Can I be in Canada with my wife whilst she sponsors me?

[Sean.Holmes999]

Hello,

Currently I live in the UK (I am a British citizen) with my wife (she is a Canadian Citizen). We have been married for over 5 years and we wish to return to Canada (Nova Scotia) to settle. To make things complicated, my wife's spousal visa in the UK is very close to expiring and we want to try everything we can to not be separated. From the research I have done the best option for us seems to be for her to sponsor me as her spouse in turn eventually gaining me PR in Canada so that we can both eventually live there together. However, I wondered if anybody knows of ANYTHING that I am missing along the lines of is there a way I could be in Canada with her while the application is processing or can I simply only go to Canada as a visitor until the spousal application is either accepted or (hopefully not) rejected? Or can she only sponsor me from Canada with me remaining in the UK?

Any information would be so, so helpful at this point because time is really against us.

Many thanks.

 

[fashiontart]

You can be sponsored Inland (you'd enter Canada first as a visitor). You can't work until you receive your open work permit, but you can apply for that once you apply for your Inland sponsorship. You can only apply for the OWP via Inland sponsorship, not outland.

 

[Ponga]

Hello,

Currently I live in the UK (I am a British citizen) with my wife (she is a Canadian Citizen). We have been married for over 5 years and we wish to return to Canada (Nova Scotia) to settle. To make things complicated, my wife's spousal visa in the UK is very close to expiring and we want to try everything we can to not be separated. From the research I have done the best option for us seems to be for her to sponsor me as her spouse in turn eventually gaining me PR in Canada so that we can both eventually live there together. However, I wondered if anybody knows of ANYTHING that I am missing along the lines of is there a way I could be in Canada with her while the application is processing or can I simply only go to Canada as a visitor until the spousal application is either accepted or (hopefully not) rejected? Or can she only sponsor me from Canada with me remaining in the UK?

Any information would be so, so helpful at this point because time is really against us.

Many thanks.

Yes, you can absolutely be in Canada together during the spousal sponsorship process. This is possible in three different ways:

1. You both come to Canada (you as a visitor) and submit an Inland spousal sponsorship application (which may be the best option if you want/need to work in Canada ASAP). You would need to include an Open Work Permit (OWP) application at the same time, in the same envelope/package that you are submitting. The OWP would also give you Maintained Status (automatically) if your visitor status expires during the process. For this reason (2-for-1 benefit, in essence) many people choose this option.

2. Same, but instead of submitting an Inland application, you submit an Outland application. It's confusing, but a person that is IN Canada can submit an Outland application. The caveat is that unlike with an Inland application, you could not submit the OWP application, which simply means that you could not work until your PR has been approved. It's usually a faster process to complete, versus the Inland application, but again, if working is important to you, Inland may be the better choice.

3. You remain in the UK and she returns to Canada and sponsors you with an Outland application.

Good luck!

 

[Sean.Holmes999]

Yes, you can absolutely be in Canada together during the spousal sponsorship process. This is possible in three different ways:

1. You both come to Canada (you as a visitor) and submit an Inland spousal sponsorship application (which may be the best option if you want/need to work in Canada ASAP). You would need to include an Open Work Permit (OWP) application at the same time, in the same envelope/package that you are submitting. The OWP would also give you Maintained Status (automatically) if your visitor status expires during the process. For this reason (2-for-1 benefit, in essence) many people choose this option.

2. Same, but instead of submitting an Inland application, you submit an Outland application. It's confusing, but a person that is IN Canada can submit an Outland application. The caveat is that unlike with an Inland application, you could not submit the OWP application, which simply means that you could not work until your PR has been approved. It's usually a faster process to complete, versus the Inland application, but again, if working is important to you, Inland may be the better choice.

3. You remain in the UK and she returns to Canada and sponsors you with an Outland application.

Good luck!

Fantastic advice, thank you so much for your time and knowledge!

 

[Sean.Holmes999]

You can be sponsored Inland (you'd enter Canada first as a visitor). You can't work until you receive your open work permit, but you can apply for that once you apply for your Inland sponsorship. You can only apply for the OWP via Inland sponsorship, not outland.
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Thank you so much, that is very helpful.