Anyone in the midst of spousal sponsorship travel to Canada on an ETA and have their 6 months cut...

[Thewannabecanadian]

Anyone in the midst of spousal sponsorship, travel to Canada on an ETA and have their allowable 6 months cut short or outrightly refused entry?
I'd like to book a fulll 6 months in Canada whilst I await the results of the spousal sponsorship application (both my husband our two daughters are Canadian) but I'm worried border control will see my pending application and either turn me away or decided I can only stay for ONE month (for example).
I'm planning on booking (and obviously adhering to) - a return flight and I will keep my address in the UK in the meantime.
Does anyone have any idea about this or would you mind sharing your experience if you were in a similar situation?

 

[KBH]

This is a very common situation. If you have a return ticket booked for six months from now and you can show sufficient ties to the UK you should theoretically be fine. Just be honest with them that you'd like to visit your husband while your application is processing. Do not bring too many things with you or say that you are "moving" or "want to live" in Canada. Have proof of how you will support yourself (or how your husband will support you). No one can guarantee anything or make any promises that you will be let in with no issues, but people do this every day without any problems. As long as you are honest and straightforward about your intentions you can expect it will probably be fine.

 

[miss_tizzle]

My husband and I are in the midst of Outland and he came under dual-intent. Showed our SA and AOR2 documents when he arrived and he was granted his 6 months and told to reenter if it didn't complete in the 6 months.

 

[dhvanixox]

My husband and I are in the midst of Outland and he came under dual-intent. Showed our SA and AOR2 documents when he arrived and he was granted his 6 months and told to reenter if it didn't complete in the 6 months.

what is dual-intent? and how did you apply for that? Please let me know.

 

[FrostiRose]

Applying from Sweden. Flew in to Vancouver in the beginning of September with my wife and kids, they're all Canadian citizens. My wife had customs forms with her regarding goods to follow (all our stuff from Sweden that will come to our new house in Victoria BC in November.) I informed them that I have an ongoing PR application, return ticket to Sweden within 6 months, but hoping I will have my PR status before that. They didn't seem to care much, just said OK, sure, welcome to Canada.

 

[dhvanixox]

Applying from Sweden. Flew in to Vancouver in the beginning of September with my wife and kids, they're all Canadian citizens. My wife had customs forms with her regarding goods to follow (all our stuff from Sweden that will come to our new house in Victoria BC in November.) I informed them that I have an ongoing PR application, return ticket to Sweden within 6 months, but hoping I will have my PR status before that. They didn't seem to care much, just said OK, sure, welcome to Canada.

That's great. Did you bring a lot of stuff with you when you entered Canada? and did you come on TRV?

 

[FrostiRose]

That's great. Did you bring a lot of stuff with you when you entered Canada? and did you come on TRV?

Came as a visitor with ETA, which means I can stay for 6 months. Technically my wife is the one who is bringing all our stuff over...but yeah, almost a full 20 foot container is being shipped over. I have a job waiting for me as soon as I get my PR, senior mechanical engineer. Really want Mississauga to finish my application soon so I can start working....

 

[miss_tizzle]

what is dual-intent? and how did you apply for that? Please let me know.

It's when you're landing with two intents. One as a visitor and one with the intent to get PR. You don't apply for it. You declare it. I don't have the link but search it on the CIC website and it'll detail it for you.

 

[bafonso]

Even with dual intent you need to prove strong ties. Having a return ticket is a good method but you may be asked about other ties too such as job, finances, rentals, etc. Always up to the officer.

 

[Thewannabecanadian]

Even with dual intent you need to prove strong ties. Having a return ticket is a good method but you may be asked about other ties too such as job, finances, rentals, etc. Always up to the officer.

Thanks

It's a bit difficult for me to show ties because we'all be living with my parents for 3 months before going out there and that will be the address I come back to if the approval isn't done in the 6 months. I'm self employed so again, coming back isn't a problem for me but it's hard to show that I won't struggle to line up work when I get back.
My husband and I will have $70,000 CAD in savings but I'm not sure how that works in my favour. I suppose if I kept the majority in a uk bank account and showed proof of that?

 

[bafonso]

Thanks

It's a bit difficult for me to show ties because we'all be living with my parents for 3 months before going out there and that will be the address I come back to if the approval isn't done in the 6 months. I'm self employed so again, coming back isn't a problem for me but it's hard to show that I won't struggle to line up work when I get back.
My husband and I will have $70,000 CAD in savings but I'm not sure how that works in my favour. I suppose if I kept the majority in a uk bank account and showed proof of that?

Yes, although unlikely you may be asked about this. Do you own any property at all, cars, etc? That's also an option. I would have some proof of funds in UK otherwise they think you have already "moved"... Work info is also key. I would not bring up that you'll have a hard time getting a job, just that you are self employed and some receipts of clients or something along those lines. The main point is to stress that you completely understand you are a *visitor* and in light of this the return ticket is key (get a refundable one). To give you an idea, at the US/Canada border crossing the last guy expected me to have:

- Pay stub
- Rental agreement
- Bill of some sort, car, phone, etc.

I am not an american citizen and I've always found crossing by land is more tricky but better be prepared to dissuade any officer from thinking you are not fully aware of the law and you're not trying to fool them.

 

[FrostiRose]

It must really depend where you come from and which customs officer you get.
We sold our condo in Sweden, I worked my last day Aug 31st, we're shipping all our belongings to Victoria, BC, to our new house that we're moving in to in two weeks. I was very open with all of this when entering Canada Sep 2nd, and no issues at all with customs.

 

[bafonso]

It must really depend where you come from and which customs officer you get.
We sold our condo in Sweden, I worked my last day Aug 31st, we're shipping all our belongings to Victoria, BC, to our new house that we're moving in to in two weeks. I was very open with all of this when entering Canada Sep 2nd, and no issues at all with customs.

A visitor shipping their stuff may not go well, it depends on how it's shipped. I was told of a way to ship things labeled to my spouse that immigration would not know about but it is too expensive.

Customs may not have a problem but immigration may, that's what happened at a point with me. When I called customs they told me it would be ok but at the border I had to turn back and store my stuff in US. But different methods yield different results.

 

[miss_tizzle]

Even with dual intent you need to prove strong ties. Having a return ticket is a good method but you may be asked about other ties too such as job, finances, rentals, etc. Always up to the officer.

My husband did a one-way flight and just attached our application documents to show we were in the process. We made no effort to acknowledge strong ties to Aus.

 

[bafonso]

My husband did a one-way flight and just attached our application documents to show we were in the process. We made no effort to acknowledge strong ties to Aus.

Many times I've entered Canada with no questions. It really varies.