Do I (sponsor) have to accompany spouse to land in Canada and validate PR?
- Thread starter ludnan
- Start date
i also read that the sponsor has to be there when they land! as long as you get a letter from your doctor theres no reason you cant fly! some women fly op to 32 weeks as long as youre feeling ok and your pregnancy is normal. just make sure to stay hydrated on the flight and get up and walk around when you can since its a long flight you need to keep your circulation moving.
Thank you all for your responses. Two votes for yes-i-have-to-be-there and one for no! Oh dear, that would put a spanner in the works, physically and financially, if I do have to be there. Does anyone else want to weigh in with a vote for yes or no? Also, if I do have to be there, are we okay to just enter the country for one night, then go back again the next day?
Many thanks,
A
Many thanks,
A
Wilson, that is not correct! Please don't post mis-information - as it will only confuse people.wilson said:
LUDNAN - only PR's have to apply from within Canada [and even then, that is not necessarily true - as a PR needs to be within Canada to fulfill the residency requirements of their PR Status only. [To meet these residency obligations, you must be physically present in Canada for at least 730 days (2 years) in every 5-year period.] If you can do that, and still be with your spouse during the sponsorship - then that is up to you. (Of course there is the issue of proving to the CIC that you plan to live in Canada and have establishments there etc... but if you are already approved - that is a mute point.)
I know MANY Canadian Citizens who applied with their spouses outland, and are living with their spouses outland.....and will be coming back to Canada together. I also know some who are travelling separately.
As for physically being there when your spouse lands NO you do not need to be there. They will need - their Passport with affixed visa, their COPR, a listing of items they are bringing with them into country - declared value etc. [and really the most major concerns here are money (currency) amongst all the items]. They should know where they are going [if the sponsor spouse is in Canada - their address will be on the COPR].
One thing to note, if your spouse is planning to return back to UK to be with you after landing, he should wait until he gets his PR card as if he leaves Canada without it (PR Card), he will need to apply for a Travel Document (Permanent Resident Abroad) before he re-enters Canada. This application is for permanent residents outside of Canada who need proof of their status so they can return to Canada. A Travel Document is a visa that allows you to seek re-admission to Canada as a permanent resident once. This application must be submitted to a Canadian visa office, embassy, high commission or consulate outside of Canada.
hope this helps...
Rasha, can the spouse not have his PR card posted to him in the UK (by a friend or family member where the PR card would originally be sent) so that he can avoid this 'Travel Document' and just land back in Canada with PR card?Rasha said:
Thanks very much for your replies and for your explanation, Rasha. Here's our full situation - so I can check that I don't misunderstand anything else.
Spouse had medical last Feb. Passport was returned to us in April with all the documentation ready to go. We aren't quite ready to move to Canada (likely will be April 2010 when our lease is up), but spouse has to land in Canada to 'activate' PR visa before his medical runs out in April - is that correct?
I am operating on the understanding that he does need to land to activate, and then we can move to Canada proper in the coming years, as long as we abide by the 730 days in 5 years rule.
I didn't realise he had to wait for the PR card. How long does that take? The additional travel document sounds like a pain! I'll echo lesintheuk's question - can he enter through Toronto for a couple of days, give the address of my parents in BC as where he's eventually staying, and have the PR card sent there, then on to the UK?
So complicated…
Spouse had medical last Feb. Passport was returned to us in April with all the documentation ready to go. We aren't quite ready to move to Canada (likely will be April 2010 when our lease is up), but spouse has to land in Canada to 'activate' PR visa before his medical runs out in April - is that correct?
I am operating on the understanding that he does need to land to activate, and then we can move to Canada proper in the coming years, as long as we abide by the 730 days in 5 years rule.
I didn't realise he had to wait for the PR card. How long does that take? The additional travel document sounds like a pain! I'll echo lesintheuk's question - can he enter through Toronto for a couple of days, give the address of my parents in BC as where he's eventually staying, and have the PR card sent there, then on to the UK?
So complicated…
I don't think the PR Card will be posted outside of Canada - this is why they ask for proof of where you will be living when you land in Canada, as that is the address they will ask for in the landing interview [and where the card will be sent].
What I have known some people to do, is they have a trusted friend/family member watch the mail, and when the card arrives, they send it to them by courier if they are out of the country...keep in mind there is a risk to being lost [as limited as it may be, but this is what some have done.]
What I have known some people to do, is they have a trusted friend/family member watch the mail, and when the card arrives, they send it to them by courier if they are out of the country...keep in mind there is a risk to being lost [as limited as it may be, but this is what some have done.]
ludnan, check my other post ... many have done just that ...the card arrives at the family's home, and then they send it by FedEx or DHL etc....my suggestion, just in case it gets lost (not that it should) but have that family member make copies and keep one in safe keeping.....ludnan said:Thanks very much for your replies and for your explanation, Rasha. Here's our full situation - so I can check that I don't misunderstand anything else.
Spouse had medical last Feb. Passport was returned to us in April with all the documentation ready to go. We aren't quite ready to move to Canada (likely will be April 2010 when our lease is up), but spouse has to land in Canada to 'activate' PR visa before his medical runs out in April - is that correct?
I am operating on the understanding that he does need to land to activate, and then we can move to Canada proper in the coming years, as long as we abide by the 730 days in 5 years rule.
I didn't realise he had to wait for the PR card. How long does that take? The additional travel document sounds like a pain! I'll echo lesintheuk's question - can he enter through Toronto for a couple of days, give the address of my parents in BC as where he's eventually staying, and have the PR card sent there, then on to the UK?
So complicated...
AS for landing etc.. .on your husband's visa, and on the COPR - there is an expiry date. This is a one time entry into Canada, and it must be done by that date - it should be within one year of the medical he has taken. Until he actually lands - he is not a formal PR and the 2 out of 5 years in Canada does not apply. For it he doens't arrive in Canada by the the time the visa expires - you will have to resubmit to the entire process all over again [and another $1040 etc.....]
What you are proposing to do, some people do just that .. land to be 'official'- get the status initiated, and then return home to get their affairs in order to make the final transition back to Canada.
I will say that CIC frowns on this - and in some cases forces applicants to rescend their work visas if they are resident in a foreign country [thinking of Abu Dhabi/and UAE] - before final approval or any visa will be issued. And their premise is simply, why should they quickly process a family that is not going to come into Canada immediately, when there are many *sic* cases of families and disjointed spouses that will come immediately. It puts a drain on resources etc...
What you do is your freedom though
Best of luck to you and your husband.The reason some visa offices may ask people to cancel their work visas before they will allow a spouse to be sponsored is because many people sponsor their spouse from overseas which is allowed if you are a citizen and are moving to Canada when they get their PR but then they don't move to Canada when they get their PR, instead they stay whereever they are and the spouses PR is protected for living with a Canadian citizen spouse.
Immigration doesn't do anything about it though. It's not like they can drag you back to Canada and make you live there. I don't think they'd have a problem with people who are taking a few months or a year to tie up lose ends before they move, I think it's more the people who really have no intention of moving in the first place but would like a PR for the spouse to keep in their back pocket in case they might possibly want to move at some point in the future. I can understand why people might want to have a PR in their back pocket but I can also understand why it might piss off immigration that they are spending resources processing people who may not move to Canada for years or even at all.
Immigration doesn't do anything about it though. It's not like they can drag you back to Canada and make you live there. I don't think they'd have a problem with people who are taking a few months or a year to tie up lose ends before they move, I think it's more the people who really have no intention of moving in the first place but would like a PR for the spouse to keep in their back pocket in case they might possibly want to move at some point in the future. I can understand why people might want to have a PR in their back pocket but I can also understand why it might piss off immigration that they are spending resources processing people who may not move to Canada for years or even at all.