Want to Marry an American and live in Canada - What's the process?

[Rinner]

Does anyone know if we have to stay for a set number of years? Like I mentioned we would like to move to America after a couple of years.

 

[CDNPR2014]

Does anyone know if we have to stay for a set number of years? Like I mentioned we would like to move to America after a couple of years.

no, there is no residency requirement for the sponsor. the residency requirement (which was explained above) is for the PR.

 

[Rinner]

no, there is no residency requirement for the sponsor. the residency requirement (which was explained above) is for the PR.

So the PR has to stay for that amount of time to be a citizen, but what about if they wanted to go on vacation and things like that? How much time would they be allowed to be outside Canada?

 

[CDNPR2014]

So the PR has to stay for that amount of time to be a citizen, but what about if they wanted to go on vacation and things like that? How much time would they be allowed to be outside Canada?

if the canadian spouse is with them on vacation, then that time out of canada counts towards residency requirements and it is not an issue. if the pr is taking vacation themselves, then that time out of canada will not count, and they still need to be present in canada for 2 out of 5 rolling years to meet the residency requirements. since vacations are limited to weeks, this is not really an issue. it only becomes an issue if the PR stays outside of canada for months/years without their canadian citizen spouse.

 

[Ponga]

So the PR has to stay for that amount of time to be a citizen, but what about if they wanted to go on vacation and things like that? How much time would they be allowed to be outside Canada?

No, this only pertains to the requirement to meet the RO (Residency Requirement) to maintain PR status. A PR must spend at least 730 days out of each rolling 5 year period, in Canada, to maintain PR. THIS does NOT mean 2 years all at once is required.

If the PR was sponsored by a Canadian citizen spouse, or partner, s/he can continue to live abroad with his/her sponsor and still meet the RO, without having to be in Canada for 730 days. This is one of the major differences between Canadian PR and The U.S. Green Card system.

 

[Rinner]

No, this only pertains to the requirement to meet the RO (Residency Requirement) to maintain PR status. A PR must spend at least 730 days out of each rolling 5 year period, in Canada, to maintain PR. THIS does NOT mean 2 years all at once is required.

If the PR was sponsored by a Canadian citizen spouse, or partner, s/he can continue to live abroad with his/her sponsor and still meet the RO, without having to be in Canada for 730 days. This is one of the major differences between Canadian PR and The U.S. Green Card system.

Thank you SO much for your help! This is really really helpful. I honestly can't thank everyone here enough.

 

[Sunset0505]

What does fairly quickly mean? I know that it's different depending on the time of year but do you know what it is on average?

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Just in case...our case was Rehab USA to Canada and took 22 months...there is also someone on this form that was 25 or 26 months...USA to Canada and not Rehab and the funny thing is after landing they received their PR cards on the same day...