TheBigG

Hi guys,

I'm sponsoring my wife (UK citizen) to Canada and while we're waiting for it to be processed the plan is for her to come over under dual intent as a visitor and wait out the processing.

Just wanted to check what the specific restrictions are for visitors.

1. She has some personal boxes we'd like to ship over - is this legally allowed? Do we need to wait till the PR is processed to do this? I dont think it would be much in the way of duty on these since its just personal stuff like clothes and picture frames etc.
2. When she gets here she obviously can't work - but can she enroll in courses in colleges (non degree type courses related to her field) to keep herself up to date?
3. Can I put her on my medical coverage through work? Or does she need to be a PR for that?
4. Can she switch her license to an Ontario license?
5. For the purposes of filling out travel forms etc - is her official residence in Canada or back home in the UK?

Just want to make sure we're doing things right and not breaking any rules. Thanks in advance!

Former Lancastrian

1. Id recommend only shipping stuff she actually needs like clothes or articles that don't have a lot of value. As she is a visitor they only are supposed to bring items that are consistent with their stay in Canada. She is supposed to leave at the end of their stay but as you are submitting an application for spousal sponsorship as long as its not everything she owns then you should be OK.
Even with an application in process its still a risk so keep the items to a minimum.
Once COPR forms are issued then ship the rest.
2. She can enrol in short term courses for less than 6 months. Read this link for more info
Student permits: Who needs a study permit
3. Check with your works policy who can be covered or the insurer.
4. Yes if she wishes to read this link
http://www.ontario.ca/node/8554/done...e824a79e8ada69
5. The UK address for Customs and Immigration purposes.

dbd33

I believe the answer to 2 is no, a study permit is needed. In approximately the same circumstances what we did was to obtain a study permit (this was because the sponsorship process took years and leaving and returning as a visitor every six months carried the risk of entry being refused). An incidental benefit of the study permit is that a student can bring a truckload of personal effects without any taxes or duty applying on the presumption that, at the end of the course, the student will leave and take all that stuff.

SchnookoLoly

The cutoff for courses is 6 months. So if it's just a 12 week course or something then no study permit required, but if the course or program is more than 6 months in length, then a permit is required.

Aviator

You would have to ask your works insurer if she can be covered. Most extended health policies require the participant to be on provincial coverage. If she does not qualify for provincial coverage, she may not be eligible for the works extended.

SchnookoLoly

+1 for this. My work insurance policy is this. They will only cover any amounts outstanding AFTER a claim has been made to OHIP (or otherwise only covers what OHIP doesn't cover at all).

TheBigG

Thanks everybody for all the responses!

withabix

I suggest a medical insurance policy through Pacific Blue Cross or similar. Probably about $1000 for 6 months.

Not cheap, but then medical care isn't cheap.

A colleague's wife got a kidney stone shortly after arriving. The bill would have been $22,000 if it wasn't for the insurance policy.

Then their daughter broke an arm a couple of weeks later....

Gozit

For the driving license, when she arrives at the POE, make sure she specifically asks the officer for a "visitor record" ... From other reports on here you need this document in order to get a D/L as a visitor.