Getting married abroad

[SKBB]

Hello,

I am a Canadian Citizen living and working in Seoul, Korea. I plan on getting married here in Seoul and eventually move back to Canada with my spouse, but not for a few more years.

1. Can my spouse become a permanent resident of Canada while we live in Korea?

2. a. If so, how long will it take for my spouse to gain Canadian Citizenship?

b. Will the time that we are married and living abroad count towards the waiting period for Citizenship?

Thank you very much for any input.

 

[sakamath]

1. Can my spouse become a permanent resident of Canada while we live in Korea?

You can get your spouse's PR application approved, provided you show the intent that you are going to move to Canada once your spouse's application is completed. Once the application is finalised, your spouse has up to a year (before the medicals expire) to land in Canada to become a PR. To maintain PR status, your spouse must stay approximately 3 years out of five otherwise the PR status is revoked. So you may not have long to live in Korea.

2. a. If so, how long will it take for my spouse to gain Canadian Citizenship?
b. Will the time that we are married and living abroad count towards the waiting period for Citizenship?

a&b. Your spouse can apply for Citizenship after (s)he completes 3 year's stay in Canada as a PR. The time that you spend outside Canada does NOT count towards the waiting period for Citizenship. Once your spouse applies for Citizenship, it takes a year or two to actually get the Citizenship.