Waiting out Outland process in Canada

[Maeby]

Hi everyone. I am a Canadian sponsor for my Japanese husband. We applied last Aug, and received sponsor approval in October. My contract ended on March 31 and he is unemployed now so we have decided I will move back to Canada and start work and he will come as a visitor till he gets his PR.
My questions are
1. What documents should he bring to show immigration?
2. We are travelling with my two cats as carry on. We booked one of them under his name as then it could be in cabin. Will this look bad to immigration? Can I take both and go through on the Canadian side and deal with quarantine while he goes though immigration?
3. We are married but never had a wedding due to family health issues, so we are planning one in August 2015. Should he mention this?
4. We have return tickets(both of us) for ten days after getting to Canada. When we booked them originally we thought he might be returning for a family matter but now he doesn't need to return and since they are non refundable so we likely will cancel the return flight. Should he explain this? Or just not mention it?

Thanks for any advice!
Mae

 

[swestenzweig]

What you're doing is perfectly fine, provided your husband can satisfy the CBSA officer that he will return to his home country if his permanent residency application is denied. So, anything proving he still has ties to Japan would help. Since you are both flying, you're obviously not moving all of his belongings with you which will help support your claim, too. I would make sure you have your receipt from the PR application, as well as the email/letter you've received indicating your SA. Since he is unemployed, it might be a good idea to bring proof he has enough funds to support himself while in Canada (a bank statement should suffice).

2. I wouldn't worry about your cats.
3. I wouldn't bother mentioning the ceremony in August. You are both married; that's what counts. Many people get married in a civil ceremony only to have a formal ceremony at a later date.
4. I wouldn't bring this up unless asked directly. His intent is to stay with you until the PR is granted (he's effectively "dual intent"), so the return ticket 10 days after doesn't match his intent. If asked, be honest and explain why you purchased it for that date.

 

[Kayaker]

1. If you applied last August, you probably already have Sponsorship Approval. (Stage 1 approval) Bring that (or a print-out if it was an email) and also a copy of the receipt of the application fee. That should be ample proof that he applied. The Sponsorship Approval letter has his UCI on it too, and they will have no problem finding him on the system if they want to.
2. Don't think the cats are a problem, not with immigration anyway.
3. CBSA won't care whether you had a big fancy wedding or a civil marriage at city hall. (CIC would want to know for the PR application, but a CBSA officer seeing your husband as a visitor to Canada won't care.) They might want to see some proof that you're married, so I might bring a copy of the marriage certificate (or its Japanese equivalent) just in case. (I brought a copy of my kon-in todoke jyuri certificate and a copy of its notarized translation when I visited Canada while I was waiting for PR to come through. They didn't ask to see it though.)
4. The best thing with CBSA is to be completely honest, but don't go offering extra information unasked. If they ask how long you're staying, you could say that he has a return ticket in 10 days' time but is changing his plans and will book another ticket to return to Japan if necessary. If they don't ask anything at all (which is also possible) I wouldn't launch into a long detailed explanation of all your plans.

Keep in mind, the main thing CBSA wants to see is that your husband knows the rule (that as a visitor he cannot work or study, that he cannot stay for longer than 6 months (or whatever time they give him) without applying for an extension. The fact that he has already applied for PR does go a long way in showing them that your husband is aware of the rules and is trying to abide by them. (They don't want to see a spouse of a Canadian turn up with no plans, thinking they can stay in Canada indefinitely without doing the necessary paperwork.) They may ask how much funds he has for his stay, a bank statement would be good to have.

I came to Canada immediately after we got sponsorship approval. The CBSA officer asked very few questions (how much funds do you have for your stay, where does your husband live, what is his occupation, what is your job), and did not ask about PR, so I did not tell her. But I had all the papers ready to show in case she asked.

Also, it would be best if he did not pack as if he were really moving here. Bring whatever would seem appropriate for a stay of several months. (meaning no furniture, and a laptop would be better than a desktop computer, etc.)

Good luck! Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Hi everyone. I am a Canadian sponsor for my Japanese husband. We applied last Aug, and received sponsor approval in October. My contract ended on March 31 and he is unemployed now so we have decided I will move back to Canada and start work and he will come as a visitor till he gets his PR.
My questions are
1. What documents should he bring to show immigration?
2. We are travelling with my two cats as carry on. We booked one of them under his name as then it could be in cabin. Will this look bad to immigration? Can I take both and go through on the Canadian side and deal with quarantine while he goes though immigration?
3. We are married but never had a wedding due to family health issues, so we are planning one in August 2015. Should he mention this?
4. We have return tickets(both of us) for ten days after getting to Canada. When we booked them originally we thought he might be returning for a family matter but now he doesn't need to return and since they are non refundable so we likely will cancel the return flight. Should he explain this? Or just not mention it?

Thanks for any advice!
Mae