Pregnant and maybe delay entry to Canada - will it affect our application?

[canadayogini]

Hi,

We applied outland for permanent residency for myself in October 2010, we have so far received a decision made letter saying my husband (he is Canadian) is approved as sponsor. So we are waiting on Sydney, Australia to do the PR application part and anticipate a positive reply within the next 6 months as I've heard they process fairly fast.

In the meantime, we just found out we are pregnant. We are weighing up the options. We would need to have the visa approved and stamped in the passport and all move back to Canada by June latest (otherwise it will be too stressful as we are getting closer to due date, however I could fly as late as July).

What are the implications of staying out of Canada to have the baby and then look to move to Canada mid 2012? How do we go about requesting an 'extension' and will there be extra paperwork and fees etc.?

 

[RobsLuv]

It sounds like you completed the medical (including the chest xray) before you found out you were pregnant - so chances are that Sydney will jump right into processing your part of the application as soon as they receive it. (If you weren't able to complete the chest xray due to the pregnancy, they wouldn't be able to finalize the application until that was done, so you'd be buying some time). I checked the processing timelines for Sydney and they're showing 8 months after the application is received by them - so you're right, that puts it really close to your delivery date. The key, though, for when you have to "land" is the anniversary date of your medical exam. Your Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR), once they approve your application, will have an expiration date on it that coincides with the expiration of your passport, or the one year anniversary of your medical exam, whichever comes first. You have to travel to Canada, and complete the process by "landing", before the expiration date on your COPR - or you have to start all over again. So, really, the key date is not when the application is finalized, it's the one year anniversary of your immigration medical exam. The good news is that you don't have to be prepared to settle in Canada at that point. You need to have a Canadian address where they can mail your PR card, but it's permissible for you to go back home to tie up loose ends before you move permanently.

Now, if that's also going to be much too close for comfort, you might try to send notification to Sydney - accompanied by a letter from your doctor - asking them to suspend processing until after the birth of the baby because you will be unable to fly past a certain date to accomplish your landing. Another consideration is travel docs for the baby - which of course you can't get until s/he is born. Although the child will be a dual citizen of Canada and Australia, you will still need to apply for an Australian passport for the baby to be able to travel - and a Citizenship Certificate in order to get a Canadian passport for him/her. That takes time. It's probable the child would be admitted to Canada, as long as s/he is accompanied by his/her Canadian parent, with just an Australian passport because Australia is visa-exempt - but you've still got to wait for the Australian passport before you can leave.

Anyway, I'm thinking with a possible 8 month processing timeline (although it could be faster for a straight-forward application with all required docs submitted up front, etc), it might be to your benefit to try to get them to suspend processing until you deliver. Don't know if anyone has tried that - or if they had success - but if you withdraw your application now, you'll lose the processing fees. The alternative is looking at finalization and a huge move converging with the birth of the child. Probably more stress than you really want to have to deal with, even if you could fly at that point.

 

[canadayogini]

Thanks so much for your detailed reply, it was really helpful and reassuring.

I also emailed the CIC office in Sydney, this was their reply yesterday:

If your application for permanent residency is successful then the validity of the immigration visa (the date which you need to enter Canada by to validate the visa) is the date of the medical examination results. Your medical is valid for 12 months from the date you had your examination. The only time that the medical validity date is not used is if your current passport expires prior to this date. Processing times for the Sydney, Australia office is between 3 to 5 months.

They didn't reply to the portion of my question regarding possibility of suspending the application.

Now, 3-5 months is sooner that what I was initially told by them as well. So.. I'm going to hedge my bets (and pray!) that all my paperwork was in order and we will have the visa by May, June latest... which will give a few crazy weeks to wrap things up here, arrange shipping and move over. With enough time to find a home to rent and nest. We are still showing as 'decision made' on ecas - that was since start of December... I don't know if Sydney sends an AOR or just processes it. will wait and see.

I'm keeping all fingers and toes crossed for us!

 

[RobsLuv]

Me, too.