Can I move to Canada with approved sponsorship while waiting for PR?

[themanoftheland8]

Hello all,

A bit of background... I'm a US citizen, and my spouse is Canadian. We applied for both outland sponsorship and PR a few months back, and got notification that our eligibility for sponsorship has been approved. We found out that the application has now been sent to the US visa office for PR approval, but that will take 15 months.

My question is... do I have to wait for the PR application to be approved to move there? Primarily, I'm wondering if there's a way to access healthcare and/or get a work visa while there now that the sponsorship has been approved.

Thanks!!

 

[scylla]

Yes - you have to wait until your PR visa has been approved to move to Canada (including being able to work and benefiting from the health care system). For now - all you can do is visit temporarily.

Are you saying that your file has been sent to one of the local US visa offices rather than Ottawa?

 

[themanoftheland8]

Thank you for your speedy response!

We got an email from someone at CIC saying the following,

On June 1, 2016 you passed the first stage of the application process, and your eligibility to sponsor your spouse was confirmed.
The processing time from the date the application is submitted to the date the first stage of the application process (eligibility stage) is 55 days.
The application been sent to the visa office in the US for the remaining steps of the processing of this application.
The estimated processing time from the date the application is submitted to the end of the entire process is 15 months for an out-of-Canada application.


She also mentioned that I can use a dual intent visa to visit? Is that required?

 

[johnybegood]

Thank you for your speedy response!

We got an email from someone at CIC saying the following,

On June 1, 2016 you passed the first stage of the application process, and your eligibility to sponsor your spouse was confirmed.
The processing time from the date the application is submitted to the date the first stage of the application process (eligibility stage) is 55 days.
The application been sent to the visa office in the US for the remaining steps of the processing of this application.
The estimated processing time from the date the application is submitted to the end of the entire process is 15 months for an out-of-Canada application.


She also mentioned that I can use a dual intent visa to visit? Is that required?

You dont need a visa to visit canada
You can come to canada for a visit for any long
Ur intent should not be living permanently
Ty

 

[themanoftheland8]

You dont need a visa to visit canada
You can come to canada for a visit for any long
Ur intent should not be living permanently
Ty

Ok. I also saw that I could apply for OHIP once application for permanent residency gets applied for? (There's threads on here, the site won't allow me to post a link to it)

How would that be different than my situation? And/or is there a specific way I need to cross the border in order to qualify for this in order to change residence status?

 

[profiler]

Ok. I also saw that I could apply for OHIP once application for permanent residency gets applied for? (There's threads on here, the site won't allow me to post a link to it)

How would that be different than my situation? And/or is there a specific way I need to cross the border in order to qualify for this in order to change residence status?

My wife and I spoke to MoHLTC / Service Ontario about access to OHIP. If you apply inland, and take the OWP, there are two paths you can take to have access to OHIP:
- Work for 90 days on the OWP, with a letter from your employer claiming to employ you for at least another 6 months. They also told us it must be on company letterhead and signed with black ink (they will not accept blue); or
- Wait for the AIP letter from CIC. They photocopied this from their training manual and gave this example letter to us, so that we would know which letter to watch for.

There are other cases when you could get access to OHIP, but those are the ones they told us about when we went in to talk to them.

For outland, I believe you need to wait until you have an official landing. Then you can apply. But that does not mean you have it right away -- you have to wait a waiting period (they told us it was 90 days from the date of application)

 

[zardoz]

My wife and I spoke to MoHLTC / Service Ontario about access to OHIP. If you apply inland, and take the OWP, there are two paths you can take to have access to OHIP:
- Work for 90 days on the OWP, with a letter from your employer claiming to employ you for at least another 6 months. They also told us it must be on company letterhead and signed with black ink (they will not accept blue); or
- Wait for the AIP letter from CIC. They photocopied this from their training manual and gave this example letter to us, so that we would know which letter to watch for.

There are other cases when you could get access to OHIP, but those are the ones they told us about when we went in to talk to them.

Unfortunately, as an outland application has been filed, these options are not available.

 

[profiler]

Unfortunately, as an outland application has been filed, these options are not available.

I edited my original post. You are correct -- I believe it's the Record of Landing that is required.

 

[scylla]

Ok. I also saw that I could apply for OHIP once application for permanent residency gets applied for? (There's threads on here, the site won't allow me to post a link to it)

How would that be different than my situation? And/or is there a specific way I need to cross the border in order to qualify for this in order to change residence status?

Since you applied outland, you won't qualify for OHIP until after you have officially become a PR. You will need to purchase insurance to cover yourself for emergencies while you wait. You will have to pay for non-emergency care out of pocket.

 

[Ponga]

I wonder why the OP's application was sent to the U.S. Visa office, rather than Ottawa?

 

[scylla]

I wonder why the OP's application was sent to the U.S. Visa office, rather than Ottawa?

Yes - I was wondering the same thing. Typically that's not a great sign.