I'm a Canadian applying for permanent resident visa for my British fiance and I was wondering how long the visa will be valid for assuming he is approved? We were originally planning on moving to Vancouver in September 2010 but our savings are in pounds and the exchange rate is sooo bad we were thinking of postponing if the pound hasn't strengthened by then. Can anyone help?
Thanks,
April
Hi
aprilve Wrote:I'm a Canadian applying for permanent resident visa for my British fiance and I was wondering how long the visa will be valid for assuming he is approved? We were originally planning on moving to Vancouver in September 2010 but our savings are in pounds and the exchange rate is sooo bad we were thinking of postponing if the pound hasn't strengthened by then. Can anyone help?
Thanks,
April
1. I will make an assumption that it is a common/law application as there are no fiance visas.
2. The COPR (visa) is valid for 12 months from the date of the medical or the expiry of the passport, whichever comes first.
PMM
Bottom line: a visa will state its dates of validity on it.
PMM correctly states how that date is determined: one year from the date one did the medical exam or, if it expires sooner, the date one's passport expires.
While a UK sponsored partner PR applicant from the UK can expect relatively quick processing, you never really know until approved how long the process will actually take.
All that said: once granted a visa, the person approved for PR may land in Canada and immediately return to their home country . . . and only have to return to Canada again in time to satisfy the two out of five year residency requirement for PRs. That is, if settling in Canada is inconvenient prior to the expiration of the visa, just land, turn around and go home and then come back to Canada when it is more convenient.
Thanks for your time guys and particularly dpenabill. that's useful advice!