For whatever reason, I just cannot seem to get my head around the best way for us to approach immigration to Canada! Please, please, if you can pass on the benefit of your wisdom, I would be very grateful... I'll try to be brief...

My wife held a Canadian passport as a dual citizen, but it expired and we couldn't find any proof of her citizenship. She filled out and sent off the forms and we were told that they had been checked in London and forwarded to Canada for processing and should hear back before October 06. As far as I understand, there's not much we can do until that is hopefully approved...

If it is approved, she will be able to apply for citizenship for our 2 children, will she? Would she have been better applying at the same time?

She can also 'sponsor' me, but we could potentially move to Canada whilst these applications are in? Would the kids be able to be schooled as 'visitors' and would I be able to work? Is there a better route for me and the children?

If and when we get to the point of moving, do I enter the country simply as a visitor with a British passport or do I need to declare that I'm planning to stay (?!).

Any advice would be welcome.. sorry it's probably stuff that has been asked a million times...

Hi there,

I too have dual citizenship but I have always had my citizenship card and certificate so obtaining a Canadain passport was relatively simple (apart from the photo specifications).

I applied for citizenship cards for our 2 boys 2 years ago and it took approximately 9 months to receive these but I had to include proof of their citizenship i.e. my Canadian Citizenship Certificate.

The best way for you to immigrate would definately be to wait until your wife receives proof of citizenship and then have her sponsor you. I applied to sponsor my husband in January 06 and he just landed July 9, 2006 so just about 6 months compared to 4-5 years as skilled worker.

You can go to Canada before you have Permanent Residency but unless you have a work permit you would be unable to work so for us the best option was to do all of the paperwork over here and then be able to start looking for jobs before we make the final move.

As far as schooling for the kids goes I am only assuming that if you are able to proove Canadian Citizenship for them then they should be able to attend school without any problems? Maybe ssomeone with a little more experience in this matter could help.

I also believe that if you have a PR application in progress then you could be admitted into Canada as a visitor until it is processed. However, if you don't have an spplication in progress then they may doubt your intentions to leave Canada and deny you entry, again maybe the experts could be of some assistance. Best of luck with your application.

Jayne

Thanks Jayne, that's a help...

Would my wife have to have proof of financial means in order to sponsor me? And if so, what?

So... if we get her citizenship approval in October, we then apply for citizenship for the kids and I apply for permanent residency?

Anytime thereafter, we can sell up and fly out. Do I state that I have a PR application in, or just keep quiet and enter as a visitor? Is there a risk of the PR application needing me to be in the UK, interview, medical or some such? And if so, then am I better just putting the PR app in once in Canada?

If I was going to be self-employed, is there any route to getting a work permit or do I have to just wait until the PR goes through?

Spousal Sponsorships do not require proof of funds although we did have to submit payslips, but it is not a requirement to show proof of funds. I only work part-time and there was never a problem.

Now would be a good time to get all of the paperwork organised so that when your wife receives her proof of citizenship you can have everything ready to send off. It took us a couple of months to get everything together and to read/reread instructions and forms so that we were confident that the application was complete.

If you have your PR application filed just be honest with the immigration officer and there should be no problems. The last thing you want to do is lie to an immigration officer and then be made inadmissible to Canada.

With the spousal sponsorship you do the medical upfront but this can be done anywhere that there is a DMP. I would also suggest submitting all of the police checks with the application, I think that somewhere in the application it mentions about not doing this until asked but it saves a lot of time if you submit them with the application. It can take quite a few weeks for these to be sent.

There is also the possibility of an interview which if the application is submitted in London you would have to attend the interview in London, but if the application is well prepared/presented you should be ok. Most interviews are called if there is doubt if the relationship is one of convenience or not enough evidence of relationship exists.

I'm sorry but I can't help on the last question as I have no experience with work permits but it all depends on how quickly you are looking to get to Canada whether you wait for PR or pursue work permit options.

Cheers,

Jayne

That's good advice, many thanks...

So I just need to check whether the children will be eligible for schooling whilst their citizenship application is being processed?

...and whether there is any way I can get a work permit whilst my residency application is going through. We're thinking of running a small business jointly in any case, but it could be in my wife's name, and I might not really need a permit.

What province are you thinking of heading to? I think that the policies may be different depending on where you go, probably best to check with the school board for the area. I would be interested to know if there are any residency requirements before starting school.

Jayne

We're looking at Nova Scotia, so I will try and get an answer from the regional school board. I'll post up if and when I get an answer from them...

Your children are Canadian citizens already. All they need is proof of their citizenship - ie citizenship cards and Canadian passports.

How did your wife get her Canadian citizenship? Was she born in Canada, naturalised in Canada, or was she born outside Canada with a Canadian parent? Depending on the answer, your children may need to apply to retain their Canadian citizenship by age 28.

Odd one! Her father was British but was seconded to the Canadian Air Force in the late 50's. Her parents had residency, but she was actually born in Germany, on a Canadian Air Force base, of British parents...

Our kids have a while to go until they are 28 right enough :-)

That sounds strange. Being born on a Canadian air force base in Germany doesn't sound like a basis for Canadian citizenship. Did her parents ever become naturalised Canadians, and if so, was it before or after she was born?

I can't remember the exact tale, but yes, I think her parents were 'naturalised' before she was born. She certainly did hold a Canadian passport and Social Insurance card previously, so presumably her citizenship was acknowledged at that time. I just hope that the rules haven't changed in the meantime... her parents have both died in the interim, and we cannot find any record of her citizenship, hence the drawn out procedure.

The whole move hinges on this, as I don't think we would have the patience to wait for years.

Does anyone know about the schooling issue?

CIC will have records of her parents naturalisation. Was she born before 15 February 1977? If so, she herself ought to have been registered as a Canadian citizen and have a document proving that. If she was born after that date then citizenship ought to have been automatic.

I say all this because a Canadian passport is not conclusive proof of citizenship, passports have been issued in error ...

She needs to apply for a citizenship card, if she doesn't already have one. Plus a new Canadian passport. At the same time, apply for the children's citizenship cards and Canadian passports.

However if your wife really is Canadian, then she's likely Canadian "by descent" and your own children do need to apply for and retain Canadian citizenship, otherwise they lose it at age 28. Once you get back to Canadam give this high priority, don't put it off and run the risk it will be forgotten.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizen/bornout-info.html

Thanks, I'll certainly bear that in mind. She was born in 1964 but can't remember ever having a card and now her parents aren't around to ask, but we should hear soon anyway...