Desparate Help Needed...

[tray999]

Hello, first time poster. I have been looking through all the threads trying to find a problem like ours (and I'm not sure if I should post this here. If not, please direct me to the correct place.)

Me and my boyfriend have been together for about six years now - the only problem is that our relationship for the most part has been online. We of course visit each other when we can. However, since we are both students, we do not live together.

I am a Canadian citizen while my boyfriend is from the United States. He is going to be graduating this May with a B.A in Psychology. He has work experience, just not in his selected field.

I have been reading over many of the pages on the Canadian Gov website and am talking myself into circles.

I was kind of hoping... maybe if someone could explain what our best options would be for him to gain permanent residence in Canada? I understand that one must live in Canada for a minimum of three years, however he would need to be able to work here. The only problem with applying for the work visa is finding a future employer.

We were thinking that he could perhaps work for a few years in the U.S. to gain more experience and then attempt to find an employer in Canada.

If anyone could shed some light onto this situation we would be forever grateful.

Thank you.

 

[scylla]

If your relationship is really serious - then your fastest option would be to get married and sponsor him to Canada as your spouse. Alternatively, you could live together for a full year to qualify as common law and then you could sponsor him. More information on these sponsorship routes is available in the first post on the following thread (note that you would not qualify for conjugal):

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

Living in Canada for three years will not get him permanent resident status. However if he worked here for two years in a skilled position - he could apply to become a permanent resident through the Canadian Experience Class immigration route. This would obviously require him to find an employer in Canada.

Unfortunately finding an employer in Canada is relatively difficult unless you have very specialized skills or experience. In order to hire a foreigner, a Canadian employer must prove they advertised the job and were unable to find or train a Canadian for the role. This is becoming more and more difficult to prove since the economy has taken a bit of a downturn here as well and more Canadians are looking for work. Having said that, there's nothing stopping him from looking for a job in Canada now. Just be prepared for a lot of rejection (or not hearing back from many companies) since many employers aren't willing to go through the process of hiring a foreign worker.

He could also come here as a student. This would allow him to live in Canada temporarily only. He would also have to pay the much higher foreign student fees and show additional funds ($10K) to pay living expenses. So this won't be a great option if money is tight.

Long story short - your fastest option is to get married. If you're not ready for that, then all of the other paths are more difficult and will very likely take more time.

Good luck.

 

[tray999]

I understand. Though, wouldn't he still have to apply for a working visa even if I sponsor him? He has to be able to get a job once he's in Canada..

I'm sorry I don't know much about this as we've only just started talking about it now that he's finished university.

 

[scylla]

If you're even slightly considering going the spousal sponsorship route, read the first post in this thread. It should answer many of your questions:

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

 

[Leon]

I understand. Though, wouldn't he still have to apply for a working visa even if I sponsor him? He has to be able to get a job once he's in Canada..

I'm sorry I don't know much about this as we've only just started talking about it now that he's finished university.

If you want him to work as soon as he gets to Canada, you could marry him, apply to sponsor him and he could stay in the US and work until he gets his PR and then move to Canada.