Hi everyone,

I'm currently trying to explore the options in how my wife and mother-in-law can eventually immigrate to Canada and was hoping someone could provide some insight.

The way I see it is my wife can immigrate to Canada either as a sponsored spouse or a skilled worker. Regarding the sponsored spouse, there seems to be a catch 22 here because I'm currently working here in Thailand. Technically speaking, someone would have to be working with a job in Canada in order to sponsor their spouse, or can they still be working in Thailand (perhaps the answer is too obvious). If I were to have to be employed in Canada, would that not mean I would have to move to Canada first, then sponsor my spouse? This may take some time wouldn't it? Is there anyway my wife can stay with me in Canada while the application was being processed while I was working in Canada? Coming over on temporary residence visas perhaps? Would this work at all?

The second way I can see is if she entered as a skilled worker. While she is educated and speaks english fluently (also working for a very large, American corporation), I don't think her current occupation is one that is in demand in Canada. I read that the application would take several years to even be processed. Is this true? Also, even if it were to be processed quickly, I think based off of the fact that her occupation isn't in demand, her application may be refused. Or perhaps not? Anyone have any experience on this?

This whole process seems very daunting at the moment with information (sometimes vague) thrown at me from all directions. I very much hope someone (perhaps someone who's been through this situation before) can provide some insight (pm me if you'd like my email). Many thanks!

Cheers

More info: Immigrating to Canada.