Moving to a different country during the application

[etienbjel]

Hi,

I (sponsor) applied for my wife (applicant) outland in July 2014. I was a resident of Canada at the time and my wife was living in Thailand. Sponsorship application was approved in October.

I accepted a job in Qatar in September as it was easier for my wife to join me there and live with me during the PR waiting period. I have already submitted evidence of my intent to return to Canada when my wife receives her PR. In the meantime, she will join me here (hopefully) in March. I have also advised CIC of her intent to move to Qatar for the duration of the application. In addition, my wife received a letter from CIC in January requesting an interview. No date or location for the interview was specified. But I assume it will be in Bangkok.

My question is this. Considering they didn't specify the location of the interview yet, can I request the interview to be held at a different embassy? Such as the Canadian embassy Qatar or Abu Dhabi?

 

[OhCanadiana]

Hi,

I (sponsor) applied for my wife (applicant) outland in July 2014. I was a resident of Canada at the time and my wife was living in Thailand. Sponsorship application was approved in October.

I accepted a job in Qatar in September as it was easier for my wife to join me there and live with me during the PR waiting period. I have already submitted evidence of my intent to return to Canada when my wife receives her PR. In the meantime, she will join me here (hopefully) in March. I have also advised CIC of her intent to move to Qatar for the duration of the application. In addition, my wife received a letter from CIC in January requesting an interview. No date or location for the interview was specified. But I assume it will be in Bangkok.

My question is this. Considering they didn't specify the location of the interview yet, can I request the interview to be held at a different embassy? Such as the Canadian embassy Qatar or Abu Dhabi?

You can always ask, but expect that the application will continue to be processed at the visa office that has already begun processing your application. And that means the interview will be conducted at a location served by the VO in Singapore so your wife should plan on traveling back to Thailand/Singapore.

CIC regulations deem that the office that can best assess the application (e.g., with local knowledge of documents, etc.) be selected upfront and that a file only be transferred after that for program integrity reasons. For all the details see section 5.19 of OP-1 at cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/op/op01-eng.pdf

 

[etienbjel]

Thanks. I figured that would be the case (sigh) 2 year wait for the interview, and it falls outside of normal waiting times... I might as well cancel the current application and file a new one in Qatar... it might be faster and cheaper?

 

[shy_guy]

Thanks. I figured that would be the case (sigh) 2 year wait for the interview, and it falls outside of normal waiting times... I might as well cancel the current application and file a new one in Qatar... it might be faster and cheaper?

You cant apply from Qatar until you are resident there for atleast 1 year..

 

[scylla]

You cant apply from Qatar until you are resident there for atleast 1 year..

That's not true. You can apply from Qatar provided you have been admitted to the country on some sort of permit/visa that allows you to stay there for at least a year. You don't have to wait until you have lived there for a year before being able to apply from there.

 

[shy_guy]

That's not true. You can apply from Qatar provided you have been admitted to the country on some sort of permit/visa that allows you to stay there for at least a year. You don't have to wait until you have lived there for a year before being able to apply from there.

Apology for my meager info...Thanks Scylla for the correction.. I appreciate..

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Thanks. I figured that would be the case (sigh) 2 year wait for the interview, and it falls outside of normal waiting times... I might as well cancel the current application and file a new one in Qatar... it might be faster and cheaper?

There is absolutely no guarantee that CIC would process a new app through Abu Dhabi. In fact, I would guess that given your wife's lack of ties and history in Qatar, CIC would still send the file to Singapore anyways and you would be right back where you started.

 

[etienbjel]

lol. That's a good point, Canuck.

The important thing is at least my wife and I will be together. Thanks for all your inputs