Sponsoring UK parents

[Chris Martin]

Daughter and son-in-law are Canadian Permanent Residents and are sponsoring self and wife who are UK retirees.  Application made to Mississauga in May.  Timeline on website says they are currently dealing with 2007 applications.  Do we really have to wait 4+ years to move to Canada?  We are both finncially sound and able to support ourselves.

[scylla]

Yes - unfortunately you have to wait.

You can certainly visit while you are waiting. However you cannot "move" to Canada until you have been approved for permanent residency.

Keep in mind that if/when you visit, you will not be covered by the health care system. So make sure you purchase insurance before you leave.

[Baloo]

Daughter and son-in-law are Canadian Permanent Residents and are sponsoring self and wife who are UK retirees.  Application made to Mississauga in May.  Timeline on website says they are currently dealing with 2007 applications.  Do we really have to wait 4+ years to move to Canada?  We are both finncially sound and able to support ourselves.

The first stage estimate is 45 months, second stage estimate 24 months = 5.75 years.

You can visit while the application is in process.

[Chris Martin]

Thank you but this news is very depressing as it means that we cannot move there until we are over 70 which defeats the object.  I am aware that until we receive Permanent Residency we must cover our own costs on health care.  We can insure.  I have heard of someone working there who renews his entry visa every six months whilst his application is processed.  Is this possible?  Or do we have to leave at six months and then re-enter for another six months.  If so how long between visits?  Also on previous visits passport is only stamped with entry date - it says nothing about being restricted to six months stay (or are we just supposed to know?)

[Leon]

You can come to Canada as visitors for up to 6 months.  5 months in, you can apply to extend your visitor status.  You have to prove every time that your stay is temporary and that you have the funds to support yourselves.  Some type of health insurance would probably help too.  Some people have succeeded in doing this a few times.  I heard of somebody doing it for 3 years but if you are told no, you can leave and come back.  The immigration officers can however deny you entry if they think you are staying in Canada too much on your visit visa.  Visiting 6 months a year should also be ok in most cases.

The 45 months in Mississauga is an average and sometimes can change.  It was 36 months not too long ago.  Maybe if they feel it is getting too long, they will put more staff on it and it will get shorter again.  The 24 months 2nd stage is how long it takes to process 80% of the applications.  Yours could be faster.

[pinklady]

If you just get a stamp in the passport then it is automatically valid for 6 months. Some visa exempt people are issued with visitor records which will list the date they are allowed to stay for. Even with just a stamp in the passport, you can apply to extend your stay as a visitor without leaving canada.

You will not be allowed to work as a visitor.
To be able to work you would need to get a job offer and a positive labour market opinion.

You will also not be able to 'move' to canada until you have the PR status. If you try and enter with all your belongings you may be refused entry. To be admitted to Canada you generally need to show ties to back home, i.e. home, job.

Unfortunately the time it takes for parent sponsorship is long. The only thing I can suggest is to visit. Long visits and frequent visits.

[Baloo]

Thank you but this news is very depressing as it means that we cannot move there until we are over 70 which defeats the object. 

Sadly the process is not fast.

It could be worse, processing in Australia was around 20 years for parents the last time I looked.

Plan some visits to Canada, read more about visiting at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/index.asp

FWIW 70 is young