READERS' LETTERS
Q & A
Canadian Immigration attorney Mitchell Brownstein answers your questions
Is it better to marry my Canadian fiance before or after we arrive in Canada?
If you are not ready to leave for Canada but want to marry here, you may file an application for sponsorship by your fiance outside Canada and obtain your landed immigrant status with a condition that you must marry within 90 days after you arrive in Canada.
If you plan to stay in London for some time and wish to marry there, you may be sponsored from London's Canadian Embassy.
You can come to Canada as a visitor and marry here as there is an exception to the general principle that all applications for immigration to Canada must be filed through the immigration offices in Vegreville, Alberta. During the processing period and once the immigration officer approves the application in principle you may receive a work permit. While you wait for your landed status documents, which will take some time due to the medical, security clearance and other formalities that you have to complete.
In order to be eligible under any of the above options, you must prove your bone fide relationship, be in good health and of good character.
What are the government processing fees requires in an application for immigration?
Applicants must pay a Right of Landing tax in addition to the government processing fees. The tax of C$975 per adult is payable upon acceptance as a landed immigrant, but prior to receiving a permanent resident document.
In addition, processing fees of C$500 per adult and C$100 per child under the age of 19 must be paid when you submit your application.
If your application is refused, the Right of Landing tax is returned to you but not the processing fees.
More information
If you would like Mitchell Brownstein to answer your questions on Canadian Immigration, send them to the Editor at Overseas Jobs Express. Please mark your envelope "Canadian Immigration"
Brownstein representatives visit London on a regular basis to meet with interested applicants.
Brownstein, Brownstein & Associates, 1310 Greene Avenue, Suite 750, Westmount, Quebec H3Z 2B2. Canada. Telephone: 514-939-9559, Fax: 514-939-2289. E-Mail: brownstein@total.net Website: http://www.brownsteinlaw.com
