Bringing my Swedish girlfriend to Canada

[robertj01]

Hello,

My girlfriend and I are trying to figure out how to bring her in to Canada this February (2016). She is 20 years of age, of Swedish citizenship and has no offer of employment.

She would like to live in Canada with me. What are our options?

We have checked with International Experience Canada and the Working Holiday program is currently closed. We contacted IEC and they could not provide us with any information as to when it would be open again. Any guesses?

We know that as a Swedish citizen she is allow up to 6 months as a tourist. How does she go about asking for 6 months of time? When she came to Canada last year, she was only allowed 3 months. Would it be advisable for her to enter as a tourist and then go from there?

If we were to register as married or in a common law partnership, would this give her access to a residence and working permit or solely a residence permit? Would I even be accepted as a suitable sponsor, seeing as I will be in school starting January 2016 and have acquired student debt.

There must be a way for here to immigrate to Canada, we are unable to answer our own questions or find the appropriate venues for them.

Thank- you.

 

[robertj01]

Some additional information:

A plan in the works of ours was to ask my employer to offer her a job. However, I have just read this as posted by a member in this forum in a different thread:

"To obtain a work permit, she will first have to find an employer who is willing to offer her a full time job. That employer will then have to advertise the job for at least a month to prove no Canadian could be found for the role. Then the employer will have to submit an application to request approval to hire her. The processing time for this application is usually around 2-4 months and the cost is $1,000 in fees which the employer must pay. If this application is approved - she can then apply for a work permit. It tends to be difficult to find employers who are willing to go through this process because it takes so much time and costs money."

As I am relatively close with my employer, I was assuming an offer of employment would not be too difficult to acquire. However by those necessities, I am becoming uneasy. Would anyone be able to tell me how extensive the paper work is on the employers behalf? Would it be completely "wrong" to offer the employer to pay the 1000 dollars of fees. ALSO, that quote states that only after the employer has been approved then she can apply for a work permit? I don't understand. So first, the employer must offer, pay and apply to to government and then once accepted - she would have to apply herself?


It seems like the easier option here is a permit acquired through marriage or common law partnership. Would someone be able to provide some advice regarding that? I will double back to my previous questions:

If we were to register as married or in a common law partnership, would this give her access to a residence and working permit or solely a residence permit? Would I even be accepted as a suitable sponsor, seeing as I will be in school starting January 2016 and have acquired student debt.

 

[scylla]

If you are married or common law (common law means you have lived together for at least one full year and can prove it) - then you can sponsor her for permanent residency. Depending on the route you take - this process can take anywhere from a number of months to a couple of years. Once she is a PR she will be able to live and work in Canada. I would encouarge you to read through the stickied post at the very top of the Family section of this forum to understand some of the basics of the two sponsorship options (inland and outland).

Yes - she can certainly come as a visitor in the meantime. How long she is allowed into Canada for is entirely up to the officer she encounters at the border. Visa exempt visitors are often given six months by default - but it's possible to only be given a shorter visit. I would not recommend that your girlfriend "ask" to be given a six month visit since this may make the officer concerned she has plans to try to live in Canada as a visitor (which she isn't allowed to do). I would just enter as a normal tourist (make sure she has a return ticket) and hope to get six months.

Yes - to obtain a regular work permit a job offer isn't sufficient - the employer also need to obtain an approved LMIA which involves adverisitng the job to prove no Canadian could be found for the role, playing a $1,000 fee and waiting for the LMIA to be processed (the entire process can take up to six months - with no guarantee of approval). In additionl to the $1K fee, the employer also has to pay several hundred dollars more for advertising. Because of the cost and effort involved, many employers are willing to go through the process.

I don't know when the working holiday visa reopens - but it will be sometime next year.

 

[jcallahan]

I was in a similar position as you a couple years ago and am now sponsoring my partner to come to canada permanently. For us we decided the easiest way for us to live together for a year, was for him to come to Canada through IEC on a worker visa. For this visa type processing time is only about two months, and only opens once a year (usually in January) it may be best for you to wait until then, sit at your computer when they open up the applications to make sure she gets a spot.

Then if you have already lived together for a year you can start working on your common law sponsorship once she is here. This requires a lot more paperwork (took me over 2 months to get everything together).

Not sure where Swedens applications get processed but it is usually better to sponsor Outland, as inland she is unable to leave the country until it's finished and I think it take about 2 years.

Unfortunately reuniting with your partner is not easy on Canada.

 

[robertj01]

If you are married or common law (common law means you have lived together for at least one full year and can prove it) - then you can sponsor her for permanent residency. Depending on the route you take - this process can take anywhere from a number of months to a couple of years. Once she is a PR she will be able to live and work in Canada. I would encouarge you to read through the stickied post at the very top of the Family section of this forum to understand some of the basics of the two sponsorship options (inland and outland).

Yes - she can certainly come as a visitor in the meantime. How long she is allowed into Canada for is entirely up to the officer she encounters at the border. Visa exempt visitors are often given six months by default - but it's possible to only be given a shorter visit. I would not recommend that your girlfriend "ask" to be given a six month visit since this may make the officer concerned she has plans to try to live in Canada as a visitor (which she isn't allowed to do). I would just enter as a normal tourist (make sure she has a return ticket) and hope to get six months.

Yes - to obtain a regular work permit a job offer isn't sufficient - the employer also need to obtain an approved LMIA which involves adverisitng the job to prove no Canadian could be found for the role, playing a $1,000 fee and waiting for the LMIA to be processed (the entire process can take up to six months - with no guarantee of approval). In additionl to the $1K fee, the employer also has to pay several hundred dollars more for advertising. Because of the cost and effort involved, many employers are willing to go through the process.

I don't know when the working holiday visa reopens - but it will be sometime next year.

First of all, thankyou!

Okay. I have read over the stickied post and have a couple more questions.
We have lived together over the past year, but can likely hardly prove it - as we have been travelling across several continents. So as I see it, this is the route we should take:

When she comes to Canada in February, we can get registered as married. From here, we would have the possibility to apply "outland" which means that I will send my application to Mississauga and they will approve me as a sponsor (hopefully) and it will take 1-2 months.

"After that, the application is forwarded to your local visa office" Where are these local visa offices? Is there a directory that I can view?

If she has been given 6 months as a tourist, then no problems yet. If she has been given less, it is likely that we would have to apply for a visitor extension - is this correct?

Would I even be accepted as a suitable sponsor, seeing as I will be in school starting January 2016 and have acquired student debt.

Layed out nice and neat:

Is it possible to have her enter Canada in February as a visitor, apply outland and then have her legally living and working in Canada less than 6 months later? Without her having to leave Canada? And if the processing times takes longer than 6 months OR if she is granted less than 6 months to visit Canada, then can we extend her visitor visa and have her remain in Canada while the outland application is being processed?

 

[robertj01]

I was in a similar position as you a couple years ago and am now sponsoring my partner to come to canada permanently. For us we decided the easiest way for us to live together for a year, was for him to come to Canada through IEC on a worker visa. For this visa type processing time is only about two months, and only opens once a year (usually in January) it may be best for you to wait until then, sit at your computer when they open up the applications to make sure she gets a spot.

Then if you have already lived together for a year you can start working on your common law sponsorship once she is here. This requires a lot more paperwork (took me over 2 months to get everything together).

Not sure where Swedens applications get processed but it is usually better to sponsor Outland, as inland she is unable to leave the country until it's finished and I think it take about 2 years.

Unfortunately reuniting with your partner is not easy on Canada.

Did he enter on the 1 year working holiday visa? That is exactly what we are trying to aim for. Right now, I am in Sweden but need to return to Canada at the start of January. She will not be able to visit Canada until one month later and the thought of that month alone is horrible. We would really rather not spend a day longer apart from each other.

Do you think getting married would make the process much easier?

 

[jcallahan]

Unfortunately she will have to leave the country and come back to have her visa issued (this can be achieved just by traveling to the states though.

Looks like your Outland application would happen in the London UK office, which the website currently indicates that it takes 28 months for stage 2. Stage 1 takes about 2 months so you are looking at 30 months total for her to achieve permanent residence. You may want to search forums specifically for the London office to get a better idea if processing times.

 

[jcallahan]

Yes, he was on the working holiday visa. One month apart seems like a lot right now, but my partner and I have spent over a year so far apart due to these processes and probably have another 6 - 12 months until he will have his permanent residence.

 

[robertj01]

Unfortunately she will have to leave the country and come back to have her visa issued (this can be achieved just by traveling to the states though.

Looks like your Outland application would happen in the London UK office, which the website currently indicates that it takes 28 months for stage 2. Stage 1 takes about 2 months so you are looking at 30 months total for her to achieve permanent residence. You may want to search forums specifically for the London office to get a better idea if processing times.

So there is no way for her to stay in Canada and work while this is being processed?

I don't mean to be dramatic but there has to be a way for us to stay together, rather than being apart for up to 2 years!

 

[kiwi01]

So there is no way for her to stay in Canada and work while this is being processed?

I don't mean to be dramatic but there has to be a way for us to stay together, rather than being apart for up to 2 years!

Don't worry, that 28 months figure is misleading. Go look at the London outland spreadsheet and you will see that the majority of people are getting theres much quicker than that. That 28 months is more of a worst case scenario if your application has some problems with it.

 

[robertj01]

Don't worry, that 28 months figure is misleading. Go look at the London outland spreadsheet and you will see that the majority of people are getting theres much quicker than that. That 28 months is more of a worst case scenario if your application has some problems with it.

Do you have a link to that page? The link to the outland application from to top stickied thread is not working for me. I am confused and stressed out by all of this.

Is there no way for her to stay in Canada and work while this is being processed?

 

[MaryLou6]

Do you have a link to that page? The link to the outland application from to top stickied thread is not working for me. I am confused and stressed out by all of this.

Is there no way for her to stay in Canada and work while this is being processed?

here you go: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kYJ0Xo_jHLeArkCVeicZyqIE8YLpnZqVJlFrnpmKMx0/edit

IF you can gather documents like leases, bank statements sent to you address and letters from neighbors stating you've lived together for 1 year you should be able to prove that you've established the common law status

 

[robertj01]

Thank you! That 12 month estimation is a lot easier to take in.

As we have been travelling together through many different countries for the majority of the past year, and the lease we currently are under is solely under her name - I'm not confident that we could successfully prove that we have been living together. Therefore is it a better idea to be registered as married when she comes to visit in February? or even for us to get registered as married now while we are in Sweden together?


ALSO:

I have read that it as possible for "eligible spouses or common-law partners have the opportunity to work in Canada while they wait for their application for permanent residence to be processed". Who qualifies as eligible? (I cannot post the link?)

As a couple bonus questions:
1. does anyone know how long one can extend a visitors visa?
2. To apply for the Working Holiday visa, would she need to leave the country for it to come into affect or can she apply from within Canada and stay in Canada once it has been approved? (I am currently in Sweden on the same Visa and had no such issues but I am cautious)
3. Even though she is going to apply for this working holiday visa, we are still mainly concerned with permanent residence. When should I begin the application to sponsor her? I am currently in Sweden and unemployed but can likely be employed immediately upon returning to Canada. Also, I will be starting a new fast track program (ends in 5 months) and have taken out student loans to assist with this. Will this affect my ability to sponsor her?



After hours of scouring, many emails and the help of you good people, our master plan is as follows:

Have her enter Canada in February of next year as a visitor and extend as needed. We then register as being married. Hopefully - the Working Holiday program will open up sometime before March 2016 and she can apply for that. That visa takes up to 2 months to process so she could still be in Canada while she waits for it to be processed and then receive the visa and not have to leave Canada for at least another year. After she has received her Working Holiday visa (or possibly before or during the application process) I can begin to apply as her sponsor. Thus, it is likely that she will only have to leave Canada briefly for either the tail end months of the family sponsorship application or just that "trip to the US" that will allow her to renter Canada as a permanent resident.

 

[kangamoose]

Have her enter Canada in February of next year as a visitor and extend as needed. We then register as being married. Hopefully - the Working Holiday program will open up sometime before March 2016 and she can apply for that. That visa takes up to 2 months to process so she could still be in Canada while she waits for it to be processed and then receive the visa and not have to leave Canada for at least another year. After she has received her Working Holiday visa (or possibly before or during the application process) I can begin to apply as her sponsor. Thus, it is likely that she will only have to leave Canada briefly for either the tail end months of the family sponsorship application or just that "trip to the US" that will allow her to renter Canada as a permanent resident.

She would also need to leave Canada to get the working holiday visa. These are only granted at the border, she can be in Canada for the processing time. What happens is if she is approved for the visa she would be issued a letter of introduction, this needs to be presented at the border for the actual visa to be granted.

 

[robertj01]

She would also need to leave Canada to get the working holiday visa. These are only granted at the border, she can be in Canada for the processing time. What happens is if she is approved for the visa she would be issued a letter of introduction, this needs to be presented at the border for the actual visa to be granted.

Thankyou! Does the rest of the plan sound fit?