IEC vs Partner work permit- Please Help!!!

[agator08]

Hi People,

So I am a dual Canada/NZ citizen and am moving to Vancouver to start a Masters in January 2015. I will be studying as a domestic Canadian student. I would like to take my New Zealand partner of two years with me, so she can work. We are confused about the best way to approach the visa for her. She is university educated and will be looking for skilled work, preferably in marketing.

While we have been together for 2 years, we will be struggling to satisfy Canada's de facto relationship requirements due to separate living/work/travel arrangements (we studied at different uni's)

We don't seem to be able to get a "partner work permit extension to my study visa" as I am a domestic student and don't require a study visa.

My partner can come to Canada for 1 year using her IEC 1-year work experience visa, however we are concerned about any subsequent years after that. Will I be able to sponsor her to stay in Canada after her IEC visa expires? Is there a spousal visa available in this situation? Or will she have to return to New Zealand and wait 12 months while we get it sorted? After living in Canada together for 1 year will we be more likely to satisfy de facto requirements?

Thank's for any advice!

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Hi

In order to sponsor your partner, you must be common-law or married. To be common-law, you have to live together continuously for at least a year and be able to prove it. This year can be in NZ, in Canada or a combo of both, as long as it is continuous.

Once you are common-law, you can sponsor your partner for Permanent Residency. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp

Your partner will not have to leave Canada. Depending on when you become common-law and submit your app, she may well get PR status before her IEC expires. If not, she can change her status to visitor and remain in Canada while the PR app processes.

 

[agator08]

Thank you so much for your help. Is there an option for me to sponsor her for a shorter term work permit (say 1-2 years) as opposed to applying for the full PR?

 

[PMM]

Hi

Thank you so much for your help. Is there an option for me to sponsor her for a shorter term work permit (say 1-2 years) as opposed to applying for the full PR?

No.

 

[agator08]

Thanks again for your help guys,
I've been doing a bit of reading and have a few more questions..! This stuff is confusing!

1) We obviously want to spend the least time apart. NZ to Canada is a long way! If we lived together in Vancouver for 12 months (she can work on her IEC visa), are there any options for her to keep working in Canada while we apply (inland application) for PR? The application processing time is at least another year. As we are both young with student loans etc we can't afford to have her off work for an entire year! How good would her job have to be for her to be sponsored?

2) I have read somewhere that if you pass the first stage of the PR application (the sponsors application part) then the spouse/common-law partner is eligible for an open work permit. I cannot find anything on the CIC website however. Is this true?

3) If we lived together in Vancouver and got married after 12 months, would it alter the situation? Could she stay and work?

4) If we tried to apply for PR in a few years, further down the track from outside Canada (from NZ or AUS), we would need to prove that we both intend to live in Canada.. How are you expected to submit job offers, apartment rentals etc etc a year before you go to live there?

Thanks again for any help,

 

[scylla]

1) To continue working, she could either get a second IEC (if the program allows this for her country) or find an employer who is willing and able to obtain an approved LMIA and then apply for a closed work permit tied to that specific employer with the job offer and LMIA. This could be the employer she is already working for under the IEC or a different employer. Note that it does tend to be difficult to find employers willing to go through the process due to the cost, effort and time involved.

2) If you apply for PR using the inland (within Canada) route, the applicant will be eligible for an open work permit after first stage approval is complete. First stage approval is currently taking approximately 12 months for inland applications. No open work permit is granted with outland applications.

3) No - this won't change anything.

4) Yes - this is the type of proof you would have to submit to prove you plan to return and live in Canada (not necessarily all of that proof - but some of it). You can show that you have started looking for employers, spoken with real estate agents about places to live, have a bank account in Canada, plan to live with relatives while you find a permanent place to live, etc. Many on this forum have had to submit this type of proof - so it's totally doable. You just have to do some creative thinking and do the leg work to gather the evidence.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

1) We obviously want to spend the least time apart. NZ to Canada is a long way! If we lived together in Vancouver for 12 months (she can work on her IEC visa), are there any options for her to keep working in Canada while we apply (inland application) for PR? The application processing time is at least another year. As we are both young with student loans etc we can't afford to have her off work for an entire year! How good would her job have to be for her to be sponsored?

There are no benefits to applying inland. Outland NZ apps are processed through Sydney, which is averaging around 6 months. Your partner can remain in Canada while the outland app processes, even if only as a visitor once her IEC expires, or she can return to NZ for a few months to work.

Don't factor the inland work permit into the decision, as it will not grant her the ability to work for those first 12 months of processing. An outland app would be done well before that point.

Are you guys currently living together?