Begin the eligibility and document review while the spouse’s Canadian work plans are still being organized. Serving notice is not a universal prerequisite to preparing or seeking dependent classification. Coordinate the actual filing route, the principal’s status, intended travel and employment notice so a delay does not force an unsupported move.
Order the resignation, the application and the move
Place the principal’s visa and admission milestones, spouse’s document readiness, any planned resignation and family travel on one calendar. Some preparation can run in parallel, and notice need not precede the application. Mark the steps that depend on government decisions, verify the visa requirements for each person and keep an alternative if employment ends before lawful travel and residence arrangements are ready.
Order the steps by which of them can be undone. Preparing documents and obtaining an eligibility review can be stopped at any point and cost only the work already done. Serving notice on a Canadian employer generally cannot, and giving up a position on the strength of an application that has not been decided turns a planning question into a financial one.
The sequence that keeps options open therefore runs: review eligibility, assemble what can be assembled, confirm the filing route, and only then decide when notice is given. Hypothetical example: an industrial welding inspector resigns to join the household move on an expected decision date, then spends months without the position and without the status the move assumed. The preparation was sound; the irreversible step was simply taken first.