Sponsoring my Korean wife for permanent residency

[amjad1002]

If your application is being processed in Manila due to your Korean residence, then any potential interview would be held in Korea.

so philppines embassy will take interview or korean embassy?

 

[bartjones]

We clipped the cover page to each of the questions on the document checklist. The cover page is actually blue paper. We used standard white A4 paper for everything else, of course, but we felt having blue cover pages would colourcode it (making it easier for the VO to flip through and find the sections)

Good? please say yes

I wouldn't have chosen that method of organizing the material, but assuming all the required information is there, and the VO is inquisitive enough to search around for it, you should be fine.

Finally, another questions re: OVERLAP

The Sponsor Question (IMM5490) (#10 on the checklist) asks for documentary proof. I'm assuming that this documentary proof of relationship (photos, plane tickets, phone records, invitations, cards, etc) is the SAME documents required later on for the #25 on the checklist (proof of relationship supporting documents). Am I correct?

I guess, my question is: one set of this proof is fine? if so / if not, how did you organize it when you sent it (did you attach it to the questionaire? or did you just compile all this, and tell the questionnaire to "refer to photo XXX"? Am I on the right track here, just want clarification.

One set of proof is fine. Since you are legally married, that proof is going to come primarily from the photos, so in my application, I just explained the history of our relationship and referenced an appropriate photo(s) to substantiate each part of that history.

I didn't include any other proof such as phone records or plane tickets, just the photos.

 

[bartjones]

so philppines embassy will take interview or korean embassy?

If you need an interview it would take place at the Canadian Embassy in Seoul.

 

[Marticus]

Thanks again, bartjones, you rock!

Okay, I've just paid online. A couple clarification questions here following my online payment:

I printed off two copies of the on-line receipt, as per instructions. (barcode top center, and a few boxes that I have to fill out by hand)..

Question 1.)

These boxes are my credit card information (my credit card is a Canadian card, and therefore attached to my parent's address and phone numbers)

OR my current Korean address?


Question 2.)

It keeps saying put "Copy 2" with your application package. They are both the same, does it really matter? (I'm assuming they are just emphasizing this to make sure we keep a receipt for our own records)

 

[bartjones]

Question 1.)

These boxes are my credit card information (my credit card is a Canadian card, and therefore attached to my parent's address and phone numbers)

OR my current Korean address?

Current Korean address.

Question 2.)

It keeps saying put "Copy 2" with your application package. They are both the same, does it really matter? (I'm assuming they are just emphasizing this to make sure we keep a receipt for our own records)

It doesn't matter. Remember, the receipt should be attached as the first page of the application when you send it off to Mississauga.

 

[seoulcanada]

Current Korean address.

It doesn't matter. Remember, the receipt should be attached as the first page of the application when you send it off to Mississauga.

Where does it say to put it first? I put everything in order of the document checklist (or tried to). The receipt was listed number 4 on that list.

Anyways I think it doesn't really matter as long as your package is easy to read. I was deliberating for about 20 minutes today whether to send my three manilla envelopes sealed or unsealed, but in the end, I doubt any of that matters as I'm sure they have their own containers/system for keeping/transporting applications.

 

[seoulcanada]

BTW, sent in my application to Mississauga today. Thanks to everyone, especially Rob and bartjones for answering questions without snark, especially ones that have been asked/answered hundreds of times on the forums. I'll try to pass on any knowledge or tips that I've learned along the way as well.

 

[Marticus]

Where does it say to put it first? I put everything in order of the document checklist (or tried to). The receipt was listed number 4 on that list.

Anyways I think it doesn't really matter as long as your package is easy to read. I was deliberating for about 20 minutes today whether to send my three manilla envelopes sealed or unsealed, but in the end, I doubt any of that matters as I'm sure they have their own containers/system for keeping/transporting applications.

Hi seoulcanada,

I also sent mine away in order of the checklist, in one envelope.

I took all the advice in from the folks on here, and read as much as I could contain on this forum and others - lots of folks went the 3 envelope route, and lots went our way (following the document checklist). Both were approved, so I think we're good to go!

 

[Marticus]

Hi folks,

Got my translated documents back today! The 4 documents cost us 280,000 Won all in.

*note* as of 2010, you can add yourself to the Korean househould registry paper. Not sure if you are all knew that, but we added myself to that list and got the document translated with both of us on it - not sure if that helps, but shows another connection for us two...

I had a question about the SPELLING of Korean names to English (as well as Korean addresses, to English) As you know, there are several different way to phonetically spell names in English alphabet characters. We added a note mentioning this.

My question is, does it matter? I say this because my wife's parents spell their names differently than they are translated on some documents...

eg. Jeong vs. Jung, Young vs. Yeong, Seong vs. Sung, Un vs. Woon, Lim vs. Rim

Just add a small attachment explaining this to the VO, and all is well?

 

[seoulcanada]

Hi seoulcanada,

I also sent mine away in order of the checklist, in one envelope.

I took all the advice in from the folks on here, and read as much as I could contain on this forum and others - lots of folks went the 3 envelope route, and lots went our way (following the document checklist). Both were approved, so I think we're good to go!

Actually I did use 3 envelopes, however within each one, I ordered documents according to their order on the doc checklist! But totally agree, whatever works as long as its organized.

A few questions I've wondered while doing this...I wonder what percentage of applications go through this forum? I wonder if applications from people in this forum start to look similar, most noticeably the "three envelope" thing.

Second, I'd love to see a VO do an "AMA" (ask me anything) thread to see how these applications are actually processed. Once a VO starts an application, is it a 30 min job to go through it? 3 hours? 6 hours? Does it go through multiple people at each stage? Do staples REALLY matter? How do they transport applications, stored in boxes/files?

I wish I could insert a hidden camera in my package.

This is what happens when you submit your package...you stop worrying about which picture to include and wonder how long someone will take to remove all your paperclips.

 

[bartjones]

I had a question about the SPELLING of Korean names to English (as well as Korean addresses, to English) As you know, there are several different way to phonetically spell names in English alphabet characters. We added a note mentioning this.

My question is, does it matter? I say this because my wife's parents spell their names differently than they are translated on some documents...

eg. Jeong vs. Jung, Young vs. Yeong, Seong vs. Sung, Un vs. Woon, Lim vs. Rim

Just add a small attachment explaining this to the VO, and all is well?

Probably doesn't matter but can't hurt. Personally, when we took the Korean docs to the translator, I brought a list of English spellings, gave it to the translator and told her to use those throughout when doing the translations to avoid any confusion.

 

[keesio]

When sponsoring my wife, she had some small inconsistencies with the spellings of her romanized name between the various documents. I explained this in my application. How much the explanation helped, I do not know but she didn't run into any problems with her application.

 

[Marticus]

Thanks everyone!

ALLLLLLLLLLMOST ready to send off this bad boy!

A few last questions here:

1.) I printed my photos off on A4 photo paper, and put numbers besides each photo. The photos are in chronological order. I then attached an appendix, with explanations, dates, and people in the photos. I clipped the appendix together with the stack of photo paper. On each A4 paper, I used between 1 to 5 photos. (again, each photo has a number)

Good? anyone else do this?

2.) Once I send my package off to Missasaugga (we are going the fastest courier from Korea method) how do I track the progress of my application?

3.) Also, I would like to stay involved on these forums, how would I go about attaching my status, like I see with other folks on here (as in, date received, medical filed, landed dates etc? I hope I can be at least a fraction of the help that folks like bartjones, etc gave to me during this process.

4.) Along with a parental letter of support (proof of my intention to return to Canada), I also included a "relocation strategy, 2 page document" I onlined our game plan from now to permanent residency acceptance, our start-up plan (first couple of months in Canada) and then long-term plans. Specifically I wrote about accomodation, employment, future studies, and money saving strategies from here in Korea, till departure? Is this a good thing to include? or just a waste of time for the VO?

5.) For our proof of relationship, i included the following items

a.) approximately 55 photos
b.) an appendix for said photos (details, dates, who)
c.) my korean F visa, and visas + explanation why I included these (shows I have lived in Korea and have been sponsored by my wife)
d.) hotel portfolio / booking receipt from our first vacation
e.) our last vacation's e-ticket / itinerary
f.) our marriage certification from the Consulate in Busan (when I did the process of permanent residency for Korea)
g.) original wedding invitation card
h.) our wedding script (read by our master of ceremonies) which includes both Korean and English

Is this enough?

6.) We don't have a Client Number or UCI number... is that okay? if so,if not when & how do we get that?


From start to end of this process (start = collecting first document, filling out first application form) it took us about 5 weeks to get it all done.

ANNDDDDDDDD here we go!

 

[bartjones]

2.) Once I send my package off to Missasaugga (we are going the fastest courier from Korea method) how do I track the progress of my application?

Once CIC receives your application, they will send you an acknowledgment of receipt (AOR), probably by email, that will contain a file number and UCI number. In my case this came about a week after my application was delivered, followed by sponsorship approval 3 weeks later. For others AOR came 3 weeks after delivery, followed by sponsorship approval 1 week later. Whichever way it works out for you, once you receive AOR, you can use those numbers to track your application's progress on CIC's website.

3.) Also, I would like to stay involved on these forums, how would I go about attaching my status, like I see with other folks on here (as in, date received, medical filed, landed dates etc? I hope I can be at least a fraction of the help that folks like bartjones, etc gave to me during this process.

Click on 'Profile'. then 'Forum Profile Information'.

4.) Along with a parental letter of support (proof of my intention to return to Canada), I also included a "relocation strategy, 2 page document" I onlined our game plan from now to permanent residency acceptance, our start-up plan (first couple of months in Canada) and then long-term plans. Specifically I wrote about accomodation, employment, future studies, and money saving strategies from here in Korea, till departure? Is this a good thing to include? or just a waste of time for the VO?

Good thing.

5.) For our proof of relationship, i included the following items

a.) approximately 55 photos
b.) an appendix for said photos (details, dates, who)
c.) my korean F visa, and visas + explanation why I included these (shows I have lived in Korea and have been sponsored by my wife)
d.) hotel portfolio / booking receipt from our first vacation
e.) our last vacation's e-ticket / itinerary
f.) our marriage certification from the Consulate in Busan (when I did the process of permanent residency for Korea)
g.) original wedding invitation card
h.) our wedding script (read by our master of ceremonies) which includes both Korean and English

Is this enough?

More than enough.

6.) We don't have a Client Number or UCI number... is that okay? if so,if not when & how do we get that?

See answer to question 2 above.

 

[Marticus]

bartjones = absolute legend!

Thanks again,

Looking through my application before I tape shut the envelope right now (scary!) ... I really feel like I have provided sufficient (and in some cases, above and beyond) what is necessary for our package.

My ONLY worry is the PROOF OF INTENTION to return to Canada. Like, of course I (we) are going - otherwise I'd be happy to just chill with my F5 visa over here, and not spend the 1000 + bucks for my wife's canadian residency application ... but it's gotta be clear to the VO

I also threw in some pet courier email correspondence (we are shipping back our animals, I have been inquiring about this for a year now) and some example websites, job offer print-outs (sites I commonly browse, workopolis, indeed.ca, workbc.ca, city of edmonton / calgary...) and I put those in there under my proof of intention.

I guess my worry comes from making the mistake of reading other forums on here, people talking about horror stories, not showing enough proof... but then i read others, people providing ONLY a letter from their parents, and getting approved, no questions asked.

My question is: Letter of Support + Strategy Essay (2 pages) + 5-ish example job offers + courier correspondence, is that GOOD ENOUGH?

I swear, this is my last question...