Spousal sponsorship

[ann1416]

If Guyana applications are processed in Port of Spain does that mean I have to go back there to uplift my Visa or it will be sent here in the US and I can just leave from the US and head to Canada?

 

[ann1416]

Hope I will love Canada like you do : )

 

[Mrs. Hope]

Hi everyone!

Does anyone have any idea about sponsoring a spouse and applying for second career at the same time,will it affect my spousal sponsorship?I'm thinking to study and work like 20 hrs a week only but I am worried that it might affect my application to sponsor my husband. Thank you!

 

[CanadianPrairieGent]

Good evening everyone.

As much as I really hate to add to the length of this Leviathan post, I am compelled to post and seek the sage advice of the experienced posters here. I would have sent a private message to Leon, but I don't have that option available, and it seems like he, and a select number of you, have valuable and almost inside information on the CIC. I have trudged through hundreds of pages of this post, and while some circumstances and questions are similar, none are quite the right fit to answer my questions, and I, like all of you here, want to be sure I get this right the first time.

I will try and give you the highlights to provide some context, and then I ask your opinion on best next steps please.

A few weeks ago, while in Ukraine, I got engaged to an amazing woman and the love of my life. The feelings are reciprocal on her part as well. Naturally, we want to be together as soon as possible, and ultimately, permanently in Canada. My profession does not afford me, both financially and and time-wise, the luxury of making numerous visits to Ukraine in the span of 12 - 18 months, so my fiancée and I need to be prudent in our decision making with regard to her visa application and ultimately, her PR application.

I have heard that Ukraine is high on the CIC radar, and that a TRV can be hard to come by if the CIC suspects that an intimate relationship exists and that the woman may not return home . . . which is what the CIC typically suspects. So, herein lie my questions.

We are in no immediate rush to get married, but have discussed that ideally we will be married within 12 - 18 months (I am 44 and she is 35, and we want to start a family). She wants to spend time with me in Canada before we get married, if the CIC will grant her a TRV. What is the best way to apply for her TRV? Should I declare in my letter of invitation that she is my fiancée, or just identify her as a friend and hope the CIC doesn't presume an intimate relationship (which I believe to be highly unlikely)? Should she indicate in her application that she will take care of some or most of her expenses while in Canada, even if I am going to send her the money to cover the expenses, or is it OK to indicate I will take care of her needs while in Canada? Or, would it even be better if I could find a female friend to invite her to Canada? Does she increase her chances of receiving a TRV if she declares that her intended visit to Canada will be a shorter period than the 6 months permitted (say 1, 2, or 3 months)?

Furthermore, once she's here, should we quickly and quietly get married in Canada (if that's even legal and recognized in both Ukraine and Canada), and then make an inland PR application (along with an OWP), taking advantage of implied status? If we don't get married within the first 6 months of her visa, or within the CIC allotted period of her TRV, what are the odds of her receiving an extension to her TRV? And, please correct me if I am wrong, but I presume I need to purchase her a "throwaway ticket", so as to convince the CIC of her intention to return to Ukraine. Also, what happens with regard to her passport and applications to CIC, considering the fact that her surname will change to mine when we get married?

I honestly see getting married in Canada and applying inland for PR as the best option for us to remain together (provided she is approved in the first place for a TRV), and I am aware that it may take a little longer to be processed than an outland application and that there is no appeal process (should she be declined), and that she must remain in Canada while her application is being processed, but for some reason, this option seems less risky to me, and perhaps it's a misguided sense that if she's here with me, I can "make it all better", or at the very least, that we go through it together and we are there to support one another.

Or, would you recommend we get married in Ukraine and then we apply outland for her PR? The way I see it is that this option keeps us apart the longest amount of time, and it could prove to be more costly if interviews are required and I must travel to Ukraine (with my son sometimes). Much as I would like for her to marry me in her country in front of her family and friends, I have heard that marrying in Ukraine can be a long and tedious process, with much paperwork, unexpected delays, as well as prescribed and lengthy bureaucratic waiting periods for the civil marriage ceremony. In Canada, I believe it's just a matter of booking a Justice of the Peace or registered minister, provided she is permitted to marry me in this fashion and have it legally recognized in Ukraine.

Furthermore, would you recommend I utilize an immigration consultant or lawyer, particularly for the paperwork and translations involved with the PR application? I am a very organized and thorough person, and on some other forums I belong to, most of the men indicate that I could easily complete the paperwork and save the expense (but not all of these men are Canadian, and only a few have knowledge of our CIC processes). However, not that I have money to burn, but I also want to make the process easy for my gal on her end, in case she gets confused by the forms and what exactly is required. An immigration consultant would ensure that my gal knows exactly what to do and that she does everything properly.

As an aside, I did have a free, "off the record" consultation with an immigration recruitment services company today that has significant experience in assisting Ukrainians to come to Canada, primarily for work, but they do have some experience with family PR applications. Their advice was that my fiancée has a 50/50 shot or less at getting a TRV right now, and that I should declare in my letter of invitation that she is my fiancée, as it establishes honesty from the outset, and that we should then consider the outland PR application as being the shortest and likely most successful route . . . though they saw no glaring reason why an inland application would be rejected/declined. I want to trust them, because of their extensive experience, but their advice isn't really what I want to hear, and it kind of runs contradictory to what many of the informed posters here indicate as wholly possible. I even have gentlemen friends on other forums who have had very speedy and very positive immigration experiences with their Ukrainian brides. I really don't know who to believe, but I would like to get the ball rolling soon to reunite me and my gal.

Both my fiancée and I have clean medical histories, and neither of us have criminal records. According to the posted criteria on the CIC website, I cannot foresee any encumberances to prevent us from ultimately being together, other than them potentially questioning the legitimacy of our marriage, given the short engagement, but we are saving and continually gathering a plethora of evidence to indicate the veracity of our relationship.

I really do apologize for the length of my post and the abundance of questions, but I wanted to be as thorough as possible, so as not to gunk up this thread anymore than it already is, and to hopefully negate the need for me to post again, or post repeatedly.

Leon, et al . . . thanks so much for all of your support in this thread. Your commitment to this thread over the years is commendable and very much appreciated.

 

[Leon]

What is the best way to apply for her TRV? Should I declare in my letter of invitation that she is my fiancée, or just identify her as a friend and hope the CIC doesn't presume an intimate relationship (which I believe to be highly unlikely)? Should she indicate in her application that she will take care of some or most of her expenses while in Canada, even if I am going to send her the money to cover the expenses, or is it OK to indicate I will take care of her needs while in Canada? Or, would it even be better if I could find a female friend to invite her to Canada? Does she increase her chances of receiving a TRV if she declares that her intended visit to Canada will be a shorter period than the 6 months permitted (say 1, 2, or 3 months)?

The dilemma of TRV. To be honest and state that she is your fiancee or to lie and say she is planning to visit for a month?

If you are honest, you are making it a lot less likely that she will get a visit visa. If you lie, you make it more likely that she will get a visit visa but risk having problems with immigration because of it.

I would recommend the in-between. Say she is your girlfriend and is planning to visit for a month. Show a return ticket and her plans to return to the Ukraine, for example a steady job if she has one, elderly parents to take care of, whatever. Show her or your funds for support. Show travel insurance in case she has an accident. If you get the TRV and you get married, immigration can not accuse you of having planned that beforehand. During a 1 month stay, you can say you fell in love so deeply you could not bear for her to leave again so you extended her stay and eventually got married. Or that's your story and you're sticking to it.

Furthermore, once she's here, should we quickly and quietly get married in Canada (if that's even legal and recognized in both Ukraine and Canada), and then make an inland PR application (along with an OWP), taking advantage of implied status?

Yes, that is exactly what you should do. Make sure you apply for an open work permit with her inland sponsorship package because that will give her implied status. She can't leave Canada though.

If we don't get married within the first 6 months of her visa, or within the CIC allotted period of her TRV, what are the odds of her receiving an extension to her TRV?

Personally, I wouldn't risk that. Better get married within her TRV period.

And, please correct me if I am wrong, but I presume I need to purchase her a "throwaway ticket", so as to convince the CIC of her intention to return to Ukraine.

Yes, absolutely. TRV's are granted to visitors. Immigration must feel assured that she will leave again.

Also, what happens with regard to her passport and applications to CIC, considering the fact that her surname will change to mine when we get married?

She needs to change her name in the Ukraine first and on her passport. She should be able to do that through an embassy. She can not leave Canada while applying inland when she is not visa exempt and on implied status. You can write a cover letter with your application that she is working on changing her name. Once you have the new passport, you update with CIC about her name change.


Or, would you recommend we get married in Ukraine and then we apply outland for her PR? The way I see it is that this option keeps us apart the longest amount of time, and it could prove to be more costly if interviews are required and I must travel to Ukraine (with my son sometimes).

As you have identified, that is what will keep you apart the longest. If you can't get a TRV, you will have to do this but I would advise trying the TRV first.


Furthermore, would you recommend I utilize an immigration consultant or lawyer, particularly for the paperwork and translations involved with the PR application?

If you have the money to burn and it makes you happy, you can but it is not necessary. The forms are not that confusing. If you get lost, you have this forum.

It is actually often better to do things yourself than to hire a consultant. The consultant is your representative and would be the one immigration would deal with so you do not have full control over your application and what is happening with it if the consultant is not on the ball. A bad consultant may also make mistakes on your forms and you will never know until it's too late. If you do use a consultant, try to find one that somebody recommends anyway.

 

[frege]

Or, would you recommend we get married in Ukraine and then we apply outland for her PR? The way I see it is that this option keeps us apart the longest amount of time, and it could prove to be more costly if interviews are required and I must travel to Ukraine (with my son sometimes). Much as I would like for her to marry me in her country in front of her family and friends, I have heard that marrying in Ukraine can be a long and tedious process, with much paperwork, unexpected delays, as well as prescribed and lengthy bureaucratic waiting periods for the civil marriage ceremony. In Canada, I believe it's just a matter of booking a Justice of the Peace or registered minister, provided she is permitted to marry me in this fashion and have it legally recognized in Ukraine.

If you can't get married in Canada, and you think CIC might have any concerns about genuineness of the relationship, which is a possibility with a short courtship, the bureaucracy will be worth the hassle in order to have her family at the wedding.

If you decide otherwise, then Georgia (the country) offers remarkably red-tape-free weddings for foreigners, and both of you can travel there without visas. Mexico and Argentina are also possibilities.

 

[gauri.gupta08]

Hi All,

I applied for my husband's PR about 2 weeks ago from Canada. I have confirmation that the package was received at Vegreville 2 days later. However, I haven't heard back from CIC, and have no application number to check the status with. Is this common? What should expect as the next step and by when?

Thank you!

 

[cempjwi]

Good evening everyone.

As much as I really hate to add to the length of this Leviathan post, I am compelled to post and seek the sage advice of the experienced posters here. I would have sent a private message to Leon, but I don't have that option available, and it seems like he, and a select number of you, have valuable and almost inside information on the CIC. I have trudged through hundreds of pages of this post, and while some circumstances and questions are similar, none are quite the right fit to answer my questions, and I, like all of you here, want to be sure I get this right the first time.

I will try and give you the highlights to provide some context, and then I ask your opinion on best next steps please.
.
.
.

You seem to have a common case, not unknown to many on this forum.

Your fiancée's financial or work situation in the Ukraine is very important when applying for a TRV. Regardless of you disclosing or not where the funds for the actual trip and stay are coming from, a TRV will be granted to someone that shows ties to their place of residence, as opposed to ties to Canada. I believe without those two items disclosing that she is coming to Canada to visit a fiancée, who will be paying for everything, will hurt that chances more than anything else.

Granting/denying a TRV does not improve nor definitely hurts a PR application, so if your fiancée is in a position to apply for a TRV, that is, she meets the requisites, I don't see why she should not apply for one.

Once you have an answer regarding the TRV, then you can plan what your next step should be and what your options are, as follows:

While she is abroad: Apply outland. While she is in Canada: apply inland or outland.

Inland requires the applicant to remain in Canada from the day the application is received by CIC until the day PR is granted; it is taking 10 months for stage 1, after which the applicant could obtain a work permit.

Outland is taking 12 months at the VO in Ukraine (really not bad, better than Ottawa). Outland applicants present in Canada cannot obtain a PR application based work permit and they must wait until the application is approved and PR granted to be able to work.

Some cases may take longer or way shorter, depending on how complex they are or on how many flags they raise.

I agree on that an immigration consultant is not necessary. Forms and process is usually pretty straight forward. Even in more complex cases, VO agents must comply with the law and policies and provide opportunity for the applicant to explain any situation they may find. Using a consultant may not improve your chances, although in some cases they may foresee and address specific issues with your application resulting in shorter processing times due to not needing to go back and forth with CIC (reducing the number of information request from CIC). However, as newly weds, CIC may request documentation to prove your relationship after the application was submitted (such request may take a few months to occur), so no consultant could produce that documentation ahead of time.

I also believe that regardless of where you marry, in Canada or abroad, and then quickly file PR application, the red flag may still be triggered due to the fact that you are applying immediately after getting married. However, CIC is no stranger to those filings. Worse case scenario is that you will be scheduled for an interview. If your marriage is genuine, you should have nothing to worry about. If things don't go well during an interview, you still face a denial, which does not happen too often but it does. If applying inland, she may be subject to deportation and you will have no right to appeal (though I think there are some other resources available). Outland allows for appeals. In any case, you must think positive, do things right, complete all application forms thoroughly, be proactive and above all, be honest but concise. There is no need to volunteer information that is not being asked.

As a personal note, the day I landed the CIC agent asked me how long I had been waiting for my PR. I told him 9 months. He was so surprised and even a "Really?" came out of him. I asked him why he was surprised... he said that my case had tons of notes and that usually a case like that takes a long, very long time to complete. I thought to myself, "mmm, they did not count on how thorough and concise I was going to be when responding to the two information requests (curve balls, in fact) the sent me.

Good luck!

 

[cempjwi]

Hi everyone!

Does anyone have any idea about sponsoring a spouse and applying for second career at the same time,will it affect my spousal sponsorship?I'm thinking to study and work like 20 hrs a week only but I am worried that it might affect my application to sponsor my husband. Thank you!

There is no income requirement to sponsor a spouse. However, the sponsor may be required to prove that the applicant will not become a burden to the system. This may apply regardless of the reason you may have for working only 20hrs a week (career, school, child care, living with parents, etc). In some cases like yours, the applicant (your husband) may be required to show that his qualifications/work history make him employable in Canada. However, I don't believe your chances are slim, even with a 20hr/week job.

 

[terki]

super awesome - well said

and thanks for knowledge too

 

[NewDad]

Some questions as I fill out IMM5540 Sponsor Questionnaire

9. Are you a naturalized citizen or a permanent resident?

Duh? My parents brought me to Canada when I was 2 years old. I was a landed immigrant in 1957 and chose to become a citizen in 1975. So am I a naturalized Canadian? I thought I was just a plain old citizen. 8)


10. Were you yourself sponsored to come to Canada?

Again, my parents dragged me there when I was 2 years old so did they 'sponsor' me? I was a bit young then to have a clue what was going on. :


12. Are you living with someone?

As I am applying to sponsor my common-law spouse, should I remind them that I am living with her and our baby? Or do they mean someone other than my spouse and our child? ???


15. Do you have any children?

When does a child stop being a child? If I had children with my ex wife 35 years ago and they are now grown up, married, have children of their own and live in another province do I still list them as my children?

 

[zardoz]

Some questions as I fill out IMM5540 Sponsor Questionnaire

9. Are you a naturalized citizen or a permanent resident?

Duh? My parents brought me to Canada when I was 2 years old. I was a landed immigrant in 1957 and chose to become a citizen in 1975. So am I a naturalized Canadian? I thought I was just a plain old citizen. 8)

"chose to become a citizen" = naturalized, rather than born or by descent.

10. Were you yourself sponsored to come to Canada?

Again, my parents dragged me there when I was 2 years old so did they 'sponsor' me? I was a bit young then to have a clue what was going on. :

It will depend on which Class they came in on. If is was, for example, a foreign worker class, then no, you were a dependent.

12. Are you living with someone?

As I am applying to sponsor my common-law spouse, should I remind them that I am living with her and our baby? Or do they mean someone other than my spouse and our child? ???

Yes, you are... They mean "anyone".

15. Do you have any children?

When does a child stop being a child? If I had children with my ex wife 35 years ago and they are now grown up, married, have children of their own and live in another province do I still list them as my children?

Yes, you do... As you have to supply their DoB, CIC can work it out for themselves.

 

[Mrs. Hope]

There is no income requirement to sponsor a spouse. However, the sponsor may be required to prove that the applicant will not become a burden to the system. This may apply regardless of the reason you may have for working only 20hrs a week (career, school, child care, living with parents, etc). In some cases like yours, the applicant (your husband) may be required to show that his qualifications/work history make him employable in Canada. However, I don't believe your chances are slim, even with a 20hr/week job.

Ok,thanks for the info.

 

[chickenkiev]

I will try and give you the highlights to provide some context, and then I ask your opinion on best next steps please.

A few weeks ago, while in Ukraine, I got engaged to an amazing woman and the love of my life. The feelings are reciprocal on her part as well. Naturally, we want to be together as soon as possible, and ultimately, permanently in Canada. My profession does not afford me, both financially and and time-wise, the luxury of making numerous visits to Ukraine in the span of 12 - 18 months, so my fiancée and I need to be prudent in our decision making with regard to her visa application and ultimately, her PR application.

We are in no immediate rush to get married, but have discussed that ideally we will be married within 12 - 18 months (I am 44 and she is 35, and we want to start a family). She wants to spend time with me in Canada before we get married, if the CIC will grant her a TRV. What is the best way to apply for her TRV? Should I declare in my letter of invitation that she is my fiancée, or just identify her as a friend and hope the CIC doesn't presume an intimate relationship (which I believe to be highly unlikely)? Should she indicate in her application that she will take care of some or most of her expenses while in Canada, even if I am going to send her the money to cover the expenses, or is it OK to indicate I will take care of her needs while in Canada? Or, would it even be better if I could find a female friend to invite her to Canada? Does she increase her chances of receiving a TRV if she declares that her intended visit to Canada will be a shorter period than the 6 months permitted (say 1, 2, or 3 months)?

Furthermore, once she's here, should we quickly and quietly get married in Canada (if that's even legal and recognized in both Ukraine and Canada), and then make an inland PR application (along with an OWP), taking advantage of implied status? If we don't get married within the first 6 months of her visa, or within the CIC allotted period of her TRV, what are the odds of her receiving an extension to her TRV? And, please correct me if I am wrong, but I presume I need to purchase her a "throwaway ticket", so as to convince the CIC of her intention to return to Ukraine. Also, what happens with regard to her passport and applications to CIC, considering the fact that her surname will change to mine when we get married?

I honestly see getting married in Canada and applying inland for PR as the best option for us to remain together (provided she is approved in the first place for a TRV), and I am aware that it may take a little longer to be processed than an outland application and that there is no appeal process (should she be declined), and that she must remain in Canada while her application is being processed, but for some reason, this option seems less risky to me, and perhaps it's a misguided sense that if she's here with me, I can "make it all better", or at the very least, that we go through it together and we are there to support one another.

Or, would you recommend we get married in Ukraine and then we apply outland for her PR? The way I see it is that this option keeps us apart the longest amount of time, and it could prove to be more costly if interviews are required and I must travel to Ukraine (with my son sometimes). Much as I would like for her to marry me in her country in front of her family and friends, I have heard that marrying in Ukraine can be a long and tedious process, with much paperwork, unexpected delays, as well as prescribed and lengthy bureaucratic waiting periods for the civil marriage ceremony.

Furthermore, would you recommend I utilize an immigration consultant or lawyer, particularly for the paperwork and translations involved with the PR application? I am a very organized and thorough person, and on some other forums I belong to, most of the men indicate that I could easily complete the paperwork and save the expense (but not all of these men are Canadian, and only a few have knowledge of our CIC processes). However, not that I have money to burn, but I also want to make the process easy for my gal on her end, in case she gets confused by the forms and what exactly is required. An immigration consultant would ensure that my gal knows exactly what to do and that she does everything properly.

As an aside, I did have a free, "off the record" consultation with an immigration recruitment services company today that has significant experience in assisting Ukrainians to come to Canada, primarily for work, but they do have some experience with family PR applications. Their advice was that my fiancée has a 50/50 shot or less at getting a TRV right now, and that I should declare in my letter of invitation that she is my fiancée, as it establishes honesty from the outset, and that we should then consider the outland PR application as being the shortest and likely most successful route . . . though they saw no glaring reason why an inland application would be rejected/declined. I want to trust them, because of their extensive experience, but their advice isn't really what I want to hear, and it kind of runs contradictory to what many of the informed posters here indicate as wholly possible. I even have gentlemen friends on other forums who have had very speedy and very positive immigration experiences with their Ukrainian brides. I really don't know who to believe, but I would like to get the ball rolling soon to reunite me and my gal.

Get married in Ukraine, forget trying to do an endrun around the system. If this plan screws up, the extra time and costs you will regret.

Married in UKR, have her sign the marriage cert. and pr app in her name. Do all the name change stuff after arrival. Saves preparation time.

Marriage docs needed are on the cdn embassy website. when you get 10 post you can pm me questions as you prepare. kiev vo is fast, 4-7 months for most, anything over 9 is an outlier.
I wanted my app done right the first time with no document hiccups. consultant was only 500 bucks.
Doubt you will succeed with the TRV but could slow down the process. Not worth it IMHO.
Scratching my head about this...In the same post your wishing to be reunited with the lady and looking to bend the rules in your favour with a TRV, but then also saying you's are not in a hurry to get married. HUH? My advice again, do the outland app and if things dont work out then you can always cancel the app before she gets here and not being held liable for 3 years support.
P.S. Very very unlikely you will need to go to an interview if there is one. And you cannot appeal an Inland app.
Hope you think this through with your big head
Good luck!
...Back to making some Borsht

 

[am4u2ster]

Hello
I have got married on 2011, due to longer immigration process and she got failed in interview and due to some unavoidable circumstances my wife family do not want to carry on with the marriage, and decided to get divorced in india itself, my wife did not have any Canadian status as she did not completed all the process of immigration, very soon we are getting divorced in india,
my questions for you, do I need to get divorced over here in Canada?