Temp resident visa for EU citizen waiting PR?

Sponsoring Family
1

Hi,

I am a Canadian citizen sponsoring my Austria spouse for PR in Canada. We have completed all forms and received confirmation of my eligibility to sponsor, so now just awaiting his application processing. Our plan was for me to resettle in Canada in mid-April (we currently live in Austria, which is where we made the application), and for him to join me in mid-June while awaiting his PR. My question is, does he need a temporary resident visa, or should he just enter as a generic visitor, (for Austrian citzens this allows three months entry)? Can he then re-apply to stay as a temp resident from within Canada? We hope to not have to be separated while he waits for his PR to come through.

I hope this makes sense! Thanks in advcance for any insight.

2

Hello there,

Thank you for sharing your situation and question with us.

I am linking you to two articles on IRCC’s page that I think would be of interest to you.

  1. This first link relates to sponsoring a spouse, partner or children. I just wanted to share this with you in case you had not seen it before.
    http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse.asp

  2. This article relates directly to your question about entering Canada, working in Canada and residency permissions.
    http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse.asp

The quick answer to your question is:

But keep in mind:

I hope these links help answer your questions. Let us know if you have another questions and please write back to share your experience.

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3

Thanks for the links, but as I mentioned we have already submitted the sponsorship application and I have been approved as a sponsor. The links you included are for the In-Canada class. We have applied as residents of Austria, so from outside Canada. Basically, I’m asking if my husband needs to apply for any special permit to stay with us once we are in Canada awaiting his PR, or if he can just enter as a tourist, and then re-enter after the first three months.

Thanks again for any insight anyone can provide.

4

Hello there,

Thank you for your message.

I’m sorry that I wasn’t clear in the information I provided.

In relation to remaining in Canada, yes, your spouse will remain a visitor and their legal status will fall under the guidelines of a visitor’s visa until they acquire a different visa/permit.

Here is our article on sponsoring a spouse from inside Canada:
http://settlement.org/ontario/immigration-citizenship/sponsorship/inside-canada/how-do-i-sponsor-a-spouse-common-law-partner-or-dependent-child-from-inside-canada/

In the first link, the second blue notice relates to the open work permit. Your spouse may be interested in applying for this while applying for their PR as it may process faster than a PR application. We at Settlement.org cannot verify or guarantee the speed at which requests are processed by IRCC.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse.asp

I recommend that you contact IRCC’s Call Centre Services to verify the answers to your questions. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/contacts/call.asp

I hope that helps answer your questions. If you would like to know something else, please feel free to write back.

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Your Settlement.org team