Canadian citizen sponsoring international student as spouse

[Verizie]

Hi,

I'm a Canadian citizen with a girlfriend who is an international student. We have been talking about getting married as we love each other.

If we marry here in Canada before her visa expires can I sponsor her from within Canada on a spousal visa? Can we apply after we are engaged but before her visa expires? Would she need to return to her home country once the student visa expires after we've started spousal sponsorship process? Could we honeymoon outside of Canada or would this endanger the sponsorship? Could we apply for a common law relationship sponsorship (after living together 2 years) or it is better to get married and apply for spousal sponsorship (we are straight, a male-female couple).

 

[CharlieD10]

1) Yes, you can. You would have to ensure her status remains valid, whether as a student or visitor, while her application is processed.
2) No, Canada does not recognise fiance/es in the family class.
3) It depends. If you applied Outland (through the visa office responsible for her country) and the processing exceeds the remaining time on her student visa and you opt not to extend her status, then yes, she would need to return to her homeland. If you opt to sponsor her Inland (through CPC-Vegreville), then she should not return to her home country until the processing is complete and she gains PR status.
4) It depends, if you sponsor her Outland, then no. If you sponsor her Inland, again, she should not leave the country until her processing is complete and she has PR status.
5) Yes, if you have a minimum of 12 months provable cohabitation, then you may apply as common-law partners.