TRV general questions - Timing and Relationship proof?

[Jalex23]

This is the opposite of what I've been told. I have spoken to my MPs office a few times and I remember specifically her saying that 98% of spouse visitor visas are rejected primarily because this is the most likely scenario, they want to be together while the PR is processing.

Yes, they are tougher to get because of the stated reason... but they are not that rare nor impossible, we have several senior members in the forum which got a TRV for their wife/fiancee with a PR in process .

The assumption comes from the fact that legally married couples now count their income as combined, CRA does this on tax returns and looks at "family" income and not "individual" income when determining what tax deductions you are eligible for. They've already sent me a letter regarding my Child Tax Benefit saying I'm no longer eligible until they can determine my wife's income, i.e. files a tax return once she is a PR.

CRA and CIC have different ways to do stuff. For example "common law" has a different definition depending not only on the dependency but also on the process.

 

[S_and_C]

Hi again, I just wanted to add this link to the discussion
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/temp/visa/processing/pr.asp

It talks about some of the policies and procedures surrounding issuance of TRVs for people who have "inland" PR applications in process, but which want the ability to leave and re-enter Canada and not jeopardize their PR application. I am unsure if the same applies to outland, but it hits on a few points I mentioned early in the thread...

1. It seems to indicate that in these cases, a visa officer should check to ensure there is approval in principle, i.e. SA has been confirmed for the applicant before approving a TRV. So at least in this case it -would- affect a TRV and is desirable to have SA in hand.

2. Inadmissibility. There are many reasons why a person may be inadmissible such as criminal and medical reasons. Would "unable to prove strong ties to home country" be considered inadmissible? The fact that we are married creates stronger ties to Canada, and there are no ties like land/housing/bank loans etc tying my wife to her home country. So knowing this we would never get issued a TRV, and thus I would conclude that under our circumstances she is inadmissible to Canada as a visitor.

Unless there is another source of info describing this in the context of an outland spousal PR applicant, it seems to imply that the spouse wait for the PR to process and that obtaining a TRV in the meantime is highly unlikely. Of course, people have succeeded in doing this as we've seen on this forum. But since we fall into the "Dual Intent" scenario (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/temp/visa/dual.asp), and any argument for strong ties we can come up with are weak, a TRV is unlikely.

Another avenue we may try is a Temporary Resident Permit which will allow us to explain the exceptional circumstances surrounding why I want my wife to accompany me here prior to our PR application from being processed. This is similar to a TRV in terms of applying for it, but the fee is $200 rather than $100, and there is a letter we must include explaining our exceptional circumstances. The main points of this would be:
- I'm a single parent with 2 young kids, full custody, working full time so day to day life is challenging without my wife with me.
- I'm type-1 diabetic, so the management of this disease adds a level of complexity and stress to my daily life.
- My wife has not had the opportunity to build her relationship with my kids, and my ex-wife is only minimally involved in my kids lives, so a strong motherly figure who is always there will benefit them, and my wife can provide that.

This is the route I'm now considering anyway, with the argument that there are lots of foreign spouses in Canada on visitor, work or study permits who have applied for inland PRs, so why can we not also have that opportunity to build our lives together while waiting out our PR...