Q & A: SPONSORSHIP

Q: Is it possible to sponsor a girl friend into Canada? She doesn't work one of the jobs listed for independent PR....though she wants to, but then she doesn't have any experience....

Answer: Unless you are engaged to be married, and willing to do so within 90 days of her landing in Canada, there are no provisions for the sponsorship of a girlfriend.

Q: Can some one please help me. I am interested in getting married to a guy from India. He is also interested in getting married but does not want to be separated and wait 6 months or longer to have to immigrate as a spouse or fiance. What are my options?

Answer: You may proceed with a spousal sponsorship in either of two ways. The first is a typical application whereby the procedure is concluded overseas following submission of the application and fees within Canada. The second option is an inland application, which I will discuss below.

Q: I know friends who have brought their fiance over to Canada on a visit Visa and then married here in Canada and then applied for PR once here. Is this a good way, or even legal?

Answer: If your spouse is able admissible to Canada as a visitor, and if there are sufficient grounds for such, an inland application can be processed while he is resides therein.

Q: Is there any difference between getting married first in India and then bringing my spouse here, or is it faster to get married here and then let my spouse go back to India while his papers are processed?

Answer: The standard application described above would likely be concluded more quickly through New Delhi than an inland application. Obviously, however, you and your spouse would be separate until the conclusion of such.

The likelihood of issuance of a visitor visa for your spouse in this case may not very high given the circumstances. Absence of such would negate the possibility of an inland application.

Q: I am planning to get engaged in a couple of months. How could I sponsor my fiance to enter Canada as a PR? Do I have to get married in order to sponsor him or could I sponsor him as a fiance? How long
does the whole process take considering that I am applying from the UK. I don't yet have a job secured for me in Canada. Am I still eligible to be considered as a sponsor?

Answer: Fiance(e)s fall within the definition of the Family Class, and are therefore eligible for sponsorship. A requirement of such a sponsorship is the demonstration of sufficient ongoing income.

An additional typical requirement for such sponsorships is that the sponsor be resident in Canada. The application is therefore submitted within Canada initially.

Q: I am an American getting married to a Canadian in less than three weeks. My question is this...Can I travel to Canada on a visitors pass, after we are married here in the USA, and then apply for PR?

Answer: As a US citizen, you would not be required to obtain a passport visa in order to enter the USA. All visitors, however, must satisfy the minimum requirements of admissibility of such at the port of
entry. Once within Canada, and following submission of a PR application (assumably through spousal sponsorship), typical policy allows for the extension of your status until the conclusion of such an application.