Canadian Citizen Spouse

[Yhamadan]

Hi Everyone,

I need to clarify something urgently:

I am a Canadian Citizen living abroad - if I sponsor my wife and she becomes a PR holder and works for a Canadian Embassy abroad - will the days she works for the embassy be counted towards her citizenship requirements??

Please let me know as soon as possible.

Thanks everyone, appreciate the assistance.

 

[Rob_TO]

I believe that yes it will count as long as the works falls under the federal public administration: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?q=370&t=5

Can I count any time I’ve spent outside of Canada toward the physical presence requirement when applying for citizenship?

Time spent outside Canada does not count towards the physical presence requirement except in certain circumstances.

You can count time spent outside Canada toward the physical presence requirement for citizenship if you:

Were a permanent resident employed in or with the Canadian Armed Forces, federal public administration, or public service of a province or territory; or
Resided outside Canada with your:
Canadian spouse or common-law partner, or
permanent resident spouse, common-law partner, or parent
who was employed in or with the Canadian Armed Forces, federal public administration, or public service of a province or territory.
Employment as a locally engaged person is not included.

Only time after becoming a permanent resident counts towards the physical presence requirement.

 

[surleplateau]

You can count time spent outside Canada toward the physical presence requirement for citizenship if you:

Were a permanent resident employed in or with the Canadian Armed Forces, federal public administration, or public service of a province or territory; or
Resided outside Canada with your:
Canadian spouse or common-law partner, or
permanent resident spouse, common-law partner, or parent
who was employed in or with the Canadian Armed Forces, federal public administration, or public service of a province or territory.
Employment as a locally engaged person is not included.

Only time after becoming a permanent resident counts towards the physical presence requirement. [/i]

The second bolded part makes it sound like living abroad with a Canadian citizen spouse/partner is good enough?

 

[rugrat907]

The second bolded part makes it sound like living abroad with a Canadian citizen spouse/partner is good enough?

Nope, I don't think so - I think you need to go beyond that and the spouse/partner needs to be employed by the armed forces, federal public administration, etc...

 

[scylla]

The second bolded part makes it sound like living abroad with a Canadian citizen spouse/partner is good enough?

No - it doesn't say that. It specifically states your spouse must be employed with with the Canadian Armed Forces, federal public administration, or public service of a province or territory.

 

[scylla]

Hi Everyone,

I need to clarify something urgently:

I am a Canadian Citizen living abroad - if I sponsor my wife and she becomes a PR holder and works for a Canadian Embassy abroad - will the days she works for the embassy be counted towards her citizenship requirements??

Please let me know as soon as possible.

Thanks everyone, appreciate the assistance.

Is she employed with them now? If so, her employment will likely fall under the "locally engaged person" clause and will not count.

 

[Yhamadan]

Thank you all for your replies.

No, she is applying for the job - still not employed with them. However, she is still not a permanent resident either, I just recently sponsored her. Will her being employed before becoming a Permanent Resident be a problem?

 

[Rob_TO]

Thank you all for your replies.

No, she is applying for the job - still not employed with them. However, she is still not a permanent resident either, I just recently sponsored her. Will her being employed before becoming a Permanent Resident be a problem?

I think the type of jobs at embassies that would qualify you to count your days there towards residency, are the jobs that would require you to be a citizen or PR to begin with to be eligible for the job in the first place. Most jobs that would employ a non-Canadian/PR locally, probably fall under the "locally engaged person" category.

However once in the embassy, she would have a better chance to transfer to a qualifying job after getting PR. Though for definitions of job types and if they qualify, I think you need to ask the embassy HR department or something.

 

[scylla]

Thank you all for your replies.

No, she is applying for the job - still not employed with them. However, she is still not a permanent resident either, I just recently sponsored her. Will her being employed before becoming a Permanent Resident be a problem?

In that case the job she is applying for will be classified as "locally employed" and will not allow her to count this time towards citizenship. No - this job won't create any issues for her PR application. But again, once she is a PR, this job will not allow her to count days towards citizenship while remaining outside of Canada.