I got my CoPR and will do a soft landiNG soon. My girlfriend and I are also planning to get married sometime in a year or two.
Is it better for her to apply for PR and then get married after she gets her CoPR? If yes, what will be the procedure and will there be any complications?
Or should I sponsor her for a spouse visa instead? I heard that sponsorship takes a lot of time to process.
Any suggestions?
Most will pursue the sponsorship route because the eligibility requirements are not so stringent. The outcome is more predictable and, indeed, if the sponsor is eligible to sponsor, the relationship meets the requirements, and the spouse is admissible (not inadmissible, such as for criminal charges), a PR visa will be issued to the sponsored spouse.
However, again and of course, the sponsor must be eligible to sponsor, and for a PR that means actually residing in Canada when making the application (and continuing to maintain residence in Canada through the process, although some temporary trips abroad would be OK).
Actual timeline for sponsored spouse applications varies considerably depending on many factors including which Visa Office is processing the application. Overall, IRCC's reported timelines tend to be far longer than it actually takes for most qualified applicants who properly submit a complete application without issues.
How you proceed is very much a personal decision.
Some cautions:
While ultimately it will not interfere with her ability to land and become a PR, if she applies for PR on her own and is issued the PR visa, she would have to notify IRCC of any change in her marital status between then and when she actually arrives and effects a landing in Canada, and that could cause some delay in the process. This may have very little impact, since it does not have any impact on her eligibility if she marries someone already a Canadian, but at that stage of things most will want to avoid any wrinkles. If you go the route of her obtaining PR status on her own, better for her to land and then you marry.
Be aware that if you begin co-habitation prior to your actual landing, you should carefully assess the situation. IRCC strictly enforces a one-year cohabiting requirement for a couple to qualify so that a partner is included in the PR application BUT tends to more broadly consider who must be disclosed as a common-law partner prior to landing. That is, be careful about how you proceed if you are already living together, even if your circumstances do not meet the technical definition of common-law partner.
The latter also applies for her if you elect for her to pursue her own PR application. If cohabiting, even if short of meeting the requirements for being a member of the common-law partner class, she should somehow declare the relationship (how depends on the particulars).
More information about these can be obtained in the conferences about immigrating.
