I met this amazing girl on the internet and we're in love, we are perfect for eachother, we've been in a relationship for a few months now and we've decided that in 2 years when she's done school she'll move to Canada with me, but she American and I don't know how to bring her to Canada next fall I'm going to complete a trade in welding and have a job hopefully but Idk what I do to bring her to Canada so she can stay, what do I do ? We're completly fine with getting married so what do I do when the time comes btw were I'm 17 and she'll be 17 in August
Bringing my girlfriend to canada
- Thread starter Colebrinston
- Start date
Read the first post here:
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/spousal-sponsorship-t46995.0.html
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/spousal-sponsorship-t46995.0.html
There's nothing you can do right now. You're both under aged.
Once you're both of legal age, you can look into options. If you decide to get married, you can sponsor her to Canada. If you two are able to live together for 1 year first, you can also sponsor her as common-law. She can also review possibilities of getting a work or study permit if she's interested. Work permits can be difficult to get. Study permits are expensive.
There is no way for her to "live" in Canada until she gets legal status, although she may be allowed to visit for an extended period of time.
Once you're both of legal age, you can look into options. If you decide to get married, you can sponsor her to Canada. If you two are able to live together for 1 year first, you can also sponsor her as common-law. She can also review possibilities of getting a work or study permit if she's interested. Work permits can be difficult to get. Study permits are expensive.
There is no way for her to "live" in Canada until she gets legal status, although she may be allowed to visit for an extended period of time.
Two 19 year olds (which you'll be in 2 years) having a mainly internet-based long distance relationship and then getting married and applying for PR sponsorship, sound like it will have lots of red flags and good chance for rejection.
Over the next 2 years, meet each other and spend as much time in person as you can. Start documenting and storing all your proofs starting now (chat logs, emails, phone records etc). Also I hope that both of your parents support the relationship and eventual marriage, since a formal wedding with lots of friends/family will go a long way in proving your relationship is genuine when it comes time to apply.
After she graduates, explore the different ways for her to get a 1-year work visa to come to Canada. If that doesn't work, at least a 6-month visitor status should be pretty easy for her to get.
Over the next 2 years, meet each other and spend as much time in person as you can. Start documenting and storing all your proofs starting now (chat logs, emails, phone records etc). Also I hope that both of your parents support the relationship and eventual marriage, since a formal wedding with lots of friends/family will go a long way in proving your relationship is genuine when it comes time to apply.
After she graduates, explore the different ways for her to get a 1-year work visa to come to Canada. If that doesn't work, at least a 6-month visitor status should be pretty easy for her to get.
She could finish high school in Canada. However she'll need a study permit to do this and there's no guarantee the study visa will be approved. She will have to pay fees to attend school here (since she's a foreign student) and also demonstrate that she has enough money to pay for her living exepnses while here. Can she show a bank account with $20K to $30K in savings? Is she in a position to spend around $12K to pay for her schooling each year? If not, then this option is out.
frege
Hero Member
- Jun 13, 2012
- 29
- Category........
- Visa Office......
- Paris
- Job Offer........
- Pre-Assessed..
- App. Filed.......
- 01-05-2012
- AOR Received.
- none
- File Transfer...
- 01-08-2012
- Med's Done....
- 02-12-2011
- Interview........
- none
- Passport Req..
- 28-11-2012 (copy only)
- VISA ISSUED...
- 05-12-2012
- LANDED..........
- 15-12-2012
You can only sponsor someone to come to Canada once you're 18. So you'll have to wait at least that long for her to immigrate permanently. You'll be 19 in two years, so that's fine.
You can either get married or live together for a year. Then you apply for sponsorship.
It's true that CIC is sometimes suspicious of relationships that are only over the internet, or weddings without family present. They may have the impression in those cases that the relationship was formed so that one partner could get into Canada.
However, CIC rarely suspects people from developed countries (particularly ones like the U.S. where most of the population is white - that's their track record, unfortunately). So in practice, you're probably safe, and it's better to conduct your relationship as you see fit, rather than do things differently because of hypothetical future immigration problems. If your girlfriend was from a poorer country (or even perhaps a rich Asian one), my advice might be different. Also, I've heard of same-sex couples having problems in this sort of case, or people with a significant age difference, even though one spouse was from the U.S. Generally, people are not entirely protected from the individual biases of visa officers in this process.
One option is as follows. Once you're ready to live together and get married (or get married and live together, if that's your preference), she comes to Canada with visitor status. Even though she may intend to marry you and apply for permanent residence (which she should be honest about with the border officer), as long as she intends to comply with immigration laws (such as not working/studying, leaving when required), she is allowed to enter the country as a visitor with "dual intent." Once married, you can apply to sponsor her. Provide lots of proof of cohabitation, if you can. If you have any problems later, you'll be able to present evidence right up to the time of an interview, so if most of your cohabitation is after you're married, that will be okay at that point.
You'll have two choices about how to apply: "inland" and "outland".
If you apply inland, she can stay with you in Canada until a decision is made. Normally, if your case doesn't raise any suspicions, she can get a work/study permit after about 6 months (this is called "approval in principle"), and in some practical ways has most of the rights of a permanent resident (e.g., in-province tuition in university). It takes about another 8 months after that to get permanent residence. However, if the case raises suspicions, it will be forwarded to a local CIC office, where it can encounter extreme delays, of up to two or three years. In cases like these, "approval in principle" is not granted until the case is finalized, so your girlfriend will have few rights in Canada, other than to live with you. Unfortunately, the decision of whether to grant approval in principle will likely be based only on the evidence you submit in your initial application. So if you have some period of cohabitation at that point, things will be easier.
If you apply outland, you can expect the process to take about 6 to 19 months [correction: 8 to 13 months], depending partly on the visa office in the U.S., partly on your application, and partly on luck. She can stay in Canada with you as a visitor during processing, but cannot work or study. She has to keep renewing her visitor status, and this isn't automatic. If you disagree with the final decision made by CIC on the permanent residence application, it's much easier to appeal an outland refusal than an inland one.
What I've said here doesn't apply in any way to you going to the U.S. to marry her. In that case, if you plan to get married and stay on in the U.S., you have to get a special visa.
You can either get married or live together for a year. Then you apply for sponsorship.
It's true that CIC is sometimes suspicious of relationships that are only over the internet, or weddings without family present. They may have the impression in those cases that the relationship was formed so that one partner could get into Canada.
However, CIC rarely suspects people from developed countries (particularly ones like the U.S. where most of the population is white - that's their track record, unfortunately). So in practice, you're probably safe, and it's better to conduct your relationship as you see fit, rather than do things differently because of hypothetical future immigration problems. If your girlfriend was from a poorer country (or even perhaps a rich Asian one), my advice might be different. Also, I've heard of same-sex couples having problems in this sort of case, or people with a significant age difference, even though one spouse was from the U.S. Generally, people are not entirely protected from the individual biases of visa officers in this process.
One option is as follows. Once you're ready to live together and get married (or get married and live together, if that's your preference), she comes to Canada with visitor status. Even though she may intend to marry you and apply for permanent residence (which she should be honest about with the border officer), as long as she intends to comply with immigration laws (such as not working/studying, leaving when required), she is allowed to enter the country as a visitor with "dual intent." Once married, you can apply to sponsor her. Provide lots of proof of cohabitation, if you can. If you have any problems later, you'll be able to present evidence right up to the time of an interview, so if most of your cohabitation is after you're married, that will be okay at that point.
You'll have two choices about how to apply: "inland" and "outland".
If you apply inland, she can stay with you in Canada until a decision is made. Normally, if your case doesn't raise any suspicions, she can get a work/study permit after about 6 months (this is called "approval in principle"), and in some practical ways has most of the rights of a permanent resident (e.g., in-province tuition in university). It takes about another 8 months after that to get permanent residence. However, if the case raises suspicions, it will be forwarded to a local CIC office, where it can encounter extreme delays, of up to two or three years. In cases like these, "approval in principle" is not granted until the case is finalized, so your girlfriend will have few rights in Canada, other than to live with you. Unfortunately, the decision of whether to grant approval in principle will likely be based only on the evidence you submit in your initial application. So if you have some period of cohabitation at that point, things will be easier.
If you apply outland, you can expect the process to take about 6 to 19 months [correction: 8 to 13 months], depending partly on the visa office in the U.S., partly on your application, and partly on luck. She can stay in Canada with you as a visitor during processing, but cannot work or study. She has to keep renewing her visitor status, and this isn't automatic. If you disagree with the final decision made by CIC on the permanent residence application, it's much easier to appeal an outland refusal than an inland one.
What I've said here doesn't apply in any way to you going to the U.S. to marry her. In that case, if you plan to get married and stay on in the U.S., you have to get a special visa.
frege
Hero Member
- Jun 13, 2012
- 29
- Category........
- Visa Office......
- Paris
- Job Offer........
- Pre-Assessed..
- App. Filed.......
- 01-05-2012
- AOR Received.
- none
- File Transfer...
- 01-08-2012
- Med's Done....
- 02-12-2011
- Interview........
- none
- Passport Req..
- 28-11-2012 (copy only)
- VISA ISSUED...
- 05-12-2012
- LANDED..........
- 15-12-2012
What province do you live in? You'll need to check the rules for fees paid by foreign students in high schools there.Colebrinston said:
Obviously, you can meet! Each of you can visit the other country for up to 6 months at a time.
You can't even take a long-weekend trip to visit her in the US?Colebrinston said:
After her graduation, you should really try to be together in person for as long as possible before getting married/applying for PR.
There are different ways for an American to apply for a 1-year open work permit for Canada. It's a bit easier for younger people, and there are some working holiday programs that are specifically for recent graduates (such as this one: http://www.swap.ca/in_eng/us_index.aspx ). She should look into this during her final year of studies, and best scenario is she will be able to come stay with you in Canada for a year immediately after graduating.
Yes there is. Both of you will be able to meet, easily. Go to a neutral place. I hear Niagra Falls is lovely. Or NYC or whatever is closest to you. Bring some friends, make it a group vacation. Then it will also show your friends met her and her friends met you and they know of the relationship and such.Colebrinston said:
As of right now, you can do DE NADA (Meaning, nothing)
jenny12345
Hero Member
- Mar 11, 2013
- 6
- Category........
- Visa Office......
- Vegreville AB
- Job Offer........
- Pre-Assessed..