If newly married, entry in Canada?

[Highdave]

Hi all,
I'm planning to get married overseas; my future wife does not need a visa to enter Canada; when we go through the customs, is it better to mention to the immigration officer that we're married and that I will later file an application to sponsor her? I've heard something about a "visitor record" being made for the visiting spouse in these cases.

Or will the chances of being denied entry grow this way? Does she need - or will it help - to have a return ticket? I've heard that me having a letter of employment with me, or even having paid the PR processing fee in advance will help as well at the border?

Are there known cases where the spouse has been denied entry even though she needs no visitor visa? That would be devastating, I can't live w/o her!

Thanks.

 

[canadianwoman]

Pay the fees before you send in the PR application; then you can show the fee receipt as proof you are sponsoring your wife. When talking to the border agent, she is just visiting while waiting for the application to be processed, and knows she has to go home if her stay is not extended - she is not moving to Canada just yet. A letter of employment from you may go toward showing you can support her during her stay. What she should have is proof of ties to her own country: a return ticket with a fixed date, money in the bank, an apartment lease, a letter from her employer giving her time off. If some of these are not possible, OK, Americans usually get in anyway. And often the border agent will not ask to see anything like this - but it is best to be prepared.

 

[computergeek]

In the unlikely event she is declined, she can apply for a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP). Only US Citizens can do so at the POE, and the spousal case is one for which they are supposed to be trained to grant such a request (on a humanitarian and compassionate basis). If she is from another country (e.g., the UK or Italy, for example,) then the application must be submitted to a visa office abroad. TRPs are ENTIRELY discretionary, and they are only appropriate in the case of inadmissibility (in her case, it would be "inadmissibility due to the likelihood she will not leave at the end of her visit"). This is also different than the Temporary Resident Visa (TRV).

The application form is country specific (so you have to look to the country specific rules/regulations and forms) and the fee for a TRP is $200. Processing time is generally 3-6 months.

There is a paucity of information about TRPs generally available. The best guide is "OP 20 Temporary Resident Permits" as it explains the processing guidelines to be used by visa offices abroad.

Of course, it's better for you to get her in legitimately as a visitor. For example, you could say you are both coming for a visit (it's not uncommon for married couples to come visit after all) to your family. This is not untruthful. You don't have to tell them EVERYTHING, just make sure that what you do tell them is true and answer any questions they do have.

Think of it this way: if they deny your wife entry, you aren't going to stay in Canada anyway, right? So start off as a visit and then decide to stay once you're here. Plans DO change.

 

[Highdave]

Thank you very much for your responses. My partner is not from the US, so less chances in a way. I also do not have family here in Canada, just a lone immigrant; so I cannot say I'm visiting my folks or anything like that.

I also cannot live anywhere else - not in her country anyway - but I also cannot live without her now. So I'm really worried about this. Let's say she is refused entry in the end. Would that affect my subsequent (outland) application to sponsor her? And what happens in the airport in this case, does she need to buy a ticket on the spot to go back, does she live/sleep in the airport until the plane departs, what happens? I hope that movie "The Terminal" is just a work of fiction when applied to a Canadian setting?

 

[computergeek]

Thank you very much for your responses. My partner is not from the US, so less chances in a way. I also do not have family here in Canada, just a lone immigrant; so I cannot say I'm visiting my folks or anything like that.

I also cannot live anywhere else - not in her country anyway - but I also cannot live without her now. So I'm really worried about this. Let's say she is refused entry in the end. Would that affect my subsequent (outland) application to sponsor her? And what happens in the airport in this case, does she need to buy a ticket on the spot to go back, does she live/sleep in the airport until the plane departs, what happens? I hope that movie "The Terminal" is just a work of fiction when applied to a Canadian setting?

The real issue is that how this happens at the border is very much at the discretion of the border officer. That's why you hear such a range of answers: these are things that have worked for people. Get an officer on a bad day and your life is difficult. Get one on a good day and all will be fine. Odds are, being from a visa exempt country, saying she is here for a visit is likely to be about all she gets (perhaps with "how long are you staying?")

For those who HAVE had the border officer ask them, showing evidence that a PR application is in process is often persuasive (think of it as an on-the-spot H&C decision, because they certainly don't HAVE to do that.) Having a return ticket is a must (it CAN be a refundable ticket, of course. Plans DO change.) That shows serious intent to go home, which is really their whole concern. But MOST border officer's are not complete unfeeling jerks.

However, even if she is refused, it will NOT affect your outland sponsorship of her.

If she is refused at the airport, she will be kept in a detainment unit and put on a flight home - it will be the airline's responsibility to ensure this happens, although they can attempt to recover from your wife. Of course, with that return ticket, they'll just use that. It is VERY unlikely she will be refused entry (has she ever been to Canada before? A track record of visiting and NOT overstaying actually does help.)

 

[Highdave]

She's never been in Canada. Yet

Thank you very much computergeek, you allayed some of my fears. I always put the worst first, to be prepared just in case. I appreciate your help.

 

[riko9]

I have similar question. I am recently married to Canadian women. I have Hungarian-EU passport , for which don't need visa to enter Canada, also have Serbian passport which i use to work on Cruise ships, have American touristic visa and visa to work on board in Serbian passport. Been working on cruise ships last 6 years where i meet my present Canadian wife, however she doesn't work there anymore. She visited me 3 times in Serbia where we got married month ago. I want to visit my wife in Canada and bring my son and my mother to meet and get to know her family, was planing to stay for 2-3 weeks. My son is from previous marriage. I have letter of employment for my next contract on the ship and fly ticket to join the ship and newly issued American visa for working on board the ship- everything on my Serbian passport. Have to use my Hungarian passport to enter Canada cause i don't need visa for it. My question is how to behave on border and what to do to ensure my best chances that me, my son and mother (we all have Hungarian passports) enter Canada for 2-3 weeks. I still don't have plans to apply for sponsorship as i have some future on ship and my carrier is going well.
I wish i can just know the outcome so i don't have to worry to spend money for 3 tickets and lose it all.
Give me advice please.