Spouse staying in Canada while waiting for PR?

[firefly_197]

I'm a Canadian citizen and my partner is a US citizen.

We have been dating and are starting to get serious and looking towards marriage. To be prepared as we started making plans for our future together we started looking at the process of them immigrating to Canada.

We would like to get married August of 2019. We were planning to apply for PR after the wedding. I've read that it can be a long wait for PR. Does this mean that they would have to return back to the US to wait once the 6 months are up as them being a visitor or is there a different way to approach this?

 

[Hurlabrick]

I'm a Canadian citizen and my partner is a US citizen.

We have been dating and are starting to get serious and looking towards marriage. To be prepared as we started making plans for our future together we started looking at the process of them immigrating to Canada.

We would like to get married August of 2019. We were planning to apply for PR after the wedding. I've read that it can be a long wait for PR. Does this mean that they would have to return back to the US to wait once the 6 months are up as them being a visitor or is there a different way to approach this?

Timescales are usually 6 - 8 months (12 is quoted, but doesn't often take that long).

You can apply for spousal sponsorship either 'inland' (if your partner can get into Canada as a visitor first) or 'outland'. If you apply inland, the partner can apply for an OWP (Open Work Permit) at the same time as spousal sponsorship, but it can take 3 - 4 months to come through. Alternatively, you can apply 'outland', then once applied, your partner can come to Canada as a visitor under 'dual intent' and wait until approved - drawback is that they would not be allowed to work until approved.

Useful stuff here:

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Spousal_Sponsorship-Canada

Visitor timescales can be 6 months, but can also be 12 months at the discretion of the CBSA agent - worth asking. In any event, you can normally extend a visitor visa as well.

 

[firefly_197]

Timescales are usually 6 - 8 months (12 is quoted, but doesn't often take that long).

You can apply for spousal sponsorship either 'inland' (if your partner can get into Canada as a visitor first) or 'outland'. If you apply inland, the partner can apply for an OWP (Open Work Permit) at the same time as spousal sponsorship, but it can take 3 - 4 months to come through. Alternatively, you can apply 'outland', then once applied, your partner can come to Canada as a visitor under 'dual intent' and wait until approved - drawback is that they would not be allowed to work until approved.

Useful stuff here:

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Spousal_Sponsorship-Canada

Visitor timescales can be 6 months, but can also be 12 months at the discretion of the CBSA agent - worth asking. In any event, you can normally extend a visitor visa as well.

Thanks! This was really helpful. We really appreciate it!