Bringing my girlfriend over with aim for marriage

[torontotiger]

I met my girlfriend in Oct 2013. She came on a working holiday visa and had to return to South Korea late 2014. She wants to come back and I do too. We have a serious relationship and imagine marrying eventually. I want to ask what is the best way to bring her back and keep her in Canada legally so we can be together. We've known each other for 1 year and frankly we do need more time to know each other. So marriage is very likely but not 100%.

More info about us:
I'm a Canadian citizen. I have decent income so I don't anticipate being ineligible for sponsorship down the road. She doesn't have a lot of working experience and there's probably no way she can secure a work visa. She does want to go to college again eventually but the costs for international students is expensive. We were thinking it might be better to go to college after she becomes Canadian, even if it'll take 2-3 years.

My current plan is as follows. Please tell me if this plan will work. If not, please suggest the best way.
1. She's from South Korea so she can stay in Canada for 6 months as a visitor. She'll come here and live with me.

2. Next step is to reach the 1 year requirement for common-law status so she can apply for PR with me as sponsor. How can she extend her stay beyond 6 months? I heard she can get a study visa while in Canada as a visitor? Maybe she can apply for a language school? Language schools would be more economical than college. Is it possible to get her to stay beyond 6 months without a study visa?

3. Once we reach the requirement for common-law status after living together for 1 year (or maybe we'll just get married), I can sponsor her for permanent residency. Question: Can she stay in Canada while waiting for PR decision? I heard it takes 2-3 years for a decision. We don't want to be apart while waiting for PR. We also don't want to be "forced" to pay expensive college tuition just so she can get a study visa. By the way, we probably won't have kids so early.

4. I heard while waiting for PR, there's now a pilot program to get an open work visa. Anyone with experience in this? She doesn't have any special skills or knowledge. Would she still qualify?

5. What if she leaves Canada while waiting for PR? For example, travel. We like to travel and want to go to the States or wherever. What happens if she returns home to visit family?

I would really appreciate it if someone can answer my questions and maybe also comment on any potential issues with immigrantion. If there's anything we can do to plan ahead, we will. As an example, I'm talking about things like having joint bank accounts etc. If these kinds of things are important to pass immigration

P.S. I've read nearly every page on the CIC to come up with this plan. There are just too many variables and paths and I still don't have a clear confidence that this plan will work. At the end of the day, we need to be together. If we don't need to blow $20k/year on international student fee, all the better.

 

[SMCANADAVISA]

I met my girlfriend in Oct 2013. She came on a working holiday visa and had to return to South Korea late 2014. She wants to come back and I do too. We have a serious relationship and imagine marrying eventually. I want to ask what is the best way to bring her back and keep her in Canada legally so we can be together. We've known each other for 1 year and frankly we do need more time to know each other. So marriage is very likely but not 100%.

More info about us:
I'm a Canadian citizen. I have decent income so I don't anticipate being ineligible for sponsorship down the road. She doesn't have a lot of working experience and there's probably no way she can secure a work visa. She does want to go to college again eventually but the costs for international students is expensive. We were thinking it might be better to go to college after she becomes Canadian, even if it'll take 2-3 years.

My current plan is as follows. Please tell me if this plan will work. If not, please suggest the best way.
1. She's from South Korea so she can stay in Canada for 6 months as a visitor. She'll come here and live with me.

2. Next step is to reach the 1 year requirement for common-law status so she can apply for PR with me as sponsor. How can she extend her stay beyond 6 months? I heard she can get a study visa while in Canada as a visitor? Maybe she can apply for a language school? Language schools would be more economical than college. Is it possible to get her to stay beyond 6 months without a study visa?

3. Once we reach the requirement for common-law status after living together for 1 year (or maybe we'll just get married), I can sponsor her for permanent residency. Question: Can she stay in Canada while waiting for PR decision? I heard it takes 2-3 years for a decision. We don't want to be apart while waiting for PR. We also don't want to be "forced" to pay expensive college tuition just so she can get a study visa. By the way, we probably won't have kids so early.

4. I heard while waiting for PR, there's now a pilot program to get an open work visa. Anyone with experience in this? She doesn't have any special skills or knowledge. Would she still qualify?

5. What if she leaves Canada while waiting for PR? For example, travel. We like to travel and want to go to the States or wherever. What happens if she returns home to visit family?

I would really appreciate it if someone can answer my questions and maybe also comment on any potential issues with immigrantion. If there's anything we can do to plan ahead, we will. As an example, I'm talking about things like having joint bank accounts etc. If these kinds of things are important to pass immigration

P.S. I've read nearly every page on the CIC to come up with this plan. There are just too many variables and paths and I still don't have a clear confidence that this plan will work. At the end of the day, we need to be together. If we don't need to blow $20k/year on international student fee, all the better.

How about her applying for multi-entry visitor visa which you will sponsor. Be upfront about your relationship and future plan (I think it's a good idea and strong evidence for asking for multi-entry, but not sure how CIC will take it). Your decent income and her being decently educated should weigh in. The thing to remember here is that her passport is valid atleast for 10 years. The trick with multi-entry is that they would give you whatever duration they think if your passport is not valid for 10 years. If it is so you might get 10 years multi entry visa straightaway. That's what happened in my case. But no one can predict CIC's mood. Most of your other steps would be fulfilled if you get a long term visa.

 

[torontotiger]

Thanks. But I thought South Koreans don't need a visa to visit Canada? And my understanding of visitor visa is that she can only stay 6 months at a time. We don't want to be apart.

 

[scylla]

You would be better off switching to the Family Sponsorship section of this forum, reading through some of the discussions there, and then posting any additional questions you have that are still unanswered.

 

[NRSY]

I met my girlfriend in Oct 2013. She came on a working holiday visa and had to return to South Korea late 2014. She wants to come back and I do too. We have a serious relationship and imagine marrying eventually. I want to ask what is the best way to bring her back and keep her in Canada legally so we can be together. We've known each other for 1 year and frankly we do need more time to know each other. So marriage is very likely but not 100%.

More info about us:
I'm a Canadian citizen. I have decent income so I don't anticipate being ineligible for sponsorship down the road. She doesn't have a lot of working experience and there's probably no way she can secure a work visa. She does want to go to college again eventually but the costs for international students is expensive. We were thinking it might be better to go to college after she becomes Canadian, even if it'll take 2-3 years.

My current plan is as follows. Please tell me if this plan will work. If not, please suggest the best way.
1. She's from South Korea so she can stay in Canada for 6 months as a visitor. She'll come here and live with me.

2. Next step is to reach the 1 year requirement for common-law status so she can apply for PR with me as sponsor. How can she extend her stay beyond 6 months? I heard she can get a study visa while in Canada as a visitor? Maybe she can apply for a language school? Language schools would be more economical than college. Is it possible to get her to stay beyond 6 months without a study visa?

3. Once we reach the requirement for common-law status after living together for 1 year (or maybe we'll just get married), I can sponsor her for permanent residency. Question: Can she stay in Canada while waiting for PR decision? I heard it takes 2-3 years for a decision. We don't want to be apart while waiting for PR. We also don't want to be "forced" to pay expensive college tuition just so she can get a study visa. By the way, we probably won't have kids so early.

4. I heard while waiting for PR, there's now a pilot program to get an open work visa. Anyone with experience in this? She doesn't have any special skills or knowledge. Would she still qualify?

5. What if she leaves Canada while waiting for PR? For example, travel. We like to travel and want to go to the States or wherever. What happens if she returns home to visit family?

I would really appreciate it if someone can answer my questions and maybe also comment on any potential issues with immigrantion. If there's anything we can do to plan ahead, we will. As an example, I'm talking about things like having joint bank accounts etc. If these kinds of things are important to pass immigration

P.S. I've read nearly every page on the CIC to come up with this plan. There are just too many variables and paths and I still don't have a clear confidence that this plan will work. At the end of the day, we need to be together. If we don't need to blow $20k/year on international student fee, all the better.

Hey! I am actually in this exact situation now too and have been trying so hard within the past few months to figure it out. I am Canadian and my boyfriend is Korean. I have been living in South Korea teaching english for 2.5 years and have been with my boyfriend for 2 years. I have been accepted to a masters program at UofT starting in the fall (september) and we have been looking for ways for him to come with me and potentially settle in Canada (I really want to settle in canada with him rather than korea.. better quality of life, family life, less stressful, etc.)

Anyways, I will tell you our rough plan, maybe your girlfriend could try something similar, or if anyone has any tips about what to do in this kind of situation it would be great!

We have been talking about marriage, but honestly just dont want to deal with a wedding and planning and stuff right now, and we both want to be settled somewhere with solid jobs before we do that, so then we were talking about just signing a paper at a marriage office or something so then we could apply for PR, but didnt want to sign a paper and be legally married just for a visa. we are both 100% committed but i think its the whole "signing marriage papers for a visa" thing we dont want to do.. and we need to see if our relationship moving to canada even works out!

So then we researched other options.. and he has applied for a working holiday visa to canada.. he has passed the first few steps and is just waiting on the final step which is the work permit. This will allow him to live and work in canada for up to 1 year. We have been living together for about 6 months so far so technically only need to live together for 6 more months until we can qualify to apply for common law, however, our living together is really hard to prove! The apartment we are living in is provided by my school, we dont have a joint bank account (dont want to bother with the hassle of opening another bank account when we are just planning to leave korea), and his address is still listed as his parents house and mine is too even though im not even living in canada) i feel like people dont really change it anymore haha we dont have mail! Anyways... do you have any recommendations on how else we can prove we have been living together?

anyways, our plan (if he passes the final step and gets a work permit through the working holiday visa) is that he will come to canada in august with me and he will enter with the 6 month visitor visa free thing, then after 5 or 6 months he will activate his working holiday visa... and around this time he will apply for PR as common law, which will hopefully give a work permit too?

I also read that applying for PR through family sponsorship in canada can give an open work permit upon applying for PR? do you have any more information about this? I heard it can take up to 4 months to get the Work permit after applying for PR , that is why we plan to apply for it during his working holiday visa so then he doesnt have to wait too long (hopefully) and can keep working legally.

I also read that it is a temporary thing and that this is the first year they are giving work permits with an inland application so its a trial period and may be discontinued in December if its not working out well (which i really hope doesnt happen).

my boyfriend is also wanting to do a college program or go to trade school or something as he doesnt really have any transferable skills to settle well in canada... I read that you can go to school with domestic fees (no international charges) after applying for PR. I think you have to wait the three months or until the initial sponsor assessment is complete before getting domestic fees.. but not the 2-3 years it takes for the entire process to go through.. so thats another option for you! If they take away the trial work permit with a PR application thing I was going to suggest to my boyfriend to just start school instead so he isnt wasting time waiting around doing nothing! We are also trying to avoid international student fees.. they are ridiculous!

anyways, maybe your girlfriend could also look into getting a working holiday visa!? That way she could potentially stay in canada for 2 years (6 month visitor visa at the beginning, 1 year working holiday visa, 6 month visitor visa at the end of working holiday ) and in that time you could fulfill the 1 year living together requirement for common law as well as start the application period for the common law PR... that is our plan at least! then she could also potentially start school while waiting for the application! unfortunately though the workign holiday category only allows 4000 koreans to get the visa each year and the application period was at the beginning of march... so the next one wont be until 2016 i think, unless she can get a spot on the waiting list.

Let me know if anyone finds any potential problems with my plan also! Sorry for the long message.. i have also done a lotttt of research lately (but dont take my word 100% for any of the info.. im no specialist or lawyer) !

 

[Rob_TO]

1. She's from South Korea so she can stay in Canada for 6 months as a visitor. She'll come here and live with me.

2. Next step is to reach the 1 year requirement for common-law status so she can apply for PR with me as sponsor. How can she extend her stay beyond 6 months? I heard she can get a study visa while in Canada as a visitor? Maybe she can apply for a language school? Language schools would be more economical than college. Is it possible to get her to stay beyond 6 months without a study visa?

3. Once we reach the requirement for common-law status after living together for 1 year (or maybe we'll just get married), I can sponsor her for permanent residency. Question: Can she stay in Canada while waiting for PR decision? I heard it takes 2-3 years for a decision. We don't want to be apart while waiting for PR. We also don't want to be "forced" to pay expensive college tuition just so she can get a study visa. By the way, we probably won't have kids so early.

4. I heard while waiting for PR, there's now a pilot program to get an open work visa. Anyone with experience in this? She doesn't have any special skills or knowledge. Would she still qualify?

5. What if she leaves Canada while waiting for PR? For example, travel. We like to travel and want to go to the States or wherever. What happens if she returns home to visit family?

1/2 - After she enters Canada with a 6-months visitors status, when that is almost expired she can simply apply for a visitor status extension directly to CIC. There is usually no problem here in getting an additional 6 or 12 months extension. Can keep requesting extensions each time status is almost expired.

Should note though that each time she leaves Canada, all current visitor status or applications for extension, are ended. She would need to get a whole new status upon her re-entry to Canada.

3 - If you apply inland, she can stay in Canada under implied status during entire 2+ years to get PR
If you apply outland through Manila office, she can stay in Canada by continuing to extend her visitor status, and total PR processing time should take under 1 year.

4 - Only for inland applications. You can get a general open work permit after approx 4 months of submitting the application.

5 - If applying inland, it's not advised to leave Canada during the 2+ years of processing. If she was denied re-entry for any reason or she stayed outside Canada long enough for CIC to think she was no longer residing here, they could simply cancel her application.
If you intend to travel a lot, then an outland application is better and safer. Although there is no open work permit associated with an outland app, but there is also no risk to traveling with an outland app in progress.

 

[Rob_TO]

We have been living together for about 6 months so far so technically only need to live together for 6 more months until we can qualify to apply for common law, however, our living together is really hard to prove! The apartment we are living in is provided by my school, we dont have a joint bank account (dont want to bother with the hassle of opening another bank account when we are just planning to leave korea), and his address is still listed as his parents house and mine is too even though im not even living in canada) i feel like people dont really change it anymore haha we dont have mail! Anyways... do you have any recommendations on how else we can prove we have been living together?

It sounds very tough in your case. Can whoever is considered your landlord, write a declaration that you are living together there? With no concrete proof, CIC will most likely not believe you and could reject a common-law application. You should make sure you have solid evidence that shows a full 12 continuous months of cohabitation.
Typically you would include things like joint lease/rent agreement or declaration from landlord, joint bank or credit card accts, any documents that show both names and 1 address, joint life insurance, mail from each going to same address, showing each other listed as beneficiary on anything, stat letters from friends/family, etc.

anyways, our plan (if he passes the final step and gets a work permit through the working holiday visa) is that he will come to canada in august with me and he will enter with the 6 month visitor visa free thing, then after 5 or 6 months he will activate his working holiday visa... and around this time he will apply for PR as common law, which will hopefully give a work permit too?

If he will already have IEC visa, then he doesn't really need the OWP that comes with inland apps. In his case it would most likely be better to apply outland through Manila office in order to get PR quicker.
Though as mentioned above, it sounds like you may have trouble counting your cohabitation while in Korea. You may need to consider starting your official 12 month clock from when he arrives in Canada and you have actual proof of cohabitation.

I also read that applying for PR through family sponsorship in canada can give an open work permit upon applying for PR? do you have any more information about this? I heard it can take up to 4 months to get the Work permit after applying for PR , that is why we plan to apply for it during his working holiday visa so then he doesnt have to wait too long (hopefully) and can keep working legally.

Yes with inland app you can get OWP after around 4 months. However inland app takes 2+ years in total to process, during which time it's advised not to leave Canada.

my boyfriend is also wanting to do a college program or go to trade school or something as he doesnt really have any transferable skills to settle well in canada... I read that you can go to school with domestic fees (no international charges) after applying for PR. I think you have to wait the three months or until the initial sponsor assessment is complete before getting domestic fees.. but not the 2-3 years it takes for the entire process to go through.. so thats another option for you! If they take away the trial work permit with a PR application thing I was going to suggest to my boyfriend to just start school instead so he isnt wasting time waiting around doing nothing! We are also trying to avoid international student fees.. they are ridiculous!

You really need to call any specific schools he's interested in, and asking their policies on domestic vs international fees with a PR app in progress. There is no specific rule around this, each school may be completely different.

 

[NRSY]

It sounds very tough in your case. Can whoever is considered your landlord, write a declaration that you are living together there? With no concrete proof, CIC will most likely not believe you and could reject a common-law application. You should make sure you have solid evidence that shows a full 12 continuous months of cohabitation.
Typically you would include things like joint lease/rent agreement or declaration from landlord, joint bank or credit card accts, any documents that show both names and 1 address, joint life insurance, mail from each going to same address, showing each other listed as beneficiary on anything, stat letters from friends/family, etc.

If he will already have IEC visa, then he doesn't really need the OWP that comes with inland apps. In his case it would most likely be better to apply outland through Manila office in order to get PR quicker.
Though as mentioned above, it sounds like you may have trouble counting your cohabitation while in Korea. You may need to consider starting your official 12 month clock from when he arrives in Canada and you have actual proof of cohabitation.

Yes with inland app you can get OWP after around 4 months. However inland app takes 2+ years in total to process, during which time it's advised not to leave Canada.

You really need to call any specific schools he's interested in, and asking their policies on domestic vs international fees with a PR app in progress. There is no specific rule around this, each school may be completely different.

Thank you so much for the helpful information Rob_TO!
I can have a number of people write that we are living together (my mom, his mom, his sister, my building landlord, building security guard, my coworkers, his friends..etc.). SO many people know that we have been living together.. its just hard to prove (other than letters form people) as usually i pay for bills, but when we go out somewhere or buying food, he usually takes care of that, so it works out! but again, hard to prove. could something like listing him as an emergency contact in my latest work contract (which started and signed in september) count? I could try to get someone to dig that up!

thats exactly what i was considering when saying that we would apply inland... just because i don't know how easy it is to prove that we have been living together here! i could dig up messages from my mom saying something like "is *** home yet? " or something like that and screen shot it i guess! Thats why i was saying intland so then we could potentially still have 1 year (6 months visitor visa, 6 months working holiday visa ) then an additional 6 months working holiday visa to wait for an application to go through/ decision to be made. how long do outland apps usually take? i read online on the cic website it can be up to 18 months.

that is a very long time to wait for an inland app! is there any way he could work in canada while potentially waiting for the outland application (if we weren't able to/its too hard to prove the 6 months living together here in korea ( although we have been actually living together for longer than 6 months already) and had to wait longer after his WHV finishes for the paperwork to go through?

 

[Rob_TO]

Thank you so much for the helpful information Rob_TO!
I can have a number of people write that we are living together (my mom, his mom, his sister, my building landlord, building security guard, my coworkers, his friends..etc.). SO many people know that we have been living together.. its just hard to prove (other than letters form people) as usually i pay for bills, but when we go out somewhere or buying food, he usually takes care of that, so it works out! but again, hard to prove. could something like listing him as an emergency contact in my latest work contract (which started and signed in september) count? I could try to get someone to dig that up!

THe most important letter out of all of these, would be the landlord. And it would need to be certified/notarized to really hold weight with CIC. The other letters will help, but really don't "prove" you were cohabiting. As I said, you need some kind of actual proof of cohabitation - so joint accounts, mail to same address, etc etc. Submitting just letters as your evidence, may cause the visa officer to doubt your common-law status.

thats exactly what i was considering when saying that we would apply inland... just because i don't know how easy it is to prove that we have been living together here! i could dig up messages from my mom saying something like "is *** home yet? " or something like that and screen shot it i guess! Thats why i was saying intland so then we could potentially still have 1 year (6 months visitor visa, 6 months working holiday visa ) then an additional 6 months working holiday visa to wait for an application to go through/ decision to be made. how long do outland apps usually take? i read online on the cic website it can be up to 18 months.

I don't understand how applying inland would help anything. At the time you submit the app, you need to have proof of 12 months cohabitation. So even if you submitted an inland app after 6 months in Canada, if the visa officer didn't accept your cohabitation in Korea, then the PR app would eventually be rejected.

An inland app will take approx 27 months.

An outland app through Manila office would probably take around 12 months (sometimes less), and during this processing time he could remain in Canada under work, study or visitor status. The times posted on CIC site for outland apps, are more worst-case times and not averages.

If you want to use the 6 months in Korea towards common-law, you need to gather your evidence asap, before you come to Canada.

that is a very long time to wait for an inland app! is there any way he could work in canada while potentially waiting for the outland application (if we weren't able to/its too hard to prove the 6 months living together here in korea ( although we have been actually living together for longer than 6 months already) and had to wait longer after his WHV finishes for the paperwork to go through?

He would need a work visa to work here with an outland app in progress. So through IEC/working holiday, or through a closed-work permit from a Canadian company wiling to go through the LMIA process for him.
An outland PR app does nothing to get someone work status.

 

[NRSY]

THe most important letter out of all of these, would be the landlord. And it would need to be certified/notarized to really hold weight with CIC. The other letters will help, but really don't "prove" you were cohabiting. As I said, you need some kind of actual proof of cohabitation - so joint accounts, mail to same address, etc etc. Submitting just letters as your evidence, may cause the visa officer to doubt your common-law status.

I don't understand how applying inland would help anything. At the time you submit the app, you need to have proof of 12 months cohabitation. So even if you submitted an inland app after 6 months in Canada, if the visa officer didn't accept your cohabitation in Korea, then the PR app would eventually be rejected.

An inland app will take approx 27 months.

An outland app through Manila office would probably take around 12 months (sometimes less), and during this processing time he could remain in Canada under work, study or visitor status. The times posted on CIC site for outland apps, are more worst-case times and not averages.

If you want to use the 6 months in Korea towards common-law, you need to gather your evidence asap, before you come to Canada.

He would need a work visa to work here with an outland app in progress. So through IEC/working holiday, or through a closed-work permit from a Canadian company wiling to go through the LMIA process for him.
An outland PR app does nothing to get someone work status.

Thanks again Rob_TO! Your responses are always very helpful!

I guess I need to get better proof of living together. I will get him to change his address to my same address in Korea ASAP so then at least we could use the next 3 or 4 months as part of the 12 months of cohabitation to give better proof!

 

[NRSY]

Thanks again Rob_TO! Your responses are always very helpful!

I guess I need to get better proof of living together. I will get him to change his address to my same address in Korea ASAP so then at least we could use the next 3 or 4 months as part of the 12 months of cohabitation to give better proof!

Rob_TO, quick question... do you happen to know how to get something certified or notarized here in korea? Would I have to get my landlord to go to the Canadian Embassy? Or can she easily just go to a police station or lawyer like we can in canada. I have tried to research it but cant seem to find an answer! Thanks in advance!

 

[Rob_TO]

Rob_TO, quick question... do you happen to know how to get something certified or notarized here in korea? Would I have to get my landlord to go to the Canadian Embassy? Or can she easily just go to a police station or lawyer like we can in canada. I have tried to research it but cant seem to find an answer! Thanks in advance!

I'm not sure as we did all our papers in Canada.
I suggest you ask the question here, where many others have gone through the process in Korea: http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/sponsoring-my-korean-wife-for-permanent-residency-t137874.2460.html

 

[NRSY]

I'm not sure as we did all our papers in Canada.
I suggest you ask the question here, where many others have gone through the process in Korea: http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/sponsoring-my-korean-wife-for-permanent-residency-t137874.2460.html

Thanks ill try asking there!!

 

[NRSY]

Rob_TO I have a quick question for you. If I were to get my landlord to write a letter what would it have to say?

Just both of our names and that we were living at xxx address and what time period?

And if I were able to get the landlord to write up a type of backdated lease would I just have to send in the signed page? or would I need to send the entire 5-10 page rental agreement and have the whole thing translated?

Also, with getting documents translated and notarized... do i get them translated first then notarized? or can I get the landlord to notarize it then can I get that notarized letter translated? Or does it matter?
Sorry, I think I am thinking too much into this haha I have been so stressed about it lately! So I get the landlord to write a letter, and go with her to get it notarized? then I get it translated? Sorry! i have never gotten anything notarized except university degrees or something like that! Can i get it notarized without the landlord present?

Thank you !

 

[Rob_TO]

Rob_TO I have a quick question for you. If I were to get my landlord to write a letter what would it have to say?

Just both of our names and that we were living at xxx address and what time period?

And if I were able to get the landlord to write up a type of backdated lease would I just have to send in the signed page? or would I need to send the entire 5-10 page rental agreement and have the whole thing translated?

I don't think it's necessary to send the entire rental agreement, just the main page that shows both your names, address, time period, landlords information, and all the signatures.

Also, with getting documents translated and notarized... do i get them translated first then notarized? or can I get the landlord to notarize it then can I get that notarized letter translated? Or does it matter?
Sorry, I think I am thinking too much into this haha I have been so stressed about it lately! So I get the landlord to write a letter, and go with her to get it notarized? then I get it translated? Sorry! i have never gotten anything notarized except university degrees or something like that! Can i get it notarized without the landlord present?

Thank you !

Not 100% sure of all the details here. We got our Korean docs translated here in Canada, and since we were including original documents the translator also did the certification of translation at the same time.

In general i'm pretty sure the landlord would have to go in person to get the rental agreement notarized. The main thing notary should be checking for, is that the landlord is actually the one that signed the document so would need to see their ID.

So I expect you would then take the notarized paper to a translator, and they would do the official certified translation.