Advise please

[eco10125]

Hello everyone

Sorry in advance if this is in the wrong forum please feel free to move/remove if so

I am hoping someone can give me advice I have been with a Canadian girl for 4+ years including being engaged for coming on 2 years we are happy to do the back and forth but we REALLY would just like to settle down, cut the ocean, and get on with a life together what does not involve facebook, skypes, and crossing the ocean for a month or so, I am technically SELF EMPLOYED for tax purposes in the United Kingdom but I work for a very big US company in the internet services market and have done so for over 3 years in this company I am equal to my US colleagues in tasks managing tickets, chats, e-mails, upgrades, customer issues, I am even connected to the phone queues and have even previously trained other employees my minimal salary income being around 32k (CAD) a year with 3%, 5%, and 7% commision rates on top of that, I believe it is also important to point out that I have no dealings with the police and no criminal record

Anyway that's my situation and information about me

I am starting to do research on the possibility of moving to Canada but would REALLY value advise on what to if its an option, how to apply, and really just how to move from a plan to a reality

I thank you all in advance : )

 

[scylla]

Fastest would be for you guys to get married and have her sponsor you for permanent residency as her spouse. When she sponsors you, you should use the outland method (rather than inland) - it will be much faster outland since you're from the UK.

 

[eco10125]

Fastest would be for you guys to get married and have her sponsor you for permanent residency as her spouse. When she sponsors you, you should use the outland method (rather than inland) - it will be much faster outland since you're from the UK.

Hello scylla,

Thank you so much for your reply,

We have discussed getting married as an option, is that likely to be the only realistic one? its an option but not really the way we wanted to do it

 

[scylla]

It's the easiest option. Other options for moving to Canada include:

1) Obtain a full time offer of employment from an employer in Canada. As part of this process the employer will also have to obtain approval to hire you (LMIA) which involves advertising the job for a month to prove no Canadian could be hired for the role, paying a fee of $1K, and then waiting 6-20 weeks for the LMIA to be processed. With the job offer and approved LMIA - you can then apply for a work permit. Challenge there is that many/most Canadian employers can't be bothered to go through the process due to the cost, time, and amount of paperwork.

2) Enrol in school full time in Canada (college or university) and come here on a study permit. Challenges are that the program must be full time, must be related and make sense given your previous education and work experience (otherwise CIC will think you're just using the student visa as a way of getting to Canada), and also that the foreign student fees are extremely high. To be approved, you'll need to show a bank balance of $20K to $30K (more for some programs) to cover your first year tuition and living expenses.

3) Apply to immigrate through one of Canada's immigration programs listed here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/apply.asp Downside is the waiting time and the fact that many/most require that you have a permanent job offer in Canada.

4) If you aren't too old, apply for a working holiday visa (IEC) which allows you to live and work in Canada for a year. Downside is that you would have to wait until January to apply and these visas are in great demand and there's no guarantee you'll get a spot (last year I think all were snapped up in less than 1/2 hour).

 

[scylla]

Just to add... You could also come to Canada as a visitor. But as a visitor you aren't allowed to live in Canada and you could run into issues at the border if immigration suspects that's what you're trying to do. Since you are from the UK, you should be allowed in for a six month visit. But how long you are actually allowed in (or if you're allowed in at all) is up to the immigration officer you speak with when you arrive. As a visitor, you also can't engaged in any employment in Canada (you could work remotely for a company located outside of Canada provided that company is not Canadian and provided that company has no Canadian customers). As a visitor, you also won't have access to provincial health care (i.e. you're on your own when it comes to paying for any medical care).

So visiting may be OK as a short term plan. But it's definitely not a long term plan and it comes with certain limits and risks.

Going back to the spousal sponsorship, your fiancee could also sponsor you for PR if you are common law. Common law means that you have lived together for a minimum of one full year and can prove it. In case you have read anything about conjugal sponsorships, this option is reseved for those who cannot marry and cannot live together and therefore doesn't apply to you (if you apply as conjugal you're pretty much guaranteed a refusal).

Hope this helps.

 

[eco10125]

Hello scylla,

That's very informative, thank you I am turning 24 in August

I can already see most of the options rule me out I am self employed / basically contractor for the US company and they do have a Canadian client base (a global one in fact), being a student wouldn't be an option, and finding pre-employment within canada is unlikely

Marriage wise - so ... okay .. once again please forgive my lack of any knowledge THAT'S WHY I AM HERE RIGHT? would it matter where we got married Canada, uk, etc, basically just arrange to get married, get married, apply? would this hold any risks if done wrongly in anyway?

We do want to get married so its not a huge NONO its not ideal but its more important we get our life together

Thanks again!

 

[ross lee]

I would add, don't get married if "it's not ideal".
If you want to give it a try and live together first, you could come to Canada as a Visitor for 6 months (and earn your money as a self-employed remotely, as per Scylla's comments) and then determine if marriage is what you both want. Good luck!