While Outland PR is processing, can spouse come to Canada as a visitor?

[umeboshi]

I'm just curious if my wife can come to Canada as a visitor while she's waiting on her PR application to process?

If it's possible, what would we need to do once they required her passport for the PR application?
Would she need to travel back to Japan to finish everything then re-enter Canada again? Or could she
deal with it from Canada on the visitor visa?

Thanks in advance.


Edit: She is from Japan and visa-exempt for visiting, I didn't mention that before.

 

[raymond12]

I don't think this is possible. I am an PR applicant and dependant of my wife who is working as a caregiver in Canada. We consider this option before. But we talked to an immigration officer regarding this matter but she said it is not possible to process both PR and visit at the same time. You have to chose only one.

 

[Leon]

It is possible to get a visit visa while applying for PR but she must prove that it is just a visit and she will return home afterwards. Some people have succeeded in getting it but it is usually refused because of risk of overstay.

 

[fizzlefunk]

Japan is a visa-exempt country, so if your wife is traveling on a Japanese passport, she may enter Canada for up to 6 months as a visitor. When she enters, she will need to convince the border agent that she intends to leave -- return tickets, proof of ties to her home country, etc will help, as well as proof that an application for permanent residency is underway and that all fees have been paid. Once she is in Canada with you, you may update her address with the visa office working her case to your/her new address. She would need to travel back to Japan only if she is selected for an interview. Good luck!

 

[raymond12]

It is possible to get a visit visa while applying for PR but she must prove that it is just a visit and she will return home afterwards. Some people have succeeded in getting it but it is usually refused because of risk of overstay.

it is possible to apply for visit but you have to give up your pr application. this word came directly from a visa officer.

 

[Baloo]

it is possible to apply for visit but you have to give up your pr application. this word came directly from a visa officer.

This is not correct.

In the case you describe the TRV would still be likely to be refused, as the risk of overstay still exists.

There are many people that have visited Canada with permanent resident applications in process.
The majority are from visa exempt countries; others can also apply, but as previously stated they are often refused because of the assumed risk of "overstay".

 

[umeboshi]

Japan is a visa-exempt country, so if your wife is traveling on a Japanese passport, she may enter Canada for up to 6 months as a visitor. When she enters, she will need to convince the border agent that she intends to leave -- return tickets, proof of ties to her home country, etc will help, as well as proof that an application for permanent residency is underway and that all fees have been paid. Once she is in Canada with you, you may update her address with the visa office working her case to your/her new address. She would need to travel back to Japan only if she is selected for an interview. Good luck!

Are you sure about this? My wife was reading a blog from a Japanese woman who was married to a Canadian man and they did exactly that. I think the Japanese woman was in Canada as a visitor, they did the outland application, she ended up sending her passport to Japan when they asked for it, then they changed her Japanese address to the Canadian one, and all the rest of the papers were sent to the address in Canada. The passport was mailed to them in Canada and all she had to do was quickly pop over to the US and back into Canada to finish the process.

I find this situation very strange though because it doesn't seem like a very good idea for the Japanese girl to be in Canada without a passport (while it's sent to the embassy in Japan). Isn't that dangerous? I mean what if you needed to quickly leave the country or something.

 

[umeboshi]

Also, yes that is true that my wife is from Japan and she is visitor visa exempt. Does that mean she could enter easily even though she has a PR application processing?

There are such a wide variety of answers here, it's hard to tell who is correct

 

[Leon]

People who are visa exempt definitely have less problems entering. As long as she arrives with a return ticket, doesn't bring her entire belongings in the world and says she will be returning from her visit, she should get in. Visa exempt means trusted country, means they basically decided that the standard of living in that country is high and people from there are not likely to come to Canada to stay illegally.

 

[fizzlefunk]

Are you sure about this? My wife was reading a blog from a Japanese woman who was married to a Canadian man and they did exactly that. I think the Japanese woman was in Canada as a visitor, they did the outland application, she ended up sending her passport to Japan when they asked for it, then they changed her Japanese address to the Canadian one, and all the rest of the papers were sent to the address in Canada. The passport was mailed to them in Canada and all she had to do was quickly pop over to the US and back into Canada to finish the process.

I find this situation very strange though because it doesn't seem like a very good idea for the Japanese girl to be in Canada without a passport (while it's sent to the embassy in Japan). Isn't that dangerous? I mean what if you needed to quickly leave the country or something.

This is essentially what I am doing, though I am immigrating from the US. She'll be a visitor in Canada staying with you, and that needs to be clear to the visa officer at the airport when she arrives -- ie, only a bag or two, and a return ticket, for example. I'm currently in Canada with my wife as a visitor, and I sent my passport off to the visa office a week or two ago -- so I'm in that situation you describe, in the country without a passport. The visa office says they will return the passport within 3 weeks, so it's not too long to go without it.

 

[Baloo]

Also, yes that is true that my wife is from Japan and she is visitor visa exempt. Does that mean she could enter easily even though she has a PR application processing?

It is more likely that a person from a visa exempt country will be allowed a TRV.
As always, there are no guarantees.

There are such a wide variety of answers here, it's hard to tell who is correct

Read the CIC site for countries and territories whose citizens require visas in order to enter Canada as visitors (also lists visa exempt countries).
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/visas.asp#exemptions

I find this situation very strange though because it doesn't seem like a very good idea for the Japanese girl to be in Canada without a passport (while it's sent to the embassy in Japan). Isn't that dangerous? I mean what if you needed to quickly leave the country or something.

Being in a country without a passport is not "dangerous", it is part of the process that you choose when applying for permanent resident status (outland).

As an example, the passport request letter from London UK states :
"You should expect to be without your passport(s) for six weeks, so do not arrange any travel that will require your passport(s) during this period."

 

[umeboshi]

Being in a country without a passport is not "dangerous", it is part of the process that you choose when applying for permanent resident status (outland).

As an example, the passport request letter from London UK states :
"You should expect to be without your passport(s) for six weeks, so do not arrange any travel that will require your passport(s) during this period."

Yeah, quite sure you missed the point. The request letter you're talking about refers to this situation, does it not?: 'You're British. They requested your passport. You're currently living and residing in London. You'll be without your passport so don't plan a trip that requires it.' Clearly it's safe to not have a passport in your own country.

What fizzlefunk was talking about is being in a foreign country without a passport, residency, or anything else for that foreign country. You'd simply be there as a visitor but without a passport for possibly a month. That strikes me as potentially problematic. I'm sure if you were doing an inland application then it's a normal situation; but doing an outland application and sending your passport overseas to the embassy in Japan while you're in Canada as a visitor, that seems a bit sketchy.

 

[scylla]

Yeah, quite sure you missed the point. The request letter you're talking about refers to this situation, does it not?: 'You're British. They requested your passport. You're currently living and residing in London. You'll be without your passport so don't plan a trip that requires it.' Clearly it's safe to not have a passport in your own country.

What fizzlefunk was talking about is being in a foreign country without a passport, residency, or anything else for that foreign country. You'd simply be there as a visitor but without a passport for possibly a month. That strikes me as potentially problematic. I'm sure if you were doing an inland application then it's a normal situation; but doing an outland application and sending your passport overseas to the embassy in Japan while you're in Canada as a visitor, that seems a bit sketchy.

Many people have done what you have described above (i.e. applied outland while living in Canada, sent their passport to their home country for visa stamping while still living in Canada, lived in Canada without a passport for several weeks while waiting for the passport and visa to be returned). It's not at all unusual.

I guess it comes down to how comfortable you yourself feel sending your passport out of the country and then waiting for it to return.

 

[Baloo]

Yeah, quite sure you missed the point. The request letter you're talking about refers to this situation, does it not?: 'You're British. They requested your passport. You're currently living and residing in London. You'll be without your passport so don't plan a trip that requires it.' Clearly it's safe to not have a passport in your own country.

What fizzlefunk was talking about is being in a foreign country without a passport, residency, or anything else for that foreign country. You'd simply be there as a visitor but without a passport for possibly a month. That strikes me as potentially problematic. I'm sure if you were doing an inland application then it's a normal situation; but doing an outland application and sending your passport overseas to the embassy in Japan while you're in Canada as a visitor, that seems a bit sketchy.

I did not miss the point.
I am living in Canada with my wife. Outland living in Canada - So I am "in a foreign country without a passport".

Not "dangerous" or "sketchy", as I was made aware that the passport will be away for up to six weeks.
The situation is standard practice for outland applications.

In a dire emergency I can talk to my embassy in Canada.

 

[pinklady]

I was without my passport in Canada for 6 weeks.... I survived