Questions before applying for a sponsorship to Qc

[Aniabella]

Got a few questions before sending in the application to know what would be the best way to go around this and before we throw any more money on this. My husband is a Canadian from Qc and we've been living in EU for the last five years. We're planning to move to Quebec next year, but I'm not quite sure what would be the best thing to do. There's not much info anywhere on about when the Canadian spouse is abroad. My husband's finishing his studies next year, so basically he's not making much income during this time. Questions, to which I hope you could have some ideas/experiences on:

1. Would it be better to wait to move to Canada first before applying and until he gets a job there or should we rather send it in now? I would prefer to have this thing done by the time we go there so I can start working as soon as possible, so you think we got chances on applying beforehand?
2. If your spouse is from Quebec, he doesn't need to show proof of his income, but my husband is currently living here with me, so what's the situation with this?
3. About the proofs of him moving back to Qc... It's a bit tough to get a job like a year in advance, so any ideas what else is sufficient to prove he's really moving to Qc?

Some other random questions that I would like to confirm before starting to invest money on this:
4. Even though it was said you need to do your medical exam when you send in the sponsorship application, is it really necessary to do before the sponsorship is approved? I just want to know in advance since it's quite an expensive examination!
5. Since we've been married for 5 years now and living together the whole time, how much evidence do we have to give about our relationship?

Any other hints and experiences are very welcome! I'm very grateful for any help or advice, really want to nail this properly. Thank you a lot in advance

 

[Catou]

1. Would it be better to wait to move to Canada first before applying and until he gets a job there or should we rather send it in now? I would prefer to have this thing done by the time we go there so I can start working as soon as possible, so you think we got chances on applying beforehand?

Hi, Aniabella
We've just been through the same kind of scenario so I will answer based on personal experiences.

In almost all cases where the applicant is currently outside of Canada it's better to do an outland application. Most overseas visa offices process applications much faster than inland applications. I'd get it underway now.

There isn't an income requirement, as such, but CIC needs to know how you will support yourselves on arrival in Canada. We mentioned our plans - both look for work, bringing some savings, and able to stay with relatives while we get settled. If you intend to hunt for work before arrival tell them that too.

[quote author=Aniabella]
2. If your spouse is from Quebec, he doesn't need to show proof of his income, but my husband is currently living here with me, so what's the situation with this?[/quote]

For the purposes of the application, because you are going to QC, he is, "from" Quebec (even though not currently living there).

[quote author=Aniabella]
3. About the proofs of him moving back to Qc... It's a bit tough to get a job like a year in advance, so any ideas what else is sufficient to prove he's really moving to Qc? [/quote]

We told friends and family that we were moving back to QC and included copies of emails and messages that showed that they knew. We also got letters from family saying that they knew we were returning and that we could stay with them while we got established. My husband (sponsor) started job hunting and we included emails he got in response to job applications. We also added print-outs of websites he had used to check job vacancies and accommodation. Because we intended to plan the steps needed for our return anyway, we put together an action plan for the move - this included things like, "research apartment rentals", "sell personal possessions, ", "arrange shipping of possessions we intend to take". We used the checklist to show we had discussed the move and what we would need to do to get moved over there and established.

[quote author=Aniabella]
4. Even though it was said you need to do your medical exam when you send in the sponsorship application, is it really necessary to do before the sponsorship is approved? I just want to know in advance since it's quite an expensive examination! [/quote]

Yes, the medical is required upfront. Although some visa offices will request a medical if it has not been provided upfront not doing so can really delay the processing of the application. It is an expensive examination but submitting a complete application upfront saves a lot of time and hassle. It also reduces the risk of the application being returned to you as incomplete.

[quote author=Aniabella]
5. Since we've been married for 5 years now and living together the whole time, how much evidence do we have to give about our relationship? [/quote]
Give as much quality evidence as you can. Provide photos and anything else you have so CIC gets a good picture of your wedding (and engagement if you had one). Look objectively at how to prove you have been living together for each of the five years - utility bills in both names, bills in each of your names showing the same address (we put in one of these from the same company for each year), joint bank accounts if you have them, joint purchases, again, if you have them.

Photos with friends and/or family are important. You don't need heaps but showing you with his family and him with yours helps to establish that your families know you as a couple.
Just remember that its a total stranger looking at the application and they need to see that the relationship is strong and ongoing.

Quality is the key - if you have thousands of emails or other messages just select a few. You can always tell CIC in your application that you have more and can provide if required.

[quote author=Aniabella]
Any other hints and experiences are very welcome! I'm very grateful for any help or advice, really want to nail this properly. Thank you a lot in advance

[/quote]

When you submit your application make sure you have included everything in the checklist. Since he has been outside of Canada for some time the Option C printout that is required won't contain earnings information - this doesn't matter. The Option C printout can be sent to him in Europe and including it is important.
As soon as you get the applications sent off to CIC, I recommend you complete the QC applications. When CIC approve sponsorship in principle they will send you a letter (email, if you opt for email communication - which I recommend you do) inviting you to submit the QC application to MICC. Having the QC applications ready to go as soon as you receive that letter will save you time and keep the process moving along speedily.
MICC will send a copy of the CSQ directly to the visa office (in most instances) and then your application can proceed.

 

[Aniabella]

Wow, thanks a lot for all the comprehensive answers! Really cleared up some things and helps us to make a much better application. We had already starting to prepare it, but now we know to work at it more since we didn't know how much they really require (compared to here where all we had to do is to fill in a silly application with few questions and we had just gotten married!). At least I got all the other documents done except the medical exam and certifying of documents. I suppose it's really enough to just go to the local notary? When I had to certify some documents for my country, we had to get them certified at the notary, Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the local embassy, but seems like CIC only requires one authority?

I looked at the Qc application as well and as one part for the compulsory attachments in the check list there was to prove domicile in Qc, but as he doesn't live here, so would that be to just again to prove he'll be moving there with me? How did you solve this issue?

Thank you again for the answers, it's really nice to hear experiences so it seems less risky to do this!

 

[Aniabella]

Catou - just one questions about what you mentioned in your post:

When you submit your application make sure you have included everything in the checklist. Since he has been outside of Canada for some time the Option C printout that is required won't contain earnings information - this doesn't matter. The Option C printout can be sent to him in Europe and including it is important.

So I suppose he has to also prove his income as well? Since Quebec residents are exempted, but I guess in this case it doesn't apply to my husband? I just assumed he wouldn't have to get Option C printout since in the checklist Qc residents can skip this.

Btw, thnx again for the help, medical exam appointment booked for 30 Dec! We would have probably done all wrong without your help and this forum.