Hello everyone,
Thanks for taking the time to read my questions. Any help greatly appreciated.
So I am a US citizen and my wife (a Canadian citizen) and I were recently married. Currently, as per Canadian law, I don't/cannot work in Canada. I am a freelance designer and sometimes get breaks in my work schedule so go and stay at her flat in Toronto for several weeks at a time. Alternatively, she works a job where she doesn't have to be in a particular physical location for considerable stretches, so she comes to stay at my flat in the States for extended periods of time. This has allowed each of us to not need to get a Visa for the others' country.
(Note: Several years ago she had a student visa for the States, but when she got her current job we realized that she wouldn't need the Visa anymore, and wouldn't be qualified for it because she wasn't taking classes anymore, so we let it lapse. I'm just stating this to make a note that we do have verifiable history of living with each other for a considerable period of time. I think I rad something about if you live separately for over a year you might have to fill different "conjugal partner"? Im confused by the conjugal class...)
Eventually I may get a full-time position in either Canada or the US, depending on multiple factors, so do want to go the proper work permit route.
We are currently waiting for the actual physical marriage certificate to arrive to her Canadian address via the post.
We are going to start a family soon, so I have been tasked with filling out the paperwork for both a WORK PERMIT and my portion of the SPONSORSHIP OF A SPOUSE paperwork.
filled out IMM-5707 and IMM-1295 for the work permit, paid the fee and just sent it in.
Now comes the paperwork for SPONSORSHIP OF A SPOUSE. I am now referencing the IMM5533e Checklist,
and the first item I see on Item#5 (first detail for sponsored individual...) which states:
"To apply under the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada Class, you must be living with your sponsor in Canada."
Technically US govt considers me residing in the states, while Canadian govt considers her residing in Canada, which is true even though we travel to others home often...
Do I need to have a Visa to qualify for sponsorship of a Spouse then? Is there a better way I should be going about our circumstance? We are not sure where we will be in a few years, but want to have option to stay in Canada. She has some complications with her US citizenship, but we are progressing with that in tandem.
Thanks for any advice.
Thanks for taking the time to read my questions. Any help greatly appreciated.
So I am a US citizen and my wife (a Canadian citizen) and I were recently married. Currently, as per Canadian law, I don't/cannot work in Canada. I am a freelance designer and sometimes get breaks in my work schedule so go and stay at her flat in Toronto for several weeks at a time. Alternatively, she works a job where she doesn't have to be in a particular physical location for considerable stretches, so she comes to stay at my flat in the States for extended periods of time. This has allowed each of us to not need to get a Visa for the others' country.
(Note: Several years ago she had a student visa for the States, but when she got her current job we realized that she wouldn't need the Visa anymore, and wouldn't be qualified for it because she wasn't taking classes anymore, so we let it lapse. I'm just stating this to make a note that we do have verifiable history of living with each other for a considerable period of time. I think I rad something about if you live separately for over a year you might have to fill different "conjugal partner"? Im confused by the conjugal class...)
Eventually I may get a full-time position in either Canada or the US, depending on multiple factors, so do want to go the proper work permit route.
We are currently waiting for the actual physical marriage certificate to arrive to her Canadian address via the post.
We are going to start a family soon, so I have been tasked with filling out the paperwork for both a WORK PERMIT and my portion of the SPONSORSHIP OF A SPOUSE paperwork.
filled out IMM-5707 and IMM-1295 for the work permit, paid the fee and just sent it in.
Now comes the paperwork for SPONSORSHIP OF A SPOUSE. I am now referencing the IMM5533e Checklist,
and the first item I see on Item#5 (first detail for sponsored individual...) which states:
"To apply under the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada Class, you must be living with your sponsor in Canada."
Technically US govt considers me residing in the states, while Canadian govt considers her residing in Canada, which is true even though we travel to others home often...
Do I need to have a Visa to qualify for sponsorship of a Spouse then? Is there a better way I should be going about our circumstance? We are not sure where we will be in a few years, but want to have option to stay in Canada. She has some complications with her US citizenship, but we are progressing with that in tandem.
Thanks for any advice.