Clarification needed, if someone could take a look at this.

[Hauser]

at what ?

 

[JCD]

Whoops! Somehow my browser managed to eat my question. Here's a repost, and thanks in advance for your time.


I need to have the following statement clarified:

"You are not required to have legal immigration status to apply for permanent residence in the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada Class."

For ease of reference, the above is stated several times throughout the immigration website but I found it under guide 5291- Humanitarian and Compassionate Considerations.

My problem is that after visiting this forum and reading the advice others in a roughly similar situation have recieved I suspect I've misunderstood that statement and acted on said misunderstanding for longer than was wise. When they say legal immigration status is not required, does that mean you can still apply if you've overstayed? Is it a reference to location? Something like a declaration that you don't have to be physically in Canada to apply?

 

[CharlieD10]

The Spouse/Common-Law Partner in Canada class can only be used if the person is physically actually present in Canada, that statement has no bearing on an Outland application.

What it means is that if someone has been in Canada illegally or has overstayed the limits of a legal temporary residence, this does not preclude them from submitting an Inland application (Spouse/Common Law Partner in Canada) for permanent residence. It is the responsibility of a person to maintain their legal status, but they won't penalise persons who have not done so by automatically rejecting their Inland application on the grounds that they don't have legal status.

 

[JCD]

Thank you very much. I'm relieved to know that I wasn't that far off in my assumptions.

To continue the same thread for a minute, being the spouse of a Canadian might see a bit of leeway where legal status is concerned, but it doesn't help you where the other qualifications are concerned, right? Such as being able to show the ability to support your spouse until they can work, etc?

Let me expound a bit. I'm married to a Canadian citizen but I've overstayed. At present she's able to show employment but no work history (we've been working on the family farm and were supported that way). Our goal is to proceed with my immigration, but at this point it looks like I will need to leave Canada for a while in order to avoid having my application rejected.

Is there any way for a spouse to leave Canada after overstaying without being banned from re-entry? I'd like to do things the right way, now that I understand what that means exactly.

 

[CharlieD10]

Being the spouse of a Canadian citizen pretty much gets you zero leeway, actually. You can still be removed from the country for failing to abide by the terms of your admission.

That said, however, yes you must meet ALL the conditions of admissibility in order to qualify to remain in Canada. There is no minimum income required to sponsor a spouse, but there must be clear evidence that the applicant is not financially inadmissible, and that arrangements not including relying on social assistance have been made for their care. If your spouse is the Canadian, and not currently employed, you need to detail in your application how your basic needs (food, shelter, clothing) will be provided for and what arrangements are made for work so you can become self-sufficient.