Studying abroad while sponsoring

[rabbitz]

Hello,

I've tried to search in the forums for this, but nothing came up.

I am currently getting all the paperwork together to sponsor my husband. I know that if we get approved, I need to be in Canada when my husband arrives. My concern is I'm due to start school overseas in May... I'm obviously still a citizen of Canada and on a study visa in the Caribbean. Does that affect his PR visa at all? Do I need to reside with him in Canada for 2 years for everything to go smoothly? We plan to visit each other during my school breaks.

I hope this makes sense, because I'm pretty freaked out about this and may be ranting. I'll clarify anything if necessary.

Thank you!!

 

[MissDominica]

It's a bit of a tricky situation... So here's the D/L

You can sponsor your husband while you are living outside of Canada, however, in order to be approved as a sponsor, you must prove that you intend to return to Canada with your husband when he gets his PR. This might be hard in your situation, especially because you will have to disclose that you are a full-time student in the caribbean for the next 2 years, they may not believe you intend to come back in the near future (obviously) and may not allow you to sponsor. Having said that, you could try. They ask for "Proof you intend to return to Canada..." and give examples of things like rental lease in Canada (current and future), job invitation letter from Canada showing you have a job to go back to, etc. You will not have these things (most people don't when they're living abroad though). You can say that you are training abroad and intend to return after your training to Canada to practice in your field and give details of how you would do this (ie. My field of study is X. When I complete my training in the caribbean, I will be licensed to do X in Canada. I intend to get a job at X and make a good salary (eg. X) and would be able to support myself and my husband. My field is in demand in Canada and I still consider myself a Canadian, I still pay taxes in Canada, and I am only out of the country for studies in X. If you have a detailed plan about intending to return, they may be ok with that.

As you are applying after October 2012, you are subject to the "new" immigration rule that you must be together for 2+ years after PR to keep the status. This is waived if you have been married for 2 years or have children together. If you have been married less than 2 years with no kids, you need to be together for 2+ years after PR is granted. NOW, after your husband lands as a PR in Canada, he has his status as long as he fills the proper number of days total in Canada to keep his PR status. (This is where it will help you). He does NOT necessarily have to be in Canada for this to happen... He can still count days toward his PR if he is outside of Canada, so long as he is following YOU on a "mission" (ie. school). He could still keep his PR status if he is with you. If, however, he does not want to live in the caribbean with you, lands as a PR in Canada, and you two don't live together in Canada (because you are at school and he is in Canada) then you might have a problem with failing to abide by the new immigration law.

I also am a Canadian citizen who went to school in the caribbean. I opted to wait until I returned to sponsor my partner because it's less messy, even more so now with the new immigration rule. But I can understand that you would not want to wait because you are just starting off (I was almost done over there when I started planning for sponsorship and I lived with him in the caribbean).

Anyway, I hope all of that makes sense. Sorry the answer's not more simple...

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions, since I've kind of been in your shoes.

 

[truesmile]

Very detailed response, thanks for the read. Small point however, if the OP is not in the military it does not have to be "on a MISSION", it's just "follow YOU" or "be with YOU"(.) Period. As I understand it.

 

[rabbitz]

Thank you so much! That was very detailed!

That's exactly what I was worried about. He wouldn't be coming with me to the Caribbean. I really want him to finish school in a North American system and the field he's interested in isn't offered in the Caribbean...

Sorry if I'm looping, I just want to make sure I understand, what if I apply while I'm in Canada so in my application it states that I am currently in Canada. Then in May, I go study in the Caribbean. If he gets approved for the PR then he will come live in Canada and have his own apartment, which will be in both our names. Do you think this would be enough to say that he's living there now and that as soon as I am done with my studies I will be coming back to live in Canada as I have an apartment there. Or would it be as you mentioned, messy because we have to be together for 2 years (we haven't been married 2 years so I know this applies to me).

Thanks again! I really appreciate your help!

 

[rabbitz]

I just re-read your post, and I know that my last reply seems redundant, but I just want to cover all my bases.

Thanks again!

 

[canadianwoman]

Sorry if I'm looping, I just want to make sure I understand, what if I apply while I'm in Canada so in my application it states that I am currently in Canada. Then in May, I go study in the Caribbean. If he gets approved for the PR then he will come live in Canada and have his own apartment, which will be in both our names. Do you think this would be enough to say that he's living there now and that as soon as I am done with my studies I will be coming back to live in Canada as I have an apartment there. Or would it be as you mentioned, messy because we have to be together for 2 years (we haven't been married 2 years so I know this applies to me).

It is you (the Canadian sponsor) that has to be back in Canada once he gets his PR visa. You can send in the application while you are still in Canada, but if the visa officer finds out you have left Canada and do not plan to live with your husband in Canada once he gets his PR visa, they will not give him the visa.
If the visa officer does not find out, it might work.
It would be best for you to wait to sponsor until you are ready to go back to Canada yourself (taking into account how long it takes to get a PR visa on average from wherever your husband will be applying from).

 

[MissDominica]

Thank you so much! That was very detailed!

That's exactly what I was worried about. He wouldn't be coming with me to the Caribbean. I really want him to finish school in a North American system and the field he's interested in isn't offered in the Caribbean...

Sorry if I'm looping, I just want to make sure I understand, what if I apply while I'm in Canada so in my application it states that I am currently in Canada. Then in May, I go study in the Caribbean. If he gets approved for the PR then he will come live in Canada and have his own apartment, which will be in both our names. Do you think this would be enough to say that he's living there now and that as soon as I am done with my studies I will be coming back to live in Canada as I have an apartment there. Or would it be as you mentioned, messy because we have to be together for 2 years (we haven't been married 2 years so I know this applies to me).

Thanks again! I really appreciate your help!

No problem - helping is what we do here!

As for applying while you're still in Canada, you can do that and it might be better in your case because you don't have to go through all that "Prove you plan to return to Canada" junk in the original application. HOWEVER, if you are approved as sponsor and you then MOVE to the Caribbean, you are legally obligated to inform CIC of your new address (ie. you left the country to go to school). You could try to explain that it is a temporary move and you ONLY moved for school and that you still LIVE in Canada (as your home residence) but that your school is in the caribbean. You can write (at that time) that you plan to return on X date after your studies finish (and all the things I said above about your employment, etc in Canada to prove you're coming back). All of that would probably work.

I'm concerned, however, that they would not consider you "living" with your husband in Canada. Sometimes it does not matter, as CIC understands that sometimes people have to be separated for "short periods of time" for school, work, etc. So it's a little bit of a gray area. You aren't leaving Canada and starting a new life in another country without your spouse, so you're not intentionally violating the 2 year law. Since you're only doing it for school, it "may" be a permitted absence. However, if I had to make an assumption, I would say that CIC will not be pleased about your two living apart PR is granted. It's unfortuate that he can't come to the caribbean for the last year of your studies or something (take a year off of his studies). Because then his PR would be fine (as I said above) because he is with you (Canadian citizen who sponsored him). By the time you are approved through stage 1 and stage 2 (depending on what country he is from), it could be anywhere from 4 months to 20 months (or more) before he has PR... so you could be half way done your studies and he could just join you until you finish and then you could come back to Canada together....

Anyway, a lot to think about... some of the more senior members might come in and say what they think about whether the 2 year rule would be violated in your case, if your husband chooses to stay in Canada while you are living in the caribbean. I suspect it might give you issues, if he wants to live in Canada without you with his PR.

 

[MissDominica]

It is you (the Canadian sponsor) that has to be back in Canada once he gets his PR visa. You can send in the application while you are still in Canada, but if the visa officer finds out you have left Canada and do not plan to live with your husband in Canada once he gets his PR visa, they will not give him the visa.
If the visa officer does not find out, it might work.
It would be best for you to wait to sponsor until you are ready to go back to Canada yourself (taking into account how long it takes to get a PR visa on average from wherever your husband will be applying from).

I agree. For example, if stage 1 processing takes 2 months (avg) and stage 2 for your husband's country (let's just say 5 months, I don't know where he's from, so adjust this for the average time for his country). That's 7 months from application to PR (approx). You could wait until you are 7 months (or whatever applies to your situation) from leaving the caribbean to return to Canada to apply for his PR. You will have to write up that plan we talked about where you say "I"m living outside Canada now, but plan to return on X date when I finish my studies, talk about job in Canada, how you will support you and hubby, etc. Then, by the time you are finished studies, hubby will just be getting PR, you actually CAN return to Canada and be with him.

Otherwise, you run the risk of 1) Getting denied if you apply soon (before you go to caribbean) as living in Canada and then move (and you tell CIC, which you are legally supposed to, or they find out) or 2) Getting the PR and having it taken away because you won't be living together for 2 years once he gets PR.

I think your only real options is to get his PR and have him live with you in Caribbean to count towards the 2 years of living together once PR is given OR wait until you are X number of months from being done in caribbean to apply for him so you will be returning to Canada (and can prove this to CIC) at the same approx time that he gets PR (he can "land" as a PR with you when you return).

You can try to fool CIC into thinking you are living in Canada the whole time and not update them when you move to caribbean (apply as living in Canada)... however, with CIC, lying is NOT a good option (can get you banned for years from Canada for misrepresentation and make future applications highly scrutinized)... I wouldn't recommend it.


Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[rabbitz]

I have a lot of thinking and discussing to do.

Thank you so much for your help!!!