olideans

Hello,

I will be moving to Canada in about a year and I want to make the Visa application easier on myself by hiring a lawyer to help with the process.

The only Canadian-specific Visa Lawyer in London I have found is Sterling Immigration.

Does anyone have any experience with them, or any experience with other lawyers that they can share with me?

Thanks in advance for your help.
Oli.

Hurlabrick

Have you spotted the wiki article on this subject? Worth a read I would think.


Immigration Consultants-Canada : British Expat Wiki

olideans

I hadn't seen this. Thank you, it's been a big help.

I will still be thinking about it, and if anyone else has experience with Sterling Immigration or any other UK based Canadian Immigration services, I would still be interested to hear from you.

Thanks again Hurlabrick,
Oli.

christmasoompa

Any particular reason they need to be in the UK? Most people do without using a consultant, unless you have complicated circumstances like a criminal history or medical issues it shouldn't be necessary, but if you do decide to use one then one in Canada will do just fine, so you'd have more choice then.

JamesM

I doubt it will make your life that much easier.

You will still have to run round and gather all your documents yourself and sit in the same line up's as everyone else.

All the firm will do is check all your boxes are ticked and charge you a hefty fee for it.

olideans

I live in the UK and will be applying for sponsorship from my common law partner - a Canadian citizen who also currently lives in the UK. So just thought it would be easier to see a consultant in London so I could actually meet them. No other reason. If it's just as easy to use a Canadian one, then that's fine.



Presumably Epilepsy doesn't count as a medical issue that would affect my application?
And does using a consultant make a difference to the processing time? We're hoping to leave the UK by May next year at the latest. Does that sound realistic? (I haven't even begun collating papers yet. Just printed off the guides and the forms.)

christmasoompa

It is, just as easy. They just do telephone consults instead, and give you a list of what you need to obtain etc, which you then scan and email to them, but you'd probably have to do that with a UK consultant anyway.

Epilepsy shouldn't be an issue (if you take medication it might be worth checking what that will cost you in Canada though), and no it makes no difference to the processing time at all. In my experience (I worked for a consultant for years), it actually adds to the processing time.

The reason being that rather than you just submitting anything asked for or doing stuff yourself, you have to go via a third party who will be dealing with lots of clients. It just adds another step to each step of the process as CIC will only deal with him/her directly, so you'll have to wait for him/her to contact you to let you know what they want, then you have to send it to the consultant, and then hope that they submit it to CIC straight away - but if they're busy, they might not do and could sit in their inbox for a day or two.

May next year sounds super realistic, have a look at the Spousal Sponsorship timeline thread for info on current processing times.

And good luck!

Hurlabrick

To echo what christmasoompa said, check out the 'spousal sponsorship via London' tracking spreadsheet in my signature line. You will see lots of people like you (Canadian sponsor, UK applicant, Common law etc.


Basically if your application get sent to Ottawa, might take 3 - 5 months from submission to approval. If sent to London, might take 5 - 9 months for approval (and no, you can't choose where it is sent).


Unless you have money to burn or are not bothered by a 'couple of £k' here or there, I would strongly urge you to do the paperwork yourself. I too was daunted when I first saw the mountain of paperwork and strange terms, but we managed - in particular with the excellent help available on this particular forum and the excellent wiki facilities.

olideans

Thanks a lot, that's reassuring. The Spousal Sponsorhip timeline does say 12 months processing time though. Which, if you add the time to gather my evidence, might make it a bit tight.

What happens if I fly out there a month or two before the decision is made on a UK tourist visa? Can I just stay once the decision (hopefully) comes back positive?

olideans

Brilliant, I followed the other wiki link before, but not this spreadsheet one. I will have a closer look, but this is good to know.

Thanks again for everyone's help.
Once done, I will definitely add my data to help with the spreadsheet.

Best,
Oli.

Hurlabrick

What you have described is called 'dual intent' - wiki article on this here:


Spousal Sponsorship-Canada : British Expat Wiki

olideans

This is all opening up a can of worms for me.
Thanks for the link. I opened it up and one of the first things I noticed was this:

"The recommended game plan for applying under dual intent is for the Principal Applicant to move to Canada only after Sponsor Approval has been granted."

I just wondered, once I have my SA, what do I have to do/how long until I can get my PR? I had presumed that my SA was my visa, so I could move over to stay immediately. Is that not the case?
Sorry for my ignorance, I have obviously misunderstood something along the way.

Hurlabrick

You are early in your 'journey'.


Step 1:
You submit the entire pack to CPC Mississauga. They then assess the 'Sponsor' (the Canadian person) side of the application.


Step 2:
Sponsor Approval follows between 20 - 40 days after submission. This is simply Canada saying, yes, your wife is indeed Canadian and can sponsor you.


Step 3:
CPC Mississauga send your pack onto either Ottawa or London for the Principal Applicant (the Brit - YOU) to be assessed.


Step 4:
The local visa office may ask for further information (many people have no further questions - I didn't). Depending on whether it is Ottawa of London, that may take another couple or few months.


Please see the spreadsheet in my signature line for real world timescales. Look for people like yourself (British PA's and Common Law) and look at their timescales. Mine went to London and I went from receipt in Mississauga to having my approval in our hands in 6 months.


Your wife doesn't need a visa - she is Canadian and can saunter back any time she likes. You need to be approved for permanent residence as the spouse / common law of a Canadian partner - that is what the CoPR is - Confirmation of Permanent Residence. The point of Dual Intent referring to Sponsor \Approval is only that it demonstrates to the border official that not only do you have a spousal sponsorship in progress, but that it has also passed the first hurdle and is well underway!

olideans

That makes sense. Thanks for clearing it up.

I'll read the Dual Intent Wiki, and look up further info on CoPR.

Cheers,
Oli.

Pram SG

Hey Olideans

I would like to know if you used Sterling or did it yourself. I am just about to start and am Also thinking of using Sterling or Visa2canada

If anyone else has used them please give me some feed back

Thanks