warrenthegreat said:
How much quicker is it to apply outland? If it's just a matter of a few months then thats neither here nor there. Am i correct in understanding that we can move to Canada and my wife can enter on a tourist visa then extend and then apply for visitor status. Also at what point does she send her passport in. i think it's the last bit of the app assuming I don't pay the complete app fee but just the processing fee.
The sponsorship approval come first. The wait time is currently about 2 months. Then the application goes to one of the offices in Canada or aborad.
London is currently finalizing 80% of cases in 2 to 8 months, the median being about 5-6 months:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/international/05-fc-spouses.asp#europe
In-Canada applications are currently receiving first-stage approval in 6-7 months:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/canada/process-in.asp#perm_res
It's usually possible to get a work permit after first-stage approval, but I gather that finalizing the application can take considerably more time.
Spouse/partner cases through Vegreville that people have listed on trackitt.com/canada-immigration-trackers/family-class range from 237 to 2068 days for the entire process, with the median being around 370 days.
You can move to Canada. Your wife can't move, she can only visit, but they are likely to issue extensions to her visit until the PR application is processed, as long as you request each extension before the current one expires.
She doesn't send her passport until the very end when they ask for it. You can pay the $490 right of landing fee at the beginning but you don't have to until near the end. If they have to ask for it at the end, it may cause a little delay, but I think that most people do it that way.
One thing to note about the outland process. If there is an interview required, the interview would be in London.
