Spouse sponsorship?

[Tweety35]

hey guys

Ok im in a spot of bother and need some help or even advice. Me and my girlfriend got married last year august hooorrayyy for us but i feel sorry for the dog .... pet dog that is incas you guys might think otherwise lol.

Right i am a british citizen, do not panic not a snobby person but a rather outgoing kind of guy so i say lol.

my wife is canadian, what can i say the accent did it for me lol... Ok on a serious note.

I'm british, my wife is candian, we been together for 5 years now, we got married last year august in ontario a simple registry marriage. We have phone bills from both parties mobile and home phones that shows our long conversations and bills, we have birthday cards, letters etc. ive a passport that shows stamps over the years of travelling to canada. We have photos of our wedding, even photos of our very first date together. and photos over the 5 years that we been dating. (Long distance reltionship is so hard, but when you know you met your soul mate its all worth it).

Now my wife is working part time, she is looking for full time work as she just graduated, i beleive she has to be earning at least 30k a year to sponsor me is that true? also she has some saving that is of $10,000 does this help? Also does it help if i can show i have $10,000 in my bank to survive until i get a job at all? and does it help if i have regular income coming in of about $3,000 a month before hand, or even whilst im living in canada?

We have our marriage certificates, and we both enjoyed the wedding .

If there are any other ways someone could advice myself i would be grateful. I have joined up with a immigration service, but i would like to know myself before i turn to them.

The problem is the income in my situation could anyone help or even advice, or even know of decent immigration services at all?
or even if there is another way i could migrate to canada at all?

thankyou guys and i look forward to hear from you all.

p.s. i understand it takes 3 years to get a PR residence but at least so that i can move over there and start a life with my wife would be grate .

 

[MandiF]

Probably best to start with reading this thread which will give you the overview of how spousal sponsorship works http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/spousal-sponsorship-t46995.0.html.

There is no amount of money that needs to be earnt in order to sponsor a spouse. If you are both in Canada right now, your wife can sponsor you Outland via UK which is much faster than going Inland, even though you are both in Canada right now.

If you read through all the documentation, you don't really need an immigration service you can do it all yourselves and save yourself a lot of money. My husband (Canadian) and I (British) filled in all our documents in ourselves as we didn't have a complicated case, first marriage for both of us and no kids and no criminal record, filed Outland in October and I obtained my passport request for my visa in January.

The only thing about applying Outland and being in Canada is that if there is an interview you will have to go to London for it. But most people think its worth it to be with their spouse, although until PR comes through you cannot work or have health care.

Timings for Inland is about 18 months, 9 months for initial approval where you can get work permit and for Outland in London 80% are finalised in 8 months at the moment I think, but a lot of them go much quicker, also by applying outland you have the right of appeal. You need to decide for yourselves, but unless there is a lot of complications and you are from a non-visa exempt country or have a really long processing time at your local visa office, generally its best to go outland.

Have a read through that intitial thread and then if you have any other questions, just post, this is the best place to help to put together your application.

 

[Tweety35]

hey mandiF

thanx for that, well currently i reside in the UK, and my wife resides in canada. My wife is candian and she will be sponsoring myself. I was looking into the whole visitors visa and applying for a work visa aswell. I thought it would normally take about 6 months for a spouse to sponsor there wife/husband, well thats what it says on the candian immigration website.

I know i would have to go through all the medical checks etc which is fine with myself. Ill check out that post you put up. im going to put up another post.

well our situation is not that difficult except just the income part of it all thats all. otherwise we have proof for every thing else and our marriage is completley legit. So i will check out the post and get back to yourself in a little while.

 

[Baloo]

Do not worry about the income at this stage.
You will need one when you get to Canada,
Just sort your PR first.

 

[Tweety35]

hey mandif

another quick question, ok my wife sponsors myself, it usually takes about 3 years before i can get my PR residency anyway. But until then can i actually live in canada, work in canada? Buy a house etc in canada? ok fair enough health care i will have to pay for for the time being fair enough. But im sure the goverment wont let you just sit in canada and not even be able to work to show that you are participating within the country even if you decide to set up your own business etc.

any advice on this at all?

Because im not going to sit in the UK for the next 3 years etc, i would rather just head to canada now live with my wife and apply for PR residency. But again what are the stages for that. HELP PLEASE

 

[Baloo]

hey mandif

another quick question, ok my wife sponsors myself, it usually takes about 3 years before i can get my PR residency anyway. But until then can i actually live in canada, work in canada? Buy a house etc in canada? ok fair enough health care i will have to pay for for the time being fair enough. But im sure the goverment wont let you just sit in canada and not even be able to work to show that you are participating within the country even if you decide to set up your own business etc.

any advice on this at all?

Because im not going to sit in the UK for the next 3 years etc, i would rather just head to canada now live with my wife and apply for PR residency. But again what are the stages for that. HELP PLEASE

It sounds like you are confused (or I am reading this incorrectly.

PR does not usually take 3 years for a Brit', Outland spousal can be completed inside of 9 months (unless there are major issues).

The three years you mention may refer to Citizenship.

If you are waiting in Canada as a visitor, the rules mandate that you cannot work.

 

[patiently_waiting]

I thought it would normally take about 6 months for a spouse to sponsor there wife/husband, well thats what it says on the candian immigration website.

Hey Tweety35, Yes the Canadian High Commission site says they are processing within 6 months at the moment however the Citizenship and Immigration Site shows 80% are complete within 9 months. It is a bit misleading but what the CHC is saying is they are currently averaging 6 months. This applies to Outland Only.

 

[MandiF]

hey mandif

another quick question, ok my wife sponsors myself, it usually takes about 3 years before i can get my PR residency anyway. But until then can i actually live in canada, work in canada? Buy a house etc in canada? ok fair enough health care i will have to pay for for the time being fair enough. But im sure the goverment wont let you just sit in canada and not even be able to work to show that you are participating within the country even if you decide to set up your own business etc.

any advice on this at all?

Because im not going to sit in the UK for the next 3 years etc, i would rather just head to canada now live with my wife and apply for PR residency. But again what are the stages for that. HELP PLEASE

Baloo is right, I think you're a bit confused. For spousal permanent residency applications there is no income requirement, so just ignore that completely and also 80% of Permanent Resident applications filed through London are completed in 9 months at the moment. As soon as you get your permanent residency you can work, pay taxes, get health care, almost everything else a Citizen can do. Three years after obtaining Permanent residency, you can then apply to become a citizen, which means passport and voting etc.

Have a good read through that first post I liked to, and hopefully things will be much clearer.

You can be in Canada and still apply outland through London, but while your spousal permanent residency application is going through that the is only time you are unable to work or have health care and you must show that you are only 'visiting' Canada and not 'officially' living here. If you apply outland you would not usually apply separately for a work permit, as you have the right to work as soon as your application is approved.

Also, you must get all your criminal record checks from any country you've lived in for more than 6 months and also your medical completed prior to submitting your application. Realistically, it would probably take you a couple of months just to pull all the details together and complete your application, its quite a big undertaking and is so important to get right and include all the information and supporting documents you can.

We filed our spousal application while I was in UK and my husband in Canada and then after a few months that is when I came to Canada to be with him, as I had enough of being on my own in UK. I just needed to make sure I got through the Immigration at the airport and demonstrated that as I had my house in UK still (although rented out) and I had applied for Permanent residency that I would leave the country if required.

If you have any other questions, just ask.

 

[Tweety35]

hey mandif

now i understand in other words i apply for the PR residency and that will take up to 9 months before they approve it or not. Now the approval depends on how genuine mine and my wifes reltionship is and was before marriage correct? i have photos of us together for over the 5 year period, including home telephone bills, mobile biils, emails, birthday cards, letters, presents, gifts, marriage day etc.

i will have to get all my medical and criminal records al ready aswell. Realistically i can only go for holidays to canada really. Does it help if we have a joint account in canada? and does it help if we can both show some income?

Also how successful is it to go through outland and apply for PR residency?

UNless my wife can get a 30k job.... im guessing this will be my best route. I mean i dont have many complications. i hope. lol

 

[Baloo]

hey mandif

now i understand in other words i apply for the PR residency and that will take up to 9 months before they approve it or not. Now the approval depends on how genuine mine and my wifes reltionship is and was before marriage correct? i have photos of us together for over the 5 year period, including home telephone bills, mobile biils, emails, birthday cards, letters, presents, gifts, marriage day etc.

All good proof.

i will have to get all my medical and criminal records al ready aswell. Realistically i can only go for holidays to canada really. Does it help if we have a joint account in canada? and does it help if we can both show some income?

Medical is valid for a year, Police checks 3 months (my UK one was). Every little helps, but you seem to have most of it covered.

Also how successful is it to go through outland and apply for PR residency?

Every case is different, it depends on so many things. Think positive

UNless my wife can get a 30k job.... im guessing this will be my best route. I mean i dont have many complications. i hope. lol

 

[MandiF]

Hi Tweety,

Yep, that's right, your application for permanent residency is in two sections, the first is to assess if your wife is able to sponsor you. Which for spousal sponsorship is currently at 35 days - see this link here http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/perm-fc.asp, and there is no necessity for proving a certain income, the only thing that CIC want to see is that either your wife is already in Canada or that she will move back if she isn't already there and that she isn't currently on welfare.

The whole kit and caboodle, both sponsorship and the PR application is sent to Mississagua and the second part is the application will be checked for completeness at Mississagua and then they will send to your local visa office, for you would be London and then the second part comes into play. And this is where you need to provide evidence not only that your relationship prior to marriage was real, but also evidence that you are still married and in constant contact etc. All the types of things you have mentioned need to be included in the application.

At this point minimum income really doesn't matter, the only time it does is when your wife demonstrates that she isn't on welfare and that she has some way of supporting you when you land.

No one can say how successful Outland is, as everyone's relationship and circumstances are different and also it depends on how much evidence you send in with your application. Basically, if you include everything that's asked for on the checklist and more, you should be okay, just remember that the onus is on you to prove that you didn't marry for immigration purposes, and please note that some people who have had kids together and been married years have been either interviewed or rejected as they didn't include enough evidence and just assumed that the long term relationship time and kids would be enough.

Also, please note that if you apply inland as opposed to outland there is no right to appeal.

Still not sure where the 30k job is coming into it, as for spousal applications there is not any at all income requirements.

Any other queries, just ask.

 

[Tweety35]

hey baloo thanx for the advice. and thankyou for the think positive comment i need it lol the way my wife is right now

 

[Tweety35]

hey mandif

sorry i think i hit new post as baloo notified myself on

well everything has been explained in the previous post. and baloo thankyou aswell i will certainly be back in a few days. Have to spedn time with the wife comfort her let her know things will be good

 

[canadianwoman]

now i understand in other words i apply for the PR residency and that will take up to 9 months before they approve it or not. Now the approval depends on how genuine mine and my wifes reltionship is and was before marriage correct? i have photos of us together for over the 5 year period, including home telephone bills, mobile biils, emails, birthday cards, letters, presents, gifts, marriage day etc.

All good proof.

i will have to get all my medical and criminal records al ready aswell. Realistically i can only go for holidays to canada really. Does it help if we have a joint account in canada? and does it help if we can both show some income?

A joint bank account is good evidence, as is any kind of joint finances: joint credit cards, each other named as beneficiaries on wills/insurance, a joint lease or mortgage.

Also, your wife can sponsor you with no job and no money: only people sponsoring other family members (such as parents or grandparents) have to show an income. Of course, it is better if the sponsor has a job, and if both sponsor and applicant have some money saved, because the visa officer wants to see that the two of you will be able to support yourselves once you get to Canada. But don't worry about your wife's job - her income and savings, and your income and savings are more than enough.