spouse

[aastha jain]

Hello, so im a single applicant and i got my copr and i will be landing in canada by year end. before that i plan to get engaged to my partner. i have heard then its a good idea to stay few months (5-6 months) in canada, before coming back to get married, so i can show that i can sponsor my partner.

kindly guide me from here on. I plan to work in canada for 6 months before coming back to get married. post that how can i get my spouse to come to canada as soon as possible?
i have heard one can apply for tourist visa, kindly share how easy or difficult is to get that
-further i was advised that once he is in canada he can apply for open work permit, again i have no idea how easy or difficult it is to get that
-also someone mentioned common in law partner as an option. Does it require me to show that we have been leaving toegether in canada for an year? or does it suffice to show that we were in a 1 yr long relationship in the same country (india) ,even though we werent living together?

The whole point of this inquiry is to understand the various options to consider if one wants one's partner to move to canada sooner and not have to live apart for an year or more.

Any guidance and suggestions would be of immense help..thank you!

 

[scylla]

Hello, so im a single applicant and i got my copr and i will be landing in canada by year end. before that i plan to get engaged to my partner. i have heard then its a good idea to stay few months (5-6 months) in canada, before coming back to get married, so i can show that i can sponsor my partner.

kindly guide me from here on. I plan to work in canada for 6 months before coming back to get married. post that how can i get my spouse to come to canada as soon as possible?
i have heard one can apply for tourist visa, kindly share how easy or difficult is to get that
-further i was advised that once he is in canada he can apply for open work permit, again i have no idea how easy or difficult it is to get that
-also someone mentioned common in law partner as an option. Does it require me to show that we have been leaving toegether in canada for an year? or does it suffice to show that we were in a 1 yr long relationship in the same country (india) ,even though we werent living together?

The whole point of this inquiry is to understand the various options to consider if one wants one's partner to move to canada sooner and not have to live apart for an year or more.

Any guidance and suggestions would be of immense help..thank you!

- There is no minimum time for you to stay in Canada before returning to marry your partner.
- You have to live together for a full year continuously to be classified as common law. No, being in a 1 year long relationship does not make you common law. You need to physically live together for a full year.
- Chances of a TRV being approved are probably 50/50. Your partner will want to show strong ties to their home country such as employment, property ownership and assets.
- If the TRV is approved, your partner can come to Canada and you can sponsor them inland after you are married. If you apply inland, you can include an open work permit with the application. It will take around 6-8 months for the open work permit to be approved.

 

[aastha jain]

- There is no minimum time for you to stay in Canada before returning to marry your partner.
- You have to live together for a full year continuously to be classified as common law. No, being in a 1 year long relationship does not make you common law. You need to physically live together for a full year.
- Chances of a TRV being approved are probably 50/50. Your partner will want to show strong ties to their home country such as employment, property ownership and assets.
- If the TRV is approved, your partner can come to Canada and you can sponsor them inland after you are married. If you apply inland, you can include an open work permit with the application. It will take around 6-8 months for the open work permit to be approved.

Hello, so till the time open work permit doesn't come through, he can't work at all in canada?
Additionally if he has come on tourist visa and say gets his work permit ,then can we count the period we stay together for common law.

Additionally im assuming i csnt take both routes for him right, either it would be common law or spousal visa?

Kindly clarify

 

[scylla]

Hello, so till the time open work permit doesn't come through, he can't work at all in canada?
Additionally if he has come on tourist visa and say gets his work permit ,then can we count the period we stay together for common law.

Additionally im assuming i csnt take both routes for him right, either it would be common law or spousal visa?

Kindly clarify

Correct. He will not be able to work in Canada until the work permit is approved.

For your second question, you have misunderstood how the process works. He cannot simply come to Canada on a TRV and then apply for the work permit. To qualify for an open work permit, you need to submit an application to sponsor him for PR. To qualify to sponsor him for PR, you need to be either married or be common law (meaning you have already completed a full year of living together continuously). So if you want to go the common law route, he would need to get a TRV approved, then come to Canada and live with you in Canada for a full year, and only then submit the sponsorship application and work permit application. So he would be waiting a year and a half or more in Canada without the ability to work. This doesn't make sense and is a bad plan in my opinion. You should get married so that you can qualify to sponsor him sooner.

 

[aastha jain]

Correct. He will not be able to work in Canada until the work permit is approved.

For your second question, you have misunderstood how the process works. He cannot simply come to Canada on a TRV and then apply for the work permit. To qualify for an open work permit, you need to submit an application to sponsor him for PR. To qualify to sponsor him for PR, you need to be either married or be common law (meaning you have already completed a full year of living together continuously). So if you want to go the common law route, he would need to get a TRV approved, then come to Canada and live with you in Canada for a full year, and only then submit the sponsorship application and work permit application. So he would be waiting a year and a half or more in Canada without the ability to work. This doesn't make sense and is a bad plan in my opinion. You should get married so that you can qualify to sponsor him sooner.

 

[aastha jain]

thank you for clarifying several things. can you also share what factors govern how quickly one gets work permit? because i didnt know that even that could take this long (6-8 months). also in order to apply for open work permit, does he need to stay put in canada? or can he go back to india while they are processing, since what would he do without any work in canada for 6-8 months. kindly clarify

 

[scylla]

thank you for clarifying several things. can you also share what factors govern how quickly one gets work permit? because i didnt know that even that could take this long (6-8 months). also in order to apply for open work permit, does he need to stay put in canada? or can he go back to india while they are processing, since what would he do without any work in canada for 6-8 months. kindly clarify

The work permit will take a minimum of four months to be approved - however right now they are taking in the range of 6-8 months to be approved. The factor that influences this is application volumes. There's nothing you can do to speed up processing.

No, he cannot return to India. He must continue living in Canada to qualify to be sponsored through the inland process. So he needs to be prepared to live in Canada for 4-8 months without the ability to work. If this doesn't work for him, then you should sponsor him through the outland route which allows him to be outside of Canada - however there is no work permit available with the outland process.

 

[aastha jain]

The work permit will take a minimum of four months to be approved - however right now they are taking in the range of 6-8 months to be approved. The factor that influences this is application volumes. There's nothing you can do to speed up processing.

No, he cannot return to India. He must continue living in Canada to qualify to be sponsored through the inland process. So he needs to be prepared to live in Canada for 4-8 months without the ability to work. If this doesn't work for him, then you should sponsor him through the outland route which allows him to be outside of Canada - however there is no work permit available with the outland process.

Ohh and the 2nd option is, after we get married and i go back to canada..we wait separately, however long it might take for his PR to get processed, so that ways he is atleast working..also some people suggested that i get married now on paper, do you seek any advantage of doing that, would it make a difference?
i was thinking as of now, i should first focus on landing in canada by novemeber since my visa expires in feb, work there for 6 months and then fly back to india to get married.
do share your thoughts..

 

[scylla]

Ohh and the 2nd option is, after we get married and i go back to canada..we wait separately, however long it might take for his PR to get processed, so that ways he is atleast working..also some people suggested that i get married now on paper, do you seek any advantage of doing that, would it make a difference?
i was thinking as of now, i should first focus on landing in canada by novemeber since my visa expires in feb, work there for 6 months and then fly back to india to get married.
do share your thoughts..

Yes, both of these are an option. It's really up to you which one you pick. I can't really advise you on that.

You don't need to work in Canada for six months before flying back and getting married. You can return right after landing and get married immediately.

 

[aastha jain]

Yes, both of these are an option. It's really up to you which one you pick. I can't really advise you on that.

You don't need to work in Canada for six months before flying back and getting married. You can return right after landing and get married immediately.

But for me to be able to sponsor him, do i not need to work some amount of time here in Canada first So i can show i have the required funds to sponsor him?

 

[scylla]

But for me to be able to sponsor him, do i not need to work some amount of time here in Canada first So i can show i have the required funds to sponsor him?

No, you don't.

 

[aastha jain]

No, you don't.

Okay thank you for clarifying..i will cross check this with others as well

 

[armoured]

Ohh and the 2nd option is, after we get married and i go back to canada..we wait separately, however long it might take for his PR to get processed, so that ways he is atleast working..also some people suggested that i get married now on paper, do you seek any advantage of doing that, would it make a difference?
i was thinking as of now, i should first focus on landing in canada by novemeber since my visa expires in feb, work there for 6 months and then fly back to india to get married.
do share your thoughts..

I don't disagree with any of the comments / suggestions from @scylla but perhaps you are overthinking:
1) He should apply for visitor visa as soon as possible. Whether he gets the visa approved or not will determine what options you have.

2) If you wish to submit the application earlier, get married earlier. One option would be to travel to Canada sooner than you plan right now, do your landing procedure, and return home to get married. (Note: do NOT get married before you land unless you're prepared to wait for his addition to your app to be approved, and that might take considerable time)

3) After that, you complete your move to Canada and apply to sponsor when you have the documentation in order (eg marriage certificate). Note, if you submit as outland, your spouse can join you if he has a visitor's visa. (No OWP is possible, though). This stage is no different between these scenarios.

Whether he wants to work and save money before moving to Canada - that's up to you and you can decide later.

Important: look at the sponsorship package and read through it. There are some things to demonstrate your marriage is genuine that you should be sure to organize now and during the next months, including the marriage.

You haven't specified your country (I could guess from you nickname but own't): you want to make sure your marriage ceremony etc is appropriate for country and traditions; that doesn't necessarily mean a huge marriage (although might if eg arranged marriage) but in some cases the courthouse marriage with no-one attending may lead to more scrutiny (but fine in some cases/countries). Friends and family participating can be important, some celebration, etc. All of this also has to be looked at in context of the rest of the supporting info for your applicaiton.

 

[aastha jain]

I don't disagree with any of the comments / suggestions from @scylla but perhaps you are overthinking:
1) He should apply for visitor visa as soon as possible. Whether he gets the visa approved or not will determine what options you have.

2) If you wish to submit the application earlier, get married earlier. One option would be to travel to Canada sooner than you plan right now, do your landing procedure, and return home to get married. (Note: do NOT get married before you land unless you're prepared to wait for his addition to your app to be approved, and that might take considerable time)

3) After that, you complete your move to Canada and apply to sponsor when you have the documentation in order (eg marriage certificate). Note, if you submit as outland, your spouse can join you if he has a visitor's visa. (No OWP is possible, though). This stage is no different between these scenarios.

Whether he wants to work and save money before moving to Canada - that's up to you and you can decide later.

Important: look at the sponsorship package and read through it. There are some things to demonstrate your marriage is genuine that you should be sure to organize now and during the next months, including the marriage.

You haven't specified your country (I could guess from you nickname but own't): you want to make sure your marriage ceremony etc is appropriate for country and traditions; that doesn't necessarily mean a huge marriage (although might if eg arranged marriage) but in some cases the courthouse marriage with no-one attending may lead to more scrutiny (but fine in some cases/countries). Friends and family participating can be important, some celebration, etc. All of this also has to be looked at in context of the rest of the supporting info for your applicaiton.

Yes I'm from India. Not sure if I'm just anxious,but the thing is this is the first time I'm collecting info pertaining to spousal visa so have a lot of doubts.

So to confirm, if post marriage he applies for tourist visa, gets it and he comes by, then can one apply for owp as inland?

Also what if i get married before i go to Canada but i declare it later? Can that be a problem?


Yes its a good option to consider, that i can come to Canada sooner ,so my pr process gets completed and then come back and get married

 

[scylla]

Yes I'm from India. Not sure if I'm just anxious,but the thing is this is the first time I'm collecting info pertaining to spousal visa so have a lot of doubts.

So to confirm, if post marriage he applies for tourist visa, gets it and he comes by, then can one apply for owp as inland?

Also what if i get married before i go to Canada but i declare it later? Can that be a problem?


Yes its a good option to consider, that i can come to Canada sooner ,so my pr process gets completed and then come back and get married

You CANNOT get married now, go to Canada and declare the marriage later. If you do that, it will be a huge problem and you will never be able to sponsor your spouse.

You either need to get married AFTER landing in Canada and become a PR.

OR

You get married BEFORE, let the visa office know you are no longer single and return your COPR, submit all of the paperwork to add your spouse to the application, wait an additional 6+ months for IRCC to process this change, and then wait for a new COPR to be issued.

There are several threads dealing with this in the Express Entry section of the forum. Strongly recommend you join discussions there if you're trying to decide between the two options.