american moving to canada

[dnb909]

Here is our situation...

Met in Chicago August of 2011 after years of talking online off and on. Was going to Chicago in hopes we would just meet up and enjoy the three day music festival. After months of skype about 4 visits from me to Chicago and her flying to Ottawa 4 times...last week i popped the question.

She wants to move to Canada to start a new life. She has been working for the past 8 years as an accounts payable clerk in Chicago. She wants to work straight-away. We are aware that there will be some kind of waiting period regardless.

We have kept all pictures, receipts, airline tickets, have met each other's family's...etc

Getting married in the states beforehand is an option but we are unsure if that will make a difference. The easiest way would be for her to get a work sponsorship but we are unsure how to proceed. She also has dual citizenship (Poland/U.S.A) if that changes anything.

any help would be much appreciated

 

[scylla]

It will likely be easiest and fastest for the two of you to marry and for you to sponsor her as your spouse.

If she wants to go the work sponsorship route - she's going to have to find an employer in Canada. This is much easier said than done. As for where to start, she'll have to apply for jobs online through reputable sites such as monster.ca, workopolis and the Canadian Job Bank. Unfortunately the majority of employers won't even respond to her application.

 

[dnb909]

does a "spouse" carry more weight then "conjugal partner"?

 

[Tuatha]

I could be wrong but I think "conjugal partner" only works if the two of you have a reason why you can't be together. Being unable to obtain a visa or get married in a certain country, what have you. I would think a US/Canada couple would have a very hard time proving conjugal partner status.

 

[costaudjoe]

Conjugal partner is when you are unable to get married because the laws don't allow it (for example same-sex or countries where divorce is is not permitted).

In terms of family sponsorship, you can get married or shack up for 12 months.

With regards to going the job route, she may be able to take advantage of NAFTA (although highly unlikely that accounts payable is included).

 

[amikety]

I could be wrong but I think "conjugal partner" only works if the two of you have a reason why you can't be together. Being unable to obtain a visa or get married in a certain country, what have you. I would think a US/Canada couple would have a very hard time proving conjugal partner status.

Conjugal isn't an option for a US/Canadian couple unless both are somehow inadmissible to each other's countries - which means they are probably inadmissible for PR anyway...

My advice is to look into NAFTA - I believe accountants are on the list. She will need to get certified in Canadian standards, which may require a short course at a local college. She can google Canadian accountant certification or look at the website of a local college (well, local to you) to find out more.

 

[dnb909]

We are both free to come and go as we please obviously. It's just a matter of her wanting to work when she moves here. I think she will feel bad if i have to pay for everything. Is it possible that once she is here she can get an employer to sponsor her? or is it one or the other? I was also told she can do "contract work" without being a PR... sorry for all the questions.

 

[kasia333]

Hey I'm the girl my fiancee here posted about. Here's few questions:

1) Is there any way I could possibly do some sort of contract work if I move there right now on a 6 month visa? Is working at all an option? I would go nuts without an income or a job. Also, coming back leaving Chicago and coming back 6 months later is really not an option, so what would I have to do to extend that 6 months. While I'm there, do I have to fill out paperwork for extended stay? What would I have to base that paperwork on? (other than a desire to stay in the country do I have to provide anything else?)
2) I'm not sure with NAFTA I would certified under accounting considering I'm just a clerk and don't have a degree. My years of experience are basically self taught and something I did while advancing in the company. This said, any idea if if there are any study/work programs out there where I could work and study at the same time? Again, I would love to be able to work.

Thanks for everyone who replied so far. We're just trying to get more of an idea of what hoops we will need to jump through in order to make everything work for us.

 

[scylla]

If she wants to work - she needs a work permit. Doesn't matter what kind of job it is. If her profession qualifies under NAFTA - it will be a bit easier to find an employer (but likely still difficult). If her job doesn't qualify under NAFTA, the employer will need to obtain a Labour Market Opinion and as part of this process, prove they couldn't find a Canadian to hire for the role. This is a much longer / more complex process and many employers aren't interested in going through it for this reason.

 

[scylla]

Hey I'm the girl my fiancee here posted about. Here's few questions:

1) Is there any way I could possibly do some sort of contract work if I move there right now on a 6 month visa? Is working at all an option? I would go nuts without an income or a job. Also, coming back leaving Chicago and coming back 6 months later is really not an option, so what would I have to do to extend that 6 months. While I'm there, do I have to fill out paperwork for extended stay? What would I have to base that paperwork on? (other than a desire to stay in the country do I have to provide anything else?)
2) I'm not sure with NAFTA I would certified under accounting considering I'm just a clerk and don't have a degree. My years of experience are basically self taught and something I did while advancing in the company. This said, any idea if if there are any study/work programs out there where I could work and study at the same time? Again, I would love to be able to work.

Thanks for everyone who replied so far. We're just trying to get more of an idea of what hoops we will need to jump through in order to make everything work for us.

1) Not without a work permit. To be approved for a work permit, you need to find an employer first. Extending your stay is probably less complicated. The hard part will be finding an employer.
2) SWAP comes to mind but you would have to be in school full time to qualify.

 

[scylla]

2) Just to add... You could come over on a student visa. However this will only work if you're willing to go to school full time (student visas aren't granted for part time studies). You'll be paying high tuition fees as a foreign student (likely well over $10K per year) and to be approved, you'll have to show a healthy bank account to qualify ($25K to $30K).

 

[kasia333]

Ok, so based on the replies, the best option would be to get married, have my then husband sponsor me, go through the process, and then look for a job when it all wraps up/I'm there?

I'm also getting the feeling that getting sponsored for a job from US would be ridiculously hard.. Not impossible, but close to it. I understand that a lot of employers will not even glance on my resume due to the fact they don't want to bother with all the sponsoring paperwork and all. Also I understand they would have to prove to the government that they tried to have Canadians fill the position but noone else was qualified enough. Another challenge for me would be the fact that finding jobs and setting up interviews and flying out to them would be pretty costly as well.

Also, fulltime school is currently not an option so let's cross that off the list. Not saying school is not worth taking advantage of, just not something I could do right now.

 

[kasia333]

Also.. (sorry for the continuation of questions)

Could we get married in Canada and then I stay there (but not work.. but try to get a job to sponsor me from there) and extend my 6 month visitor visa while my husband applies for sponsorship visa? Is this a possible option? I would hate to be married and not live together as a married couple.

 

[amikety]

Also.. (sorry for the continuation of questions)

Could we get married in Canada and then I stay there (but not work.. but try to get a job to sponsor me from there) and extend my 6 month visitor visa while my husband applies for sponsorship visa? Is this a possible option? I would hate to be married and not live together as a married couple.

Definitely. I'm American and I've "visited" Canada since July 2011. I'm on my third Visitor's Record - it's sort of like a visitor's visa for visa exempt. You can get them by extending your stay online, by mail, or sometimes the IO will issue them at the border, depending on the situation.

Try to apply around 4.5 - 5 months into the six month stay. CIC asks for 30 days advance. You can go online and use MyCIC, mail an application to Vegreville, or flagpole/take a trip into the USA. (You don't have to actually enter the USA if you don't want to.) VRs cost $75.

When you're ready to apply for the VR, come back and talk to us. I have lots of bad/good advice, depending on who you ask

 

[kasia333]

Now what's the best way to get my stuff there? I know that I can't be in a car with my boyfriend with boxes in the back cause they will stop me at the border.. They're not that dumb.

Also, is there a website of some sort or an organization that could help me find companies looking to hire foreigners in Canada? Most likely there won't be.. but I thought I'd ask anyways..