Work permit as girlfriend of international student

[marta12]

hello everyone,

my boyfriend is in Canada on a study permit. We are not married and haven't lived together consecutivly for one year, so we do not qualify for a spouse or common law partner visa.
However, we do have been together in a stable relationship for 2years (we have materials proving that) and my parents are the one sponsoring him (we have documents to prove it). Do you think it's possibile for me to apply for an open work permit under a conjugal visa? What other options do we have to be together and be able to work?

thanks

 

[canuck78]

No you don't qualify for a conjugal sponsorship. Depending on your age and country of origin you may qualify for IEC.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/iec/eligibility.asp

Conjugal Partner Relationship
A conjugal partner relationship is a relationship that does not fit the requirements of a common-law relationship because of circumstances beyond the control of you and your partner. In other words, this kind of relationship is more than just a physical/sexual relationship but, for some reason, you and your partner have been unable to live together for at least one year in a marriage-like relationship, or have been unable to legally marry. One reason might be because you are living in separate countries and there is an immigration barrier. You will not be considered to be in a conjugal partner relationship if you and your partner could have lived together in a common-law relationship but chose not to do so.

 

[Khris6]

hello everyone,

my boyfriend is in Canada on a study permit. We are not married and haven't lived together consecutivly for one year, so we do not qualify for a spouse or common law partner visa.
However, we do have been together in a stable relationship for 2years (we have materials proving that) and my parents are the one sponsoring him (we have documents to prove it). Do you think it's possibile for me to apply for an open work permit under a conjugal visa? What other options do we have to be together and be able to work?

thanks

Hello, Marta12! I think the conjugal visa can be applied only by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who is living in Canada in behalf of their conjugal partner. If your boyfriend is not a citizen or a PR, then you cannot go the conjugal visa route. The other option is for you to apply for a work permit or apply for a TRV so you can visit him in Canada

 

[marta12]

Thank you.
Let me explain the situation in depth. I am an Italian citizen and he is a Kenyan citizen. For the first year of our relationship we couldn't be together because he was studying in Russia as an international student and i was enrolled in a master programme in Italy.
After my graduation in summer 2016 we went to Kenya and lived together over there as he was doing and internship and I volunteered in a school. Then, he went back to Russia for his last semester and after i got my visa to Russia i reached him there. We lived together for 3 months, but soon after his graduation in January 2017 we left for Kenya because of the sudden loss of one of his family members.
We stayed there for one month, but being on a tourist visa i couldn't work and also for him it was hard to find a job. So we decided to part ways as i had gotten a job offer back in Italy. We thought it would be meaningless for him to try to come with me because he wanted to apply for a study permit to Canada and couldn't have done it in Italy since he is a resident of Kenya and was supposed to apply from his country of residence. Moreover Kenyans need a visa to come to Italy and a 3-months visa was going to be expensive because of insurance. We thought it would be better for him to stay in Kenya and try to raise money over there as i did the same in Italy. After getting the study permit, he came to Italy for a month before leaving for Canada last week. We do support each other emotionally and financially (proof of transactions) and my parents are the ones sponsoring him for the Canadian study permit.
It's not like we had all those chances to live together after all..We did try to spend as much time as possible together, but it wasn't always easy.

 

[marta12]

Hello, Marta12! I think the conjugal visa can be applied only by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who is living in Canada in behalf of their conjugal partner. If your boyfriend is not a citizen or a PR, then you cannot go the conjugal visa route. The other option is for you to apply for a work permit or apply for a TRV so you can visit him in Canada

But on the Canadian government site, on the international students page it's indicated they can bring their loved ones along with them under spouse, common law partner or conjugal visa..Or did i misunderstood it?

 

[canuck78]

You don;t fit into either category. Please look into IEC as an option.

 

[marta12]

You don;t fit into either category. Please look into IEC as an option.

Ok thank you!

 

[canuck78]

Just so you understand conjugal visas are meant for couples who may not be able to live together or get married the best and easiest example is a gay couple where same sex relationships aren't tolerated in their country so it would hard for them to live together and getting married would be illegal. They would be allowed to apply under the conjugal category.

 

[Khris6]

But on the Canadian government site, on the international students page it's indicated they can bring their loved ones along with them under spouse, common law partner or conjugal visa..Or did i misunderstood it?

I agree with canuck78! In applying for IEC, one requirement is you must be a citizen of one of the 30 participating countries

 

[marta12]

Heelo, thank you all!
So in the end I applied for IEC and got an invitation. I am stuck because they say they require police clearance from all the countries in which I have lived more than 6 months. In 2008-2009 I stayed in the US as an exchange student. When I arrived there I was 17, turned 18 in March 2009 and left the country in June 2009. So after the age of 18 I was there for only 4 months. Do I still need the US police clearance?
thanks

 

[scylla]

Heelo, thank you all!
So in the end I applied for IEC and got an invitation. I am stuck because they say they require police clearance from all the countries in which I have lived more than 6 months. In 2008-2009 I stayed in the US as an exchange student. When I arrived there I was 17, turned 18 in March 2009 and left the country in June 2009. So after the age of 18 I was there for only 4 months. Do I still need the US police clearance?
thanks

Most likely yes. I would get one.