Boyfriend becoming my sponsor?

[Charliesaurus]

Hey guys, so I made a topic earlier on last night (I think you should be able to find it under general information)

and it basically lead me over here..

A lot of issues began to arise with how I would come over to Canada to be with my loved one, I tried finding different ways to do so but it landed me here.

I was just wondering, how my boyfriend would become my common law partner - and then my sponsor? What exactly would be his requirements? How much does he need to earn, etc.

The one thing I'm confused about on the Canada vissa site it says,

"Common-law partner

You are a common-law partner—either of the opposite sex or the same sex—if:

you have been living together in a conjugal relationship for at least one year in an ongoing 12-month period (you are allowed short absences for business travel or family reasons).

You will need proof that you and your common-law partner have combined your affairs and set up a household together. This can be in the form of proof of:

joint bank accounts or credit cards.
joint ownership of a home.
joint residential leases.
joint rental receipts,
joint registration or payment of utilities (electricity, gas, telephone),
joint management of household expenses,
joint purchases, especially of household items, or
mail addressed to either person or both people at the same address."

However, how am I supposed to set up bank accounts, credit cards, and the rest of these things - Without having citizenship and Canadian identification to do so prior?

Can anybody help?

I'm from the UK - he lives in Ontario, Hawkesbury.

 

[Becki567]

are you under 30 years old?

 

[screech339]

are you under 30 years old?

What does age have to do with qualifying for common law after living together for 365 days straight?

The OP can qualify to sponsor bf as common law once they live together 365 days.

Screech339

 

[Harju]

What does age have to do with qualifying for common law after living together for 365 days straight?

The OP can qualify to sponsor bf as common law once they live together 365 days.

Screech339

I think the question of age goes to whether or not she could get an IEC visa. The poster asked how she could come to Canada and this would allow her to come to Canada and stay (and work) for an extended period to qualify for common-law.

 

[brucem]

What does age have to do with qualifying for common law after living together for 365 days straight?

The OP can qualify to sponsor bf as common law once they live together 365 days.

Screech339

I think thats the problem Screech, from my reading it looks like they haven't been able to do that therefore do not qualify under common law. Becki was probably asking becuase she could apply for IEC working holiday next year (I think there was an age limit but not sure whether thats still the case) and after they have lived together for 365 days they could apply under common law.

Heres the link for it:

http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/united_kingdom-royaume_uni/experience_canada_experience/

 

[Kayaker]

You can get a joint credit card/joint bank account without being a PR or Canadian citizen. (It depends on the bank, though, so best ask around.)

Since you are from a visa exempt country, you can come to Canada to visit your boyfriend. You will be able to stay in Canada for up to six months as a visitor - and before your time runs out, you apply for an extension (online - it is quick and easy, costs 100$). After having lived with your boyfriend for 12 months, you can then apply for PR. You could get the landlord to declare in writing that you and your boyfriend are cohabiting, and you could show bank statements to prove that you are paying a part of the household expenses.

Of course, the drawback is that during these 12 months, you cannot work, or study, and you need to purchase traveler's insurance for health insurance.

You can spend the year carefully collecting and documenting proof that you are in a common-law relationship. Common-law couples generally require more evidence than married couples.

Your boyfriend can be your sponsor 1 year after you two start living together. There are no income requirements, but he needs to show that he has not been on welfare.

 

[screech339]

I think thats the problem Screech, from my reading it looks like they haven't been able to do that therefore do not qualify under common law. Becki was probably asking becuase she could apply for IEC working holiday next year (I think there was an age limit but not sure whether thats still the case) and after they have lived together for 365 days they could apply under common law.

Heres the link for it:

http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/united_kingdom-royaume_uni/experience_canada_experience/

Yes the OP can apply for IEC to come to Canada as one of the options. However the OP doesn't have to apply for IEC to come to Canada. The OP can come to live with bf at any time by coming to Canada as a visitor and staying with bf for 365 days. She can ask for an extension in the visitor stay to meet the common law status so bf can sponsor her. However this route means that she cannot work or study during all the 365 qualifying period. She can also apply for a study visa as well not just IEC visa. If the OP were able to get IEC and come to Canada, she will not get "implied status" to continue working past IEC expire date if they applied "inland" as common law.

Screech339

 

[Charliesaurus]

I am 20 years old by the way. I was told the IEC is a very difficult program to actually get onto, due to the fact there's so many limited spaces that disappear within about half an hour to fifteen minutes of spots opening - and you never get alerted to when they open, you just have to watch the site religiously.

Yes the OP can apply for IEC to come to Canada as one of the options. However the OP doesn't have to apply for IEC to come to Canada. The OP can come to live with bf at any time by coming to Canada as a visitor and staying with bf for 365 days. She can ask for an extension in the visitor stay to meet the common law status so bf can sponsor her. However this route means that she cannot work or study during all the 365 qualifying period. She can also apply for a study visa as well not just IEC visa. If the OP were able to get IEC and come to Canada, she will not get "implied status" to continue working past IEC expire date if they applied "inland" as common law.

Screech339

Does this mean if I came on an IEC permit - I couldn't be sponsored? So in otherwords I would HAVE to come on a visitors permit and then apply for an extension (With the $100 fee) to say "I want to stay here longer in order to achieve common law status with my partner"?


You said we could have joint bank accounts? What kind of banks offer these if you don't mind me asking. My travel insurance is valid via my own bank at home which offers a fee for £15 a month with travel insurance included.

 

[screech339]

I am 20 years old by the way. I was told the IEC is a very difficult program to actually get onto, due to the fact there's so many limited spaces that disappear within about half an hour to fifteen minutes of spots opening - and you never get alerted to when they open, you just have to watch the site religiously.

Does this mean if I came on an IEC permit - I couldn't be sponsored? So in otherwords I would HAVE to come on a visitors permit and then apply for an extension (With the $100 fee) to say "I want to stay here longer in order to achieve common law status with my partner"?


You said we could have joint bank accounts? What kind of banks offer these if you don't mind me asking. My travel insurance is valid via my own bank at home which offers a fee for £15 a month with travel insurance included.

No, it does not mean you cannot be sponsored if you are on IEC. It means that when you submit an OWP application with inland PR sponsorship together , you will not be able to continue working past the IEC work expire date while you wait for PR sponsorship to process. You would have to quit working and wait for OWP to come through before you are able to work again while PR application is in process.

Those that are on closed work permit gained through LMO, LMIA, are able to continue working past the work visa expire date, if they submitted OWP and PR inland sponsorship together same time.

 

[Charliesaurus]

No, it does not mean you cannot be sponsored if you are on IEC. It means that when you submit an OWP application with inland PR sponsorship together , you will not be able to continue working past the IEC work expire date while you wait for PR sponsorship to process. You would have to quit working and wait for OWP to come through before you are able to work again while PR application is in process.

Those that are on closed work permit gained through LMO, LMIA, are able to continue working past the work visa expire date, if they submitted OWP and PR inland sponsorship together same time.

I'm so sorry - I'm a real scatter brain, and panicked about the whole thing... Can you explain what these words mean? OWP, LMO?

 

[Becki567]

Yes, I was asking the age because of the IEC program. The OP asked for ways to come here, that is the way I am most familiar with as it is what my boyfriend (now husband) used. I did not want to go into a long detail explanation of the program with Pros and cons if the program was not even an option.

Honestly Charliesaurus I would ignore most of what Screech has said.

You are lucky that you do not need a visa to enter the country, but I think it is a bit of a stretch to say you can come at any time to live for 365 days. The point of a visitor visa is to visit. If you arrived at the border and told the border agent that you are wanting to live in Canada for 365 days to get common law status so that you can be sponsored, I am sure you would be turned away and sent back. Coming to Canada on a visitor visa is an option, but you would not be able to work, you would have to lie to the border agent about your intentions, and getting extensions is not a guarantee. So if the visa was not extended then you would have spent up to 6 months working towards common law status only to be forced to leave the country anyways. And if you did not leave you could face an exclusion order and then would not be able to be sponsored for a set period of time anyways.

If you want to not be able to work, and possibly be forced to leave the country then follow Screech's advice.

As for the IEC program, the program does fill extremely fast, but it might be your easiest and quickest option. It should be opening again here in the next few months, and if you are able to take off the day to apply then you have as good as shot as anyone else. I believe that Canadians can also do a program similar to the IEC and go and live and work in the UK. I remember reading about it before my boyfriend came here, but I am not sure it is still in existence, but that may be something to look into. You can achieve common law status anywhere, it doesn't have to be in Canada. Maybe that program doesn't fill as quickly?

Another option is a student visa, but again you would not be able to work and would be looking at paying extremely high education costs. So that is not always a good options for lots of people.

 

[screech339]

I'm so sorry - I'm a real scatter brain, and panicked about the whole thing... Can you explain what these words mean? OWP, LMO?

OWP: Open Work Permit - Ability to work for any employer (offered only to "inland" after 1st stage is completed)

LMO: Labour Market Opinion - Employer must past the LMO requirement to be able to hire foreign national a CLOSED Work Visa. Applicants are stuck with same employer.

 

[Becki567]

OMG - you do NOT want to file an inland application. You need to get common law status BEFORE you can even get sponsorship so this is way early but the majority of British applications take on average 6-8 months to process. With an inland application you are looking at 18 months. If you came here on an IEC visa, and achieved your common law status you have more options that just filling an inland application

You could apply for your second year of IEC. You could then get a visitor visa. You guys could do the reverse program in the UK. Applying inland is the worst option of them all.

 

[screech339]

Yes, I was asking the age because of the IEC program. The OP asked for ways to come here, that is the way I am most familiar with as it is what my boyfriend (now husband) used. I did not want to go into a long detail explanation of the program with Pros and cons if the program was not even an option.

Honestly Charliesaurus I would ignore most of what Screech has said.

You are lucky that you do not need a visa to enter the country, but I think it is a bit of a stretch to say you can come at any time to live for 365 days. The point of a visitor visa is to visit. If you arrived at the border and told the border agent that you are wanting to live in Canada for 365 days to get common law status so that you can be sponsored, I am sure you would be turned away and sent back. Coming to Canada on a visitor visa is an option, but you would not be able to work, you would have to lie to the border agent about your intentions, and getting extensions is not a guarantee. So if the visa was not extended then you would have spent up to 6 months working towards common law status only to be forced to leave the country anyways. And if you did not leave you could face an exclusion order and then would not be able to be sponsored for a set period of time anyways.

If you want to not be able to work, and possibly be forced to leave the country then follow Screech's advice.

As for the IEC program, the program does fill extremely fast, but it might be your easiest and quickest option. It should be opening again here in the next few months, and if you are able to take off the day to apply then you have as good as shot as anyone else. I believe that Canadians can also do a program similar to the IEC and go and live and work in the UK. I remember reading about it before my boyfriend came here, but I am not sure it is still in existence, but that may be something to look into. You can achieve common law status anywhere, it doesn't have to be in Canada. Maybe that program doesn't fill as quickly?

Another option is a student visa, but again you would not be able to work and would be looking at paying extremely high education costs. So that is not always a good options for lots of people.

You are not going to tell the border agent that you are coming to visit bf for 365 days. You will tell border agent you are visiting Canada. Chances are the border will grant 6 month stay. Once you are in, you can apply for a visit extension before your 6 months are up. Once you get the 6 year extension, you can qualify for common law after 365 days. Believe it or not, this is common practice for those who do not want to get married.

I don't appreciate it that you tell the OP to "IGNORE" me? I am only providing options for her if she wants to get PR sponsored without marriage option.

So the OP does have this option if she chooses to do this.

Screech339

 

[screech339]

OMG - you do NOT want to file an inland application. You need to get common law status BEFORE you can even get sponsorship so this is way early but the majority of British applications take on average 6-8 months to process. With an inland application you are looking at 18 months. If you came here on an IEC visa, and achieved your common law status you have more options that just filling an inland application

You could apply for your second year of IEC. You could then get a visitor visa. You guys could do the reverse program in the UK. Applying inland is the worst option of them all.

I agree applying "inland" is not a good route to go considering how long it currently takes in comparison to UK VO timeline.