Help! Wanting to move to Canada. What's the first step?

[cjsmmy]

Hello Everyone......Can someone please help me with this daunting task? I don't know what to do first and when to do it. Here's my situation:

I live in the United States and I met my boyfriend online and first went to visit him in Canada July 2015 and we are now in a committed relationship. I have been to visit him 4 times. July, September, November and December, 2015. I am currently in a divorce in the United States and anticipate it being finalized soon. I want to move to Canada as soon as possible and thought I could get this ball rolling because I know it probably takes a long time. How does this process get started? Is there anything I can do right now while I'm in the states to start my new life in Canada?

Please someone give me some ideas on what I/we should do at this point in time? I want to get a starting point to become established there, i.e. bank account, social insurance card, anything. I anticipate going back for another visit in March if not sooner.

Thank you to everyone for assisting me with this situation. Divorce is stressful and this just adds to it. I just want to be happy and looking so forward to starting a new life in the beautiful country of Canada.

 

[Leon]

In order for you to be able to live in Canada and not just visit, your boyfriend would have to sponsor you for PR.

In order for him to sponsor you for PR, you either have to get married or you live together for 12 months consecutively in order to qualify as common law partners.

 

[cjsmmy]

Thank you so much for your response. I have a couple of questions regarding this. So I would have to reside in Canada with him for 12 months consecutively BUT would I able to leave Canada and return to the US to visit my kids? I have two children I am wanting to eventually have custody to move there as well. Secondly, if we get married, does this eliminate the 12 month living requirement and does it expedite things? If we're married, I assume the sponsorship still needs to happen and do we still need to show living together for any length of time? Hope this makes sense. I am so confused over this.

Thank you again for your help.

 

[scylla]

Yes - if you get married then you don't have to live together for 12 months before you apply. However getting married doesn't mean your application processing will be any faster. The application process itself is effectively the same regardless of whether you are married or common law (i.e. you still have to prove your relationship is genuine).

Sure - you can leave Canada during the 12 month period. However you do need to be careful not to leave too often or for too long or CIC may decide you have broken the period of continuous residency and have to start the 12 month count from scratch. You should also be aware that each time you leave, there is never a guarantee you'll be allowed back into Canada. The more you cross back and forth, the higher the chances of problems (e.g. being refused entry).

 

[obib]

Yes - if you get married then you don't have to live together for 12 months before you apply. However getting married doesn't mean your application processing will be any faster. The application process itself is effectively the same regardless of whether you are married or common law (i.e. you still have to prove your relationship is genuine).

Sure - you can leave Canada during the 12 month period. However you do need to be careful not to leave too often or for too long or CIC may decide you have broken the period of continuous residency and have to start the 12 month count from scratch. You should also be aware that each time you leave, there is never a guarantee you'll be allowed back into Canada. The more you cross back and forth, the higher the chances of problems (e.g. being refused entry).

True.When you cross the border too often it does not matter if you are a PR, Citizen you are flagged(especially with growing issue of Terrorism worldwide) and it becomes critical when you've not achieved your PR

 

[cjsmmy]

Ok now I'm really confused. Someone else on another post said I could not leave while being on a visitor extension that I would have to start over. Can you tell me if my kids are with me there living while my boyfriend and I are meeting the 12 month requirement, would they be able to be enrolled in the public school system without any status?

THanks for your guidance.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

If you are apart for more than a few weeks and if the separations are quite frequent, there is the possibility that CIC will see it as a break in the 1 year required for common-law.

Your kids would have visitor status. If they had no status, they would be in Canada illegally and that's not a good thing. Given that they would be here only as visitors and as the children of a visitor, it is extremely unlikely that they would be able to attend school without needing a study permit and paying thousands in fees.

However, most schools have no issues regularly enrolling the stepchildren of a Canadian who have a PR app in process. They may require the kids to get study permits but generally don't require them to pay the fees.