Canadian citizen engaged to Japanese gf in Europe, just returned back to Canada

[akhenaton]

Hi all,

I am new to all this, so please forgive any questions that may be of the noob type. I am a Canadian-born citizen and my gf of 2.5 years is Japanese. She came to Canada in May this year as a visitor. We just went on a 2 week trip to Europe where I proposed to her. Upon returning back to Canada, they asked her how long she would stay and she said about 45 days. That led to her being sent to immigration for further questioning. Some history:

1. She first arrived here in April 2014 on a 1 year working holiday visa. We met in June 2014.
2. She extended her working holiday visa to visitor and left Canada for Japan in August of 2015.
3. In between jobs, I went to Japan in November 2015 for about 4 months to visit her.
4. I returned back to Canada in March 2016. She came to Canada in May 2016.

Then in the last week of September we went to Europe for 2 weeks. We returned as an engaged couple. She did not mention anything about being engaged to the immigration officer. However they were skeptical about why she was looking to stay in Canada so long (visa run suspicions perhaps) and were also wondering if she had any Toronto clients while on a visitor visa (she is a freelance graphic designer).

In the end after 2.5 hrs, the immigration officer said she can stay for 1 more month and then must leave. The attached visa form on her passport says not allowed to work and not allowed to attend any educational institution, Case Type 10.

Questions:

1. Can she apply to extend stay? And I guess she will have implied status during the application process?
2. Should this application for extended stay mention that we are engaged?
3. Should we get our marriage papers and start the sponsorship process and mention this in the extend stay application? As she is here on this visitor visa, will she be able to stay while the sponsorship process continues?

Very confused on what is the best course of action from here, I know marriage and/or engagement details can actually be detrimental in some cases as they might get suspicious of marriages of convenience. We have ample proof of shared living, emails, snail mail, photos, social media proof for our 2.5 years together.

Looking for some advice, thanks.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

1. Can she apply to extend stay? And I guess she will have implied status during the application process?
2. Should this application for extended stay mention that we are engaged?
3. Should we get our marriage papers and start the sponsorship process and mention this in the extend stay application? As she is here on this visitor visa, will she be able to stay while the sponsorship process continues?

I know marriage and/or engagement details can actually be detrimental in some cases as they might get suspicious of marriages of convenience.

Hi

1. Yes, she can apply to extend her stay and will have Implied Status while waiting for a decision.

2. Yes, state that you are getting married and applying for sponsorship. I suggest you pay the full PR fees and include the receipt to show you are serious about it.

3. Applying for PR doesn't grant status. If you apply outland, she will need to maintain her status as a visitor. If you apply inland, she can submit an OWP app along with the PR app to stay in status.

As your partner is Japanese, there will be no Marriage of Convenience suspicions.

I couldn't tell from your timeline. Have you lived together continuously for at least a year? If you have, you are common-law and can apply based on that status without being married. Otherwise, you can't apply until after being married.

 

[akhenaton]

Hi

1. Yes, she can apply to extend her stay and will have Implied Status while waiting for a decision.

2. Yes, state that you are getting married and applying for sponsorship. I suggest you pay the full PR fees and include the receipt to show you are serious about it.

3. Applying for PR doesn't grant status. If you apply outland, she will need to maintain her status as a visitor. If you apply inland, she can submit an OWP app along with the PR app to stay in status.

As your partner is Japanese, there will be no Marriage of Convenience suspicions.

I couldn't tell from your timeline. Have you lived together continuously for at least a year? If you have, you are common-law and can apply based on that status without being married. Otherwise, you can't apply until after being married.

Thanks for the quick reply. I realized my #1 and #2 were kind of similar.

I am confused about your #2. So in the extend stay application, she can state the reason to extend is because we will (in future) get married? Or should we get married first and have that documentation as part of the extend stay application?

Also confused about your #3, in both your scenarios it sounded like she is here in Canada with status. But doesn't one of them (inland/outland) imply that she is out of country? Maybe I am confused with the inland/outland terminology, please help.

With respect to living together, here is the timeline:

April 2015 to August 2015 (4 months) we lived together in Canada.
August 2015 she left because of the end of her visa.
November 2015 to March 2016 (4 months) we lived together in Japan. I then had to leave for Canada.
May 2016 to present (5 months) we are living together in Canada.

Thanks.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

I am confused about your #2. So in the extend stay application, she can state the reason to extend is because we will (in future) get married? Or should we get married first and have that documentation as part of the extend stay application?

Also confused about your #3, in both your scenarios it sounded like she is here in Canada with status. But doesn't one of them (inland/outland) imply that she is out of country? Maybe I am confused with the inland/outland terminology, please help.

If you want to get married before you submit the extension app, that's your choice.

Inland and outland refer to where the app is processed. A person in Canada can apply either way.