best course of action regards visiting and filing PR- any advice welcome!

[wot-a-muppet]

Hi all, newbie here!
I've had a good hunt through to look for advice and have just ended up with unanswered questions and square eyes lol, so thought it time to post.
I recently married a Canadian citizen after a real uphill struggle, we had a very traumatic situation last year, a virtual kidnap experience at the hands of a female relative of his who flipped and became obsessed with him when her husband suddenly walked out. Then, after getting out of all that he just wanted to see me, he bought a ticket over but was refused entry to the UK (I'm a Brit) as he was honest and said he wanted to visit his fiancé.

Anyway we finally got married very quietly in Vancouver on New Year's Eve '09. I left Canada on my return ticket with husband accompanying me, this time (he is obviously on the UK immigration hitlist now) he was held for 8 hours, "technically" he was denied entry again but they let him in for a reduced stay of week and kept his passport And this was despite having plenty of evidence of his intention to return to Canada.
Anyway, thats just a tiny idea of what we've been through, I'd love to say more but no-one would ever believe me...suffice it to say we want to be together properly asap.

I'm due to meet him next week in the US as we are doing a short course as we are intending to build our own home, we have the land and an RV to live in whilst we are doing it.

Now thanks to this brilliant forum we learned about it being possible to enter as a tourist and state you intend to file PR, I took a look at the us2canada.com website and it certainly sounds worth trying. One thing I did notice though, it says he MUST be with me when I enter, does that mean that I have to fly to Canada via another country so we can meet up there and then enter Canada together? Or am I reading it wrong somehow? Obviously if we do have to the UK is out, the other choice would be the US but tbh Im really paranoid about the US as he holds dual nationality (even though he's never lived there or anything) and they ask about that on landing cards now, so technically I'm married to a US citizen but don't have the right to live with him anywhere YET...I'm really worried they wont let me in especially after I will have only left a few weeks previously.

Also, does anyone have experience of doing this via road entry? We actually would be buying a car and taking it in to Canada for when I get there, if I could drive over the border it'd be so much cheaper than using a hauling service. Or would that be making things more difficult? We are already shipping the RV to Canada for that reason.
Further to the driving issue, a major reason for us wanting to be together asap is this-hubs doesn't drive (he was in a really bad accident as a child) and where we have the land is a 15 min drive to the nearest big place for jobs. No public transportation, no neighbours, nothing. We have some savings he could live off of if he had to be there by himself while I was being processed if I was outside of the country but it'd be such a waste and he wants to get a job (he'll do anything) but not having anyone to drive him would prevent it for sure. He genuinely would find it incredibly hard to manage under those conditions without even a phone to call for help if he got sick, I know immigration officers aren't exactly known for their compassion but Canada's do seem to be (on paper at least) much more humanitarian than the US or the rest of the Commonwealth.

Any input would be gratefully received! :-*

 

[RobsLuv]

OK, let me see if I have this straight - you're a UK national, your husband has dual US/Canadian citizenship. You're currently anticipating going to the US together to attend this home-building course and then you want to come back to Canada with him to wait out finalization of your PR application which is already in process?

IF all of this is true - and even if you don't yet have a PR ap in process - then you should be able to enter Canada WITH HIM by accompanying him to Canada from the US. You guys will need proof that you are legally married, and some indication that he either has applied, or will soon apply, to sponsor you for PR. Yes, you can do this by land - driving in from the States. He will need to be prepared to speak on your behalf - showing that you're married, that he can support you (more on this later) and that he is applying to sponsor you for permanent status. (He'll also need to be prepared to import the car if you're buying it in the States.)

You can't bring in a bunch of your stuff either - you have to come as though you are only staying temporarily . . . even though you really aren't. It's called "dual intent" - to be in Canada, understanding you only have temporary status, even though your ultimate intention is to stay permanently. They will give you limited status - which means you won't be eligible to work or attend school (unless it's a course of a duration less than 6 months), and your temporary status document (a Visitor Record) will have an expiration date. They'll tell you that you need to either leave Canada or apply to extend your status from within Canada BEFORE it expires. You 'll need to make sure the application is received by CIC BEFORE your status expires - so send it by courier and get delivery confirmation. That gives you "implied status" to remain in Canada until they make a decision on the extension (which is about 100 days). Again, include documentation of your legal marriage, the PR ap (in process by then, for sure) and proof that he can financially support you.

My one concern for your entry is that - you mention that he wants to get a job. Not being able to demonstrate that he is working (so that you won't have to work illegally) could be an issue for you. If he has family in Canada who are willing to provide a statutory declaration of their intent to provide housing and support for the two of you until he gets a job, it would be good to have that with you. Otherwise they might not let you in, worrying that you'll try to work because he isn't.