applying inland

If I'm understanding your situation correctly, you're going in completely the wrong direction with this.  If your husband has applied to immigrate to Canada as a Skilled Worker, you HAVE to be included on that application, and examined as his family member, or you will forever be banned from immigrating within the Family class stream.  He can designate you as a "non-accompanying" family member if it's not possible for you to come to Canada with him now, but then he'd have to apply to sponsor you later (and you'd have to go through the whole processing all over again, including the medical and criminal examination) - and that REALLY doesn't make a whole lot of sense.  It makes more sense - as long as you have to be included and examined now anyway - to be designated as his "accompanying" family member.  When the application is approved, both of you will be given permanent resident visas and you both travel to Canada to "land" at the port of entry.  Then you can turn around and go back home again - coming back to Canada easily (as a PR, able to work and have healthcare) whenever you are free to do so.  You only have to come back soon enough that you can then reside in Canada for at least two years of the five year period immediately following your "landing".  So - for example - if you were to "land" in April 2011, you could go back to the UK and stay there until appx February of 2014 before you'd have to come back to Canada and remain here for another two years to maintain your PR status.

Honestly, if you're already included on his application (which you seriously HAVE to be), it makes no sense at all to be designated as "non-accompanying" now and have to go through the entire application process all over again, when you can simply come to Canada for a quick visit to accomplish your "landing" with your husband - and then go back home to take care of your family issue. 

Also, UK citizens are visa-exempt when it comes to visiting - which means that you don't apply in advance of travel for a visa to come to Canada.  You have to apply for entry at the Canadian port of entry and, in order to be admitted, you have to demonstrate that you only intend to remain in Canada temporarily.  That can be difficult to do when you have a husband in the country.  If you don't go through with the "accompanying" thing with the PR visa, then on every trip to visit your husband, you run the risk of being refused entry.  There'd be no point in putting yourself in that situation when you could just get PR status with your husband and be able to enter the country whenever you wanted to - to visit  him - until you're ready to move here. 

In addition - you're asking about applying "inland" once your family issues are resolved, and that's not in your best interest either.  You'd be in Canada without the ability to work or have healthcare for at least 8-9 months (currently) and it would take 12-18 months to finalize the application.  If you want to be a Canadian PR, it makes no sense not to just finalize the current process by landing, and then go home to the UK to work out your issues, coming back when that's resolved.  Again, there is no requirement that you stay in Canada for a specific period of time right after landing to maintain your PR status.  You only have to reside in Canada for two years of each five year period after landing to keep the status.  Also, you have no obligation to disclose (at landing) your intention to go back to the UK immediately. 

Hope this helps.  If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask.  It's REALLY important that you understand how this works or you could mess yourselves up big time.

Merry Christmas.


Edited by RobsLuv - 25 Dec 2010 at 6:35pm