IMM 1344EA What do I mark under habitual place of residence?

[thaihubbie]

I'm sponsoring my Thai husband and we have been living in Mongolia for almost one year. He has a Mongolian Temporary Resident Visa that will be renewed in September for another year. On Form IMM1344EA Section C there is a space for Habitual Place of Residence if not same as country of birth. Does he mark Mongolia here?

 

[RobsLuv]

Depends on whether you want the application processed at the embassy that represents applicants from Mongolia, or whether he wants the application processed at the embassy that represents his country of birth. Important considerations: any required interview will be held at the embassy processing the application, and the passport will need to go to that embassy at some point during processing, sometimes relatively early (before they're ready to make a decision). Also, he is eligible to have his application processed at the embassy that represents Mongolia only if he was originally admitted to that country with status valid for one year. If that's the case, and you want his application processed through Beijing, then be sure to include proof of his current status and of his entry having been originally authorized for a period of at least one year. Beijing is currently processing spousal applications in 2-5 months. Singapore processes Thai nationals and their processing timeline is 5-15 months.

 

[thaihubbie]

Are you sure that habitual place of residence is the same as which processing office we want the application sent to?
One senior forum member sent me this personal message:Country of habitual residence for this document means nationality/citizenship or permanent residence. If the applicant is "stateless" and living outside of their country of nationality where they cannot prove citizenship because of war or other geo-political disturbances where the country's infrastructure is destabilized, that's where a person would use "habitual residence". Or they could use this if they have permanent residence in another country. For example, a Citizen of Thailand but a permanent resident of Mongolia.

Your husband only has a temporary residence in Mongolia so he would answer Thailand in that question as he is a citizen there. I hope that helps.

So my understanding is whether or not he wants Beijing or Singapore to process his application. Thailand is still his habitual place of residence. No??

 

[RobsLuv]

Actually - when all else fails, read the instructions. Here's the information from the sponsor's application guide for that section of IMM1344

Application to Sponsor and Undertaking (IMM 1344A)

. . .
C – Person being sponsored and his or her family members
(Attach a separate sheet if you need more space.)
Do not write in the boxes provided for length of undertaking and ID number. These
are for official use only.
1.Give the details of the principal applicant, i.e., the person you want to sponsor. Make sure
that you enter the principal applicant’s country of nationality if it is different from his or her
country of birth. If the principal applicant has no country of nationality (is stateless), enter
his or her country of habitual residence.

So, unless your husband is "stateless", this is "N/A"

 

[rjessome]

And also covered in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.

R11(1) requires that all applicants for permanent residence (other than applicants who come
under Part 8 of the Regulations – Convention Refugees Abroad and Humanitarian Protected
Persons Abroad) must submit their applications to the visa office responsible for:

• the country where the applicant is residing, if the applicant has been lawfully admitted to that
country for at least one year; or

• the applicant's country of nationality, or if the applicant is stateless, their country of habitual
residence other than a country where they are residing without having been lawfully admitted.


So the answer is the country of nationality, not N/A.

 

[thaihubbie]

THANK YOU VERY MUCH SENIOR FORUM MEMBERS. I don't know what I would do without this forum, it's my life-line these days. New challenges keep coming up everyday, it seems never ending. Sometimes I think I just can't do this anymore and am almost giving up hope. All in all I cannot understand why a Canadian Citizen who is married to a foreigner yet they have a child who is a Canadian Citizen EVEN has to be going through all of this in the first place? Shouldn't they have a fast-track system in place when there are children involved?

 

[canadianwoman]

For question 6 a) you write his Mongolian address. You then decide if you want the application processed in Beijing or Singapore. The earlier question about his habitual country of residence doesn't apply to him.