With or Without spouse

[uxd]

Guys I'm scoring in the 440s when I choose that my spouse is coming with me. If I choose she is not coming, my score is 477. We are already in Canada and have 1 more year of work permit left. Is anyone else in the same situation? Doing ECA for spouse is not going to add much to my score considering spouse would accompany. And ECA is a big pain considering process and timelines.

So I am thinking can I apply as a married but spouse is not coming (she is already here on an open wp valid for 1 year) - 477 CRS points. And once I get PR, I can sponsor spouse under family class or whatever is faster and proper way.

I am not sure how the cutoff for next draws would be, considering the trend reversal now. So I am curious to know opinions from those who have experienced / faced this issue.

 

[nrj123]

I have pretty much same question.

me and my wife both of us are in Canada on post graduate work permit. If i don't add my wife on my profile I get 460 points. but if I add its 440 points.

Is it possible to not add her and apply ??

Is there an option to do like that ?

Also when can we add then once ITA is received ??

Thanks and pls help

 

[uxd]

anyone?

 

[uxd]

Have you identified why you get less points when you add your spouse?

E.g. has your spouse taken the IELTS test? If not, that could be the problem.

I'm not an expert of what the situation is like if you're already in Canada, but basically if you exclude your spouse than (s)he won't get a PR visa.

You could then apply for family sponsorship but I don't know how long that takes. Also, I don't know if your spouse can remain in Canada under these circumstances.

It seems to me the best solution is to include your spouse in your application.

I know why I am getting lower points when I include spouse. Thats a no brainer. I am more concerned about whether I can apply saying that spouse is not accompanying whereas spouse is already here. Now if I get ITA in next draw on 477 points, it will take 6 months to get PR so I would still have plenty of time to apply family sponsorship PR.

Would love to hear what others have done in similar situation.

 

[uxd]

You cannot sponsor your spouse while you are waiting for PR yourself. You need to be a permanent resident to do so.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/

"If you are a citizen or permanent resident of Canada and at least 18 years old, you can sponsor certain relatives to come to Canada under the Family Class."

I know that thats why I mentioned after getting PR I can sponsor spouse. I would get PR in 6 months and would still be having 6 more months here so technically, spouse would be on implied status if her PR is delayed.

 

[uxd]

I see, I misunderstood what you said before.

I'm not sure if you'll receive a definitive answer in this forum, and if you do, I'd be careful to trust it.

Consult with an immigration lawyer, everything else is too risky in my opinion.

CIC are not stupid. When you answer "no" to whether or not your spouse is accompanying you when in fact she is already in Canada and that was your intention all along, this could be construed as misrepresentation. They can easily guess you were just trying to increase your points.

It is pretty clear that the intention of EE is to include your spouse in the CRS assessment if she joins you. You are essentially trying to find a loophole around it, and that may be pushing the envelope.

If you go down that path, cover your ass and see a lawyer. To me, an answer from some guy in the forum who has done it wouldn't be good enough.

Asking on a forum doesn't mean that I would follow answers religiously. I want to hear from people who have been in same situation. Thats all. At this juncture I am exploring my options. I can easily cross 470 by doing spouse's ECA, spouse's Language test and even reappearing in language test myself. But thats a painstaking process.

 

[DEZIA]

Hi uxd,
I wonder what happened after your application. I have the same question in my mind. Did you include your spouse. I f you did not and got ITA what happened at the end? Thank you.

 

[axeans]

Hi UXD,
I am in a similar situation but me n my wife are both in India at the moment. Can u guide on the opting for wife not accompanying part? As opting for it will make good chances for me to raise my score above current draws.
Your response is deeply appreciated

 

[yelena]

It is allowed to be married and mark your spouse as not accomapnying, but it will ask you for the rason this person is not accompanying while you are filling in your application.

The space to provide the reason is really limited., you can fit in only a few words.

In your LOE, you can ellaborate further and state you realise you will have to sponsor your spuse later in case you are granted PR.

 

[chymes]

It is allowed to be married and mark your spouse as not accomapnying, but it will ask you for the rason this person is not accompanying while you are filling in your application.

The space to provide the reason is really limited., you can fit in only a few words.

In your LOE, you can ellaborate further and state you realise you will have to sponsor your spuse later in case you are granted PR.

Guys I had same Issue. needed to get the application rolling ASAP and spouse was having issues with ECA and wasn't optimistic about getting the language scores to boost EE scores so we decided I apply with them as unaccompanying and I have now got PPR. and I didn't add any LOE, just stated the truth in the reason column: "they'll(my Family) be joining me when i'm fully settled". That's the exact reason they took points off/split points for married couples; so that main applicant who meets the cut can come and fit in before the family joins. A lot of people come with their family and struggle immediately. so that option is there for a reason. and besides your spouse and family will need to get every doc as if they were coming with you so its not really easier.

 

[sly890]

Guys I had same Issue. needed to get the application rolling ASAP and spouse was having issues with ECA and wasn't optimistic about getting the language scores to boost EE scores so we decided I apply with them as unaccompanying and I have now got PPR. and I didn't add any LOE, just stated the truth in the reason column: "they'll(my Family) be joining me when i'm fully settled". That's the exact reason they took points off/split points for married couples; so that main applicant who meets the cut can come and fit in before the family joins. A lot of people come with their family and struggle immediately. so that option is there for a reason. and besides your spouse and family will need to get every doc as if they were coming with you so its not really easier.

Since you have got your PR now without your spouse, could please explain if there was any issues when you applied for your spouse under family class, besides the fact that there was alot of paper work to be done?

 

[andy1]

I am not in the same situation but think I may have some info that would help you - I am Canadian but my partner is British. We are currently in Canada with him on OWP and have applied for spousal sponsorship - we expect it will take us 2 years from the time the application is mailed! It depends on where you are applying from and your nationality but right now the average processing time for an inland application (a PR or Canadian citizen sponsoring someone currently in Canadian either on work permit, visitor or applied status) is 26 months. For outland the average is 17 months but that is highly dependant on which country you are in.

So my advice would be do not go this route! Sure you'll save time and money by not having to do ECA and IELTS but the process for sponsorshiop is even more complication and convoluted and much much longer! If you want more info go to this same forum but select 'Family Class Sponsorship' instead of Express Entry. Lots of info there.

 

[Prats6]

Guys I'm scoring in the 440s when I choose that my spouse is coming with me. If I choose she is not coming, my score is 477. We are already in Canada and have 1 more year of work permit left. Is anyone else in the same situation? Doing ECA for spouse is not going to add much to my score considering spouse would accompany. And ECA is a big pain considering process and timelines.

So I am thinking can I apply as a married but spouse is not coming (she is already here on an open wp valid for 1 year) - 477 CRS points. And once I get PR, I can sponsor spouse under family class or whatever is faster and proper way.

I am not sure how the cutoff for next draws would be, considering the trend reversal now. So I am curious to know opinions from those who have experienced / faced this issue.

This is misrepresentation as far as I am concerned. Would be interesting to know what exactly happened in your case.

 

[Dexmoody]

This is misrepresentation as far as I am concerned. Would be interesting to know what exactly happened in your case.

It's not misrepresentation and perfectly acceptable to do.

 

[cyt0plas]

She will need to be listed as non-accompanying, and examined for inadmissibility (background check, etc.). If she is not, she becomes ineligible for sponsorship. This is how people get in trouble - they don't list their spouses on the application, and then they get banned.

The ministerial instructions for express entry (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/mi/express-entry.asp) state that the points depend on whether or not you have an accompanying spouse. If she's non-accompanying, your points will be your own, not the ones for both of you.

Be aware that there can be delays in processing, and that criminality can make her ineligible in situations where a Permanent Resident would not.