How To Sponsor My GF To Canada?

[Macadacious]

Hi, so i have a gf from america and i want to sponsor her here to live with me. i am new to this and ive tried searching but it doesnt make sense to me and i need help.. . I just want to know what papers i need to file and what i need to bring her into canada to live with me. i know she can live in canada for 6 months on a visa right? and she has to live with me for 12 months before i can marry her right? but what do i need?

 

[scylla]

Hi, so i have a gf from america and i want to sponsor her here to live with me. i am new to this and ive tried searching but it doesnt make sense to me and i need help.. . I just want to know what papers i need to file and what i need to bring her into canada to live with me. i know she can live in canada for 6 months on a visa right? and she has to live with me for 12 months before i can marry her right? but what do i need?

To sponsor her for PR, you must either be married OR have lived together for at least one full year continuously to become common law. No - you do not have to live together for 12 months before you get married.

 

[Macadacious]

PR is permanent residence? so how to i get her to live here for the 6 months? i can do the marriage anytime between then? and then extend the stay for a full year

 

[Macadacious]

she plans to visit by driving, so i will drive there and pick her up then she can stay in canada for awhile? and if so we can get married right away and what application do we file for her to stay here?

 

[scylla]

she plans to visit by driving, so i will drive there and pick her up then she can stay in canada for awhile? and if so we can get married right away and what application do we file for her to stay here?

How long she is allowed into Canada will be up to the CBSA officer you encounter at the border. You'll want to make sure it doesn't look like she is moving to Canada permanently - but just visiting - otherwise you might run into issues at the border. She should make sure she has enough funds to pay for her trip to Canada and it would also be a good idea to be able to show proof of ties to the US (e.g. employment, property rental/ownership). She should pack like she is visiting and leave most of her belongings back home.

You can get married at any time.

Process to sponsor her is here:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/spouse.asp

 

[Macadacious]

How long she is allowed into Canada will be up to the CBSA officer you encounter at the border. You'll want to make sure it doesn't look like she is moving to Canada permanently - but just visiting - otherwise you might run into issues at the border. She should make sure she has enough funds to pay for her trip to Canada and it would also be a good idea to be able to show proof of ties to the US (e.g. employment, property rental/ownership). She should pack like she is visiting and leave most of her belongings back home.

You can get married at any time.

Process to sponsor her is here:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/spouse.asp

Oh ok i see so for example if he stamps her 4 month from the date we pass the border she has to leave that day? what if she doesnt? and how long until she can come back? and ok so just bring the essentials, luggage and all that. What if she doesnt have any "ties" to the US? she doesnt work atm, doesnt own a house or car. all she has is her license, birth certificate and soon will have a passport. and since we havent lived together for 12 consecutive months, so my concern is if the officer only allows her to stay the 6 months how can we get her to stay the full year?

 

[scylla]

Oh ok i see so for example if he stamps her 4 month from the date we pass the border she has to leave that day? what if she doesnt? and how long until she can come back? and ok so just bring the essentials, luggage and all that. What if she doesnt have any "ties" to the US? she doesnt work atm, doesnt own a house or car. all she has is her license, birth certificate and soon will have a passport. and since we havent lived together for 12 consecutive months, so my concern is if the officer only allows her to stay the 6 months how can we get her to stay the full year?

She should apply for an extension from within Canada to extend her visit so that she can reach the 12 months of living together to become common law.

Since she has no ties to the US, she should really make sure she keeps the luggage to a minimum. Can she at least show some decent funds to prove she can support herself while visiting Canada?

 

[Macadacious]

She should apply for an extension from within Canada to extend her visit so that she can reach the 12 months of living together to become common law.

Since she has no ties to the US, she should really make sure she keeps the luggage to a minimum. Can she at least show some decent funds to prove she can support herself while visiting Canada?

oh okay i see, i assume we should apply for the extension couple months ahead of time to make sure she gets it, so after the 12 months she can apply for the PR right? im sure she'll only bring her essentials(makeup,clothes) and her lizard for sure. At the moment she doesnt work so thatd be hard, can we say ill take care of her?

 

[scylla]

oh okay i see, i assume we should apply for the extension couple months ahead of time to make sure she gets it, so after the 12 months she can apply for the PR right? im sure she'll only bring her essentials(makeup,clothes) and her lizard for sure. At the moment she doesnt work so thatd be hard, can we say ill take care of her?

Yes - you can say you will take care of her. However ideally she should have her own funds she can show to support herself in Canada - at least some.

Ideally any pets should be left at home since normal visitors to Canada don't take pets with them. If she's not willing to do that, make sure she researches what is required to bring the lizard into Canada.

 

[Macadacious]

sounds good, thanks. well since she doesnt work, what if i exchanged some of my money for her to put in her bank or something and she can show that? and sounds good, she wont be able to leave her gecko behind its her baby and her mom wouldnt want to take care of that. and to confirm, once she has her papers,(drivers license, birth certificate, passport) essentials, and we drive through the border then we do our thing and extend her visit to stay in canada then i apply for common law to sponsor her?

 

[scylla]

sounds good, thanks. well since she doesnt work, what if i exchanged some of my money for her to put in her bank or something and she can show that? and sounds good, she wont be able to leave her gecko behind its her baby and her mom wouldnt want to take care of that. and to confirm, once she has her papers,(drivers license, birth certificate, passport) essentials, and we drive through the border then we do our thing and extend her visit to stay in canada then i apply for common law to sponsor her?

Yes you can do that. Her ties to the US are very low so always some risk of being refused entry.

 

[Macadacious]

Yes you can do that. Her ties to the US are very low so always some risk of being refused entry.

okay thanks, and oh really thats not good, do you know anything else she can use to show she has ties to the US?

 

[canuck_in_uk]

sounds good, thanks. well since she doesnt work, what if i exchanged some of my money for her to put in her bank or something and she can show that? and sounds good, she wont be able to leave her gecko behind its her baby and her mom wouldnt want to take care of that. and to confirm, once she has her papers,(drivers license, birth certificate, passport) essentials, and we drive through the border then we do our thing and extend her visit to stay in canada then i apply for common law to sponsor her?

Genuine visitors don't bring pet lizards. It does increase her risk of being refused entry. She should seriously think about finding someone to look after the lizard while she is gone.

 

[Macadacious]

Genuine visitors don't bring pet lizards. It does increase her risk of being refused entry. She should seriously think about finding someone to look after the lizard while she is gone.

hmm thats gonna be hard cause her mom wont do it and her cousin or aunt wouldnt either. what if we hid it from the officer? cause im sure she wont be able to be away from her pet for a months to a year

 

[YVR123]

hmm thats gonna be hard cause her mom wont do it and her cousin or aunt wouldnt either. what if we hid it from the officer? cause im sure she wont be able to be away from her pet for a months to a year

last thing you want to do is to smuggle an animal across the border..

Did she travel with her pet across the border before? Does she need to get any paperwork or vet's note or shots?