Spouse Sponsorship Inland final stage(?) questions

[bobb]

Hi,
First I must thank everyone on this forum, this forum has helped us alot with the whole Spouse Sponsorship process!!

I am sponsoring my wife for permanent residence, my wife live with me here in Canada. (Inland, application send to Vegreville, AB)
I have already been approved as a sponsor and recently my wife receive the following letter:

"We are pleased to advised you that processing of your application has been completed. The Canada Immigration
Centre in Vancouver will contact you concerning your permannet resident status

The Right of Permanent Residence Fee $490 is required before you can become a permanent resident in Canada
....Please be prepared to submit the fee of $490 to the Immigration Centre in Vancouver when you are scheduled to obtain your confirmation
of permanent residence document."

From that I am guessing we are at the final stage?

I have a few questions on what's the next step:
- Does this mean Canada Immigration Centre in Vancouver will contact us/send mail? Normally how long before they contact us?

- What is the "landing interview" I hear frequently on the forum? Will we be subject to one too?

- What is the "passport request" I hear frequently on the forum too? Will my wife need to send them her passport? If so, when do they request this?

- I have heard very often that once you received your Permanent Residence you will have to leave Canada, most people just cross the
US border then come back...can anyone tell me what this is about?

- Anything else we should be aware of at this stage?

Thanks everyone in advance!

 

[mud504@yahoo]

Yes they should be contacting you, as for when or how long it all depends on the office.

Everyone has to do a landing interview. I haven't gotten to that point yet, but from everything I read it's approximately a 15 minute process where they ask you some questions like the questions found in application. There are some forms involved as far as goods being imported.

Her passport will be requested in order to stamp it with her PR visa. That timeline is also depending on the office, some do it early in the process, some wait until end of process. Some offices require you to mail it in, some have the option of bringing it in personally.

Also basing off what I read you don't neccessarily have 2 physically cross the border and come back to land. Not sure what other procedure you would do, but I know i've read that a few times in my researching. Hopefully someone else can confirm this for you.

 

[Steph.Canada]

Congratulations on getting that letter of approval bobb!

Just wondering, for sponsoring your spouse, you need to have a certain amount of money (to support them while they're here). Do you know if the amount varies or is it a fixed amount? Could you give me a figure of roughly how much you had to have in order to prove you can support her?

Also, you mentioned your spouse was living with you. Did you get married in Vancouver? and did she have a tourist visa while you were waiting for all this to get processed or did she have to return to her home country?

Thanks for your help!