Common-Law Sponsorship Questions - Inland vs. Outland?

[mtmadill]

Hello everyone,

Let me start of by saying how amazing this site is. I just started the application process and well, it is just a little be overwhelming.

Let me explain our situation:

I am the sponsor (Canadian by birth, male) and I am currently living and working in South Korea. I have been here for almost 5 years. Filed for non-residency when I left Canada to avoid double taxation when I return. So technically I am considered a non-resident of Canada and a resident of Korea.

My common-law partner is American by birth and she has been in Korea for about the same time as me. We have been living together for 3 years with documented proof of this. We have made the decision that it is time to move back home and have decided to move to Canada. We plan on moving in about a year (May/June 2016).

This are my questions:

1. We would like the process to be done as quickly as possible, but are a little fuzzy on where we should send our application. What office would provide the fastest turnaround time given out current situation? File from Korea, USA, or Canada? We understand that we MAY have to go for an interview, so we are leaning towards USA or Canada as we will be living there in a year. We see the times as follows on the website: Ottawa 15 months, Los Angeles 32 months (ouch), and New York "-" months. What does "-" mean? Would it make sense to apply in Ottawa? Will that prevent her from visiting her family in Los Angeles while we wait for her PR? 32 Months is ridiculous and we have no idea about the times at the New York office.

Any thoughts?

 

[AJ3000]

We're almost the exact same story, but we live in Vietnam. Common-law wife from USA, we've been here for 3 years. She just got her acceptance.

Send it to Ottawa, as an Outland common-law application. That's what we did and it worked. It's based on her American citizenship, not her residency. If she was Korean and living in Chicago, they would send it to the office for Korean applications.

You'll need to prove that you are coming back to Canada. Job offer, university acceptance, etc. Send a really detailed plan of how you will reestablish yourself in Canada.

 

[AJ3000]

I asked almost the exact same questions in 2013:

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/-t155221.0.html

 

[Mapleson]

You don't get a choice about where the application is processed only if you do an Inland or Outland process, and you can only do Inland while residing in Canada. As an additional fact, most US applications are currently being processed in Ottawa and much faster than NYC or LA.

The "-" means insufficient applications were processed to give a good estimate of the timeline.

 

[Rob_TO]

You have no choice of where the app will be processed. After completing the outland PR app, it is always sent first to CPC-Mississauga for initial sponsor approval. After sponsor is approved, CPC-M then forwards the app to the outland visa office they deem appropriate.

In your case there are basically only 2 possibilities: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/offices/apply-where.asp
- Process as US citizen: Ottawa visa office
- Process as Korean resident: Manila visa office

Most likely they will choose Ottawa... but you never know. US visa offices are only used in the very rare chance an interview will be required.

In either case, there is no restriction on travelling. With an outland app in progress both you and your partner can travel anywhere you want, and can even stay in Canada while it's processing.

 

[Pakster84]

My common-law partner is American by birth and she has been in Korea for about the same time as me. We have been living together for 3 years with documented proof of this. We have made the decision that it is time to move back home and have decided to move to Canada. We plan on moving in about a year (May/June 2016).

If you haven't already make sure to get your apt. contract with both you and your partner's names on them. It would also help to get your utility bills under your names as well. AND make sure it's all written in English. If not then you'll have to get them translated and notarized. You might even consider adding each other's names to your bank accounts to have more fortifying evidence as a common-law couple.