, thanks for reading, and thanks for your assistance/advice.

I think that I've given my situation the requisite thought and research, and while I have a plan in mind, please if you have better suggestions than what I've come up with, I'm all ears!

I'm a Canadian citizen, and I have a Ukrainian fiancée (completely legitimate and established relationship). She also has a 16 year-old daughter. I have a number of questions, but I'll try to keep it to the most important ones, unless somebody wants to PM me and assist that way.

My thoughts were to apply for a TRV for my fiancée, knowing it's good for 6 months, and while she was here, we would likely get married and then begin an inland PR application for her. This should allow her to remain with me while her application is processed (even if the 6 months on her TRV expire), to the best of my knowledge. It is our shared desire for her daughter to remain in Ukraine to finish this school year, but then ideally, have her join us here in Canada during the summer. It would also likely be a benefit to have my fiancee's daughter to remain in Ukraine when my fiancée applies for a TRV, as her daughter acts as a sort of assurance for the CIC that my fiancée would return to Ukraine. To be clear, I'm not interested in trying to cheat the system in any way, but I am looking for the quickest and easiest way for us all to finally be together, realizing that we may even have to consider the long haul, if quick and easy don't work. As I see it, my soon-to-be step-daughter is the piece that complicates this whole issue, as we really don't want mom and daughter to be apart for more than 3 or 4 months.

My main question is that if my fiancée is able to acquire a TRV and we get married while she is here, and then initiate her inland PR application, will her daughter (who will also then be my dependent and listed on the PR application) be permitted to join us here in Canada while we await the decision on the PR application? Would the CIC keep a dependent minor child apart from her mother and step-father until the application is dealt with completely? Is there an easier and quicker way to bring the daughter over if my initial plan won't work? I guess, inherent in my thinking is the question, "By virtue of a parent's inland PR application, does a dependent minor have the right to expeditiously reunite with that parent on Canadian soil, or does the child have to make a separate TRV application?" A separate TRV application would seem silly to me, as the daughter would already be part of my sponsorship of my spouse. If her daughter is able to join us before the start of the upcoming academic year (fall 2016), would she be allowed to attend school here if she was only on a TRV, or if her PR application had been submitted? Would it complicate the process if when she comes she is flying as an unaccompanied minor (but with airline escorts)? I couldn't take the chance to send her mother to fetch her while a PR application is being considered, or should I go and retrieve my step-daughter?

There are many moving parts to getting my fiancée and her daughter here separately, while trying to maintain an optimal and maximum 3 - 4 month window of time apart for the two of them, and allowing her daughter to finish school this academic year in Ukraine. Or, should the two of them each apply for a TRV at the same time, taking our chances that this raises more flags for the CIC and they get declined? I've heard from many people who have married a Ukrainian citizen that everything is typically easier (and we are able to spend more time together) if we marry in Canada. Am I wrong?

I'm wide open for suggestions . . . please! Also, we'd prefer to save our money for plane tickets and visa/resident applications, so do you think we can avoid the use of immigration lawyers and still be successful?

God bless the knowledgeable people here who support us on this forum. Not being able to reach the CIC to ask these questions is beyond frustrating!

Again, thanks for your time and assistance.

 

[scylla]

Re: Ukrainian on TRV but with child in Ukraine. How can child join parent in Canada?

No - the dependent certainly does not have the "right" to be reunited through a TRV. The dependent can certainly apply for a TRV. Whether the TRV will approved is anyone's guess.

If your future wife applies for the TRV first alone there will most likely be a higher chance of approval since leaving her daughter behind may be seen as a tie to her country. However if she is approved for a TRV there's certainly no guarantee her daughter will be. If separating them for a long period of time is not an option, then have both of them apply for a TRV together and you'll know where you stand (most likely either both or neither will be approved).

Whether the daughter will be allowed to attend school is a different matter and you'll have to speak with your local school to see what they will or won't do. Some schools will accept a student once a PR application is in progress, some won't. It's also possible she may be required to pay foreign student fees until she becomes a PR (this would be around $12K to $14K per year for public high school). Again, no easy answer - you'll need to speak with the schools she would be attending.

Most people here have done it without an immigration lawyer. Ultimately your call.