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Sponsorship of parents, children, spouses (common-law, conjugal, same sex), refugees.

Applying for PR while on Tourist Visa 

sl76
sl76
Posts: 15


Posted On: 6/2/2015
sl76
sl76
Posts: 15
Hello,

I will be moving to Toronto with my family later this summer. My wife is not a Canadian citizen so we will apply for her permanent residency after we arrive in Toronto which means she will be on a tourist visa (the regular stamp in the passport).

Will we be able to apply for her permanent residency while she is on a tourist visa? On the CIC site, it says, "Spouses and common law partners of Canadian citizens and permanent residents in Canada who wish to apply for permanent resident status are required to have legal immigration status in order to qualify under the Spouse or Common-law partner in Canada class." Does a tourist visa count as "legal immigration status"?

Thank you in advance.
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Moderator
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 4063


Posted On: 6/4/2015
Moderator
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 4063
Hello,

Thank you for sharing your situation and question with us.

The section you have quoted refers to someone who has a legal status, such as a tourist visa, study permit or work permit and then submits an in-Canada Spousal Sponsorship.

What this means is that your spouse is always required to maintain a proper and legal status in Canada whether it is, for example, a visitor visa, a study permit or a work permit.

Once the in-Canada Spousal Sponsorship has been submitted, your spouse may be allowed to stay in Canada until a final decision is made on this application. However, she is still required to maintain legal status in Canada. This may mean submitting a renewal of her status before it expires.

You may want to contact the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) Call Centre directly once you arrive in Canada for some additional information.

I hope this information is helpful. Please let us know if you have further questions and if there is any follow up to your question/situation.

=====
Anna
Settlement.Org Content and Information/Referral Specialist, CIRS
Settlement.Org
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