Sponsoring a husband living not on his country of citizenship

[Kirsten]

Hi guys!  Please advise me on this.  I want to sponsor my husband who is a Filipino but he is staying in Thailand on a tourist visa. Will my application be processed in Thailand or does he have to go back to the Philippines? What if he will be having a residence visa (Non-B) after getting a work permit in Thailand?  Please help. I'm confused. Thank you.

[Swede]

If he's been in Thailand legally for more than one year you can choose to have the application sent to Manila or Singapore.

[Kirsten]

Thank you.

Does he need to appear at the Manila Embassy or should he just wait in Thailand throughout the whole process?

[Swede]

Thank you.

Does he need to appear at the Manila Embassy or should he just wait in Thailand throughout the whole process?

If the processing agent wants an interview he might have to go to where the application is processed, but aside from that I don't think they'd care where he spends his time.

[Kirsten]

But how about the medical? Do they need his passport as well?  So he really has to go to the Philippines though aside from the interview, if any, right?  How long does it take to complete the process?

[mitamata]

When doing an outland application, you can have it processed either at the visa office responsible for your country of nationality or at the visa office responsible for the country that you have been lawfully admitted to for at least one year. That is NOT the same as living there for one year. In your case, this means your husband can have the application processed in Thailand if the visa he's there under does not expire for another year. How long he has lived in Thailand doesn't matter, they will only process it there if he will be allowed to live there for at least one more year, meaning his visa doesn't expire for another year from the time you apply.

The medical can be taken anywhere in the world. If you're doing it outside the processing visa office's region though, it's a good idea to include a note saying where you did take it. That way the odds that they will look for the results in the right place are better.

The visa office will ask your husband for his passport - the visa they issue when the application is approved goes in the passport, so it's essential that he sends it in.
I'd suggest you look into everything else he needs to see if he can get that from Thailand (police certificate etc). You can read the guide for applying through the Phillipines here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/guides/3905e.pdf
He will also need a police certificate from any country where he's lived in for 6 months or more since turning 18.

You can find the current processing times here:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/international/05-fc-spouses.asp

Looks like 4 to 8 months for Manila, 5 to 14 months for Singapore. My guess would be you're better off with Manila.

[mitamata]

Let me revise that.

The guide says:

Under Canadian immigration legislation, an application for a permanent resident visa must
be made at the visa office responsible for:
• the country where the applicant is living, if the applicant has been lawfully admitted to
that country for a period of at least one year, or
• the applicant's country of nationality, or
• the applicant's country of habitual residence, if the applicant is stateless and has legal
status in that country.

The person you are sponsoring will have to provide evidence of his or her status in the country
where he or she is living. Should that status change or expire before the visa office has completed
the processing of the application, processing of the application will be completed in the office
where it was submitted unless circumstances dictate otherwise.

Meaning if you came in the country holding a visa that let you stay there for 1 year or more, you can apply in that country if you live there. Even if the visa expires less than a year from the point when you apply.
It still doesn't mean you have to have lived there for at least one year though. Even if you just arrived there, you can still have the app processed there.

[thaihubbie]

I have a similar situation to Kirsten. I'm doing and Outland Sponsorship of my Thai Citizen husband but we are living in Mongolia and he has a one year Residence Visa here. So does that mean he has a choice to which Regional Specific Form he fills? He could fill South East Asia (IMM 3907) or General Asia (IMM 3907)?

[Suin]

your spouse can choose between two offices Mongolia and his country of residence. Just check which of them has faster timelines.

[thaihubbie]

your spouse can choose between two offices Mongolia and his country of residence. Just check which of them has faster timelines.

That is potentially good news. I know the South East Asia processing office is Singapore. How can I verify where the General Asia processing office is?If it's Beijing, then it has a faster timeline than Singapore but I'm not positive that's the office or not.

[mitamata]

Here are all the visa offices: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/offices/missions.asp

If you click on Beijing, you will see:

Responsible for immigrant applications from:     China (People's Republic of), Korea (Democratic People's Republic of), Mongolia

So you are correct, it's Beijing for Mongolia.

[Kirsten]

But there's no visa office in Bangkok, so it's still the best option to process in Manila, right?  So he'll just stay in Bangkok and if the visa office in Manila needs him, that's the time that he has to go to Manila, right?