Several question re: family class sponsorship of wife

[RamR]

Hi and thank you for this site.

I am a Canadian citizen who has been living and working overseas for most of the past 11 years.  The past 5 years have been in Thailand where I met my wife.  We were married a year and a half ago and have been together for more than 4 years in total.  Now we are planning on the possibility of moving to Canada, it is just her and I with no dependents.  As a result I am in the process of organizing Permanent Residency for her but find I have quite a few questions.

I will number the questions I have and keep them as brief and to the point as possible.  However, it may be necessary to break them up into separate posts if this doesn't work.

As the sponsor I have currently filled out the following forms; Application to Sponsor and Undertaking (1344 A), Sponsorship Agreement (1344 B), Sponsorship Evaluation (5481) and Sponsorship Questionnaire (5540).

1. Is it necessary to fill out the Financial Evaluation Form (1283)? 

2. Are there any forms I am missing? 

3. Are there other documents that I need to include aside from a copy of my birth certificate or passport?

In the questionnaire there are two parts that concern me. 

4. Past addresses and telephone numbers in countries where I have resided.  As I mentioned I have been away more than 11 years and moved addresses often.  Will it be a problem if I don't list them all?

5. Our intentions are to move back to Canada but we're still not sure as I am currently applying for jobs.  We don't have any documents to support our move as asked for in the questionnaire.  Is this a potential problem?

The documents for my wife that I have filled out are; Application for Permanent Residence [IMM 0008 GENERIC], Schedule 1 Background/Declaration [IMM 0008 SCHEDULE 1], Additional Family Information [IMM 5406], Sponsored Spouse/Partner Questionnaire [IMM 5490].

6. Are there any other forms that need to be filled out for her?

7. Are there any other documents that we need to include for her?

8. There is something about "Information Guides Specific to Geographic Regions" on the CIC site.  When I click on the link you are asked to order these but can only do so from or to Canada (it seems).  What are these about?

Finally, a couple general questions.

9. Do I include all the above forms and documents in on package for the initial application?

10. Why wold someone use a co-signer or representative?  I don't think I need to but am not 100% sure what they are for.

Thanks to anyone who makes their way through this very long post and attempts to answer some of my questions.  I apologize for the length but now all my thoughts are down in the same place.  If need be I will separate them into individual threads later.

[ThirstyDeer]

Can't answer all these for you, but as I read them, a few answers popped in my mind...

Hi and thank you for this site.

I am a Canadian citizen who has been living and working overseas for most of the past 11 years.  The past 5 years have been in Thailand where I met my wife.  We were married a year and a half ago and have been together for more than 4 years in total.  Now we are planning on the possibility of moving to Canada, it is just her and I with no dependents.  As a result I am in the process of organizing Permanent Residency for her but find I have quite a few questions.

I will number the questions I have and keep them as brief and to the point as possible.  However, it may be necessary to break them up into separate posts if this doesn't work.

As the sponsor I have currently filled out the following forms; Application to Sponsor and Undertaking (1344 A), Sponsorship Agreement (1344 B), Sponsorship Evaluation (5481) and Sponsorship Questionnaire (5540).

1. Is it necessary to fill out the Financial Evaluation Form (1283)? 
>>> There are no financial requirements for your application, as you have no dependents part of the application.

2. Are there any forms I am missing? 

3. Are there other documents that I need to include aside from a copy of my birth certificate or passport?
>>> The document checklist has a breakdown of everything you need.  It is rather specific so it's a good resource to make sure you have what is needed.

In the questionnaire there are two parts that concern me. 

4. Past addresses and telephone numbers in countries where I have resided.  As I mentioned I have been away more than 11 years and moved addresses often.  Will it be a problem if I don't list them all?

5. Our intentions are to move back to Canada but we're still not sure as I am currently applying for jobs.  We don't have any documents to support our move as asked for in the questionnaire.  Is this a potential problem?

The documents for my wife that I have filled out are; Application for Permanent Residence [IMM 0008 GENERIC], Schedule 1 Background/Declaration [IMM 0008 SCHEDULE 1], Additional Family Information [IMM 5406], Sponsored Spouse/Partner Questionnaire [IMM 5490].

6. Are there any other forms that need to be filled out for her?

7. Are there any other documents that we need to include for her?
>>> Documents needed for her include things like police checks from the countries she has resided in, proof of your relationship, proof of marriage, etc.

8. There is something about "Information Guides Specific to Geographic Regions" on the CIC site.  When I click on the link you are asked to order these but can only do so from or to Canada (it seems).  What are these about?
>>> Depending on the country your wife is applying from, there may be additional or different forms to fill out, as well as other specific documents required for immigration purposes.

Finally, a couple general questions.

9. Do I include all the above forms and documents in on package for the initial application?
>>> Yes.

10. Why wold someone use a co-signer or representative?  I don't think I need to but am not 100% sure what they are for.
>>> A co-signer is mostly used when an application involves financial requirements cannot be met by the principal applicant (yourself).  To meet the requirement, you'd have to have someone "co-sign" it, such as a relative or family member.  Your combined income would meet the requirement.  As I said before, you don't have to worry about that as spousal applications have no financial requirements.  The representative is most often an immigration lawyer or consultant hired to assist through the process.  The average application really doesn't need one, but if there are particular challenges or complexities in your case, or perhaps language barriers, then it might be advisable to hire such a representative.  I chose not to.  Cases with representatives get no special priority as far as applications go.

Thanks to anyone who makes their way through this very long post and attempts to answer some of my questions.  I apologize for the length but now all my thoughts are down in the same place.  If need be I will separate them into individual threads later.