Work visa/PR/elder care questions

[Ebeelpekan]

Hi all,

I have a few questions regarding my husband’s and my recent move to Ontario. He was an intra-company transfer from the States; I have an open work visa and current employment as well. We are wondering how long we must be in Canada before we can apply for permanent residence (this is our ultimate goal)? An additional complication, however, is that I have been taking care of my elderly mother and I’m not sure what her status could be here in Canada with us. Is she allowed to live with us while we are trying for PR? I know that once we are PR we can sponsor family members, but I’m not sure how it would work in the meantime. Does OHIP apply to her as well? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[scylla]

Hi all,

I have a few questions regarding my husband’s and my recent move to Ontario. He was an intra-company transfer from the States; I have an open work visa and current employment as well. We are wondering how long we must be in Canada before we can apply for permanent residence (this is our ultimate goal)? An additional complication, however, is that I have been taking care of my elderly mother and I’m not sure what her status could be here in Canada with us. Is she allowed to live with us while we are trying for PR? I know that once we are PR we can sponsor family members, but I’m not sure how it would work in the meantime. Does OHIP apply to her as well? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

You can apply for PR immediately if you qualify. You will need to spend time researching Canada's immigration programs to find out what the requirements are to qualify and apply. I would recommend that you start by researching the Express Entry program. This is a points-based program where those with the most points are selected out of the pool for PR. Right now you need to have over 440 points to be picked.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada.html

Your elderly mother can only visit for now. As a visitor, she doesn't qualify for OHIP. Recommend you take out private insurance to cover emergencies - non emergency care and anything else not covered by the private insurance will have to be paid for out of pocket. No - she is not allowed to live with you in Canada. Again, all she is allowed to do is visit temporarily. She can come as a visitor and also try to extend her status stay longer. However sooner or later, she will need to return home. As a general rule, to avoid having issues entering Canada as a visitor, she should be spending more time outside of Canada in any given year than inside of Canada.

To qualify to sponsor your mother for permanent residency, you will have to wait until you have become a permanent resident yourself. Additionally, you must also have at least three years of income from Canada that meets the minimum income requirements to sponsor (you'll need to provide three Canadian tax returns to show you have made enough money for three years straight to qualify). Additionally, only a limited number of parent sponsorship applications are accepted at the start of each year based on either a lottery or first come, first serve. So hard to say how soon you would be successful in sponsoring your mother.

 

[canuck78]

Once you become a PR a supervisa may be a good option for longer visits. To qualify for a TRV your mother will have to show her own savings and strong ties to her home country.