kosh

Hello folks,

Looking for some options or at least an option that might be available to me/us.

I am a permanent resident, I was granted this toward the end of 2007 and remained in Canada until November 2010. I returned to the UK in November to reside with my girlfriend and my stepdaughter.

We married in the summer of 2011 in the UK and had a daughter a few months ago. My girlfriend who is obviously now my wife does not have residence in Canada. She is a British citizen like myself.

My regret is that I did not apply for Canadian citizenship during 2010 before I left the country, however it has always been my intention to return and then apply as my stay in the UK is supposed to be temporary.

The difficulty is that we would all like to live in Canada. For me I assume I can just return as my permanent residence card does not expire until the end of 2012 and my status is still fine, but remaining in the UK for years more cause status problems.

What options are there available for my wife and children? Unfortunately I cannot sponsor them as I never applied for citizenship (big regret).

Would they have to apply for permanent residency on their own? My wife does have skills in mine surveying (she has all her university degrees), or is there a family class option that could be chosen?

If anyone has some ideas or has indeed been through a similar scenario I would appreciate some advice.

Hope that all made some sense. Thanks.

PMM

Hi

1. You don't need to be a citizen to sponsor.
2. As a permanent resident you would have to return to Canada to sponsor them and remain in Canada until a visa is issued.
3. The instructions and forms are here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/informa...cations/fc.asp
4. It is possible that you spouse and child could be admitted to Canada as visitors while the application is being processed, although there is never any guarantee. You can do an out of Canada sponsorship while they are residing in Canada. That is assuming they are visitor visa exempt.
5. Your spouse has to custody of her child and the ability to remove the child from UK for the child to be included in the application.

kosh

Thank you, I was never aware that permanent residents could sponsor a family member.

It seems there is a possibility I could sponsor my wife and daughter while in the UK (I was told this by a respected immigration lawyer), however it may be more tricky as I would need to prove my/our intention to live in Canada etc. We have no difficulty proving our relationship, length of relationship etc. I am also in status. I can also proove I can financially support them and my former employer would re-hire me which I am sure looks better on any application.

To make things right. How on earth does a permanent resident update their address out of country? ECAS is only for within Canada. I wanted to make sure the address is correct before we start filing our application.

Aviator

You may want to pay particular attention to #5 in PMMs list. You will have to prove this to CIC.

kosh

This is fine. Her father is happy to agree to this and more than willing to cooperate. Step daughter has lived with mum since she was born. We can provide ample proof for CIC.

christmasoompa

That seems odd, as CIC are quite clear that only citizens can sponsor family members from outside Canada - PR's must be living inside Canada, as PMM said in no. 2 above.

The CIC website states the following:

If I live outside Canada, may I sponsor?

If you are a Canadian citizen, you may sponsor a spouse, a common-law partner or conjugal partner, or a dependent child who has no children of his or her own. However, you must demonstrate that you will live in Canada when the sponsored person becomes a permanent resident.

Note: Permanent residents residing abroad may not sponsor from outside of Canada.

kosh

It does indeed, thank you for clarifying.