Common Law application - getting married after PPR

[Lucaslbv91]

Hi everyone,

I have recently received my PPR and would really appreciate any guidance on my situation, I’ve done some research and couldn’t find anything concrete.

I live in Canada and have applied in January with my common law partner for PR.

Upon receiving our PPR, I have mailed in our passports etc and expect to be receiving them soon.

Here is my issue: my partner and I are now thinking of using a pre planned trip abroad to get married and then on our return to Canada we would do the landing process.

I’m expecting to receive our passports in ~1 week. We are traveling abroad in 3 weeks and are thinking of getting married on that trip. Our return to Canada is in 4 weeks.

My questions:

1) would there be any issues during the landing process because of our “change in status”? I would assume it should be fine, considering that she is my common law partner in my PR application and has already been assessed by CIC, we have POF etc.

2) Do you think it would be best to email CIC now or when we receive our passports to inform them of our intention?

I’m thinking that during the trip, if we do decide to marry, I would email CIC informing that we have married. And then a couple of days later during landing I could show the email and marriage certificate.

Thanks so much and I really appreciate in advance any guidance!

 

[k.h.p.]

Change in status won't matter to IRCC at all. You've been approved as a spouse, you're just now a different kind of spouse.

Your bigger complication will be whether or not you get your PR card before your trip. If you do not get your PR card before your trip, you will not be able to fly back to Canada. You could fly back to the United States and cross a land border, but as a PR, you must have a PR card to re-enter Canada via commercial transport (airplane, train, commercial bus)

 

[Lucaslbv91]

Change in status won't matter to IRCC at all. You've been approved as a spouse, you're just now a different kind of spouse.

Your bigger complication will be whether or not you get your PR card before your trip. If you do not get your PR card before your trip, you will not be able to fly back to Canada. You could fly back to the United States and cross a land border, but as a PR, you must have a PR card to re-enter Canada via commercial transport (airplane, train, commercial bus)

Hi! Thanks so much for your quick reply! It makes sense. Would you recommend emailing cic after getting married just to inform them?

To clarify your second point, we would be landing and activating our PR status right after this trip I mentioned. So we would be waiting for our pr cards only after this trip.

We are currently waiting for our passports and copr, which I’m confident will arrive before our trip.

 

[k.h.p.]

Hi! Thanks so much for your quick reply! It makes sense. Would you recommend emailing cic after getting married just to inform them?

To clarify your second point, we would be landing and activating our PR status right after this trip I mentioned. So we would be waiting for our pr cards only after this trip.

We are currently waiting for our passports and copr, which I’m confident will arrive before our trip.

But if you're inland, it doesn't always work like that.

Did you apply as an inland applicant?

You can certainly email IRCC about your marriage, but it doesn't actually matter that much. They know you're common-law married, you are now legally married. It doesn't change your status - you were married before, and you're married now.

 

[Lucaslbv91]

But if you're inland, it doesn't always work like that.

Did you apply as an inland applicant?

You can certainly email IRCC about your marriage, but it doesn't actually matter that much. They know you're common-law married, you are now legally married. It doesn't change your status - you were married before, and you're married now.

Yes we applied inland. Do you mean that the landing process or copr process is different for inland applicants?

And thanks for clarifying the marriage concern. I feel more at ease now.

 

[k.h.p.]

If you applied inland, I am not 100% confident that you get a visa and COPR the same way that others do - if you do, then you're fine, you can leave Canada on vacation and come back and land. You'd effectively be doing a flagpole via a three-week vacation! I think that you get the COPR the same way. But since you are in Canada, you don't technically need a visa to enter Canada, so I don't know if they're going to attach a counterfoil in your passport.

If your passport is not from a visa-waiver country, if you don't get a visa counterfoil but have a COPR, you may be in an odd situation regarding re-entry to Canada from your vacation. If this happens, you may need to flagpole via a US border (or wait a long time for an IRCC office appointment) to officially land.

However, this is me just coming up with a potential risk - you could get your passport back with a visa in it, or you could be visa-exempt, and not need to worry at all.

Inland applicants do not land the same way as others - typically, they're inviting for a landing appointment at an IRCC office. Some people short-circuit that via the US border (they get an administrative refusal at the US POE and then come back to Canada and land). If you're planning on using your three-week vacation as the flagpole trip, you just need to make sure you can re-enter Canada.

 

[Lucaslbv91]

If you applied inland, I am not 100% confident that you get a visa and COPR the same way that others do - if you do, then you're fine, you can leave Canada on vacation and come back and land. You'd effectively be doing a flagpole via a three-week vacation! I think that you get the COPR the same way. But since you are in Canada, you don't technically need a visa to enter Canada, so I don't know if they're going to attach a counterfoil in your passport.

If your passport is not from a visa-waiver country, if you don't get a visa counterfoil but have a COPR, you may be in an odd situation regarding re-entry to Canada from your vacation. If this happens, you may need to flagpole via a US border (or wait a long time for an IRCC office appointment) to officially land.

However, this is me just coming up with a potential risk - you could get your passport back with a visa in it, or you could be visa-exempt, and not need to worry at all.

Inland applicants do not land the same way as others - typically, they're inviting for a landing appointment at an IRCC office. Some people short-circuit that via the US border (they get an administrative refusal at the US POE and then come back to Canada and land). If you're planning on using your three-week vacation as the flagpole trip, you just need to make sure you can re-enter Canada.

Thanks very much for your helpful information. I wasn’t aware that inland applicants might go through different processes, so I’ll do some more research based on your help. I’ve found the below link that provides a bit more info on this issue.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigratio...letins-2013/545-modified-december-6-2016.html

I’m not from a visa-exempt country. I guess now I will have to wait to get my passports back to check what will be my situation and if I can re-enter Canada using my vacations.

Thanks so much again!

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Thanks very much for your helpful information. I wasn’t aware that inland applicants might go through different processes, so I’ll do some more research based on your help. I’ve found the below link that provides a bit more info on this issue.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigratio...letins-2013/545-modified-december-6-2016.html

I’m not from a visa-exempt country. I guess now I will have to wait to get my passports back to check what will be my situation and if I can re-enter Canada using my vacations.

Thanks so much again!

You don't need to do any research. You wouldn't have had to send your passports if they weren't getting stamped with visas. You will get your passports back with the visas and your COPRs and can land on your return.

Email IRCC after you get married. It is always best to have anything like that on record.