emilymsmits said:
Sweden, you're my PR guardian angel!
Thanks so much! I'd read about applying in Seoul, and absolutely that'd be our easiest location for interview purposes. As far as proving cohabitation for 1 year, I know my employer would have NO problem signing a paper saying we've been living together for more than a year - but my employer and my name are on the lease, not my boyfriend's. He has had his own place (because it's provided by our employer and Korean apartments are small, but we've used mine as our primary residence) Will the letter from my employer be enough?
Also, we absolutely plan to come to Canada, my boyfriend is a certified teacher and we want to return to Nunuvut, where he can work as a teacher. The job application process won't begin until March 2013 for the August 2013-2014. What kind of proof has to be shown to prove we plan on residing in Canada?
Thanks! Emily
Emily
Hey Emily,
glad I can help! I got a lot of information reading on the forum when putting together my own application (3 months ago, and it took me three months too!), so if I can share experience and help you get through the whole process, then - that's good!
About the letter from your employer - write your own letter explaining the situation in details - not having your name on the lease etc, - and include the letter from your employer. It might not be enough to prove that you are a couple etc, so try and get as much details as possible - pictures, trip together, letters from friends and family, if you have a life insurance where your partner is named, if you have a house insurance with both names on it, a shared bank account ( we added my partner's name to my bank account just for the purpose of the application as we didn't need it before, but well...) - anything that can prove that you are a couple. Maybe copies of your visa showing that you have arrived at the same time, that you are working in the same place etc - be creative! no application is the same, so you need to work on your own case to make sure that you would convince a complete stranger that your relationship is genuine, and that you are a couple ( and that you have been living together for more than 12 months).
About returning to Canada and how to prove it - there again, the best way to do it (if your partner doesn't have a job lined up) is to get into details. We created a timeline of our relation, and a plan on what we need to do before we go to Canada, and on arrival. You can try that - no guarantee of course, but you need to convince the VO that you will leave Korea and settle in Canada if you are granted the PR (it sounds obvious, of course, why would you go through the hassle of sending an application if you didn't intend to live in canada afterwards - but remember, the application is the same for everybody but applicants come from all different backgrounds and different stories). So - steps you need to take to leave Korea (cancelling residency, date of expiry of your current visa, taxes matter if anything needs to be settled before you go, closing your bank account in Korea if you have one, how many months notice you need to give for the apartment etc), and when you will take them, quotations from moving companies if you have ( you can get a few over the internet, , letters from your family if they will host you when you arrive, a letter from the potential school where your partner is planning on teaching ( might be difficult to get if the process is not opened yet for applications, but maybe you can get a letter from the school that he has worked there before and they would welcome him back if he was willing to apply etc). you can also include details on how you plan to support yourself (or your partner) while you are not allowed to work, if you have any savings for that, where you plan to live upon arrivals. All the practical details, that you might have started discussing with your partner - just put it together into a form, whatever format suits you.
Good luck!
Sweden
