Living together before PR

[proco]

Hi all,

I am an American living in the US and I married a Canadian a couple months ago. She lives in Quebec and that is where we plan to live together. I travel quite extensively for work in the US and plan to continue to do so and will not be working in Canada. We haven't started the immigration process as of yet but have been researching the proper steps to take so it will be a smooth process. From what I'm gathering it looks like the first place to start after reviewing the application process is to obtain a police certificate as it looks like it will take about 8 weeks to get. After receiving that and filling out all the forms required to send in is where some confusion comes in.

Medical examination. Do I need to get this done before we send in our application or will they ask for it later? The medical examination is only valid for 12 months and from what I can gather about processing times it will take roughly 13 months to process the application. I'd rather not pay twice for the examination if it is avoidable.

Where to send application. I believe I will be applying for a Family Sponsorship (spouse) outside Canada. The application says to send everything that I have to my sponsor and for her to send it to Canadian Immigration located in Mississauga, ON. Will they eventually forward this application to Buffalo, NY where it needs to be processed for me or do I need to send them something to NY?

We would like to live together ASAP but unsure if it is possible. I understand that I can enter Canada for 6 months with my passport and apply for an extension for another 6 months. But with my job I will likely be traveling in and out of the country often. Is this possible to live together like this until the PR comes through or will they frown upon it? Also, would it be possible to bring my stuff into Canada? Putting my belongings in storage and living without them for possibly over a year would not be ideal. This would include my vehicles as well. (1 car, 1 motorcycle) Can I use her address as my own during this time or would it be best to get a P.O. Box in the US for my mail?

I'm sure I'll have more questions along the way as we are just starting and any information would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[CharlieD10]

1. The medical examination is done before and proof of your completing it is submitted with the application.

2. The entire application goes to CPC-Mississauga, who will pass it on to Buffalo once they approve your wife to sponsor you.

3. You may visit with your wife while the application is in process, many couples take advantage of visa-exempt status this way. With that said, however, it is most certainly NOT advisable to import your belongings prior to the completion of the process. If the border officer is not convinced you are a genuine visitor, they do have the right to turn you back AND exclude you from the country altogether. Tread very carefully there. Have as much proof of your ties to the US as possible, leave the kitchen sink at home in the US and cross the border with your spouse if possible and let her do the talking. Also bring along proof of the submitted application (such as the receipt copy and the sponsor's letter of approval) as proof of your intention to do things properly.

You may use her address as your mailing address.

 

[AmericaninQuebec]

CharlieD10 gave you some good advice. I just wanted to add that you can get away with bringing your car and a few belongings (i.e. smaller stuff that will fit in your trunk). I actually came to stay with my husband about 5 months before we were married. During that time I went home to the U.S. and bought a car, which I have had with me in Canada ever since driving it back. I only had trouble crossing the border with it once at a very small border crossing. Looking back I get the impression that the IO was on a bit of a power trip, but he gave me trouble about not having changed my license plates if I was intending to immigrate. I had to explain that SAAQ (Quebec DMV) wouldn't let me do that until I had my PR. Eventually he let me go on my way. Other than that I've had no problem simply explaining at the border that I'm staying with my husband while I await my PR (sometimes we don't even mention it, and like last weekend at the NY/QC crossing they didn't even bother to ask me why I was heading to Canada!). I would imagine you'd have even less trouble if you're only there for limited amounts of time between business trips elsewhere. To me that would make you appear more like a genuine visitor.

On another note, immigrating to Quebec requires the added step of going through Immigration Quebec. Quebec and the federal government have an agreement wherein Quebec retains control over determining who is allowed to immigrate there (which is more annoying than anything, since you could at this point just as easily say you're planning on immigrating to Ontario and move to QC the same day you get your PR). Make sure to look at the instructions for the PR application that pertains to QC. Also, you should take a look at the Immigration Quebec website. In short though, once your wife is approved as a sponsor by the federal government you will have to fill out an application for the Certificat de Selection du Québec, which will be sent along with her Quebec sponsorship undertaking to IQ. This doesn't increase processing time of your PR application, it's just an extra step (and more fees).

 

[proco]

Thanks for the information! Still having problems getting started though. We are filling out the required forms to send to the Canadian government and the first form (IMM008) for me (the sponsored) asks for the date for which I applied for the Certificat de Selection du Quebec. Does my wife just send her two forms in with payment or do we fill in all the forms required for Canadian immigration including mine with this field blank?

 

[CharlieD10]

You need approval of the sponsor from Federal authorities (CPC-Mississauga) before your wife can apply for the CSQ from MICC. Just leave that section blank if you can.

 

[scylla]

If you're going to be crossing the border often I'd strongly recommend you invest in a Nexus card:

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/prog/nexus/menu-eng.html

 

[proco]

Thanks! Just confirmed with the immigration office to just leave that field blank. They said they receive a lot of questions about that in particular and understand it is confusing and will probably be making changes to the form in the future.

Curious about the Nexus program. What have you found the benefits to be?

 

[scylla]

Curious about the Nexus program. What have you found the benefits to be?

You can bypass human run immigration when entering Canada or entering the US. Instead of waiting in a long line at the airport and talking to a human - you go to a computer instead, have your irises scanned and answer two questions. If driving and everyone in the car has a Nexus pass, you can take advantage of the Nexus line at the border (again, way less waiting). Occassionally (random) you are flagged to speak with a human - but it's very few and far between.

They have also started opening up Nexus security lines the airport. This means that in some cases you can also take advantage of shorter security lines.

I love my Nexus pass. There is nothing I like better than getting off a long flight and not having to speak with a human to explain where I was and what I was doing - or wait in line to get into the country.

For you, the benefits would be: less speaking to humans = lower chance someone is going to ask "why are you spending so much time in Canada".

 

[proco]

My wife and I both applied for Nexus as we are crossing borders a lot! She had applied before me and it took about 3 months before she had gotten a reply to set up an interview. Now the interview is set in 4 months! Long process, curious if it'll be any shorter for me. If there would be a difference between a Canadian and an American in processing times.

 

[scylla]

My wife and I both applied for Nexus as we are crossing borders a lot! She had applied before me and it took about 3 months before she had gotten a reply to set up an interview. Now the interview is set in 4 months! Long process, curious if it'll be any shorter for me. If there would be a difference between a Canadian and an American in processing times.

Wow - processing times have really increased!

To the best of my knowledge the processing times are entirely driven by application volumes.

When I received my card the entire process took about a month (from submitting the application to receiving the actual card). I know there were far fewer people applying back then. I think I received my interview invitation a week or two after applying online and booked an interview for two days after that.

My husband (American) had a similar experience when he applied for his (this was several years ago too).

Wow again.

 

[proco]

When I received my card the entire process took about a month (from submitting the application to receiving the actual card).

It would be great if that were the case for me as I just applied a couple weeks ago. I got a feeling I'll be waiting a while though.

Thanks for the info on this, at least now I'm in the process!