From Wiki

Contents 1 Who is eligible? 1.1 Spouse 1.2 Common-law partner 1.3 Conjugal partner 1.4 Dependent child 2 Scrutiny 3 Advantages of spousal sponsorship 4 Disadvantages of spousal sponsorship 5 Where to apply 5.1 Outland application 5.2 Inland application 6 What to do while waiting 7 More information

[edit] Who is eligible?

• Permanent residents living in Canada and Canadian citizens living in or out of Canada may sponsor their spouses, common-law partners, conjugal partners and the dependent children of those persons to enter Canada as permanent residents.

[edit] Spouse

• A spouse is a partner whom you married in a jurisdiction in which the marriage was valid at the time.

• In Canada the definition of spouse includes a same-sex spouse, provided the marriage took place in a jurisdiction in which same-sex marriage was legal at the time.

[edit] Common-law partner

• A common-law partner is a person of either sex with you have been living in a conjugal relationship for at least 12 months.

[edit] Conjugal partner

• A conjugal partner is a person of either sex to whom you have the same commitment as you would have to a spouse or common-law partner, but with whom you have been unable to live for reasons beyond your control (usually for political reasons). Please note that this category is almost impossible to file under for someone from a first world country, unless there are "legal" reasons, such as you being in prison or borders being closed, why you cannot be with your partner.

[edit] Dependent child

A child is considered to be dependent if he/she:

• is under the age of 22 and does not have a spouse or common-law partner

• is a full-time student and has been substantially dependent on a parent for financial support since before the age of 22, or since becoming a spouse or common-law partner (if this happened before age 22) or

• has been financially dependent on a parent since before the age of 22 because of a disability.

[edit] Scrutiny

• Whether you are legally married or living together in a common-law or conjugal relationship, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will scrutinize your case to determine that it is a genuine, committed, long-term relationship.

• If the sponsored spouse or partner is from a First World country, CIC will be more inclined to take a legal marriage at face value, all the more so if the couple have children in common.

• If the sponsored spouse or partner is from a Third World country, and if the marriage appears to have been hastily arranged, CIC will want to satisfy itself that it is not a marriage of convenience. An MOC is one that has been entered into solely for the purposes of bypassing Canada's usual immigration procedures.

• If you are living together in a common-law relationship, CIC will want to see proof of shared financial and domestic arrangements. Documentation that assists in establishing this includes:
  • joint bank accounts or credit cards
  • joint home ownership
  • a joint residential lease
  • joint rental payments
  • joint utility bills (electricity, heat, water, telephone)
  • sharing of household expenses
  • joint purchases of household items
  • correspondence addressed to either partner or both partners at a single address
  • an affidavit from familiy members attesting to the fact that your relationship is genuine

[edit] Advantages of spousal sponsorship

• Applying for permanent residence as a spouse or partner is much quicker than most other PR applications. It usually takes months rather than years.

• A spouse who has attained PR status may live in another country with his/her Canadian citizen spouse. Any time he/she spends living with his/her Canadian spouse outside of Canada counts as if he/she was living in Canada for the purposes of meeting residency obligations. This applies both to sponsored spouses and to PRs who entered Canada by some other route but who are now married to a Canadian citizen.

[edit] Disadvantages of spousal sponsorship

• There are several instances in which members of the BE forum have sponsored their spouses and partners or have been sponsored by their Canadian spouses and partners and are living happily in Canada.

• It is worth noting, however, that sponsoring a spouse or partner and that person's dependent children is not without financial risk to the sponsor.

• Even if the couple divorce or split up, the sponsor is obliged to support the sponsored spouse or partner, if necessary, for three years following his/her becoming a PR.

• The sponsor also is obliged to sponsor the spouse or partner's dependent children, if necessary, for up to ten years.

[edit] Where to apply

[edit] Outland application

• An outland application is one that will have the PR component of your application processed by the Canadian visa post that handles immigration applications for people of your citizenship.

• For most British citizens, the PR part of their outland application will be processed by the Canadian High Commission in London.

• All outland applications are initially submitted to CPC-Mississauga where the sponsor's eligibility to sponsor is determined.

• Outland applications are processed much more quickly than inland applications.
  • It's reasonable to assume that an outland application will take 3 - 6 months.
  • Anecdotal reports on the BE forum indicate that the outland applications of sponsored spouses sometimes are processed in as little as two months.
  • On the other hand, in instances in which there have been complications, outland applications have taken 9 months, 12 months, and even longer.

• One disadvantage of an outland application, if you're already living in Canada, is that, if you're asked to attend an interview, the interview will take place at the visa post to which you submitted your application.

• If you lodged your application with CHC London, you'll have to fly to London for the interview.

• On the other hand, not all applicants are asked to attend interviews, so this issue may not arise.

[edit] Inland application

• If you are living with your Canadian spouse or partner in Canada, you have the option of submitting an inland application.

• Inland applications are submitted to the Case Processing Centre (CPC) in Vegreville, Alberta.

• When the inland application reaches the approval in principle (AIP) stage, you can apply for a spousal open work permit that will allow you to accept any job from any employer in any part of Canada.

• The downside of inland applications are that they take much longer than outland applications -- at least twice as long.

• We have reports on the BE forum of inland applications taking 18 months to be processed.

• By the time you reach the AIP stage of an inland application, you most likely would have achieved full permanent resident status if you'd lodged an outland application.

• For this reason, many immigration experts recommend submitting an inland application only if you are unable to leave Canada for some reason.

• If your application is refused you have no right to file an appeal!

[edit] What to do while waiting

• Many couples lodge the sponsorship/permanent residence application package while they're still living abroad and before they move to Canada.

• This is easier if for no other reason than the fact that it usually is simpler to get hold of the necessary supporting documents while you're still in your country of origin (to say nothing of the fact that you can continue working while you wait for your application to be processed).

• Some couples, on the other hand, move to Canada before they've lodged the sponsorship/PR application or before the application has been approved.

• A British citizen usually is allowed to visit Canada for six months. (The immigration officer at a Canadian port of entry has authorization to use his/her discretion when it comes to admitting a visitor to Canada. But immigration officers usually admit British passport holders without question.)

• An immigration officer at a Canadian port of entry sometimes will grant a British citizen a stay of 12 months if the immigration officer becomes aware that the British citizen is accompanying a Canadian spouse.

• If you are granted only six months and if your PR visa hasn't come through by the five-month mark, you should submit an application to extend your stay in Canada.

• While you wait for a response to your application for an extension of your stay in Canada, you have what is called "implied" authorization to remain in Canada.

• Usually you will be granted a six month extension. This will give you a total of 12 months, and you should receive your PR visa in that time frame.

• The downside to living in Canada as a visitor is that you are not allowed to work.

• Also, you may run into complications with issues like eligibility for provincial health care insurance and a provincial driver's licence.

[edit] More information

• The procedure for sponsoring a spouse or partner is laid out in the Spousal sponsorship section of Citizenship and Immigration Canada's website.

• CIC publishes a more detailed manual entitled IP 8 : Spouse or Common-law partner - in Canada Class.

• CIC publishes another detailed manual entitled OP 24 : Overseas Processing of Family Members of In-Canada Applicants for Permanent Residence.

• For information on sponsoring relatives other than spouses, common-law partners, conjugal partners and their dependent children, please see the BE Wiki article entitled Family Class Immigration-Canada.