Inland sponsorship questions please help

[sej2014]

Hello i am a U.S. citizen married to a Canadian citizen and we have a toddler who is born in the U.S. in March 2015 my husband returned to Canada as we were planning on settling there. sometime last year he consulted a lawyer who suggested we should do an inland application instead of doing outland after that we started shipping our personal belongings to prepare for our move.

i was wondering since we do not need a visa to travel to canada is it legal for me to declare to customs our true intention of doing an inland application once we land on canadian soil? or if custom ask our purpose of stay can i just say we are doing an inland application?

 

[Ponga]

Huh? The lawyer suggested an Inland application?!

You should NOT bring your goods into Canada until you have authorization to do so, meaning when you become a PR. If your goods arrive at the border before that, you should expect a few problems with CBSA.

As a U.S. citizen, you'll enjoy a pretty fast process (hopefully) meaning somewhere ~ 4-8 months total. If you arrive in Canada as a visitor and then submit an Inland application, you're looking at over 2 years before you become a PR...which means your stuff stays behind until then.

Take a look at the U.S. Outland thread here and see how quickly people are being approved. It is NOT the 17 months that the CIC shows.


Good luck!

 

[Ponga]

Uh oh...It looks like CBSA is already questioning things. Since they are asking to see your passport, this could be an issue when you try to enter Canada, so be prepared to explain this...if you can. Moving anything before you have authorization to live/work in Canada can be problematic.

I suggest that you at least pay the fees for a sponsorship application before you present yourself at the border. This way, CBSA will know that you understand the rules and are complying as best you can. The total sponsorship is $1040 (for you, because your baby is probably already a Canadian citizen, depending on how your husband obtained his citizenship), of which $490 can be deferred until the end of the process if needed.

You really should submit an Outland application. You should also understand what Dual Intent is and what you can do before you reach the border to improve your chances:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/temp/visa/dual.asp