Spousal Visa Questions

[Paulshea84]

Hi Everyone,

I'm filling our various forms to sponsor my British wife to live in Canada and have not been able to find answers to a few questions and was hoping someone here could help me.

I am Canadian by birth, currently living in the UK and want to move to Canada with my wife and our 2 children (aged 3 and 1) who are of course Canadian as well due to having me as their Dad.

1- When filling out the family forms it asks for all children to be listed that are immigrating, but as they are Canadian they can't get a visa so do they need to be on the forms?


2- As the Spousal visa can take months to process we are wanting to get an Open Work Permit while we wait but I can't find a form for the Open Work Permit if you are currently outside of Canada, am I missing something? Is it not possible to apply for a work permit if not already in Canada?

3- If we can't apply for an Open Work Permit until we get to Canada can we arrive with my wife just on a tourist visa and then apply for the Open Work Permit as soon as we land?

Thank you in advance for any help.

 

[Ponga]

1. Assuming you mean that you are Canadian `by birth', meaning that you were born on Canadian soil, correct? A person born abroad, to a Canadian citizen is also a Canadian `by birth', but may not be able to pass their citizenship to children, if their own parent(s) we not Canadian citizens at birth. The law changed in 2009, but I believe I remember correctly, but...you might want to verify this, if it even matters in your situation.

So, if you were born in Canada, your children are Canadian citizens and would need to be included in the sponsorship application. You will need to apply for their citizenship papers.

2. Correct; The OWP is only available to an Inland applicant. Fortunately, most applicants from the UK are processed very quickly (~<6 moths or so). Since you are a Canadian citizen, you can apply to sponsor your wife now, while living abroad. Be prepared to explain to CIC what your evidence of actually returning to Canada is, since they'll need to be convinced!

3. In theory, yes but the Inland process has been ridiculously longer than the Outland process. Even with the recent changes to how CIC `works', your wife will (hopefully) have her Outland PR much faster.

I suggest obtaining proof of citizenship for your children and then submitting the Outland application ASAP.

Good luck!

 

[CDNPR2014]

1. correct, if the children have canadian citizenship, you do not need to fill out applicant forms for them, since they are not seeking pr status. The children do need to be listed on your wife's Additional family information form as her children, and i believe you do need to submit proof of their canadian citizenship.

2. no, the OWP is only available when a couple applies INLAND - or "in canada class" as described on the checklist. Outland applicants are not eligible for the OWP.

3. no, she can not just apply for an OWP when she comes to canada as a visitor with a PR application submitted. in order to do so, you both need to be in canada and submit an inland application. if she chooses to "visit" canada while her application processes, then either 1) she can't work until landed as a PR or 2) can work remotely for a non- Canadian employer - if her company allows her to work remotely.

 

[Paulshea84]

Hi,

Yes I was born in Canada and both of my parents were born in Canada so can sponsor and my children have an easy claim to Canadian citizenship.

Regarding the OWP and Spousal visa, I get he impression that we don't actually need the visa application finished before we arrive in Canada which sounds odd to me as coming to the UK everything needed to be sorted before we arrived. So the questions would be:
Can we land in Canada and then apply for an OWP and the Spousal visa?
Or do we need to have started the Spousal visa application first?
Or do we need the Spousal application visa approved?

Thank you again for your help