Is my wife (Canadian Citizen currently living in Oz) the best Sponsor option?

[benskey]

Hi All,

I've summarised our situation and some questions below...

Our nationalities, relationship, & situation:
Me (Australian)
Wife (Canadian)
Married 5 years, together for over 10 years before that.
2 kids born in Australia (aged 2 and 4).
Currently living in Australia (wife as a Permanent Resident).

Aim:
Looking to gain Permanent Residency in BC for myself and our kids so that the four of us can live (and I can work) in BC.

Family in Canada:
- my wife has a big family in BC including her mum, dad, brother, plus many aunts, uncles and cousins.
- I have two sets of aunts, uncles and cousins too (living in BC, QC, and ON).

Current work situation:
- I'm a business owner in Australia. The business pays me a salary and will continue to do so when I move to Canada as I'll be setting up a branch of the business there. It will fund this. Australian operations will continue without me. This is not the reason we are moving however. The primary reason for moving is for personal/family reasons.
- My wife is at home with the kids, and not currently earning an income.

Other Financial info:
- we own a house/mortgage in Australia. We plan to rent this out at least for the short to medium term when we move to Canada. Rent will cover the mortgage with some surplus income.
- we have a free place to stay for the first 6 months minimum (with my wife's parents - in their basement suite).

QUESTIONS:
- Is my wife the obvious Sponsor despite her current lack of income?
- Or should we consider getting one of her family to Sponsor us?
- Would it help for her to have a job offer prior despite the fact that the current plan is that she wont work much immediately (coz of kids).
- Would the "my Australian business will pay me a salary" be viewed as a good thing or might it complicate our application (ie introduce some confusion as to whether we should be getting a Business call instead of a Family call visa)
- Would it help for me to have a job offer prior?

ANY help at all is hugely appreciated. I'm just keen to try and ensure we get this right the first time.

Thanks so much,
Ben

 

[MilesAway]

Your wife is the only option as a sponsor. Her family cannot sponsor you.

Your business should help I believe, as it would prove that you won't require welfare to survive in Canada. All your wife needs to do is prove her intention to return to Canada, and show a plan on how you will survive financially, without requiring social assistance. IF you and her are both employable people, then you should not have any issues.

A job offer would help for the sponsor, as it proves that she is serious in returning to Canada, and also hopes to prove financial stability.

 

[Betina]

You don't have any other option than your wife sponsoring you And that's not a bad thing. It's not a problem that she doesn't have an income, as long as you detail your plans in a letter included in the application. You having a business in Australia is a big plus. All CIC is interested in is whether your family has any chance to go on welfare. Include letters from her and your family stating that you will live with them and they will provide help if needed, detail your plans regarding your business and the house renting, attach bank statements showing your savings and you will be more than OK. If you're worried about your wife having to show intention of returning to Canada, just detail the reasons you have for moving there and mention maybe some more details about you setting up a Canadian branch for your business.

If your wife is a canadian citizen then at least the youngest of your kids is already a canadian citizen. The 4 year one is a citizen too if the birth date is after April 17, 2009. For them you can already apply for citizenship and passport, it can all be son in a few weeks. No need to make them go through immigration, with medical exams

 

[benskey]

Thanks for the helpful responses everyone

Betina, where can I learn more about your quote below?

If your wife is a canadian citizen then at least the youngest of your kids is already a canadian citizen. The 4 year one is a citizen too if the birth date is after April 17, 2009. For them you can already apply for citizenship and passport, it can all be son in a few weeks. No need to make them go through immigration, with medical exams

We've completed the majority of Sponsorship and Immigration forms (not yet sent though) and there's plenty of mention of our 2 and 4 year old kids on them. Is it simply a case of sending the forms in or does this automatic citizenship you mention require a different process?

Thanks again.

 

[Betina]

Here you go http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/rules/index.asp

Once the kids have their citizenship papers approved, they are not your dependent-immigrating-additional family. Once they have their passports, they can go to Canada like any other Canadian citizen, any time they want to

 

[benskey]

Thanks again Betina

 

[Leon]

First question, is your wife born in Canada or did she immigrate to Canada (as an adult or as a child with her parents)? If the answer is yes to either one, then your children are already citizens and would not be included on your sponsorship forms except on the additional family information form. You would however have to apply for citizenship certificates for them, see http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/proof-how.asp

If the answer is no, that would leave the option that your wife was born outside Canada to Canadian citizen parents and gained citizenship based on heritage. If that is the case, she would be considered 1st generation born abroad and your children 2nd generation born abroad in which case any of your children born before April 17th 2009 would be citizens and would need a citizenship certificate and any of your children born on or after April 17th 2009 would not be citizens and would need to be included on the PR application.

Your wife can be a sponsor aside from the lack of income but you would have to show that you are the breadwinner and because your wife does not currently live in Canada, you would have to show some plans to move to Canada when you get your PR. Plans to move to Canada can include having arranged housing, having a job offer, acceptance to college or at the very least written up plans of having looked into where you will settle down and what you will do for work as well as letters of support from her family stating that they know of your plans and will help you settle.

As other people have said, her family can not sponsor you.

 

[benskey]

Once the kids have their citizenship papers approved, they are not your dependent-immigrating-additional family. Once they have their passports, they can go to Canada like any other Canadian citizen, any time they want to

First question, is your wife born in Canada or did she immigrate to Canada (as an adult or as a child with her parents)? If the answer is yes to either one, then your children are already citizens and would not be included on your sponsorship forms except on the additional family information form. You would however have to apply for citizenship certificates for them

Hi Leon and Betina,

My wife was born in Canada and so our kids (2, and almost 4) are Canadian Citizens

According to the cic gc website Proof of Citizenship is likely to take up to 12 months to receive.

That's a similar time frame to what I'm expecting for my own Permanent Residency application. It therefore isn't clear to me if I should:
a) include the kids in my PR application, or
b) simultaneously apply for Proof of Citizenship for them and PR for me, or
c) just focus on PR for me, let the kids enter Canada on visitor visas and then apply for their Proof of Citizenship while in Canada - knowing that I can easily cross the border to Washington (and return) with them within 6 months if we need to extend their visitor visas. Or maybe the fact that my kids will be entering primary school age means this idea is flawed given we'll need them to attend school?!

I'm after the whatever solution will allow us to move to Canada as a family and me to work in Canada in the fastest possible time.

Thanks again for any help.
Ben

 

[Leon]

a) You can not include the kids in the sponsorship application as they are already citizens. You would only mention them in the form called "additional family information".

b) and c) Either one will do. If you do b) the processing time for the kids is 9 to 10 months according to http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/canada/certif-processing.asp but if you want to move sooner, you can show proof of travel and get your kids facilitation visas to go to Canada. Having applied for citizenship certificates for your kids already, even if you hadn't gotten them yet, should help you get them enrolled with health care and/or school.

If you do c) you will arrive with your kids on visitor status and will have to ask health care and the school to take your word for it that they are really citizens and that you are applying for their certificates but if you do this, the processing time inside Canada for kids inside Canada is shorter or around 6 months.

Your own processing time would likely be around 28 days in Mississauga, see http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/perm-fc.asp plus the time at the visa office in Australia which is currently around 11 months for 80% of cases, see http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/perm/fc-spouses.asp#asia which means yours could be a bit faster say if you are in the 50% group.

 

[benskey]

Thanks Leon, very helpful.

 

[Sharonafeder]

We are in a very similar situation.
Married in Switzerland where I live since 2009.
Two kids - born 2010 and 2014.
Husband the main bread winner, Mechanical Engineer.
Savings in Canada and large support network.

I am a Canadian Citizen by descent, though I lived in Canada from the age of 5 and have many ties, family, friends, work colleagues etc.
We would like our 6 year old to start school this September...that a bit ambitious maybe. But I do want to find out if it is possible.

It would be great to get some advice.

Should we do an Outland Family application, and my husband apply for a work permit (is it possible to apply for an open work permit from outside Canada?)
or
Should we travel to Canada as visitors, (me as a returning new resident citizen) and extend our permits etc...?

if we go Inland, will our children be covered by medical in British Columbia or do we need to keep our Swiss insurance?

Thanks for you help

 

[Db1980]

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/dual-canadian-citizens.asp

 

[Leon]

We are in a very similar situation.
Married in Switzerland where I live since 2009.
Two kids - born 2010 and 2014.
Husband the main bread winner, Mechanical Engineer.
Savings in Canada and large support network.

I am a Canadian Citizen by descent, though I lived in Canada from the age of 5 and have many ties, family, friends, work colleagues etc.
We would like our 6 year old to start school this September...that a bit ambitious maybe. But I do want to find out if it is possible.

It would be great to get some advice.

Should we do an Outland Family application, and my husband apply for a work permit (is it possible to apply for an open work permit from outside Canada?)
or
Should we travel to Canada as visitors, (me as a returning new resident citizen) and extend our permits etc...?

if we go Inland, will our children be covered by medical in British Columbia or do we need to keep our Swiss insurance?

Thanks for you help

If you are a true citizen by descent, that is you were born outside Canada to a Canadian citizen parent and gained citizenship based on that your parent was already a Canadian citizen when you were born, then your children are not automatically citizens and must be sponsored for PR with your spouse. However, if you immigrated to Canada with your parents when you were a child and gained citizenship based on their citizenship application, then you are a naturalized citizen and your children are already citizens and would not be sponsored for PR but rather you should apply for their citizenship certificates.

in order to sponsor your spouse and children while living outside Canada, you would need to prove that you intend to move to Canada when they get their PR. Such proof can include having a job offer, having arranged housing, being accepted to college etc. If you have a large support network, you should be able to get a job offer and a rental agreement from a relative or friend, even if you don't actually plan to take the job or live at the address. It's just to help you prove that you truly intend to move.

In BC, nobody is covered by health care for the first 2-3 months so you would need insurance, travel, emergency etc. which can cover you in BC during that time. Further, if you move before your family has been approved, they would be seen as visitors and would not qualify for health care right away anyway so you would have to keep the insurance in the meantime. Moving with children who are on visitor status, you can try to talk to the school district about enrolling them but if they want to give you a hard time, they could refuse to enroll them or demand that you get them study permits for minors and pay their tuition.

If you move with them all on visitor status and apply inland, your husband would qualify for an open spousal work permit which takes about 4 months to get. If you apply outland, there is no work permit.

Current processing times posted by CIC claim that an inland spouse application would take the same time as an outland application in Switzerland which is around 12 months.

 

[Sharonafeder]

Thanks for the tips!

We've decided to go Outland and I have a couple questions.

1) There is a country specific form that asked for travel history of the Applicant.
That is my husband. It also asks for travel history (if applicable) of applicant's Spouse and 18year+children.
Im assuming that because I (the spouse) am the Sponsor, and already Canadian, I don't need to fill in the form.
Is that a correct assumption?

2) are there any travel restrictions with Outland applications? we are considering travelling for 3 weeks to Canada to visit the grandparents while we wait it out.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Leon]

Thanks for the tips!

We've decided to go Outland and I have a couple questions.

1) There is a country specific form that asked for travel history of the Applicant.
That is my husband. It also asks for travel history (if applicable) of applicant's Spouse and 18year+children.
Im assuming that because I (the spouse) am the Sponsor, and already Canadian, I don't need to fill in the form.
Is that a correct assumption?

2) are there any travel restrictions with Outland applications? we are considering travelling for 3 weeks to Canada to visit the grandparents while we wait it out.

Thanks for the advice!

1) Right, you as the sponsor don't have to fill out travel history.

2) No travel restrictions. You just need to be accessible if immigration wants to get a hold of you so get someone to check your mail if you are gone for a long time.