Family Class Bridging Visa

[bitesize10]

Hi everyone,

I think I know the answer to this question, but I've exhausted all other options so I just want to double-check before I write it off.

I met my British fiancé in Canada where he was on a two-year Working Holiday Visa. At the time that his Visa expired, we were not yet eligible to apply for his PR as we had not been living together for 12 months. I have a British passport as well as a Canadian passport, so the easiest option was for both of us to return to the UK. Long story short, living in the UK has been really bad for my mental health and I am looking to return to Canada ASAP.

If we both returned to Canada (he on a tourist Visa), would my fiancé be able to apply for a Bridging Visa even though his Working Holiday Visa has now expired? I haven't been able to find any information about this online so I'm assuming he would not be able to.

If he can't apply for a Bridging Visa and I returned to Canada without him, could we still apply for common-law PR because we have, at one point, lived together for 12 consecutive months?

Any advice you may have is very much appreciated. Thank you for your time and assistance—enjoy the rest of your weekend.

 

[Sulwyn]

There is no bridging visa for IEC. Especially since it's already expired.

As long as you have proof (lease agreements, shared bills showing same address etc) then you can definitely apply common law. He'd have to apply outland if he's staying in the UK. If you guys can make do with him being jobless for a bit then you can both come back to Canada together and you guys can apply inland and submit an OWP (open work permit) application at the same time. The OWP looks like it's taking about 3-4 months to come through these days. He'll be able to work for 2 years on that permit or until his PR comes through, whichever comes first.

 

[scylla]

Hi everyone,

I think I know the answer to this question, but I've exhausted all other options so I just want to double-check before I write it off.

I met my British fiancé in Canada where he was on a two-year Working Holiday Visa. At the time that his Visa expired, we were not yet eligible to apply for his PR as we had not been living together for 12 months. I have a British passport as well as a Canadian passport, so the easiest option was for both of us to return to the UK. Long story short, living in the UK has been really bad for my mental health and I am looking to return to Canada ASAP.

If we both returned to Canada (he on a tourist Visa), would my fiancé be able to apply for a Bridging Visa even though his Working Holiday Visa has now expired? I haven't been able to find any information about this online so I'm assuming he would not be able to.

If he can't apply for a Bridging Visa and I returned to Canada without him, could we still apply for common-law PR because we have, at one point, lived together for 12 consecutive months?

Any advice you may have is very much appreciated. Thank you for your time and assistance—enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Bridging visas only apply to economic immigration applications - not spousal sponsorship. The other conditions are that you must have already applied for PR through an economic immigration stream and your application must have been accepted. Also, you must still be holding a valid work permit to qualify. So he is not eligible for a BOWP.