Non-Accompanying Spouse dilemma

[nthom]

Hello there, so my CRS points right now is 414. I applied with my spouse and he has some delay in getting his passport renewed so he didn't do the English test yet. He also has a Bachelors degree and we didn't get that assessed yet. When the minimum CRS points was 453 I didn't think we'd stand a chance so I dint want to pay money un-necessarily to assess documents that weren't going to help us. However we stand to gain 28 points once those documents are done (IELTS and degree eval). Assuming he gets above CLB 7 in English (pretty confident he will) and his degree is assessed my CRS would be 442 which is above the latest draw. My question is can I change him to non-accompanying spouse and if he gets his documents squared away after possibly receiving an ITA to add him back in? He would legitimately let me go ahead without him as my oldest daughter is ready to start college this year and it would be nice to have her start in Canada. But if he is able to get his test and degree evaluated before a decision is made on my potential application, then would it be some red flag to add him as accompanying then? I don't want it to seem like we are misrepresenting, but right now my profile doesn't account for my husband's English skills and degree and we are tied up trying to get his passport renewed.

Also, we are both US citizens so we can both freely visit Canada. If he doesn't accompany me immediately but wants to join shortly after is he able to get a work permit.

One more thing. As my profile stands right now I meet all the criteria for Ontario PNP, and it seems like they are ready to offer more NOI. Do you think if I got that it would be a safer bet than trying to get the ITA from Canada?
Thanks!

 

[scylla]

You'll need to provide a logical/reasonable explanation as to why you're flagging him as non-accompanying in the application. Saying you're doing it to get more points won't work. I would have him focus on getting his passport, completing IELTS and getting his education assessed rather than removing him from the application.

 

[xpressentry]

If you dont want to include your spouse right now, you need to have a good reason not to.

 

[jes_ON]

One more thing. As my profile stands right now I meet all the criteria for Ontario PNP, and it seems like they are ready to offer more NOI. Do you think if I got that it would be a safer bet than trying to get the ITA from Canada?

Your husband absolutely needs a valid passport to apply (be included on the application), but the language test and ECA are optional (for points only). If you were to receive a PNP nomination, then you wouldn't need to worry about getting those done.

To clarify - if you meet the criteria for Ontario PNP, you apply to the program. If you get the nomination, you still have to go through EE and receive the ITA (although it is virtually automatic).

Yes, Ontario PNP has various programs, two for express entry, two for "regular" processing, but the one you're talking about is for express entry.