Migrating to Vancouver with Canadian Wife from Oz

[matt_fitzy]

Hi everyone,

I have been doing some searching but have not been successful in finding information regarding our situation, however I am sure there are plenty of others who have successfully done what we plan to do!

My Canadian wife and I are moving to Vancouver next year, from Australia. We are in the process of applying for a sponsorship visa for myself to obtain PR.

When we arrive in Canada, we will both be unemployed for the time being, but will be looking for temporary jobs immediately. My plan will be to save my annual leave at my current job in Australia as a Police Officer, migrate to Canada and then resign from my job in Australia after using most of my annual leave. As soon as I arrive in Canada and have found a temporary job, I will be applying to some of the Police Departments in Vancouver. I will at least have some income for the first couple of months from my Australian employment.

1) Upon arrival, I will have funds to transfer from Australia. My question is, what will the immigration official want to see exactly? I am aware they will want proof that we will be able to support ourselves for some time; will an AUSTRALIAN bank statement suffice, or am I required to open a Canadian bank account prior to arriving and transfer the funds across? Another option would be an international bank draft, what would be the best and cheapest option?

2) One of the most important things first off will have to be transport. We will need to buy a vehicle pretty quickly and obtaining a loan will be next to impossible with no credit history and no job. Would I be best to just buy a cheaper vehicle for cash and then once settled, make other arrangements for a better vehicle after obtaining finance?

Thanks!

[WestCoastCanadianGirl]

Can't help you with #1, but #2... simple answer is more or less yes. Beware, though... you'll have to get insurance before you can drive the vehicle home... the only place that you can get basic auto insurance in the province of BC is through ICBC (if your wife is from BC, ask her opinion about ICBC)... their rates can be extortionist at best, so I'd suggest that you shop around for extended cover (google Excess liability auto insurance BC to get the names & addresses of the various insurers).

I know that ICBC does offer safe driver discounts, so I think that it would be worth your while to contact them to see if there is any way that you could get your Australian driving record credited towards ICBC's safe driver discount program... I would imagine that if they do have that sort of deal in place, it would involve getting a driving abstract from your state motor vehicle licensing branch and sending it to ICBC to consider.

Good luck with that, have a safe trip to Canada, welcome home to your wife and Welcome to Canada to you!


P.S., have you considered applying at police departments outside the city of Vancouver? The Metro area is pretty accessible, even if the traffic isn't always smooth flowing.

[jawnbc]

I went through this process 6 years ago: I was in Sydney and sponsoring my Aussie husband to come to Canada to live with me (it was always a 2-for-1 deal: me and Canada).

Strictly speaking your wife needs to prove she can support you. But since I was working in Australia I provided information about my wages in Oz, plus information about my employment prospects in Vancouver. The amount of income required to sponsor a spouse isn't onerous anyways.

The process was as follows:

I complete sponsorship application
He completes residence visa family class application
Photos etc.
Sent to Ontario for sponsorship appiication review (took 30 days)
Complete application forwarded back to Sydney Canadian consulate in the Rocks
Approved in principle and medicals and security certificates requested
Approved and stickers in passport 75 days later

Yes, 3.5 months from start to finish. Whilst the application was under review I got a job in Vancouver for September 1st. When I advised the consulate of this, they prioritized the application. Really it was a seamless, painless, relatively transparent process.

If you've not found it, there's a great Yahoo group on Canadian spousal immigration: canadian_immigration : Canadian Immigration

The folks in there were both supportive and great resources!

[G-Mo]

@Jawnbc if you are a Canadian married to an Australian, why are you applying to NZ via EOI? Why not just get your Australian PR (via your marriage) and then go to NZ?

[jawnbc]

Originally Posted by G-Mo

@Jawnbc if you are a Canadian married to an Australian, why are you applying to NZ via EOI? Why not just get your Australian PR (via your marriage) and then go to NZ?

Because I don't want to live in Australia. I'm being sponsored by my new employer: if that wasn't an option, we would move to NZ (since Max can establish residency immediately as an Australian citizen), then he could sponsor me as his spouse.

But he can't do that unless he establishes NZ residency first. And he won't be able to join me permanently for 4-6 months due to his work, selling our unit, etc.

This is the LAST intercontinental move for either of us. #6 for him; #4 for me!

[G-Mo]

Originally Posted by jawnbc

Because I don't want to live in Australia. I'm being sponsored by my new employer: if that wasn't an option, we would move to NZ (since Max can establish residency immediately as an Australian citizen), then he could sponsor me as his spouse.

But he can't do that unless he establishes NZ residency first. And he won't be able to join me permanently for 4-6 months due to his work, selling our unit, etc.

This is the LAST intercontinental move for either of us. #6 for him; #4 for me!

Your info is wrong. A person with Australian PR can live in NZ same as if they were an Australian citizen (does not work the reverse). All you needed to do was apply for your Aus PR based on marriage and you could instantly move to NZ, you wouldn't need to live in Australia.

[jawnbc]

Originally Posted by G-Mo

Your info is wrong. A person with Australian PR can live in NZ same as if they were an Australian citizen (does not work the reverse). All you needed to do was apply for your Aus PR based on marriage and you could instantly move to NZ, you wouldn't need to live in Australia.

Actually your info is wrong: married spouses need to arrive in Australia first, then move to NZ. Ostensibly it could be the same day, but they're only granted a VISA initially. Your residence starts when you arrive.

Besides...because we're two men we don't "count" as married--even though we have been legally married for 8 years. New Zealand, at least, treats us exactly the same as any married couple even if the marriage itself isn't legal in NZ:

"If two years after you apply the relationship is ongoing, a permanent visa may be granted."

(Family - Visas & Immigration)

So I would have to live in Australia for 2 years first regardless. One of the reasons we left Australia was this sort of stoopid small-mindedness. The Aussie gov't--not you!

[matt_fitzy]

Since creating this thread I have commenced the visa application process.

The next thing that seems to be troubling me is the challenge of finding employment. As previously mentioned, my intentions are to apply and join a Police Department somewhere within greater Vancouver, although this process can be lengthy depending on recruiting numbers and background checks, etc.

Can anyone suggest other employment ideas in the mean time? Apart from a Policing degree, I do not have any other skills which could assist in other areas. From my own research, I was considering taking a security guard course (one week) and applying for loss prevention jobs. Apart from packing shelves at a grocery store, I can't think of much else I could do and have a high chance of getting a job whilst my Policing applications are reviewed? What did other Police expats do whilst waiting for their applications to be processed?

It is quite stressful thinking about it as I will only have funds coming in for a few months after arriving in Canada (I am saving my leave from my Australian Police employment). Once that is gone, I am on my own!

[matt_fitzy]

Application almost complete and ready to submit. Just completed my medical, waiting on national police check and have to have photo taken to be included in application.

I am worried about being able to prove that we will be able to support ourselves whilst in Canada. I know that we will have no issues, but being able to show this to immigration is a different story.

I am trying to save as much money as possible, from my job in Australia. At the time of submitting the application, my wife (and my sponsor) is unemployed and has been studying full time. I have included my application my recent 2011/2012 group certificate showing my income for that year. Will this be enough for immigration to approve the application?

I ask this as once the application is approved and I receive my PR, I will be taking leave at my current job, migrating to Canada (whilst still receiving annual leave pay) and then when settled, resigning from my job from Canada. Will they want to see a lump sum in my bank account? If so, how much?

[jawnbc]

We did it in 2005 and the onus was on me as the Canadian to prove I could support my husband: his earning ability was irrelevant to IC. But that might have changed.