I'm a Canadian citizen who recently submitted an application to sponsor my wife and children. It appears the timeline is very long and I would like to move back to Canada next July with my wife and kids so that we can find a place to live and get them enrolled in school in time for September. The wife and kids have current visitor visas to travel to Canada. Is it a bad idea to move before PR is completed? What happens after approval? Do you have to be physically in the country you applied from? Thanks, I'm sure this has been answered elsewhere but I wasn't able to find it.
Moving to Canada before PR
- Thread starter expatgoingback
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No issue moving earlier as long as it is clear they will return to their home country if the PR applications are refused. I assume the children did not get your citizenship at birth for some reason.
Thank you for your reply. How would one make it clear that they would return if the PR was refused? My intent would be to move ahead of time in order to get the children enrolled in school.
The kids don't get my citizenship, I lived most of my life in Canada and my mother is Canadian but I was born in the UK. It was a suprise to me to find out that I couldn't pass on my Canadian citizenship to my children without moving and living in Canada.
They need to show ties to their home country: work, property, school, etc. They cannot may not be able to enrol in school in Canada as visitors.
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Thank you, at what point is it possible to enroll them into school? I submitted my application on the 2nd of September 2020 and it seems as though the process is going to take more than a year.
Actually it looks as though it would be possible:
https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=488&top=15
https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=488&top=15
Yes, it may be possible, although it would be better if they had PR first. You would have to contact the local school board. The issue is that as visitors it must be credible for them to leave Canada, and if you seek to uproot their entire lives to here (moving jobs, schools, etc.) then they may not be allowed to enter. They are not allowed to settle down for good until they get PR.
Thank you, I guess I'll just have to hope the process gets sped up and make a decision closer to the date.