Bringing my American boyfriend to live with me in Canada

[frenchie123]

Hi, Me and my boyfriend have been together for almost 3 yeard now.
We love each other Very very much and dont want to be separated anymore.
He is currently with me in canada since June.
I was gonna fill out the form to Sponsor him, but it says its for people who are OUTSIDE Canada.
What would be the fastest and easiest way for him to Become Legal here?
Should i fill out thoses forms even if he is with me, in canada right now? Or Should we get Married and apply for Permanant Residence Status for Married Couple?
Thank you for Helping me! =)

 

[SadGirl:(]

I by far am no expert here, but I assume that if you are married the process may take lesser time. As well, I've been told that an outland application also takes lesser time than an inland application.

 

[robertbola]

Hi frenchie- have you guys been living together continuous for at least one year. If you have yoo could apply under the common law- however if he is going to be in-Canada you have to fill out the forms that apply to in-canada applications at the same time you can fill out the form for a temporary work permit. I believe it's something like that I'm no expert in the in-Canada applciations sorry- I'm sure someone else will help you in that.

You can't sponsor anyone just because your boyfriend is the man of you life--you have to be in somewhat of a commitment weather- married or common law. If not married and you choose to marry you still have to prove that you are marrying for love and not status in Canada.

Good luck.

 

[RobsLuv]

Unfortunately, your Immigration Canada doesn't make allowances for your bf to be able to be "legal" in Canada just because you're very much in love and don't want to be separated anymore. Unless you are married, or you have lived together for at least one continuous year to establish a common-law partnership, he is not eligible for permanent residence as a "family member". He could apply in one of the other categories, such as a skilled worker or business entrepreuner, but family class, no.

If you are looking at getting married, then after you do you can apply to sponsor him for permanent residence in the family class. The outland PR application forms you're looking at that say "from outside Canada" are the ones you should use - US citizens are seldom in a good position to apply for PR via the "inland" application process because US citizens are very often not given any documentation from CIC that proves when they entered Canada. This causes lots of complications with an inland application and can cause processing to be delayed for years! The "outland process" only means that the application is processed at the Consulate in Buffalo, NY instead of being processed entirely in Canada. That doesn't mean that your bf (future husband) has to be in the States. He can stay with you in Canada FOR AS LONG AS HE IS AUTHORIZED BY IMMIGRATION CANADA TO DO SO. Typically a US citizen who is admitted to Canada is authorized to stay for up to six months. If he stays longer than that without getting authorization from Immigration, he jeapordizes his PR application because he puts himself in the position of being subject to enforcement action for overstaying, and that could get him excluded from Canada. If he gets excluded, he won't be able to come back until the exclusion order is satisfied, even if he's awarded permanent residence in the meantime.

There is more information about sponsoring a US citizen spouse for permanent status at the US2Canada website. I'd suggest you read through the info there, and then come back with any specific questions. There's a lot to this process, and once you understand how it works, you'll be better able to get the info you need.