What happens once My wife lands in Canada?

[zzyzxroad]

Hey all. I am in the process of of applying for sponsorship. I understand that she has a year after her medical checkup to be approved and come to Canada.
If she doesnt come at least once within this 1 year period, the whole thing is invalid.

But what happens once she is here? According to an email from the Berlin office, she must get to Canada at least once within this time frame.

Once she comes, does she get a stamp to stay?

How long would she be able to stay?

Maybe someone can explain a bit of the process, as I am getting very vague answers from the consulate here in Berlin, and also they told me to get the medical right away, although she will be comeing in 17 months. There is $320 down the drain.

 

[fibud]

it is true that once her Permanent Residence application is approved in Berlin, her PR visa will be valid until the one year mark of the medical completion. If one year has passed, you might be requested to redo the medical or the immigration officer also has the right to extend the medical results validity if they so chose.

It is a requirement to complete the medicals now, when you submit to the Case Processing Centre in Mississauga. Your application might be returned to you if there is no proof of medical completion. You might be able to submit a written statement that you are in contact with one of the DMPs and are scheduled to have her undergo the medical exam on XX-XX-XX date - but it might be a bit of a risk!

Once your spouse reaches the final step of being asked for her passport to issue the PR visa, she must land in Canada before the granted expiry date. This will "activate" her Canadian PR status, she will be required to provide a Canadian address where her PR card can be sent to (takes about 30 days). She can remain in Canada and wait for her PR card, or return to Germany if she still has to tie up some things. As a German citizen, she can return to Canada without her PR card as she does not need a visitor visa to come to Canada. But once her PR card is in hand - she is free to come and go as pleases as a PR - assuming she will meet the requirements to keep PR status (731 days physically in Canada every 5 years) or is working towards gaining citizenship (1,095 days physically in Canada within a 4 year timeframe).

The Berlin office does take between 7 and 16 months to process so hopefully you will be on the shorter end of the stick - maybe some Berlin applicants can share their current timelines - or you can visit trackitt.com where many share their timelines.

Overall Process:
Submit application to Case Processing Centre in Canada
between 1-3 months you will receive letter approving Sponsor
application will be transfered to federal visa office (Berlin)
between 7-16 months Berlin may request additional information if it is missing or provide waiver for an interview
between 7-16 months a request for spouses' passport to be submitted in order to issue the PR visa
usually about 30 business days after submitting passport (sometimes you can drop off/pick up in person with a shorter timeframe) you will receive passport back with visa and a record of landing form which she will have to bring with her when she first "lands" in Canada.


Good luck!

 

[iarblue]

No not after the medical....they are stating after she is approved and gets her visa and is a PR she has one year from that date to land in Canada but no doubt once she gets her visa (PR) she will be coming to Canada right away.So no worries.

 

[zzyzxroad]

Thanks for the answer fibud. I am really starting to understand the process now. Its really not so bad as it seems. Whats really nice is that it could be as little as a month before Canada gives the O.K. The rest should be ok as well, just a waiting game.

Where exactly would she be giving up the document, to customs when she arrives at the airport?


@iarblue. I do believe the allowance is good for only a year after the medical. If the PR is issued after 10 months, the allowance is then only good for about 2 months. Any person who gets the allowance must arrive in Canada within 1 year of the medical exam.

 

[Leon]

It will say on the PR visa how long it's valid. The embassy will usually ask for a new medical if it's about to expire but it has happened that people have been mailed a visa with only days before expiry. I even heard of one case where the visa was already expired by the time it was mailed to the person but I am sure that was a mistake and doesn't happen often. Both of those cases I heard of were from the London office.

Once she lands in Canada, she is a PR and can come and go as she wants to except for the residency requirements of staying in Canada for at least 730 days total in each 5 year period.

In order to have her visa processed, she should say when she enters that she is there to land and they will tell her where to go.