erukus

If I apply for permanent residence in Canada through the Express Entry as a skilled professional. Do I have to move there within a certain time period and am I compelled to take a job offer if one presents itself?

Also my de facto partner is Canadian and if I apply independently through Express Entry does that in any way jepordise my ability to apply for PR as a defacto if I chose to do so?

Thanks!!

christmasoompa

You have to 'land' to activate PR within a year of the medical, but you can then return to the UK if you wish, as long as you spend two years out of every five in Canada after landing. Worth noting though that this is only relevant for your EE application - if you applied under spousal sponsorship then you can stay out of Canada as long as you wish and still retain PR, as any time outside Canada living with your Canadian spouse counts as time in Canada for residency obligations.

And you can apply for both if you wish, no problem. As well as the above, there are other advantages to applying via spousal sponsorship rather than EE, such as not having to get an ECA/IELTS and being medical demand exempt, so tbh if you can apply for spousal that seems like a much better option to me. How many do you score on the CRS?

Just a heads up, 'de facto' is an Aussie immi term I think? Common-law spouse would be the Canadian immi term, for somebody you've lived with for a year or more and who sponsors you.

Edit - sorry, missed a question. You'd only have to take a job offer up if you need a job offer to get enough points on the CRS to be selected from the pool. If you have enough without a job offer, then once you're a PR you can do what you wish in terms of working/retiring/studying.

HTH.

erukus

Thank you very much for your informative reply. Looks as though common law is the way to go. The only thing that concerns me is if anything were to happen to my current relationship then I expect I would have to leave the country?

Cheers

christmasoompa

It depends. Have you been common-law spouses for 2 years or more? If so, then you wouldn't lose PR if your relationship broke up. If it's been less than 2 years then you'd have 'conditional PR' and need to live with your sponsor for at least 2 years after gaining PR - Information for Sponsored Spouses or Partners

HTH.

erukus

Yes we have been together for 10 years so looks like common law is the best option. Thanks a lot for your help.

erukus

Hi,

Thanks so much for your info so far. I am currently looking to apply for PR - do you know if the Generic application form to Canada is the best way for me to apply?

christmasoompa

There's a lot of application forms to complete, it will depend on the visa route though. Did you decide on common-law (if so, applying outland or inland?) or via EE?

If you can give more info then somebody can point you in the right direction.

erukus

Hi - thanks!

Yes, common law from outside the country via electronically.

Siouxie

Gosh, that was a long wait to apply, lol.

Presuming you are not planning on moving to Quebec, you would use these forms

Application to Sponsor a Member of the Family Class

We have some great FAQ's and helpfiles in the wiki, written by our very own Schnookololy, which you can find here:

Spousal Sponsorship-Canada : British Expat Wiki
Spousal Sponsorship-Canada/FAQ : British Expat Wiki

Please feel free to ask any questions you might have if you are unsure of anything.

christmasoompa

Siouxie's already given you the application pack with all the forms and list of supporting docs in, but just to say you can't apply electronically. The application pack must be sent to Mississauga via courier.

Get booking your medical and form filling, and good luck!

erukus

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all the extremely useful information so far. I have a couple of questions.

Currently both my Canadian partner and I are permanent residents in Australia (I am an Irish citizen and hold an Irish passport). I am also in the process of applying for Australian citizenship. I haven't yet found any form that requires me to declare this because I am not yet an Australia citizen. I may become an Australian citizen while my Canadian PR application is being processed - is this going to be an issue and should I make it know somehow that I am going through that Australian citizenship process?

Also we are expecting our first child in July and the child will be born in Australia. Is that something that needs to be considered at this stage?

Finally my partner/sponsor is filling out form IMM5540E and question 11 asks if you are currently living in Canada. If you select No it asks when you expect to reestablish in Canada and to provide proof of your intention to reestablish. My understanding was that there wasn't a requirement for us to reestablish in Canada in any set time period - even though we do expect to at some stage in the not so distant future. I am not sure what kind of proof they require.

Thanks in advance for your help.

christmasoompa

Your citizenship and future child have no bearing in your application, no. So don't worry about those.

As for intent to move to Canada, people usually use things like email exchanges with realtors, letters from friends/family expecting them back, proof of job hunting etc. A vague 'sometime in the future' isn't going to be enough, you are expected to move back once you've got PR, so you will need to show that you are taking steps towards that - even things like quotes from shipping companies etc would help?

HTH.

erukus

Hi Everyone,


I am still working on this. We now have a baby daughter and I was wondering if I can/should include her in my application?

erukus

Also just one other question if I/we apply under the partner sponsorship do we need to arrive in Canada to activate the PR within a set time period? and do we need to stay in Canada for a set time period?

plasticcanuck

Within one year of doing your medical examinations. To retain your PR status you must be in Canada 2 out of every 5 years.