How To Immigrate To Canada and Permanently Live With My Girlfriend?

[ChaCol927]

I am interested in immigrating to Canada in two years after I graduate college. I have a girlfriend that currently resides in Edmonton, Alberta and we have been dating for a year and a half. I have known her for three years. I have visited Canada twice in the last year for a total of 60 days and may visit once more before I graduate. She has visited me three times for a total of 50 days. I plan on working in Canada and permanently living there.

I will have a bachelors degree in Information Systems once I graduate and two years work experience as a Systems Operator.

I am currently 21 years old with no criminal records of any kind.

I am not exactly sure how to move forward with this process and what my best course of action may be to make this happen.

If you need anymore information please let me know and please give me any suggestions and information I may need to make this happen.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I don't think I'm ready for marriage, so from my understanding the best course of action will be getting a work visa, what is a good place to start looking for employers willing to hire a foreign worker?

 

[mf4361]

Start here

http://www.cic.gc.ca/ctc-vac/getting-started.asp

 

[ChaCol927]

I'm looking at the eligibility of sponsoring a spouse/partner on the cic website.

In regards to my current situation, would she be able to live with me for as long as possible (I believe it is restricted to 6 months a year with a Visa) and if she gets denied extended stay (which I don't know if that is allowed with the 6 month visa or not) would we be able to apply for the conjugal partner sponsorship?

 

[canuck_in_uk]

I'm looking at the eligibility of sponsoring a spouse/partner on the cic website.

In regards to my current situation, would she be able to live with me for as long as possible (I believe it is restricted to 6 months a year with a Visa) and if she gets denied extended stay (which I don't know if that is allowed with the 6 month visa or not) would we be able to apply for the conjugal partner sponsorship?

American-Canadian couples don't qualify for conjugal. There are no legal or immigration barriers preventing you from living together or getting married. You can spend 6 months together in the US and then 6 months together in Canada or you can come here and extend your status to become common-law.

 

[ChaCol927]

American-Canadian couples don't qualify for conjugal. There are no legal or immigration barriers preventing you from living together or getting married. You can spend 6 months together in the US and then 6 months together in Canada or you can come here and extend your status to become common-law.

Ah, thanks for the information. That was another question I had is if she could come here for 6 months and then I go there for 6 months. Also, is there any allotted time that allows us to not be together for travel purposes, etc? For instance she is here for 6 months and I don't go to Canada until a week or two later for my 6 months. Is that allowed or do we have to be living together for that one year with no breaks in between?

A few other questions I had:

Is it difficult to get an extension on your 6-month visa for another 6-months?
After we are considered common-law partners, how long do we have for her to sponsor me before we are no longer considered common-law?

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Is that allowed or do we have to be living together for that one year with no breaks in between?

Is it difficult to get an extension on your 6-month visa for another 6-months?

After we are considered common-law partners, how long do we have for her to sponsor me before we are no longer considered common-law?

A week or two apart is fine. Anything longer than 3 weeks and it gets risky.

Provided you have sufficient proof of finances, a visitor extension should be no issue.

Once you have established common-law status, you are considered common-law until you actually end the relationship.

 

[ChaCol927]

A week or two apart is fine. Anything longer than 3 weeks and it gets risky.

Provided you have sufficient proof of finances, a visitor extension should be no issue.

Once you have established common-law status, you are considered common-law until you actually end the relationship.

After reading some other discussions, it seems that the best route without getting married and without a work visa would be for the Outland Spousal Sponsorship.

Since I'm still in school until December 2017 and I have a pretty decent job whereas she just works at a gas station and coaches gymnastics, it would most make sense for her to live with me in America for 1 year through the visitor visa and getting an extension until we are considered common-law partners. Then we can apply for the sponsorship.

What kind of evidence would be sufficient enough to prove the common-law partnership?

How long would it take to process the sponsorship to where I can move and live in Canada permanently?

Should she go back to Canada after 1 year and start working again to save more money until the application finalizes and then I move up there?

Is there anything else that I need to be aware of that I might have missed?