I'm a canadian living in Germany. I've been here for 14 years. My fiance is British. We are planning our wedding for June 2010. We have a one year-old son for whom we've applied for proof of canadian citizenship. We want to move to Canada next summer.
Do I just apply to sponsor him as a Canadian living abroad? Do I have to prove our intention to move back? We can't really do much about moving back it seems to me until we have a residency and work permit for him! Would it be better for us to wait and get married in Canada?
Any thoughts?
Thanks!
I should have read this post first..haha
If you qualify as common-law & can prove it - you can apply now, if you don't - you can apply when you meet the requirements for CL or wait until you get married
You can sponsor him as a citizen living abroad - yes
London processing times are (right now) about 2-8 months for most cases and if he was initially granted at least 1 year of status in Germany - he could apply through Berlin - the timeline is MUCH longer though (6-17 months) so London would definitely be a better bet.
Yes - you have to prove your intentions to return to Canada, reading your other post - you have a place here - so that's one obstacle down.
If you can try & time it right - you could get his PR visa issued about the same time that you're planning to return to Canada. As soon as he's a PR, he can live & work in Canada without restriction.
aprilve Wrote:I'm a canadian living in Germany. I've been here for 14 years. My fiance is British. We are planning our wedding for June 2010. We have a one year-old son for whom we've applied for proof of canadian citizenship. We want to move to Canada next summer.
Do I just apply to sponsor him as a Canadian living abroad? Do I have to prove our intention to move back? We can't really do much about moving back it seems to me until we have a residency and work permit for him! Would it be better for us to wait and get married in Canada?
Any thoughts?
Thanks!
[INDENT]thanks for your help derby girl:)
[/INDENT]
Bottom line, yes, you do have to prove intent to return to Canada in order to be an eligible sponsor. How you do that when you don't know when he'll be allowed to come to Canada is difficult, I know, but not impossible. If you have family in Canada who can write letters of declaration stating that they will be providing housing and support for you until you get established, that sometimes works. Otherwise, CIC asks for proof of a job offer, or acceptance into a school, etc.
No, not better to wait and get married in Canada as there is no guarantee they will allow him to enter Canada (as a temporary resident) in the first place, and getting him a work permit and (temporary) residency apart from the permanent resident visa is a whole different process - and probably more trouble than it's worth. You're better off to apply to sponsor him from overseas. It sounds like you probably already qualify as common-law partners - which means having cohabitated for at least one year, and able to prove it!
As DerbyGirl mentioned, the approval process through Germany (if he has status there that was authorized for at least one year when he entered) will take 6-17 months, plus another 6 weeks at the Case Processing Centre in Mississauga for them to assess your eligibility before the file goes overseas. I would suggest that you not have him processed through Berlin since, because he is a UK citizen, he has the right to have his case processed through London. They're currently finalizing in 2-8 months. But he would have to travel to London if an interview was required, and get his passport to them at the end of the process to receive his Confirmation of Permanent Residence.
Spousal sponsorships (as opposed to common-law) frequently have their interviews waived . . . but you can accomplish the same as c/l as long as you include strong support of your "genuine relationship" with the application, and solid proof of your (at least) one year of cohabitation. You should easily be able to prove that your relationship is not about getting him status in Canada, and there's information in Sections 5.34-5.35 of the
OP2 Processing Manual that tells you what they're looking for to verify common-law qualification. Submit everything upfront (including medical exam proof and criminal clearances from both the UK, Germany and any other country he's lived in for more than 6 months since turning 18) and you should be able to benefit from the shorter processing times.