Spousal Sponshorship from Overseas - How to Prove I'll Live in Canada - Help!

[2and18characters]

Hello everyone,

It's my first post and I hope someone can help me. How can I prove I intend to return to Canada when my wife, the principal applicant, becomes a permanent resident?

I'm a Canadian citizen currently living in Japan with my Japanese wife and we have a 4 year old son who has dual citizenship (Canadian and Japanese).

I want to sponsor my wife for permanent residency while we continue to live together in Japan. I don't want to be separated from my wife and son for even a short time. Therefore, I need to demonstrate to CIC that I'll live in Canada when my wife arrives with permanent residency. The problem is I'm not returning to school and it's difficult for me to find a job from Japan since I've been living here for 17 years. I have no more contacts in Canada and I'm not qualified nor do I have the credentials for a job with special skills like engineering, pharmacy, etc. More likely than not I'll have to enter the workforce with a minimum wage job which are not the kind of jobs you can arrange in advance from abroad.

We do have some substantial savings but can't afford to buy a house. If I fly to Canada to rent an apartment and then return to Japan to live with my family is this proof enough I intend to return to Canada when my wife gets permanent residency? I personally don't like this idea since I'll have to pay rent on an apartment in Canada while living in Japan for possibly as many as 7 to 10 months which is a waste of money. However, I can't think of any other way to demonstrate my intentions of returning to Canada. Is this a good idea?

I hope someone can offer some ideas.


By the way, I can't ask a family member to write a letter of support offering housing since my mother has passed away and my father lives in the United States. My one brother is declaring bankruptcy and my other brother simply doesn't have the space. In any event, they live in Ontario and I want to move to BC.

Please any suggestions on how to prove my intentions to live in Canada would be very helpful.

 

[CharlieD10]

Even if you're not immediately closing on an apartment, you have to be looking into something, right? Document your searches, or if you retained a realtor or someone to do the looking for you, then show proof of that.

If it's hard to show you are definitely going to Canada, then prove the reverse is true: that you are definitely planning to leave Japan. You've been there 17 years, did you buy a house? Have you looked into listing it on the market? Document it. What about packing and moving? You will surely want to either store or ship your belongings, document what you are doing about that.

What about finances? Have you begun moving any funds to Canadian accounts/banks? Have you set aside a moving fund as part of your preparations for returning to Canada?

You have a minor child, have you started looking into schools for him? Even exploratory emails to schools in the area you will settle in will help.

How is your wife's English? If she's not bi-lingual, has she made a decision to take English (or French) classes to help with that and have you looked into that? If she is already bi-lingual, is she employable/planning to work?

These are just some suggestions, others may be able to contribute more. Think about all the things that will be affected when you move, it's not just about a house and a job. You need a school for your child, you may need a place to store your things temporarily or a company to help you pack them up. All of these are ways of proving you have more than a vague intention, but are actually planning to re-settle. Look at all the roots you have put down, and what will be involved in pulling them up, and document what you are doing.

 

[2and18characters]

Thanks CharlieD for your quick response and great ideas. I hadn't thought about communicating with my son's potential school. That's definitely something I should do and it would help demonstrate my intention to return to Canada. Thank you!

Regarding documenting my searches for an apartment or retaining a realtor. How exactly would that work? I want to move my family to a small town in the Kootenay region of BC. It has a population of approximately 7,000 people. Even now when I search for 2 bedroom apartments online there are on any given day only about 12 places available within our price range. It's not that hard to find a place. I just don't want to sign a lease and pay rent for 6 to 8 months or more while still in Japan. If I contact a realtor and explain that we want their services in finding an apartment in approximately 7 to 8 months time would that be sufficient for CIC as proof of my intention to return to Canada?

My wife is bilingual and her English is pretty good. In fact, she's currently employed as a museum guide and she sometimes has to guide overseas visitors in English. So she's definitely employable.

Any belongings left in Japan would be stored at my wife's parent's home which is only about 13km from where we live. We wouldn't have any official documents then proving we are storing our belongings in Japan but maybe a letter from my wife's parent's would help, wouldn't it?

We don't have a house in Japan but we are renting an apartment. If we informed our landlord way in advance that we intend to vacate the apartment by a future date and got it in writing would that count as severing ties to Japan. If my wife didn't get permanent residency before we lost our apartment we could temporarily stay with my wife's parent's.

Thoughts?

 

[CharlieD10]

No one thing on its own is going to be sufficient proof, what you need is enough proof of various things that show you really have a firm plan in mind.

It might be worth it to contact realtors in the area, and mention your specific requirements and find out what it costs to retain them, what the market is like in the area etc etc. If they are anything like the ones I know, it's OK that you're not planning to move into the area immediately, they will still be happy to show you brochures, give you an idea of their listings, etc. You don't need to sign a lease just yet, just demonstrate to CIC that you are aware of all that is involved in re-settling and are taking concrete steps.

If your wife is employable, it's a good idea to start looking into work for her too! Don't limit yourself to just what you must prove as the sponsor, you need to show that this is a family moving.

Yes, advance notice to your landlord would count. I would hold off and leave that as one of the things I obtain last, in your shoes. When your application is ready, you can advise your landlord you are looking into moving 6-8 months time, and get it down in writing. Also get something in writing from her parents showing they are aware of your plans, and they are Plan B in case the processing time lengthens and it becomes necessary to give up your residence.

 

[locolynn]

Just my 2 cents, I think the biggest concern CIC with establishing residency is people getting to Canada and taking advantage of the benefits (welfare, healthcare, cpp etc) while maintaing their main residency in their home country.

When my husband and I applied we were living in Taiwan (so not either of our home country). And in the application I just outlined a pretty general plan: stay with my parents, find jobs...etc. It wasn't an issue for us.

I wouldn't stress - if you have physical evidence - great, it can't hurt. But if you only have the plans and dreams you and your wife have discussed (which I am sure you have!) - then just include that! Unless there is something unusual in situation, I think it will be quite obvious to the IO that you and your family will resettle in Canada.

Good luck!

Lynn

 

[2and18characters]

Thanks for the responses. I really appreciate it!

So I guess I need to really do a great job in trying to convince immigration that I intend to return to Canada with my spouse. I guess the problem I see is that it takes approximately 60 days for the Case Processing Center (CPC) in Mississauga to approve the sponsors and then it's about another 6 months for the Visa Office in Tokyo to approve my wife's application for a total of 8 months. It just seems so far in advance to be making detailed plans.

We really don't want to be separated for even a couple of months since we have a young son. I guess the best option for us is to apply outside of Canada while living together in Japan. Once Tokyo requests her passport and my wife gets her permanent residency visa stamped in her passport then we can buy tickets and fly to Canada together.

A few other questions to explore our options.

(1) Can we all fly to Canada and my wife enters on a visitors visa and then she applies for PR? Is that allowed or possible? I know the time limit for a visitor's visa is only 6 months but it can be extended if necessary?

(2) Even if it's possible to enter Canada and then we apply for my wife's permanent residency using the outside of Canada application what happens when Tokyo requests her passport? Does she have to fly back to Japan to submit her passport? Can she send her passport to Japan while remaining in Canada? Will the Tokyo Visa Office send her passport back to our address in Canada?

I'm sure for some these are dumb questions but I still haven't quite figured out the best way for my family to apply for my wife's PR without a lengthy separation.

Thanks in advance to all who post.

 

[CharlieD10]

1) She's visa-exempt, so yes, you may enter Canada with her and make the application for PR afterwards. Yes, you may apply for an extension if needed. Usually no issues with persons visiting while waiting for PR to have an extension granted, so long as the paperwork is submitted correctly.

2) No, she doesn't have to fly back to hand it in, she can submit it via courier and arrange for a prepaid return envelope to get it back. So far as I know, Japan has no restrictions on its passports being mailed abroad. Yes, you can use your Canadian address as her mailing address if you are already in Canada when submitting.

 

[2and18characters]

CharlieD10, thank you so much for being so helpful. I have just a few more questions and then I promise to stop harrassing you.

1) She's visa-exempt, so yes, you may enter Canada with her and make the application for PR afterwards. Yes, you may apply for an extension if needed. Usually no issues with persons visiting while waiting for PR to have an extension granted, so long as the paperwork is submitted correctly.

If my wife enters Canada as a visitor and then we apply for PR can she do the medical in Canada or should that be done in Japan just days before we fly to Canada?

Is it perhaps better to pay the PR fees online while in Japan, get the receipt and then tell the Canadian Immigration officials the truth when we fly into Vancouver - that we're looking for a Canadian residence for me and will then submit the rest of the application to Mississauga to obtain my wife's PR? By paying the fees upfront and perhaps even doing the medical in Japan it shows we're sincere in our intentions.

So far it seems I have two options. (1) Apply for my wife's PR using the outside of Canada application while we continue to live together in Japan. I'll need to provide enough evidence that I intend to return to Canada with my wife. (2) We all fly to Canada and my wife enters as a visitor and then we apply for her PR (outside of Canada application) once I have established a residence with a mailing address.

Is it also possible to do everything while we live in Japan (medical, pay fees, fill out the forms, etc.), mail the application to CPC-M and then we move one month or two months later to Canada while the application is in process? I'm talking about completely getting rid of our apartment in Japan and establishing a Canadian residence for me with her as a visitor. Is this a problem considering we'd be changing the mailing address for both the sponsor and applicant on our already submitted application?

 

[CharlieD10]

Haha, I promise you, I was as harassing to others when I was preparing my application!

Yes, she can do the medical in Canada or in Japan, it doesn't matter except in terms of cost. I think it might be cheaper if done in Japan, in comparison with some of the costs I have seen from persons who did theirs in Canada.

You may pay the fees as soon as you are able, you don't need to wait until you are ready to submit the application. It is a very good thing to have to present at the POE when you arrive, showing your intentions are to do things properly.

Yes, those are your two options in a nutshell.

Yes, you can do everything and then proceed to Canada after submitting the application while in Japan. There is an electronic application service that allows you to amend your home address after your application has been received, so it will not be a problem to change it to a Canadian address after establishing that. I would suggest that if you go this route, you wait to leave Japan until after you receive sponsor approval (currently taking 66 days or so) and print/take your approval letter along with your copy of the receipt as proof you have an application in process. This will provide additional proof at the POE that things are being done in the proper way.