Road To Canada Forums

Hi guys,

I'm curious about some things, and I was wondering if you can give me your opinions?

I'm Canadian, and my girlfriend (whom I will eventually marry) lives in Brazil.

1. Is it a red flag for the CIC if I marry her and then sponsor her right away (i.e: within 1 month or 2)? Would that make it seem like we rush things? Or is it better to wait for a long time (i.e: 6 months) before I sponsor her?
Our relationship is genuine, but I want to make sure we don't do things that could cause the CIC to misunderstand our intentions.

2. Once we have submitted the aponsorship and permanent residence applications, is it a good idea for her to come visit me in Canada as a visitor? Does her chance of getting the visitor visa become lower?

3. She also plans to study here, so what if we do these (all will be after our marriage of course):
a. Submit our sponsorship and permanent resident apps to the CIC
b. She applies for a student visa
c. She goes to study in Canada as an international student, and lives with me, all while waiting for her to get her permanent residence.

Anything wrong with the above plan?

Hmmm, speaking of which.....when we submit our apps, she will still be in Brazil, which means it's an outland application. But if she goes to study here before she gets her permanent residence, would the CIC start treating her PR application as inland?

Thanks!

Quote:Originally posted by ftanired
Hi guys,

I'm curious about some things, and I was wondering if you can give me your opinions?

I'm Canadian, and my girlfriend (whom I will eventually marry) lives in Brazil.

1. Is it a red flag for the CIC if I marry her and then sponsor her right away (i.e: within 1 month or 2)? Would that make it seem like we rush things? Or is it better to wait for a long time (i.e: 6 months) before I sponsor her? Our relationship is genuine, but I want to make sure we don't do things that could cause the CIC to misunderstand our intentions.

No, it is not a red-flag to do that - you are eligible to apply to sponsor her as soon as you are legally married. There is no wait time - and you'd have the same "burden of proof" of your genuine relationship whether you submit your application the day after your marriage or six months later (or longer).

Quote:Originally posted by ftanired
2. Once we have submitted the aponsorship and permanent residence applications, is it a good idea for her to come visit me in Canada as a visitor? Does her chance of getting the visitor visa become lower?

Chances are, because she is from a non-visa-exempt country, she would not be issued a TRV once she is married to you - whether the PR ap is submitted yet or not. They will not believe she intends to leave Canada (and you) once she gets here.

Quote:Originally posted by ftanired
3. She also plans to study here, so what if we do these (all will be after our marriage of course):
a. Submit our sponsorship and permanent resident apps to the CIC
b. She applies for a student visa
c. She goes to study in Canada as an international student, and lives with me, all while waiting for her to get her permanent residence.

Same thing - once she is married to you, her chances of getting into Canada apart from a permanent resident visa are slim to none. If she really wants to study here, she should apply for the study visa BEFORE your marriage - and have other reasons for coming to Canada to study besides her relationship to you, or they'll turn her down. IF she can get a study visa, then she can come to Canada, you can get married, and apply to sponsor her under an inland PR application - including an extension to her status WITH the PR ap - and that way she can continue to stay in Canada and study until the inland process is finalized (12-18 months). Your other option is to marry her and file "outland", understanding that she probably won't be able to come to Canada until she has PR. The process through Mississauga and Sao Paulo takes 6-11 months total.

Quote:Originally posted by ftanired
Hmmm, speaking of which.....when we submit our apps, she will still be in Brazil, which means it's an outland application. But if she goes to study here before she gets her permanent residence, would the CIC start treating her PR application as inland?

This might already be clear to you after reading the above but you choose whether to file an inland application (processed entirely within Canada, and only possible if she manages to get into Canada before your marriage) or whether to file an outland application (which you can do whether she's in Canada or not). There are advantages and disadvantages to both processes. The disadvantages to the inland process are that it takes longer, and you have no right of appeal. In addition, the applicant must remain in Canada throughout the whole process because if they leave Canada and are not re-admitted (which is especially likely when someone is non-visa-exempt) the inland application is forfeited because it requires that the applicant be residing in Canada, with their sponsor, in order to be approved. And an applicant who does not have valid temporary status when they apply (or who forgets to include an application to extend their temporary status with the inland PR ap OR who does not get the application to CPC-Vegreville BEFORE their status expires) will experience significant delays in processing. The one advantage - if she has proper status when she applies, inland allows her to stay and continue her studies while waiting to be finalized.

The outland process is usually faster, preserves your right to appeal a refusal, and there is no residency requirement . . . so the applicant can be anywhere in the world (including Canada) and still have their application processed at the visa office that represents their country of birth (or permanent residence). The drawbacks for an outland applicant who wants to stay in Canada during processing are that they are not eligible to work or go to school (without a separate permit), they are usually not eligible for healthcare (depends on the Province) and if an interview is required, they have to attend it at the overseas office - which means, again, a non-visa-exempt applicant likely won't get back into Canada. But, in the outland process, that would not affect processing of the application at all. If an outland applicant wants to stay in Canada during processing, they simply keep their temporary status valid by applying to extend before expiration for as long as it takes to get PR. But there's no guarantee your wife would get her study visa extended - she might have to apply only as a visitor once her study visa expired. But, by then, she might have PR status anyway. Study visas are usually issued for a year.