playmarbles

hi

this forum has been great at answering nearly all the questions i have had about applying to move to Canada, but there are a couple of things that I haven't been able to find answers to and I was hoping some kind people on here might be able to help.

My wife is Canadian and we have been living together in London for just over a year and we wish to move to Vancouver. I think I have most things sussed regarding the application but am slightly confused about the following. As I understand it, because we're applying from the UK, it will be my wife's UK salary that we put on the application as evidence of her finances. Is it enough to show that she has money coming in every month, or does she also need to show she has savings? She doesn't, but we could get some money into her account if it would help.

Secondly, she has to show that she intends to move back to Canada once our application has been approved, but we don't own a house and neither does she have a job to go to in Canada (although she will have no problem getting one once we're there). Is it enough to provide a letter from her parents that states that they are expecting us to come and live with them when we arrive in Canada? Or do we need more? I could get a letter from my employer stating that I have informed them that I will be leaving, but it's just my wife that needs to show the intention to return isn't it?

The other thing is that we found out yesterday that my wife is pregnant! This is fantastic news, but might it affect our application? If it's approved in nine months or so then she won't be able to work upon return to Canada as she'll be looking after the baby. How will she be able to show she can support me if she can't even work! Can her parents vouch for us financially? They're willing to help us out as much as necessary until we're on our feet.

Sorry for being so long winded!

Thanks in advance.

Bruce

Judy in Calgary

Hi, Bruce.

As I understand it, a Canadian who is sponsoring a spouse does not have to prove that he/she would be able to support the spouse that he/she is sponsoring.

It's Canadians who are sponsoring family members other than spouses who have to demonstrate their financial ability.

Judy in Calgary

I don't know where you got that information from.

I personally know a couple of Canadian citizens who sponsored their British spouses while they still were living in the UK. When the British spouses received their PR visas, they "landed" in Canada to activate their PR status. They then returned to the UK and continued to live there for a few years. The families in question eventually moved to Canada. But, because living abroad with a Canadian spouse counts as if you were living in Canada, for the purposes of meeting your PR residency obligations, it didn't matter where they lived. (One caveat is that living abroad with a Canadian spouse does not count towards the residency requirement for your own Canadian citizenship.)

playmarbles

Thanks Judy, that makes sense now.

playmarbles

hi judy, i got the information from the CIC website, it says:

"Sponsors not residing in Canada must provide evidence that they reside exclusively
outside Canada on the date of giving the undertaking and will reside in Canada at the time
their sponsored spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner and/or children become
permanent residents of Canada. Evidence that they will reside in Canada may include one
or more of the following:
· letter from an employer;
· letter of acceptance to a Canadian educational institution;
· proof of having rented/bought a dwelling in Canada;
· reasonable plans for re-establishing in Canada or severing ties to the other country."

We can't provide any of the above so I was wondering if anyone knew of something else that would be accepted.

thanks!

kevandhil

Hi playmarbles,

My wife and I are in a similar boat (with the exception of the baby on the way!).

From what I've read on this forum and replies to my own queries, it seems that most people in our position provide a cover letter to clarify their position supported with as much information as they can to prove their intentions, for example correspondence with realtors and job agencies/potential employers - basically as much info as you can to show you're serious about moving to Canada. If you're going to be living with relatives you could ask them to send you a letter indicating their intentions to put you up when you get to Canada along with some sort of basic lease agreement.

In terms of finances, as it's a spouse sponsorship your wife doesn't have to prove she can support you financially, but you do still need to provide the financial information as requested on the application form. Again, most people seem to recommend data overkill as the best option to ensure there's no need for the application to be stalled due to a request for more information.

We're just starting to compile all our stuff, so I can't vouch personally that this has worked for us, but that's the approach that seems to have worked for others, and is what we're planning to do.

JAJ

The Canadian spouse does need to make a declaration of intent to move back to Canada.