Re-applying for permanent residency as an already landed permanent resident

[RocketCity]

Hi all,

I landed and became a PR in Canada in May of last year. I recently married a US PR holder, and I'm set to become a US PR myself in a few months. I am currently working in the US. Let's say my wife and I decided Canada might be a better option in the future. Can I re-apply for a Canadian PR? My understanding is that a PR cannot sponsor a spouse from outside Canada (only citizens can do that). If I have to live in Canada, that means we'd be separated for 29 months based on the Singapore visa office's spousal sponsorship timeline (wife is Indonesian citizen). I'd rather not be separated for that long. Hence, my thinking is that I'll do another application except this time we'll apply as a married couple. If it works, great. If not, we can still live in the US. Is this plan even possible?

Regards,
RocketCity

 

[scylla]

Yes - as a PR you must be living in Canada in order to sponsor your wife. If you wanted to re-apply for PR, you would first have to officially give up your existing PR status - which means you would lose your ability to work and live in Canada (you must officially give up your current PR status before you submit your new application). Before you do that, you should familiarize yourself with the new PR rules to confirm you would qualify to apply under the new rules and have sufficient points to be selected.

If your wife is a green card holder, one option would be for her to come to Canada as a visitor and for you to sponsor her inland (from within Canada).

If you have further questions about sponsoring your wife, I would recommend you post them to the Family Sponsorship section of the forum.