Road To Canada Forums

Hi everyone,

I was lurking a bit before making my first post. I did some searching and read through quite a bit of the border crossing info but was wondering if my situation was different due to it being Europe as opposed to US (as most cases here).

I'm going to be getting married later this year and my fiance is a Swedish citizen. We are considering whether to start an inland or outland application after we marry.

With inland I have read here that she will not be admitted back if she leaves, and it could be a very long process. Risk of nulling the application if there's any emergency travel needed.

With outland I read that the process is shorter, but she may not be admitted again if the interview is back in Sweden.

So if I take the outland app route:
1) How long will I have to wait to be with her if she is denied upon re-entry to Canada after the interview? (How long along the process is the interview)
2) Say we go on a trip together to Cuba after we submit the outland application, can she accompany me back to Canada?
3) If I accompany her to Sweden on her interview, can she come back to Canada with me?
4) Can she apply for a work permit along with the outland application (or is this inland only)
5) If 4 is yes and she gets one, does she have to have a job for the dual reason or whatever for her to get back into Canada?
6) Can she come in just normally (no visa required for Sweden), and then apply outland, and apply for visa extension because of application, though it is outland?

Regards,
Andrew

I believe Sweden is among the visa-exempt countries, which most European countries are. That makes a big difference relative to re-entry to Canada; persons from countries which are not visa exempt appear to have a very hard time obtaining a visa if they are in a relationship with a Canadian even though they have a PR app properly in process.

But you are probably right to suspect that not all visa exempt countries are treated identically. Americans probably have the easiest time of it. Persons from Eastern European countries not so easy.

In any event, there is no guarantee.

Outland is still, probably, the better route. Once filed she can probably re-enter fairly easily if accompanied by you. It is almost "normally" but may be a bit pressed about "dual intent" (just visiting and seeking PR).

No work permit while in process for out of Canada route. Just note that time it takes to obtain a work permit via inland route is, usually, and at best usually, just about as long as it takes to complete the outland process for persons from many countries including (I think) most western European countries.

Sweden is a visa-exempt country - the processing office for spousal PR applicants from Sweden is London, probably one of the fastest processing offices around at 2-8 months (plus about a month beforehand for processing the sponsor at CPC-Mississauga). The best way to avoid an interview is to make sure you include quality evidence of your genuine relationship with the initial submission of the application. Document how you met, how you've kept in touch, etc. . . . the whole relationship prior to and including your wedding. Provide evidence to support your "story" - phone bills, emails, chats, cards, photos, airline ticket stubs, etc.

To answer some of your specific questions:

andrewr:50609 Wrote:So if I take the outland app route:
1) How long will I have to wait to be with her if she is denied upon re-entry to Canada after the interview? (How long along the process is the interview)

Whether or not an interview is going to be required is usually decided pretty soon after London gets the application - how long it takes before the interview is scheduled is hard to determine. I guess it would just depend on how many other applications that came in before hers/yours needed interviews, too.

andrewr:50609 Wrote:2) Say we go on a trip together to Cuba after we submit the outland application, can she accompany me back to Canada?

She can always accompany you back - she doesn't need pre-authorized permission to board transport to Canada like non-visa-exempt nationals do. But there's never any guarantee that she'll be admitted to Canada once she arrives. That's where you traveling with her comes in. What you do is speak for her - providing proof that she is your wife and that you have a PR ap in process on her behalf. Chances are good that she would be allowed to enter under those circumstances.

andrewr:50609 Wrote:3) If I accompany her to Sweden on her interview, can she come back to Canada with me?

Again, same as above - but you might be able to avoid the interview all together. Interviews are sometimes waived. And it wouldn't be in Sweden, it would be in London at the visa office.

andrewr:50609 Wrote:4) Can she apply for a work permit along with the outland application (or is this inland only)

No, this is inland only - she could apply for a restricted work permit if she found an employer who could get a positive Labour Market Opinion to offer her a job. But the process would likely take longer than the PR application process. Once she has PR, she is authorized to work.

andrewr:50609 Wrote:5) If 4 is yes and she gets one, does she have to have a job for the dual reason or whatever for her to get back into Canada?

n/a

andrewr:50609 Wrote:6) Can she come in just normally (no visa required for Sweden), and then apply outland, and apply for visa extension because of application, though it is outland?

Yes - if she's admitted to Canada she will have documentation that specifies a date she needs to leave by. With your marriage and an outland PR ap in process, she can apply from within Canada to extend that status and there is every indication that the extension would be approved. It's important, though, that the application to extend is received by CIC prior to expiration of the status they give her on entry. Track the mailing and get delivery confirmation - that's her proof that she has "implied status" to remain in Canada until she hears back.

Thank you so very much for the responses :) A follow-up question...(I hope this quoting works.. trying it first time)

RobsLuv Wrote:That's where you traveling with her comes in. What you do is speak for her - providing proof that she is your wife and that you have a PR ap in process on her behalf. Chances are good that she would be allowed to enter under those circumstances.

Isn't the IO trying to assess intent on whether she is trying to stay as opposed to go back. As in, will the IO not be more convinced that she is going to stay if I speak up saying that I can take care of her and so on.. or am I thinking about this the wrong way..?

A foreign national trying to enter Canada on their own must convince the IO assessing their entry that they will leave within the period of time authorized for stay. A foreign national entering as the qualified spouse of a Canadian citizen must still "understand" that they're only allowed to stay as long as they're authorized to stay - barring extension, which they can always apply for later - but the requirement to "prove it" is generally waived when the Canadian spouse speaks to taking responsibility and ensuring that they won't stay without properly requesting an extension - if PR is not approved before the temporary status expires. So, yes the requirement to understand "temporary" intent is the same - but the foreign national's burden to prove it is normally waived when the Canadian spouse speaks on their behalf.

This does speak to "dual intent", but in my experience, a foreign national has no ability to invoke the "dual intent" provision when they're trying to enter Canada alone. That's why 99.9% of non-visa-exempt foreign nationals are refused permission to travel to Canada simply by virtue of having a spouse in Canada, or a PR ap in process.

Quick question... I'm currently working in Canada, I have a valid work permit til the summer, we can still file an outland application right?

yes, no problem.

Within the same scenario as my above question..

Does the amount of checked-in luggages my fiance brings with her on her trip here to Canada affect the CO's decision at the counter. The trip to Canada is when we'll be getting married. The rationale of my question is that the CO assesses her intent, and could more than 1 luggage be interpreted as intent to stay?

You don't generally go through immigration control with your luggage, you collect it afterwards before going through customs, so I shouldn't imagine it plays a big part in the immigration officer's assessment. If they do have some automated system for knowing how much checked luggage you have when you go through the primary inspection line, what she says about her visit is much more important. If it's two or three pieces, I doubt they'd even bat an eyelid. Huge amounts of luggage might flag something, but who knows.