Inland or Overseas Application??

[chikamichi]

I was talking with a close friend of mine who wants to sponsor his fiancee, and there were some things that came up while we were talking that I thought it would be good if we got some feedback on our thoughts and questions.

The situation is this: My friend is a Canadian citizen. His fiancee is here as a visitor, and they will be getting married in a couple months. She really really doesn't want to go back to Korea (her home country) after their wedding, she wants to stay in Canada with him. She doesn't mind if the PR application takes a long time, as long as she can stay with him.

So, can they submit an overseas application or do they have to apply inland? I thought that they can send an overseas application to the office in Korea which has a much shorter application processing time than doing inland, as long as she has a contact in Korea if they need to communicate with someone, and she can go back if they call her for an interview.

I was of the opinion that they could get married, send in their PR application (either overseas or inland) and also apply for an extension on her visitor status. If they can apply overseas, her application might even be processed within one extension period, because when we checked, the processing time for step 1 was 37 days, and step 2 for Korea was 6 months.

But my friend doesn't agree with me and worries more -- probably because it's his life. He doesn't think they can apply overseas, but can only do inland application, or that it would be safer doing inland even if it takes longer, since she is staying in Canada with him. He also worries about the possibility of her extension to stay as a visitor being refused. Not that there's any real reason that she would be refused, but he's a little paranoid.

Any thoughts and knowledge would be appreciated!

 

[gigi1612]

It's better to apply outland. It's faster and you have a right to appeal.

If they decide to apply inland they have to be prepare to wait from 18-24. It's takes about 9 months for AIP and up to 9 month to finalize the process, but if the application gets transfered to a local office, the AIP itsel can take take more than a year.

If after considering both options they decide to go inland, it will be better to apply for her visa extension after submiting the application, not before.

Good luck!!! ;D

 

[Leon]

They have the right to apply outland and it is faster. They can even state her address as being in Canada. It is always their right to have the application processed in her homeland. If they apply outland, she still needs to apply to extend her visitor status before it expires.

During the time between her visitor status expiring and until they hear back from immigration regarding the extension being approved, she would be under implied status and can stay in Canada. If you look at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/temp.asp and if they were to apply for the extension by mail, that buys them 132 days of implied status, that is more than 4 months that she could stay longer, even if they said no. However, I have not heard about anyone who was refused to extend their visitor status after having applied for sponsorship, I think it would be rare.

 

[chikamichi]

Thank you!! I think my friend will be relieved to hear that they can apply outland while she's in Canada.

Just a quick question that came to mind -- regarding proof of their relationship, they say they have lots of emails and chat history, but most of it is in Korean. When they send that as part of their PR application, do they need to have it all translated? By an official translator?

 

[Leon]

Yes

 

[rjessome]

Thank you!! I think my friend will be relieved to hear that they can apply outland while she's in Canada.

Just a quick question that came to mind -- regarding proof of their relationship, they say they have lots of emails and chat history, but most of it is in Korean. When they send that as part of their PR application, do they need to have it all translated? By an official translator?

Actually, they can translate the chats and emails themselves. A certified translator is needed for government issued documents like birth certificates, police clearances, marriage certificates, etc. I would also use a certified translator for documents like lease agreements, receipts, etc. But for chats and emails, they can do it themselves.