GUIDE 3999 Steps – Sponsorship Of A Spouse, Common-Law Partner, Conjugal Partner Or Dependent Child Living Outside Canada

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Permanent resident status

If your application is successful, you and your family members will receive permanent resident visas. You will become permanent residents of Canada when you move to Canada within the validity of your visa(s). Some conditions will apply:

• You will remain a permanent resident until you become a Canadian citizen, as long as you spend at least two years of each five-year period in Canada.
• You may leave and re-enter Canada as often as you wish.

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Residency obligations

Permanent residents may leave and re-enter Canada as often as they wish to settle their affairs or to travel. But, at the time they re-enter Canada, they must prove that they have been physically present for at least 730 days within five years, starting from the day they became permanent residents.

If you have been a permanent resident – For 5 years or more

Then you must have accumulated 730 days of physical presence in Canada within the 5 years preceding the date you re-enter

If you have been a permanent resident – For less than 5 years

Then you must either have accumulated 730 days or will be able to have the required physical presence within 5 years.

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Rights as a permanent resident

As permanent residents, you and your family members will have the right to:

• live, study and work in Canada for as long as you remain permanent residents
• access most social benefits accorded to Canadian citizens (see “Limitations”)
• apply for Canadian citizenship, and if granted, apply for a Canadian passport once you have been a legal permanent resident for three of the four previous years

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Obligations as permanent resident

As permanent residents, you will also have the same legal obligations as Canadians, such as paying taxes and respecting all federal, provincial, and municipal laws.

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Limitations

There are a few limitations on permanent residents:

• You cannot vote in certain elections.
• You may be ineligible for certain jobs requiring high-level security clearances.

If you or any of your family members commit a serious crime, you or your family members may be stripped of permanent resident status and deported from Canada.

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The Permanent Resident Card

All new permanent residents will be issued a card as part of the process. Cards will be mailed to your home address soon after you become a permanent resident. For more information on the Permanent Resident Card, visit our website.

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Current processing times

In cases of spouses, common-law partners, conjugal partners and/or dependent children, CIC is committed to issuing visas as quickly as possible.

You must send all documents, forms and fees we need to make a decision about your request.

You can obtain current processing times on our website at:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/index.asp

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Updating your contact information

During the application process, you must advise us of any change of address or telephone number. You can do this by going to Change of address or by consulting the How to contact CIC section at the end of this guide.

The Canadian visa office responsible for your country

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Checking application status on line

You can check the status of your application on-line by doing the following:

1. Go to Check application status.
2. Follow the instructions provided.

To obtain details on how to remove your application status information from the Internet, visit the Help Centre section.

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Protecting your information

Your personal information is:

• only available to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) employees who need to see it in order to provide the services to you, and
• not disclosed to anyone else except as permitted under the provisions of the Privacy Act.

For more information. You can obtain additional information on the protection of your data by visiting the Help Centre.

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Quality Assurance Program

Our quality assurance program randomly selects applications for a special review. If selected you will be asked to attend an interview with a Citizenship and Immigration official so that we can:

• verify the documentation you submitted is accurate,
• verify that your application has been completed properly.