Sponsoring My Wife Inside Canada- Grandfather is sick in U.S., can she return?

[DanielTheri47]

Hi there,
I have a bit of an urgent issue. I have been sponsoring my wife for quite a while and after calling about 2 months ago, Citizenship Canada informed me that we still have to wait about 8 months before she receives her PR status. Because we applied inside Canada, we were told she cannot leave the country before receiving her PR status.
A few days ago we were informed that her Grandfather is quite sick, and is about to pass. Is there any special circumstances in which she could return to the States to see her family?? I know there must be something...
Appreciate any answers!

Daniel

 

[scylla]

Is she an American citizen or does she hold a different passport?

The short answer is that there is nothing stopping her from leaving. However if she has any issues re-entering Canada and is refused entry, then this will effectively cancel her inland application. Assuming she is a US citizen, chances are high she should have no issues re-entering Canada. However there's always some chance of denial no matter how small.

Unfortunately there's nothing she can do or get to guarantee re-entry.

 

[Rob_TO]

Hi there,
I have a bit of an urgent issue. I have been sponsoring my wife for quite a while and after calling about 2 months ago, Citizenship Canada informed me that we still have to wait about 8 months before she receives her PR status. Because we applied inside Canada, we were told she cannot leave the country before receiving her PR status.
A few days ago we were informed that her Grandfather is quite sick, and is about to pass. Is there any special circumstances in which she could return to the States to see her family?? I know there must be something...
Appreciate any answers!

It's not that she isn't allowed to leave Canada... it's if she was denied re-entry back into Canada then her application would be cancelled and you'd have to start again from scratch.

Is she a US citizen? Many US applicants have went back to US during inland processing for short vacations, and have returned to Canada no problem. In theory it should be ok for her to go for a couple of weeks... but just know that the risk of being denied re-entry to Canada is always there even for visa-exempt passport holders, so you have to take that into account. Although truthfully the risk of denied entry back to Canada is quite small.

There is no "special circumstances" with CIC. They don't care about any reasons whatsoever. So the fact she is leaving to visit a sick relative makes no difference, and the risk is the same.

 

[DanielTheri47]

Yes, she is a U.S. Citizen. Interesting... so there is no way of informing the government she's leaving, and getting a "pass" of some sort for her to return. Because it is difficult and pretty annoying to have to choose between seeing her family and having to worry about getting back in so we can live here. She was informed if she leaves at any point they will throw away her application, absolutely ridiculous.

 

[scylla]

so there is no way of informing the government she's leaving, and getting a "pass" of some sort for her to return.

No - unfortunately there is no such pass.

Again, chances are she should have no issues re-entering. But there's always some risk in leaving.

 

[Rob_TO]

She was informed if she leaves at any point they will throw away her application, absolutely ridiculous.

That is simply not true. They don't cancel the app because she leaves for just a short time. They will only cancel the app if:
1. She is denied re-entry back to Canada, or
2. She stays outside Canada for a long enough time (like many months) that they feel she is not residing in Canada anymore, or is no longer cohabiting with her sponsor

This is the reason US and other visa-exempt citizens are always advised to apply OUTLAND even while staying in Canada... since processing times are much quicker and you can come and go from Canada with no worries.