+1(514) 937-9445 or Toll-free (Canada & US) +1 (888) 947-9445

Tamalphalocks

Newbie
Aug 31, 2026
2
0
Reviewing all our forms

Wife is from Japan
We're doing outland sponsorship

Current address is technically Canada since she lives here most of the time (during 6 month visitor periods) and most of her "stuff" is here but current country of residence is still technically Japan so we put that

There are only 2 slots for past country of residence, asking for Start and End date of immigration status, but at this point she has like 10 entries into Canada. Do we just pick one of the entries? None of them were a full 6 months or more individually though.

Is this yet another situation where we have to put a "see attached letter" and make a PDF with all the details? Which field in the form do we indicate that in?

It seems like the fields are made for situations where the person stayed in another country for 6 months consecutive but the instructions for the form say: "Previous countries of residence: This means you lived in the country for 6 months total, not just in a row."

Considered maybe selecting "Other" instead of "Visitor" as immigration status and explaining that it's many visitor statuses from the From date to the To date, but of course... the max number of characters in the "other" explanation box is 30 characters. I can only laugh...
 
Last edited:
Current address is technically Canada since she lives here most of the time (during 6 month visitor periods) and most of her "stuff" is here but current country of residence is still technically Japan so we put that
This is a case where you should go by factual rather than some other concept of residency - she should show she is currently residing in Canada.
There are only 2 slots for past country of residence, asking for Start and End date of immigration status, but at this point she has like 10 entries into Canada. Do we just pick one of the entries? None of them were a full 6 months or more individually though.
The version that I have of the 'previous countries of residence' specifies that only countries where one resided more than six months. (It's a slightly older version and I'm too lazy to download a newer one to check).
It seems like the fields are made for situations where the person stayed in another country for 6 months consecutive but the instructions for the form say: "Previous countries of residence: This means you lived in the country for 6 months total, not just in a row."

Considered maybe selecting "Other" instead of "Visitor" as immigration status and explaining that it's many visitor statuses from the From date to the To date, but of course... the max number of characters in the "other" explanation box is 30 characters. I can only laugh...
In that case, Personally I would put visitor as you suggest with a separate letter outlining the dates (as best you know), note that all of these are cumulatively more than six months. Worth adding that she was always 'in status' and never overstayed, if you can state that truthfully.
 
Reviewing all our forms

Wife is from Japan
We're doing outland sponsorship

Current address is technically Canada since she lives here most of the time (during 6 month visitor periods) and most of her "stuff" is here but current country of residence is still technically Japan so we put that

There are only 2 slots for past country of residence, asking for Start and End date of immigration status, but at this point she has like 10 entries into Canada. Do we just pick one of the entries? None of them were a full 6 months or more individually though.

Is this yet another situation where we have to put a "see attached letter" and make a PDF with all the details? Which field in the form do we indicate that in?

It seems like the fields are made for situations where the person stayed in another country for 6 months consecutive but the instructions for the form say: "Previous countries of residence: This means you lived in the country for 6 months total, not just in a row."

Considered maybe selecting "Other" instead of "Visitor" as immigration status and explaining that it's many visitor statuses from the From date to the To date, but of course... the max number of characters in the "other" explanation box is 30 characters. I can only laugh...
I’d be careful about picking just one entry if the form is asking for every country where she has lived for six months in total. Since the form only gives two slots, a separate explanation with the dates of her visits and visitor status seems reasonable, but I’d confirm with IRCC or an immigration professional where they want that explanation attached. These forms really could use a section for situations like this instead of forcing people to squeeze everything into tiny boxes.
 
Reviewing all our forms

Wife is from Japan
We're doing outland sponsorship

Current address is technically Canada since she lives here most of the time (during 6 month visitor periods) and most of her "stuff" is here but current country of residence is still technically Japan so we put that

There are only 2 slots for past country of residence, asking for Start and End date of immigration status, but at this point she has like 10 entries into Canada. Do we just pick one of the entries? None of them were a full 6 months or more individually though.

Is this yet another situation where we have to put a "see attached letter" and make a PDF with all the details? Which field in the form do we indicate that in?

It seems like the fields are made for situations where the person stayed in another country for 6 months consecutive but the instructions for the form say: "Previous countries of residence: This means you lived in the country for 6 months total, not just in a row."

Considered maybe selecting "Other" instead of "Visitor" as immigration status and explaining that it's many visitor statuses from the From date to the To date, but of course... the max number of characters in the "other" explanation box is 30 characters. I can only laugh...
For the previous countries of residence section, IRCC’s instructions refer to countries other than the applicant’s country of citizenship and current country of residence where they lived for more than six months in the past five years.
IMM 0008: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigratio...ication/application-forms-guides/imm0008.html
Spousal sponsorship guide: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigratio...l-partner-dependent-child-complete-guide.html
Because she has made many visits and the situation involves both residence and temporary status, it’s worth confirming the entries with an authorized immigration professional before submitting the application.