Garry Knipe

Hi.

My wife is a Canadian-bown citizen who has been living in the UK for three years now.
She still has all her family in Canada (mainly BC & AB) and retains a bank account
over there. She also has a Canadian passport.

I am British-born, with a fairly decent job (senior manager in a large ISP).

We currently visit family over there on a fairly regular basis, usually once every
couple of years for about 3 weeks.

We intend to move back to Canada within the next few years, probably by 2005. Earlier
if we can or if it looks like the UK might get dragged into the Euro.

I know the question is a bit premature but what evidence will we need to be able
to move back and settle there (probably in AB)?

TIA for any help! Garry

Andrew Miller

Your wife doesn't need anything to return to Canada and live permanently here. On the
other side you will not be a "returning citizen or resident" and you will have to
apply for immigration visa as a sponsored spouse of a Canadian. Canadian citizens
have the right to sponsor their spouses when living abroad, so you should start the
process about 12 months before intended move to Canada. See CIC official website for
more information:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/coming/efamcls.html

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Andrew Miller Immigration Consultant Vancouver, British Columbia email:
[email protected] (delete REMOVE and INVALID from the above address before
sending an email)
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David Cohen

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It is not clear what your own status in Canada is, if any. Your spouse does not
require any special permission to be able to return to Canada. If you had been a
permanent resident prior to your departure, you may be requested to demonstrate that
you did not have the intention to abandon Canada as the place of your permanent
residence during your absence. Additional information on this topic may be found at
Campbell, Cohen's web site at the following URL:

http://canadavisa.com/documents/rrp.htm

If you had not held PR status, then you would need to start a sponsorship application
either prior to your return (generally possible only in the cases of spousal
sponsorships by citizens), or once you arrived in Canada (I.e., inland).

If a married to a Canadian and within Canada, then an application for sponsorship
may be submitted within Canada, as the marriage would constitute sufficient
Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds to allow for such. Such an inland application
is processed entirely within Canada, unlike a standard sponsorship which is
generally concluded overseas.

In such a case, the temporary status of the applicant will generally be extended for
the duration of the application process. Also, once an approval in principle is
obtained, an open employment authorization may be obtained if a job offer is
available.

________
CAMPBELL, COHEN - attorneys at law tel:514.937.9445 / fax:514.937.2618
[email protected] http://canadavisa.com

Online Community: http://canadavisa.com/community