Canadian (Quebec) citizen and British common-law spouse

[ACanadianDream]

Hello.

I am from England and my spouse lives in Canada (Quebec). She is a Canadian citizen from birth and is studying full time. We want to live together in Montreal and work towards my permanent residency. I am not skilled or educated but I wish to study in Montreal. She is in full time education. I have c15,000$ savings to help fund our first year together. We have travelled together so we have plenty of pictures as proof of partnership. We have also bought each other gifts as further proof. We have been in contact since meeting almost every day via social media. We have been together for less than 6 months. We are considering our options.

- Working visa: Not an option as I am not a skilled migrant.
- Study visa: Could be an option if I am accepted into a school.
- Sponsorship on a tourist visa: Could be an option but there are issues with me being eligible to work/study during the first year.

If I choose the study or sponsorship on a tourist visa options, we have a few questions on sponsorship. Our understanding is the following.

- I enter Canada.
- We both co-sign a house lease as proof of partnership
- We both apply for my spouse to be my guarantor
- My spouse is my guarantor for 3 years
- I am eligible for permanent residency after 1 year
- I can work during the first year as long as my spouse is in full time education
- I can work after being granted permanent residency after 1 year without my spouse needing to be in full time education
- I maintain permanent residency for three years to be eligible to apply for citizenship

Our questions.

If I enter on a tourist visa, should I tell Canadian immigration about my spouse or keep quiet?

If I enter on a tourist visa, am I able to co-sign a lease on a rental property for proof of cohabitation?

How long until we can apply for sponsorship? (I read 6 months?)

I read that I am able to work during the first year on a tourist visa as long as my spouse is studying full time and we have applied for sponsorship. Is this possible, are there any restrictions and is this only after the first 6 months (after applying for sponsorship)?

Is it better to apply for permanent residency if I am already in Canada (inland as apposed to outland)?


We basically want to live together with the possibility of me becoming a citizen and ideally me being able to work from the beginning.


Thanks!

 

[commonlawsponsor]

I'm a bit confused about your post, but I think you are a bit confused as well.

- You are only considered a "common law spouse" if you have lived together continuously for 365 days.
- Once you are common law, your partner can sponsor you for permanent residency (so it will be at least a year before you can apply). Then you have to wait for your application to be approved before you can start working.
- If you come as a tourist, you can't work, even if your spouse is in school full-time (unless there is some other type of visa I am unaware of) Where did you read that?

It is better for you to apply outland, even if you are living in Canada. Here are the processing times, but London often processes most application much quicker. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/perm/fc-spouses.asp#europe


How old are you?

 

[ACanadianDream]

Hi Commonlawsponsor.

Thanks for the clarification.

I read on the CIC website about being able to work if my spouse is in full time education but reading again it becomes clear that this is referring to an immigrant bringing their spouse to Canada. Please disregard.

Regarding sponsorship after 12 months, if I'm already living with my spouse in Canada we would use the Canadian visa office in Ottawa to make the sponsorship application right? It says on the CIC website that processing time is 16 months. (Can't post links at the moment).

That's a total time of at least 28 months without eligibility for employment?

 

[commonlawsponsor]

I'm not sure what the inland office is - but your best bet is to apply outland. It has a posted time of 11 months, plus the time for sponsor approval - but check out the London thread, it usually moves much faster.

But yes, you would be several months - 12 months + another 5 or 6 without being eligible for employment.

How old are you? Perhaps you could apply for a working holiday visa.

 

[ACanadianDream]

OK, thanks! We'll research into outland also.

I'm 31.

 

[zardoz]

Of course, if you are able to legally marry, you would cut out the initial 12 months of waiting to qualify as common-law.

 

[ACanadianDream]

We have not known each other long enough for marriage to be an option as the moment.

I think the best option would be for me to try and get into school.
Then I can work and we can live together and work towards permanent residency.

 

[Rob_TO]

I think the best option would be for me to try and get into school.
Then I can work and we can live together and work towards permanent residency.

You better check the tuition fees for international students. They can be pretty expensive.

Also with study permits often the associated work permit is limited, such as limited hours or you have to work on campus. You might not necessarily get a full open work permit with any study permit. But I'm not sure all the rules here, so better to ask in the International Students section of this forum: http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/international-students-b2.0/