Moving to Canada before visa is processed?

[erober]

Hello,

I'm Canadian and my partner is British, and we both currently live in the UK. We applied under the spousal visa in September (outland) and are hoping to move back to Canada in July 2021.

If the visa is not processed by July (which is quite possible), is there any issue with:

• Him entering on a visitor visa for 6 months?
• Could he do this again (leave and come back in) if the visa is still not processed by then?
• Would this affect our visa application since we submitted from abroad but would now be in Canada?

He works for himself and can work remotely, so he wouldn't need a work permit etc. while the visa is being processed

Thanks in advance!

 

[bian07]

he can definitely visit for some time (the border officers will decide how long that is in the end), but not completely move here. he can extend his stay online though, around 30 days before his stay expires is usually recommended.

 

[MNtoBC]

(This is not legal advice) but we are in a similar situation but living in the US. We applied Outland in March and moving to Canada end of May. My husband and son are both dual citizens so I am the PR applicant. We were advised that we could cross the border (if it’s still closed) only if I am accompanying my Canadian spouse. I can’t cross alone at any time. The border agent can refuse you if they want. You cannot hide any of the information around why you are entering Canada. If you fail to disclose your application status even if you have not received an AOR Canada can refuse you entry or even worse claim you tried to deceive the government about your true intentions. You must have written documentation of your plan to move, plan to extend your visitor status if needed, plan to return to your home country if your application is rejected, and documentation around your work visa not being needed, which even if you work for yourself if you are working within Canada you may need one. I was also told that our time frame of being a March applicant it would be very very unlikely to be approved and processed before we plan to move in May. There are a lot of immigration consultants. This is just a summary of the advice one gave us a week ago.

 

[Canada2020eh]

(This is not legal advice) but we are in a similar situation but living in the US. We applied Outland in March and moving to Canada end of May. My husband and son are both dual citizens so I am the PR applicant. We were advised that we could cross the border (if it’s still closed) only if I am accompanying my Canadian spouse. I can’t cross alone at any time. The border agent can refuse you if they want. You cannot hide any of the information around why you are entering Canada. If you fail to disclose your application status even if you have not received an AOR Canada can refuse you entry or even worse claim you tried to deceive the government about your true intentions. You must have written documentation of your plan to move, plan to extend your visitor status if needed, plan to return to your home country if your application is rejected, and documentation around your work visa not being needed, which even if you work for yourself if you are working within Canada you may need one. I was also told that our time frame of being a March applicant it would be very very unlikely to be approved and processed before we plan to move in May. There are a lot of immigration consultants. This is just a summary of the advice one gave us a week ago.

That's the problem with many consultants, a lot of the time the info they provide is not correct.

My husband and son are both dual citizens so I am the PR applicant. We were advised that we could cross the border (if it’s still closed) only if I am accompanying my Canadian spouse. I can’t cross alone at any time. The border agent can refuse you if they want.

You don't have to be accompanying your husband, if he is in Canada you can come later with the intent to visit with him under the family reunification exemption. You would be required to have a copy of his passport and your marriage licence to present to CBSA. Yes CBSA can deny any non Canadian citizen or PR entry to Canada any time.

You cannot hide any of the information around why you are entering Canada. If you fail to disclose your application status even if you have not received an AOR Canada can refuse you entry or even worse claim you tried to deceive the government about your true intentions.

You certainly can but you are not required to tell them you have a PR app in process. Of course if they ask you then you have to answer truthfully.

You must have written documentation of your plan to move, plan to extend your visitor status if needed, plan to return to your home country if your application is rejected, and documentation around your work visa not being needed, which even if you work for yourself if you are working within Canada you may need one.

You do not need a plan to move to Canada, you are entering as a visitor, as a UC citizen you can stay for 6 months unless CBSA says otherwise, once in Canada you can extend your visa on line if required. A work visa doesn't come into the process at all as an Outland PR applicant, you are coming as a visitor. If you work remotely for a foreign company that does not do any work for Canadians or a Canadian company you are allowed to do that.

Hard to say if your app will be approved by May 2021, it could be if it is a straight forward application but with Covid nobody can say for sure.