Working on PR Application, and have a few questions

[robertj01]

My girlfriend(Swedish) and I(Canadian) are getting married and have begun piecing together her application for permanent residence. We have run into a few questions and kindly ask for some clarification.

The plan is to have her enter Canada in February (we will be getting married in the months shortly following) as a visitor and apply for the Youth Exchange/Working Holiday working visa asap. Then ASAP she is going to apply outland for permanent residence so that hopefully before the time that the Youth Exchange/Working Holiday visa runs out, the PR visa will be valid.

1) As for entering Canada as a visitor, it was recommended she has a return ticket. Rather than spend the money on a return ticket she doesn't need, would it be sufficient to provide evidence that she has the funds to purchase a return ticket instead?

2)In the Spouse Application form, it asks if "you are currently living with your spouse". She isn't technically living with me while visiting in the new year (and waiting to be approved for the Youth Exchange/Working Holiday), so should she fill in her residential address in Sweden?

3)In the Generic Application form, it again asks for current mailing address/phone number/contact info. Should she state her contact information as her Swedish information? Would entering my home address and telephone number be a bad idea?

4)In the Sponsorship evaluation form it asks if you "are on any form of social assistance". I do have a decent amount (15000 CAD) of student debt and am still attending university. Will this be counted against me? I worrying because it states that if you answer yes to any of the following, then you may be denied eligible as a sponsor.

5)As for police clearance, she plans to request a copy from the Swedish Police before she comes and "visits" me in March. Will this need to be translated?

6)As stated in the sticky, if you are already in Canada then you can apply outland which is favourable because of the quicker processing times. Can anyone explain why this is possible?

7)Regarding fees for the permanent residence application, my half of the fee as the sponsor as 75 CAD and her half of the fee was confusing. Would she be the principal applicant, paying 475 CAD?

8)We are confused about the Option C Printout. Simply, what is it? Is it necessary for our application?

9)Several times through the application papers, the possibility of a co-signer is brought up. Who can co-sign? What are the benefits of this? As far as I understand it, a co-signer can be someone from my family that can assist me in sponsoring my spouse?

10)I was reading that my spouse can apply for an open work permit at the same time she applies for a permanent residence. Is this possible and if so how is this done?

11) As for the medical examination, as far as I understand it, she can undergo an examination in my city while she is visiting - correct?

12) We do not desire to have a big ceremony or reception, will this be counted against? What is the best way to explain that we simply do not desire to do this to celebrate our marriage?

Thank-you very much, we really appreciate all the help we have received from you guys.

 

[Ineffable]

Hey, Robertj01.

I'll try my best to answer all of these.

1) If she doesn't have a return ticket, and they ask her for one because they believe her intention is to come into Canada and work/live, they could deny her entry. That's naturally a risk you'd take not booking one.

My personal experience—and in no way my advice to you—is that I've entered into Canada without a return ticket, and no one has ever asked me to see documentation of my return flight. I've stayed for 5 months, and booked my return flight before coming back to the US. I share this as an anecdotal message to help you consider your options.

If she is asked for proof that she's returning (and I don't know if that's likely considering she's from Sweden, a country on-par with Canada in terms of social services, education, quality of life, etc.), you'll have to decide how you'll want to phrase an honest answer. I think that saying she will apply for an IEC and a spousal visa; you're telling them that you're aware that she cannot work here without the IEC. Again, I don't know how likely that is to happen. My original answer of why I'm here would be, "To spend time with my fiancé."

2. That's a tricky one. I don't know the answer to that.

3. You can input her current mailing address, etc. as yours. You can list her residential address as the one in Sweden. You can change both those addresses at any time during the process, online. (I put my mailing address as my spouse's in Canada since I'd been here waiting for my outland application to be approved.)

4. Your student debt will not be held against you. Trust me, my spouse has far more from her PhD and received SA. Fear not.

5. If the police certificate is not also in English, she will need to get that translated, yes. Note that technically she is still residing in Sweden, so that police certificate is good for 6 months after the issue date. That means you have to have sent it in to the CIC within the 6 months from when it was issued. Also find out how long it takes for police certificates to be issued from Sweden and how to do it. I lived in Japan for 1 year, and I had to go to an Embassy that was a 5 hour drive from me (in the US) to do the fingerprints, etc. It may be easier for her to get that police certificate ordered right before she leaves Sweden; who knows how complicated/easy it is to get once she's on Canadian soil.

6. So, here's the difference

Outland - allows your spouse/partner to be in Canada while your application is processed. For all intents and purposes, she would be visiting while her application was being processed. The turn around time is approximately 6-12 months depending on the individual VO. The application would start processing in Canada, but be sent to a visa office in your partner's home country for completion. Your wife/partner cannot work in Canada until her paperwork for PR was approved (or if her IEC, in her case, was issued). However, for most: you cannot work in Canada if you choose outland. Most of us choose this option, I think, because the times for PR approval are MUCH quicker than inland applications.

Inland - allows your spouse/partner to be in Canada while the application is processed. She could then file for an Open Work Permit (OWP) at the time she submitted her Inland Application, which would likely be approved, allowing her to work approximately 4 months after you submitted the paperwork. The Application for Permanent Residency takes MUCH longer; times ranging for that are around 24 months. During this time, she would have implied status. She would not be able to leave Canada for any long length of time or risk her application being denied. Permanent Residency would be issued after the ~24 month waiting period, which would then allow her to have access to healthcare, etc. This takes longer, but would allow her to be with you while her application is processed AND work.

So,

Outland = can visit, cannot work, faster times, PR sooner.

Inland = implied status in Canada, can work with OWP, slower processing times, PR takes longer, no social benefits until PR is approved.

The reason outland is faster is because the applications are being sent to foreign VOs that have fewer applicants to review—I'm talking like mere fractions of the numbers of those that are processed within Canada. I got my DM outland in 6 months. That's 4 times faster than what it would take from an inland application, and it's all thanks to sheer numbers.

7. The total fees should come to $1040: a $75 sponsorship application fee, $475 principal applicant fee, and $490 right of permanent residence fee. You can pay the fees online and include the receipt with your application. The $490 RPRF fee can be paid at the end of the process, but you run the risk of delaying the application.

8. Option C printout is the equivalent of the last notice of assessment you would have received in respect of the most recent taxation year and will serve as a basis for the calculation of your income. It's issued by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and you can obtain it free of charge by calling 1 800 959-8281.

9. Honestly, you don't need a cosigner. There's no minimum income to sponsor someone of the family class. If you were sponsoring someone else of a different class, then having a co-signer to burgeon your financial status would be beneficial. I think it's more trouble than it's worth, and I'd skip it.

10. As I mentioned above, your spouse can apply for an OWP ONLY if she's doing inland. That paperwork is filed with the inland application, and takes approximately 4 months to receive. I think if your partner gets IEC, you should do outland. I think outland is always my first recommendation. As others have said, if you have to wait 4 months to get the paperwork to work (meaning, you can't work for 4 months), why not wait another 2 months or so and have PR with an Outland application? If you can afford it, outland is the best avenue. The turnaround times are worth it.

11. Yes, she can undergo a medical examination in Canada. You need to find her a <a href="http://www.cic.gc.ca/pp-md/pp-list.aspx">panel physician from this site</a>. Keep in mind that medicals expire after one year. I would try to go 1 or 2 months max before you submit the application. You'll bring the necessary documents to the appointment, and they'll give you a piece of paper to include in the application.

12. I didn't have a big ceremony either. I think it can only hurt if you don't give explanation or context. I took the time to explain our intimate wedding in the IMM5490 form. In fact, I took that opportunity to give detailed answers on everything. They give you the option to include answers that don't fit in the boxes on a separate sheet of paper. I ended up explaining every short answer in detail, including that we don't really like big weddings, etc. I'd take that opportunity to explain your reasons in the official forms they require. Being thorough can't hurt.

Sorry, that's a lot of info. Hope this helps!

 

[floomy]

Ineffable provided good answers and just add some of them.

1. I purchased round ticket (applied outland already before came to Canada and visited as visitor) but CBSA did not ask me to show
my ticket.
but if you ask me if I would purchase to round ticket, I would.
Even though you spend more money, I would not take a risk.
not sure she would accompany with you, but it is only her word she would apply for outland and IEC (so technically no proof she would and would not work till she get her permit)
honestly you do not know what kind of CBSA you would have. (trust her word then give her visa or give her hard time etc)

2. while she apply for outland, she would stay/live with you then you can put Canadian address.
if she goes back soon after holidays, then put her address in her home country.

3. you can put your address as contact address or both hers and yours if you can.
CIC would correspondence through email while her file process, and her COPR (paper) would send her address on her application form.
if she would stay with you around time she would get her COPR, you can write your address (of course, she can change her address later on CIC when you have UCI no. )

5. if she can get a english copy , that's fine.
otherwise, it has to be translated and notarized in English.
FYI. police certificate is only good for a 6 month.

12.We did not have a wedding.
we explained on the letter that we did not have a wedding for saving money for future (esp. for baby) and both of us not into big wedding or wedding ceremony at all etc.
if you explain well with good reasons, it would not be any problem.

Good luck.

 

[MilesAway]

9) Only a spouse can be a co-signer. Spousal sponsorship applications cannot have a co-signer.