Can someone apply outland at an office that does not process their nationality?

[newlywed]

Hi,

My spouse, from El Salvador, and I are planning to apply for PR for him to come to Canada.  Right now we have already spent 6 months apart and it is brutal.  One of the options that we have thought of to be together is to both go to Asia where I can find a well-paying ESL job and he can continue to study English.  If we do this is it possible to apply for outland sponsorship at that office? 

If we can't would he have to travel back to Guatemala to do interviews? 

Thank you for any replies.

[shamsia]

Yes, I think you can apply while living in another country, but there have been instances where the file was transferred to the native visa office and the persons concerned were informed. In that case, your husband will have to travel for the interviews.

But shifting base to another country, settling down and then applying for sponsorship might take you many years. And you will have to do a lot of research to zero in on an Asian country, find a good job for both of you, rent a house, the works....but ah well you will be together atleast. Which brings me to another question, whats wrong with applying for his PR right away?

[scylla]

Whether your husband can apply through a different country depends on how long he has been admitted to that country for.

You can apply through another country if you have been legally admitted to that country for at least one full year. For example, if your husband is granted a student visa for the country you are going to be working in - and that visa is for one or more years - then you can apply through that country. On the other hand, if he is admitted on a six month visitor visa which he plans to extend - then he cannot apply through that country since he has not been admitted for at least one year.

If you end up having to apply through Guatemala and an interview is required, then yes - it will be held in Guatemala.

Hope this helps.

[canadianwoman]

Hi,

My spouse, from El Salvador, and I are planning to apply for PR for him to come to Canada.  Right now we have already spent 6 months apart and it is brutal.  One of the options that we have thought of to be together is to both go to Asia where I can find a well-paying ESL job and he can continue to study English.  If we do this is it possible to apply for outland sponsorship at that office? 

If we can't would he have to travel back to Guatemala to do interviews? 

Yes, he can apply through another country. As stated above, he needs to be admitted to that country with a visa good for a year or more. Note he does not have to be in that country for a year before applying, he just has to get that year visa.

I have suggested this to people applying through a difficult office with a long processing time. I know about 7 Nigerian-Canadian couples who have done this in Malaysia. One was refused, but won his appeal; one had his application transferred back to Accra; and the others were all accepted; the applications took less than 6 months. This as opposed to the Accra office with its 50% refusal rate and almost 2-year processing time.

You can also have him come to live with you in some Asian country and still apply through Guatemala. In that case he would have to go to Guatemala for the interview. If he can't get a year visa, or the processing times aren't much different anyway, that could be a good option.