Financial requirement for Canadian wife to sponsor US citizen

[northamexec]

Hello,

I'm a U.S. born Citizen and she is a Canadian citizen born in Toronto, we each hold passports of our respective countries. We are planning a marriage soon and plan to sponsor each other for PR and later citizenship in each other's countries...we want to live 1/2 time in the U.S. and half time in Canada to be near both of our families.

We have researched the U.S. requirements and we're in good shape. However we are wondering what the financial requirements are for her to sponsor on the Canadian side, as she has been unemployed for the past year. (We plan to submit simultaneous applications, me sponsoring her on the U.S. side and her sponsoring me on the Canada side) She is in her mid 20's and has a decent employment history (except for the past year) and a good savings account balance.

Also, we have read stories about people having to reside by themselves in their home countries for a year or more, waiting for immigration paperwork to be processed on the Canadian side of things. How can we avoid this? We want to be together as much as possible (in either country). My work is done remote via computer so it doesn't matter where we are (we prefer to be together).

Thanks in advance for replies!

 

[Aquakitty]

Hello,

I'm a U.S. born Citizen and she is a Canadian citizen born in Toronto, we each hold passports of our respective countries. We are planning a marriage soon and plan to sponsor each other for PR and later citizenship in each other's countries...we want to live 1/2 time in the U.S. and half time in Canada to be near both of our families.

We have researched the U.S. requirements and we're in good shape. However we are wondering what the financial requirements are for her to sponsor on the Canadian side, as she has been unemployed for the past year. (We plan to submit simultaneous applications, me sponsoring her on the U.S. side and her sponsoring me on the Canada side) She is in her mid 20's and has a decent employment history (except for the past year) and a good savings account balance.

Also, we have read stories about people having to reside by themselves in their home countries for a year or more, waiting for immigration paperwork to be processed on the Canadian side of things. How can we avoid this? We want to be together as much as possible (in either country). My work is done remote via computer so it doesn't matter where we are (we prefer to be together).

Thanks in advance for replies!

There is no financial requirement, you just need to show how you will support yourself. If you are currently living in the US, CIC will want proof that you intend to reside in Canada as well. You can easily live together in Canada until you get your PR, just make sure to renew your visitor status before it expires. You are allowed to visit for 6 months and it is recommended to renew this status 30 days before it expires.

Note that you can apply outside of Canada (aka outland) while living in Canada. This is usually the fastest route for Americans and it should be the route you take in your case.

 

[katester]

My personal experience, was you don't NEED to meet a certain monetary amount...however if the officer feels that neither of you make a living wage they can request to see your bank statements and pay stubs.

I received a letter stating I was in jeopardy of my application being denied unless I showed proof I would not need government assistance once I come to Canada. My husband has been employeed for 6 years and they almost refused us

 

[northamexec]

If we apply "outland" can we travel in and out of Canada multiple times while Canadian immigration is processing our application? And how long does processing usually take?

Thanks again for any answers. We are excited but don't know what to expect from the Canada immigration side.