Does medical have to be done in sponsored person's home country?

[thaihubbie]

Hi Forum,
I have an opportunity to work in Vietnam. If I begin the Outland sponsorship in Vietnam not in Thailand (my husband's home country) is he allowed to do his medical in Vietnam? If there was an interview requested at some point down the line could that be done in Vietnam too?
thanks!

[Leon]

Probably it goes by the same rules of when you can apply through the US or Canada, that you have to have a visa to work in Vietnam for at least a year to be allowed to apply from there.  If you are allowed to apply from there, he could have his medical there but on http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/offices/apply-where.asp#v it says that PR applications are processed in Singapore, not Vietnam so he would probably have to go there for interview if they needed one.  Ask immigration to make sure.

[thaihubbie]

Probably it goes by the same rules of when you can apply through the US or Canada, that you have to have a visa to work in Vietnam for at least a year to be allowed to apply from there. 

Thanks Leon, would you interpret that rule as meaning you simply need to have a visa to work in X country for at least a year to be allowed to apply from there Or you need to have worked in X country with a visa for at least a year before you can apply from there?
Thanks!

[RobsLuv]

Probably it goes by the same rules of when you can apply through the US or Canada, that you have to have a visa to work in Vietnam for at least a year to be allowed to apply from there.  If you are allowed to apply from there, he could have his medical there but on http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/offices/apply-where.asp#v it says that PR applications are processed in Singapore, not Vietnam so he would probably have to go there for interview if they needed one.  Ask immigration to make sure.

Ummmm . . . applicants from Vietnam and Thailand are both processed through the visa office in Singapore, so it won't matter whether this applicant is living/working in Vietnam or Thailand.  Any interview will be held in Singapore.  Also, this question about where someone can get their medical done has come up now a couple of times.  An applicant can have their medical done anywhere they choose to - they don't have to have legal status in a country in order to have their medical done there.  For example, my sons came to Canada for a visit and had their medicals done here because it saved me in excess of $800 USD to do it that way, and there was no issue with it at all. 

[thaihubbie]

I still don't understand if the sponserer is simply needing to have a visa for one year from X country to sponsor or quite differently has to have worked in X country for one year with a visa already to apply to sponsor? This would be a huge difference. This would greatly affect my decision of where I was going to work for at least 2 years not 1.
Secondly, I thought if a sponsorer and sponsoree were required to have an interview it would be in the Canadian Embassy in the sponsoree's own country. For example, Thai's in Bangkok, Vietnamese in Ho Chi Minh?
Thanks!

[Leon]

The wording on the 1 year rule is confusing but somebody recently asked Buffalo about it and they told him that he needs to have at least a 1 year visa for the US to apply there, but does not have to have lived there for any certain amount of time.

As for interview, I believe it is the visa office that is processing your case that will do the interview. 

[thaihubbie]

That would mean that an applicant from Bangladesh, Thailand, Vietnam etc. would have to fly in to Singapore for an interview?? How often are interviews usually requested in sponsorship cases?

[RobsLuv]

This should explain the one year thing: "Applicants for Permanent Residence . . . must apply in your country of residence, your country of nationality or the country where you have been legally admitted for at least one year."  What this means is if an applicant was legally admitted for at least one year to a country where they are now working/residing/visiting, that allows them to have their application processed at the visa office that represents that country.  So, for example, if someone is visiting (or working in) Egypt and they were admitted to Egypt with authorization to stay for at least one year, they could elect to have their Canadian PR application processed at the Canadian Embassy in Cairo, rather than the embassy that represents their home country. 

As far as Vietnam vs Thailand - nationals from both countries are processed through the Canadian Embassy in Singapore.  So whether you go to work in Vietnam and your hubby goes there with you or not, it won't affect which Embassy processes his application.  If it was two different embassies, he would only be able to have his application processed at the embassy representing Vietnam IF he had been admitted to Vietnam with authorization to remain for at least one year. If he wasn't, his application would have to be processed at the embassy representing Thailand -but because they are the same, it won't matter.

Yes, if there is an interview required, it will be held at the Embassy in Singapore and he would have to go there.  It's difficult to know for sure whether an interview will be required - it all depends on the quality of the evidence you submitted to prove that yours is a genuine relationship and not one entered into to facilitate your husband immigrating to Canada.  Also, if there are major cultural, educational or age differences, or language barriers between you, you are more likely to be interviewed so that the IO can determine first hand whether s/he believes the relationship to be genuine.

[thaihubbie]

This is all helpful advice. I don't believe I will have any problems proving the legitimacy of the relationship with my husband as we have one child but does anyone out there know about the financial requirements for Outland Spousal sponsorship? Many people have said on this forum that there are no specific income requirements to sponsor a spouse. In addition, it has been said to fill out the financial forms and an applicant won't be refused if the income is small. Does anyone have any experience with this? What are my chances? Is it better to wait 2-4 years and save up money in the bank before attempting to apply?
thanks!