Advice for moving to Canada during outland PR app processing

[nbcanada]

Hi all,

I've read through various threads and info from IRCC, but just wanted advice/feedback about our plan before we submit. I'm a Canadian citizen by birth living in Japan for the past 4 years with my Japanese wife. We plan to submit our application later this week, and we're set to move to Canada in January 2019 since I have a job and apartment already lined up in Canada. We're planning for my wife to come with me on a visitors visa (probably an IEC working holiday visa) with the assumption she'd go back to Japan if the application is delayed or otherwise.

I have a few questions:
1) We need to be careful to make sure she comes to Canada looking like a visitor and not someone who looks like they're moving, right?
2) How long is the processing time on average for outland applications from Japan (I think we'd use the Manilla office)? Since IRCC will receive the application in Aug 2018, this puts the expected result date at Aug 2019 or earlier, well within the 1 year IEC visa starting from Jan 2019.
3) How does my wife receive her PR from an outland application if she's in Canada when it's completed?
4) Any other advice?

Thanks

 

[nbcanada]

Any experiences with similar situation would be appreciated also, or links to people who have

 

[Jiro]

So our circumstances are exactly the same as yours. Don't have any experience with outland. But I would recommend an inland application if your priority is to stay together.

This is what we did; our inland application took a total of 13 months. Delayed by 2 months due to a pregnancy where my wife couldn't finish her medical assessment as they won't conduct non-essential X-rays on pregnant women.

1. Got all our paperwork together for inland application. Paid the fees for the inland application & printed out the receipt
2. Landed in Toronto with wife entering as visitor and declaring that we intend to apply for a PR via inland route
   • We got sent to secondary processing, and as a Canadian, we got bumped to front of the line
3. The inspecting immigration agent looked at all paperwork we had assembled and within 20 minutes gave my wife a very formal looking TRV for 6 months
   • He had commented that it was good that we showed we paid our fees upfront as it demonstrated true intent along with our very complete application
   • Thinking back, having a formal TRV was great because it gave her a UCI Client ID and opened a file for her right there and then. I bet IRCC tracked the time between landing and when we submitted her PR application.
4. Within a month of landing, we submitted the inland application AND an application for an Open Work Permit.
   • This took some time as we got all her documents translated and certified. The koseki touhon, marriage certificate, etc.
     
   • You could get this done in Japan but we figured IRCC would trust a certified translator and notary public in Canada more than one overseas.
5. We got our Acknowledgement or Receipt (AOR) very quickly. 14 days after mailing. We were also at the Consulate to get her Japanese driver's license record as in Ontario, Japanese licenses are transferable without need of a driving test.
   • The consular agent allowed us to apply for the police certificate using the AOR as proof of our PR application.
     
   • This shaves off weeks/months as you don't need to wait for the IRCC to send a request to the Japanese governement
6. My wife received her OWP 6 weeks after submission. They have her visa validity for 24 months. She can now enter and reenter with that visa since she is classified as having non-visitor status and can work. She was also eligible for a temporary SIN and is able to start her pension file. This also took tremendous pressure off of us as her status in Canada was 24 months instead of a short 6.
   
7. Request for Schedule A comes through GCKey portal. This will usually be 2-3 months after AOR. At about the same time (+1-2 weeks), the Japanese consulate calls us to say that her police record is here. We scan and upload to GCKey portal, sent in a certified copy along with Schedule A, and kept the original just in case.
   
8. Lots of waiting. During this time we returned to Japan for about 5 weeks to care for some ailing elderly family. Came back using the OWP without any issue or any questions.
   
9. At about 10months since submission, we get a notice for medicals. Panel physician booked, everything done except for the chest X-ray. They sent in a notice on our behalf to the IRCC saying that it cannot be completed due to pregnancy.
   
10. At 11.5 months since start, wife gives birth. She waits about 10 days and gets the chest X-ray.
    
11. One month later, we get AIP, DM and landing letter within a matter of 48 hours.
    
12. Landing interview was one week after that, at exactly 13 months.
    
13. PR card arrives 7 weeks later.

Best thing to remember is that you can never be too cautious about double-checking/triple checking paperwork. IRCC posts very detailed guides on how to fill it out. Delaying submission by 2-3 weeks (which we did!) we caught a few errors that would have bounced back our application and set us back months. We had absolutely no contact/ non-standard requests from IRCC. Only got three emails from them: Schedule A, Medical, then the Landing Letter.

Good luck.

 

[nbcanada]

Thanks for the detailed reply. We've already filled out and translated all the documents we need, basically just holding onto it to decide what we're going to do at this point. I never thought to apply inland, I figured she would get her PR faster if we applied outland since we aren't moving for a few months, and less hassle if she ended up getting an IEC.

I'll think about it more, but I think I'll still go with the outland sponsor + going with IEC/visitor visa a few months after.

 

[Jiro]

Like I said, we have no experience with outland. The IRCC posts inland/outland application processing times. If there is an appreciable difference in processing times, then Outland may be quicker if that is your priority. Our priority was to keep us all together as we already had a toddler during the process.

 

[smallcoffee]

Jiro, did you buy a return ticket for your wife and/or said you would all leave if the application is denied?

 

[Jiro]

Jiro, did you buy a return ticket for your wife and/or said you would all leave if the application is denied?

No, we bought a single trip.

There was very little questioning. I stated our intentions very clearly, ie: want to apply inland as to keep the family together and showed our paperwork. The agent spent much of our questioning period reviewing the paperwork with his supervisor. No issues.