once accepted do we have to move within a time period

So I assume you are a citizen and your spouse is not? As a citizen, you can sponsor your spouse before you return to Canada but you would have to show proof that both of you are coming to settle in Canada once your spouse gets PR.

Another way, you return to Canada and sponsor your spouse who is officially still living overseas but of course you can both visit back and forth.

With both these methods the application goes through the visa office responsible for the country you live in and processing time can be from 3 months to a year depending on where you are and how fast you go through.

When the visa comes through, there is a time period, usually a year from the time of medical checkup that your spouse has to land in Canada as a PR. Landing in Canada as a PR doesn't mean you have to stay though. Getting the PR card takes about a month and your spouse will need that to return to Canada again but if you can give a friends or relatives address to get it mailed to, they can fed-ex it to you wherever you are.

The residency requirements to keep the PR status is living in Canada for at least a total of 730 days in any 5 year period but if a PR is accompanying a citizen spouse, they get out of that requirement.

One more way to do it, spouse comes with you on a tourist visa and you apply from within Canada. That way, your spouse will have a work permit in about 6 months and PR in 1-2 years.

One more thing, if the spouse was a PR before you left Canada, maybe it's still valid. In that case, you would have to apply for a PR travel document for your spouse to return with you and just apply for the PR card when you get to Canada.