Will an Unpaid Car Loan Affect PR Approval?

[carollofamily]

Hi everyone,

I have been a "lurker" for while, coming upon this website and the many threads while researching for more information about how to sponsor my spouse. I only decided to register the both of us since we are at a stage where we have some major questions and concerns regarding approval of our application. Some information about our situation:

1. I am a Canadian citizen (Ottawa, born and bred, currently living in Toronto) who (fell in love and) married my American husband (who lives in Western Maryland, near Washington, DC) in September 2014.
2. We spent a lot of time to put together our application for permanent residence (his criminal background check took 4 months, he did his medical stuff, I waited until tax season was over) under the family class and mailed everything to CPC-Mississauga on August 19, 2015.
3. On September 30, 2015, CPC-Mississauga began to process our application.
4. On October 20, 2015, I was approved as a sponsor and was informed of this approval with a letter in the mail which also said that our file has been forwarded to CPC-Ottawa.

At this point in time, we understand that it is a waiting game until we hear from CPC-Ottawa about the status of our application.

My question:

1. My husband is in desperate need of a car. He is very frugal (thank goodness one of us is) and has been waiting for nearly a year to buy one because of model clearcuts this time of year. He really deserves a brand new car as he is basically driving a box of rust on wheels, currently. However, we are concerned that if he were to buy and finance a car now (he's thinking of putting down some money and financing the rest, which will be about $10,000), that his debt/loan would affect his PR application. Can anyone confirm/dispel our fears of him getting a new car? Our initial thought was for him to hold off until everything is settled as we do not want anything to hinder our application from getting approved. We desperately want him to be here in Canada with me so that we can begin our life together, but at the same time, he needs a car to even come to visit me here in Toronto as we await approval for his PR. On top of that, he has a phone contract that will not be up by the time he moves here which (fingers and toes crossed) will hopefully be within a year. Can this also affect our application for his PR?

DISCLAIMER: I completely apologise if this thread is a repeat of a previous one. I tried to search through this site for relevant posts/threads, and couldn't find the answer I was looking for. Also, if there are any tips/advice you would like to give about forum/post etiquette, please let me know! As I mentioned above, we are very new to this whole thing, and will work on improving our posts.

 

[SamHom]

Hi everyone,

I have been a "lurker" for while, coming upon this website and the many threads while researching for more information about how to sponsor my spouse. I only decided to register the both of us since we are at a stage where we have some major questions and concerns regarding approval of our application. Some information about our situation:

1. I am a Canadian citizen (Ottawa, born and bred, currently living in Toronto) who (fell in love and) married my American husband (who lives in Western Maryland, near Washington, DC) in September 2014.
2. We spent a lot of time to put together our application for permanent residence (his criminal background check took 4 months, he did his medical stuff, I waited until tax season was over) under the family class and mailed everything to CPC-Mississauga on August 19, 2015.
3. On September 30, 2015, CPC-Mississauga began to process our application.
4. On October 20, 2015, I was approved as a sponsor and was informed of this approval with a letter in the mail which also said that our file has been forwarded to CPC-Ottawa.

At this point in time, we understand that it is a waiting game until we hear from CPC-Ottawa about the status of our application.

My question:

1. My husband is in desperate need of a car. He is very frugal (thank goodness one of us is) and has been waiting for nearly a year to buy one because of model clearcuts this time of year. He really deserves a brand new car as he is basically driving a box of rust on wheels, currently. However, we are concerned that if he were to buy and finance a car now (he's thinking of putting down some money and financing the rest, which will be about $10,000), that his debt/loan would affect his PR application. Can anyone confirm/dispel our fears of him getting a new car? Our initial thought was for him to hold off until everything is settled as we do not want anything to hinder our application from getting approved. We desperately want him to be here in Canada with me so that we can begin our life together, but at the same time, he needs a car to even come to visit me here in Toronto as we await approval for his PR. On top of that, he has a phone contract that will not be up by the time he moves here which (fingers and toes crossed) will hopefully be within a year. Can this also affect our application for his PR?

DISCLAIMER: I completely apologise if this thread is a repeat of a previous one. I tried to search through this site for relevant posts/threads, and couldn't find the answer I was looking for. Also, if there are any tips/advice you would like to give about forum/post etiquette, please let me know! As I mentioned above, we are very new to this whole thing, and will work on improving our posts.

Unfortunately that phone contract will likely have your application refused. They're usually fine with cable tv contracts but they have to draw the line somewhere and that line is by cellphones. I would strongly suggest he pay the contract off ASAP and send a letter to CIC to explain.

I am sorry. I had to. I couldn't stop myself. Don't worry. The car loan or the phone contract won't affect anything. I know it's hard not too worry and we all have had silly things that we worry about during the duration of the process, some more than others (me = more). This is really something that you don't have to worry about at all. If he had a car loan that he had never payed off, warrants for his arrest because of this, dates in court etc etc that would change the ball game.

 

[carollofamily]

Wow, those first few sentences really worried me! Okay, I am super happy to hear that my husband can look forward to driving a car that doesn't rain rust/dust every time we close a door. The next hurdle would be importing his car once his PR gets approved, I suppose?

Thanks so much, SamHom, for the clarification!

Also, I guess "stupid questions" can be asked Sorry if this question was very trivial.

 

[Beaverdiva]

We've all been in your shoes right now so don't worry about asking questions! That's what the forum's here for ;D

It's best to ask what you might think are 'silly' questions if it reassures you. It's amazing how nervous this whole process can make you feel.

Good luck!

 

[carollofamily]

I am so glad that I found this community who welcomes "silly questions" Best of luck to anyone else who is currently going through the same process as I am!

 

[SamHom]

I am so glad that I found this community who welcomes "silly questions" Best of luck to anyone else who is currently going through the same process as I am!

Immigration aside, I would suggest that he looks into the conditions on the loan extra carefully this time before signing any papers. I am far from a loan expert but it may be possible that it includes conditions that he has to continue residing in USA during the payment process or face penalties. Not sure how loan companies feels about people taking loans and then leaving the country (even if they plan to pay it off). So definitely look out for that and check with them to make sure.

 

[carollofamily]

That is a very good point. I myself have a car loan on my current car, and when I was signing all the of necessary documents, there was a stipulation about not being able to leave Canada for more than 30 days without expressly informing the financial institution with whom I have taken a loan from. Thank you for the heads up, SamHom!

 

[Rob_TO]

The next hurdle would be importing his car once his PR gets approved, I suppose?

Keep in mind that you can't import a car that is leased or is still being financed from the US. You need to own the car outright with no loans against it. Until you completely own the car, you must comply with the rules of whoever you're financing the car from in terms of driving it in Canada.

So he might want to think of a temporary 1-year solution that will get you through until his PR is approved, then finance a car from a Canadian dealer once he's here as a PR. Or else be prepared to buy the car out completely when PR is approved.

 

[Ponga]

Keep in mind that you can't import a car that is leased or is still being financed from the US. You need to own the car outright with no loans against it. Until you completely own the car, you must comply with the rules of whoever you're financing the car from in terms of driving it in Canada.

So he might want to think of a temporary 1-year solution that will get you through until his PR is approved, then finance a car from a Canadian dealer once he's here as a PR. Or else be prepared to buy the car out completely when PR is approved.

Especially if he's using his saved USD for his down payment, which will instantly give him ~23% more if he spends those greenbacks in Canada!

 

[carollofamily]

Keep in mind that you can't import a car that is leased or is still being financed from the US. You need to own the car outright with no loans against it. Until you completely own the car, you must comply with the rules of whoever you're financing the car from in terms of driving it in Canada.

So he might want to think of a temporary 1-year solution that will get you through until his PR is approved, then finance a car from a Canadian dealer once he's here as a PR. Or else be prepared to buy the car out completely when PR is approved.

Thank you for this suggestion. We are definitely looking into an affordable car for him, one that can be paid off in under a year (to one year), max.

The worst case scenario is (due to unforeseen circumstances) if he is not able to pay off the car before the PR is approved, he will leave it with his family in the US, continue making payments, and then import it once the loan is paid off?

 

[Baffled]

I am still making payments on my car that I purchased in the US. I was told that there are no problems to import it as long as I can get an okay from the finance company to let me import it. I contacted my finance company and as long as I get this information for them they will give me a letter of release to import:


Make over 6 payments.
Account must be current.
Not be pass due 30 days or 1 60 day.
Letter of request with signature, with copy of insurance
New home and business addresses and phone number.
Two personal ref in US with addresses and phone numbers.
Two personal ref from Canada.
Dates of travel: Long Term
Fax or Mail it to Finance Company
[Address]
Include Loan number on all pages
7 business days

With this said, everyone is different. My situation will be different from everyone else, but it is possible.

 

[carollofamily]

I am still making payments on my car that I purchased in the US. I was told that there are no problems to import it as long as I can get an okay from the finance company to let me import it. I contacted my finance company and as long as I get this information for them they will give me a letter of release to import:


Make over 6 payments.
Account must be current.
Not be pass due 30 days or 1 60 day.
Letter of request with signature, with copy of insurance
New home and business addresses and phone number.
Two personal ref in US with addresses and phone numbers.
Two personal ref from Canada.
Dates of travel: Long Term
Fax or Mail it to Finance Company
[Address]
Include Loan number on all pages
7 business days

With this said, everyone is different. My situation will be different from everyone else, but it is possible.

That is amazing news! I will tell my husband to talk with his financial institution about the possibility of him moving to Canada before the loan is paid off. Your situation at least gives us hope!