Candian Citizenship PLUS a Canadian Visa?

[KristenTylerPhoto]

Good afternoon everyone

This is my first post into what I know will be a long, long process of learning, but I am hoping to get a good jumping point from here!

My situation: I am the child of a Canadian born mother, and I am in the process currently of applying for my Canadian Citizenship Certificate. My mother is mailing me her birth certificate and Canadian paperwork as we speak, and then I am sending out my package to apply for my certificate.

Assuming all goes well, I should be able to relocate to Canada within the next 6 months or so. (I believe that's how this works, from everything that I've read).

I am looking to move to Toronto, and will be visiting the city in May.
I am aiming for an October relocation date.

However, with that comes one complication: My partner.
He is an American citizen and would be relocating with me.

Short of getting MARRIED, what would some of the best options be to get him to Canada with me?
I figure we will need to get going on his paperwork ASAP as well.

Any help with this would be SO greatly appreciated!!

8)

 

[scylla]

Are you and your partner common law? Have you lived together at the same physical address for at least one full year?

 

[KristenTylerPhoto]

By the time we move, yes. It will have been 14 months actually.


Quick side question re: Common law, how is that proved?

 

[scylla]

You prove common law by showing a joint lease, joint property ownership, joint bank accounts, joint utility bills, etc.

You won't be able to sponsor your boyfriend for PR until you are officially common law (i.e. 12 months of living together completed) AND you also have your citizenship certificate.

Read the first post in the following thread for a great overview of the sponsorship process:

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/spousal-sponsorship-t46995.0.html

Your boyfriend cannot "move" to Canada until he has PR status or something like a work permit. Until then, all he can do is visit.

Again, I'd strongly encourage you to read the post in the thread above and then join the discussions in the Family Class Sponsorship section of the forum.

 

[KristenTylerPhoto]

Excellent, thank you for that information!

Would it be possible for him to live there on a visa of some sort until we classify as common law?

 

[scylla]

Excellent, thank you for that information!

Would it be possible for him to live there on a visa of some sort until we classify as common law?

There are a very limited number of options that actually allow him to "live" in Canada.

1) Student Visa - He'll need to be accepted to a Canadian school first and then apply for a study visa. Keep in mind that foreign students must pay significantly higher tuition than Canadians. He'll likely have to show a bank balance of $25K+ to be approved. If he wants to go this route he should start applying to schools now.

2) Work Visa - How difficult this will be will depend on whether he qualifies as a worker under NAFTA (you'll have to research this to determine if he does or not). If he qualifies under NAFTA, then he'll need to find an employer in Canada who is willing to give him a job offer and then obtain a work permit at the border. If he doesn't qualify under NAFTA then in addition to the job offer, the employer will also need to obtain an approved LMO (labour market opinion). You can read more about LMOs on the official CIC web site. The short version is that if he does not fall under NAFTA and an LMO is required, it will be anywhere from extremely difficult to impossible to find an employer willing to hire him.

3) If he's the right age and recently out of school, he might qualify for a SWAP working holiday visa program (you'll have to research the requirements to see if he qualifies).

He could come into Canada as a tourist which should grant him a six months visit. However how long he is allowed into Canada for (if at all) is up to Canadian immigration. If he decides to go this route he should make sure he doesn't look like he's moving to Canada when he crosses the border.

 

[KristenTylerPhoto]

Excellent so it looks like coming with me as a common law partner might be the best/ easiest option.

Thank you so much for the information though!
I very much appreciate the help... I've been doing so much reading and it all just gets so complicated.
Laymen's terms makes more sense to me!