Sponsoring Japanese spouse - apps submitted - questions on what happens next.

[daijoeboo]

Hi there,

Last month I finally submitted my sponsorship application and my spouses immigrant application for a Family Class visa.

I have a few questions at this time - anyone with experience, your input would be invaluable.

1) My wife and I are planning to come to Canada in mid September - I will arrive and find new work precisely as detailed in the information I submitted. My wife - can she come along on a tourist visa and stay with me while I am job hunting etc?

2) If there was some discrepancy or something I missed and the applications are returned, they will be mailed separately to the mailing addresses we put in the applications (to my wife's home in Japan and my home in Canada) - is this correct?

3) If the package was okay, I will receive an email indicating that the case has been forwarded to Manilla and we receive a case number - is this correct?

4) Lastly, regarding the above (3), wait time is stated as 56 days for this first stage of the process - is this accurate or have people been experiencing shorter/longer wait times?

Thank you very much

J

 

[silverlynxes]

I'm still waiting for SA so I can't answer all question but...

1)Japanese doesn't need to get tourist visa and your wife can stay in Canada 6 months max(depends on immigration officer)
I don't know which process you chosed outland or inland but if outland, she need to get visiter visa if she want to stay continue in Canada.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

1) My wife and I are planning to come to Canada in mid September - I will arrive and find new work precisely as detailed in the information I submitted. My wife - can she come along on a tourist visa and stay with me while I am job hunting etc?

2) If there was some discrepancy or something I missed and the applications are returned, they will be mailed separately to the mailing addresses we put in the applications (to my wife's home in Japan and my home in Canada) - is this correct?

3) If the package was okay, I will receive an email indicating that the case has been forwarded to Manilla and we receive a case number - is this correct?

4) Lastly, regarding the above (3), wait time is stated as 56 days for this first stage of the process - is this accurate or have people been experiencing shorter/longer wait times?

Hi

1. Yes, your wife can enter as a visitor with you while the PR app processes.

2. No. There is only one application, with 2 parts. The entire app would be returned to the sponsor.

3. You will receive the email when you get sponsor approval.

4. It's pretty accurate.

 

[daijoeboo]

Thanks very much for the replies.

silverynxes:
Thank you. My wife is doing an outland process, mailed from Japan. Can you explain in more detail what a 'visitor visa' is?
Is this a special visa for people doing the PR application process? I have never heard of it before

canuck_in_uk:
Thanks for the information. I will keep an eye out for the email in the coming 20 days or so, or (hopefully not!) for the entire package to arrive at the mailing address I put on the application. Do you also have any information about what auspices my wife would enter the country under when she arrives? Is this the 'Visitor Visa' silverynxes was speaking of? What does one say at the border upon arriving, simply give a run-down of the application process etc? I imagine its important to stress she is just 'visiting' and intends to return at some point, and actually we will be buying return tickets.

Thanks very much

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Do you also have any information about what auspices my wife would enter the country under when she arrives? Is this the 'Visitor Visa' silverynxes was speaking of? What does one say at the border upon arriving, simply give a run-down of the application process etc? I imagine its important to stress she is just 'visiting' and intends to return at some point, and actually we will be buying return tickets.

Japanese citizens are visa-exempt, meaning that they don't require a visitor visa to enter Canada. She would just enter like any other regular tourist, there is no special process or anything. She can say that she is coming to wait out the PR process with you; this is a very common scenario. Carry proof of the PR app, like the fee receipt or the sponsor approval letter if you have it by then. Also carry proof of funds, as they may ask.

My partner and I returned to Canada partway through the application. The border officer verified in the system that we had a PR app in process, asked how much money we had (didn't even ask for proof), told my partner not to work until he was a PR and sent us on our way. We travelled on one-way tickets, so I had bought my partner a separate fully refundable one way ticket back but the officer never even asked for it.

 

[daijoeboo]

Thanks very much for the info canuck_in_uk I will carry our receipts with us as well as our Japanese bank account stuff with savings amounts.
Hopefully the sponsorship letter has come through by then!

Cheers

 

[Kayaker]

Hi,

I'm Japanese and I've been visiting my Canadian husband in Canada since March. Our PR application was sent in February 2014.

At the border (Pearson International Airport, Toronto) I just said "visiting my husband" as the purpose of my trip. I did have with me proof that I applied for PR, but wasn't asked to show anything. I came on a one way ticket (economy) But I did buy and print out a "return" ticket - which was another one-way ticket, Business class. I bought Business class because you can get a full refund (I processed the refund a week after I got here.)

Anyway, they didn't ask to see the return ticket, they just asked where my husband lives, and if I have anything to declare - I declared the cash I had with me (over 10000CAD) and the border agent stamped my passport and let me through. It was all surprisingly easy. (I got asked far more questions last summer when I was visiting my then-boyfriend.)

After that I had to go to the "red zone" to declare my cash - there the officer asked me what else I have in my 2 suitcases (I answered clothes, shoes, makeup, hair curlers, hair dryer... he lost interest and said that's fine.). As I filled out the form to declare my cash, he casually asked "oh, so are you going to do the 6 months thing; visiting your husband for 6 months and going back to Japan and visiting again?" I don't know if this was a "trick question" or if it was just casual conversation, but I answered (truthfully) that I already applied for PR but I couldn't wait until PR came through, so I was visiting my husband so that we can spend some time together.

By the way, I recently applied to extend my visitor's status - Japanese people don't need a visa to visit Canada, but the "visit" cannot be longer than 6 months. So 5 months after I arrived in Canada I requested an extension (online, it costs 100 CAD) and I recently got an email saying the extension was approved, and now I can stay in Canada (as a visitor) until September 2015.

Let me know if you have any other questions! Good luck! everything should be fine!

 

[JRPW]

My wife is Japanese. We arrived/returned to Canada December 2013. When we arrived in Calgary, I told the first CBSA agent that I'm a Canadian returning to live Canada after living in Japan for 12 years. I told him my wife was going to "visit" my family and I until her PR application was processed. I showed him my approval letter and other proof of my wife's PR application.

We were sent to secondary inspection. The agent asked to see my wife's koseki (戸籍) and the notarized English translation. She asked some random questions and then gave my wife a 1 year visitors record.

All-in-all, the agents were very friendly and helpful. Just make sure you have proof and are truthful.

 

[daijoeboo]

Didnt see these replies until now but they were a great help thanks very much