Canadian spousal sponsorship

[tim260]

Hi,

Me and my SO have been discussing closing the distance she is currently living in Quebec, Canada. I would like to move there in aprox 3 years and we would like to get married (also because we love each other obviously) so that we can submit a spousal sponsorship application.

I was wondering if any of you had any personal experiences with the sponsorship application to Canada, and if so what the interviews were like? (Yes I know there's boards dedicated to this kind of questions but I'm just curious if any LDR couple on here had this experience).

I am currently planning on learning french since Quebec is bilingual! Also I was wondering if my financials are going to be looked into, I want to go study there after me and my SO move in together and find a job while I'm studying.
At this moment I'm working at a grocery store and most likely to get promoted to Team Leader in a few weeks, I also work as Logistics Employee at a webstore. I was just curious if I dont save up enough money they might say no to my application?

Sorry if my questions are just a bit vague! I am looking forward to hear about your experiences!

[Mims27]

Hey there, I'm currently in the process of sponsoring my wife to become a permanent resident in Canada from the US. We both decided to get the help of an immigration lawyer because the process isn't as easy as you'd think. It's not cheap but I totally think it was worth it. We don't have to worry about anything. All we had to do was gather all the personal information required, give it to the lawyer, and they took care of filling the necessary paperwork and sending it to CIC.

There are 2 types of Spousal Sponsorships; Inland (you're currently staying in Canada) or Outland (you live outside of Canada). Outland is much longer (26 months) but you get to stay in Canada in the meantime and you can apply for a Work Permit in the meantime. This is what my wife and I chose.

Here is official information about Sponsorship:
https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigr...sor/spouse.asp

Check out this helpful site as well:
https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-im...oard/index.php

Now, you mention an interview? From what I know, in my case my wife is coming from the US, there shouldn't be an interview, unless they doubt your relationship (or there's a different rule for the Netherlands?). We pretty much inundated them with proof and information, that there's almost no way they could deny us. Keep ALL pictures and communications between you and your partner. We gave them so many pictures, Skype call logs, text messages, emails...Etc.

I hope this is helpful. Let me know if you have other questions.

[tim260]

Hey there, I'm currently in the process of sponsoring my wife to become a permanent resident in Canada from the US. We both decided to get the help of an immigration lawyer because the process isn't as easy as you'd think. It's not cheap but I totally think it was worth it. We don't have to worry about anything. All we had to do was gather all the personal information required, give it to the lawyer, and they took care of filling the necessary paperwork and sending it to CIC.

There are 2 types of Spousal Sponsorships; Inland (you're currently staying in Canada) or Outland (you live outside of Canada). Outland is much longer (26 months) but you get to stay in Canada in the meantime and you can apply for a Work Permit in the meantime. This is what my wife and I chose.

Here is official information about Sponsorship:
https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigr...sor/spouse.asp

Check out this helpful site as well:
https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-im...oard/index.php

Now, you mention an interview? From what I know, in my case my wife is coming from the US, there shouldn't be an interview, unless they doubt your relationship (or there's a different rule for the Netherlands?). We pretty much inundated them with proof and information, that there's almost no way they could deny us. Keep ALL pictures and communications between you and your partner. We gave them so many pictures, Skype call logs, text messages, emails...Etc.

I hope this is helpful. Let me know if you have other questions.

Hi Mims!

Sorry for the late reply, I was working today Thank you very much for all the information! I definitely found out some new info because of your post.

Unfortunately we are 2 students now, and I don't think we will be able to afford a lawyer. I get if you do not want to disclose how much you paid for the lawyer but could you give us an indication?
And no there's no different rules for the Netherlands I just thought there was an interview

It was very helpful I am just curious if we could do it without a lawyer, in what ways was it not as easy as you thought?

[dizzyupthemeg]

I did it without a lawyer. It's a long process, but as long as you are organized and thorough with it you should be fine. The Canada visa website that Mim's linked is a lifesaver. We did an outland application, and it took about 8-9 months to be approved. Approval time is different in every country though, as the wait times depend on where your application is processed. All of the wait times are on CIC's website.

As far as an interview goes I think it is as case by case basis (or maybe depending on the country). They can waive it if they feel you don't need one.

Edit: Because I also want to add that I know immigration into Quebec is more difficult and has it's own set of rules. The Canada Visa website can probably answer / help out with all of that.

[Mims27]

Dizzy is right about Quebec. I forgot to mention that seeing as your partner is from there. I don't know the process for QC but I know it is different. They require even more paperwork/information than any other province. They are special like that. haha

As for the lawyer fees...our lawyer charged us 3000$ (Flat fee. We can contact them at anytime and if there's any problems or issues with our case, they take care of all of it.) and that does not include all the Government fees, which aren't cheap either.

It can definitely be done without a lawyer; we just wanted the peace of mind that we provided all the right information and of course be stress free that we didn't mess something up.