I am a UK citizen living in Canada on a visitors visa. I want to settle here with my girlfriend, who is Canadian. Is it possible to marry her, we are engaged, & then apply for spousal sponsorship? Would I have to leave Canada while this is going through? My visa is stamped until December 2009. How long does the process take if we can do it that way?
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Yes, once you get married you're eligible to be sponsored by your new wife for permanent residence. I would recommend that you file an
outland PR application that will be sent first to the Case Processing Centre in Mississauga where they assess her eligibility to sponsor (which takes about a month), and then the application will be transferred to the overseas visa office for finalization.
You're able to remain in Canada until Dec 2009 by virtue of your visitor status - if you were admitted with status for at least one year (in other words, your current status was issued in December 2008) you're eligible to have your application processed via Buffalo - otherwise it will go to London. London is actually finalizing spousal applications faster - in 2-8 months as opposed to Buffalo's 4-9 months - so having it go to London is not necessarily a bad thing. If an interview is required, though, you'll have to go to London to attend - but you can minimize the chance of an interview by submitted a complete application that includes plenty of proof of your "genuine relationship" . . . which means proving that your relationship is not about facilitating permanent status in Canada for you.
If your PR application is not finalized by the time your temporary status is due to expire, you simply
apply to extend your stay and, as long as the extension application is
received by CIC before your status expires in Dec, you have "implied status" to remain in Canada until they decide on the extension. Include proof of your marriage, your PR ap in process, and your wife's ability to support you and there isn't much reason that they'd deny the request. The only real issue for spousal applicants would be a criminal record that would make you inadmissible for permanent status.