How to accelerate the immigration of your spouse to Canada?

Author: Nationwide Visas

The IRCC Annual Report 2023 reveals that the Spouse Visa processing time has increased to 18 months in 2022 from 13 months in 2019. The target of IRCC is to decide 80% of applications across all business lines within standards of service. This refers to the period it has fixed to be sensible for processing an application.

Standards of service are variable according to the application type. For instance, currently, applications filed through Express Entry have service standards of 6 months. However, PR Visa applications filed through the Family Class Sponsorship Program can require even 12 months.

Evidently, 1 year is a long time to wait for family reunification and many sponsors seek quicker options to speed up immigration of their partner or spouse to Canada.

Citizens and Permanent Residents in Canada seeking to quicken the arrival of their partner or spouse to Canada have 2 options:

Open Work Permits

Spouses, Conjugal partners, and common-law partners have to fulfill the following criteria to qualify for a Spousal Open Work Permit while their PR Visa sponsorship is under consideration:

  • Have the ability to demonstrate an authentic relationship with the partner
  • Be sponsored for PR Visa and have AOR - Acknowledgement of Receipt to confirm that their PR Visa application is under process
  • Be staying with their sponsor in Canada

Currently, the standard of service of IRCC for all fresh Work Permit applications for announcing the final verdict is 2 months. Apart from the standard application steps involved in Work Permit applications, extra steps are involved in the processing according to the specific situation of the applicant.

Visitor Visa

Visitor Visa is also known as the TRV - Temporary Resident Visa. Generally, Visitor Visa qualifying criteria initially require the applicant to fulfill the following criteria in general:

  • Possess a lawful document for travel such as a Passport
  • Have sound health
  • Have nil criminal or convictions related to immigration
  • Assure the IRCC officer that you possess tiles like a home, job, fiscal assets, or family that will require you to return to your home nation and that you will exit Canada at the end of your visit
  • Possess adequate funds for your entire stay in Canada. The funds needed to fulfill this criteria vary according to the applicant’s stay period in Canada and their accommodation – hotel or relatives/friend’s residence

Processing Time

The standard of service of IRCC currently for fresh Visitor Visa applications submitted overseas is 2 weeks. A few applicants can also need a medical exam or an invitation letter from a resident in Canada.

Additional Documents

Applicants of Visitor Visa who are seeking to visit a Partner or Spouse in Canada who has filed a PR Visa sponsorship application for them may also need a mix of the following documents supporting their application:

Relationship Proof Document

Document for proof of relationship has to be submitted with the Visitor Visa application. It is a document that substantiates the relationship of the applicant with the family member or individual inviting them to visit Canada. Documents acceptable can include a Certificate of Marriage or IMM5409 - Common-Law Union Statutory Declaration.

Identity Proof Document

Document for proof of identity has to be submitted with the Visitor Visa application. Documents acceptable can include travel documents or passports, whichever will be used for traveling to Canada.

Family Details Document

Document of family details has to be submitted with the Visitor Visa application. It has to be submitted by all applicants who have attained the age of 18 years or more.

Representative Form

If applicable, the Representative Form has to be submitted with the Visitor Visa application. It has to be completed by a third party or family member who is filing an application on behalf of the primary applicant.

IRCC states that not all extra documents specified above are required and a few of them are optional. It also clarifies that providing all the required documents does not assure that the application will be necessarily approved. This depends on various factors, it adds.

If you wish to check your eligibility for Canada Spouse Visa or PR Visa, contact CICC-accredited Immigration Experts at the Best Immigration Consultant in Bangalore Nationwide Visas.