Met a girl... wanting to move to canada... help!

[Going West]

Hi All,

I have just found your forum and wanted to say Hi but more importantly pick your brains.

I have been travelling and around five months ago I met a wonderful women. Meeting her was literally like been hit by a truck. The feeling is completely mutual. We totally changed our trips and plans to be together and now our trips have ended we have returned home to our home countries (me UK - her Canada), having decided that we want to be together. So my question is... what is the easiest and quick way for us to be together in Canada on a permanent basis and how long will this take? We wondered if my going to Canada on a tourist visa and then us getting marrying would be the simplest option but would it potentially cause problems further down the line with immigration when i need to renew my visitor visa? We realise that i would not be able to work during this process. Or could i apply for a temporary working visa when i am there which would by us a little more time.

We haven't really got a clue and it is fast becoming clear that it is a minefield.

Any help, advice etc etc would be very much appreciated

Kind Regards,

S

 

[Baloo]

The CIC site is here:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index.asp


All cases vary, times vary, but it won't be fast.

 

[kc416]

Awww, im a sucker for a good love story. Congrats to meeting the love of your life.

Lukily being from a country where you can easily pick up and visit Canada during the process you will have a few options. Getting married and then applying outland (you applying from the UK not within Canada) will most likely be your quickest option.

Do some more research from the link provided above as well as take into concideration other peoples posts.

Good Luck.

 

[jckovacs]

So nice to hear about your love.

It's definitely not a quick process. If you get a visitors visa, it does expire. So I say, visit if you can, and start applying right now. Not for you visa, but for immigration, if that's what you're wanting. They want a lot of proof and documents, so this is going to be a task. We're all here to help, I too am rather new. So hopefully if you have any questions, we'll be here for you.

 

[Baloo]

On the family immigration side of things read here:

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/spousal-sponsorship-t46995.0.html;msg344291#msg344291

 

[pinklady]

If you are between 18-30 you can apply for this program

http://www.bunac.org.uk/uk/workcanada/

 

[suze_h]

Hi Going West,

Your story really struck a chord with me as it's very similar to the circumstances in which my boyfriend and I first met. I was travelling, met him in New Zealand and then we changed all our plans to travel together. I am from the UK, he is Canadian. I thought I would let you know the steps I took to move to Canada permanently, as just one example of how you can go about things - there are so many ways and it's definitely not an easy process.

I met him in November 2008 and we travelled together until March 2009. At this point he had one semester left of a course he was taking in Australia so I decided to get a working holiday visa for Australia so that we could start living together. We moved in together in late March 2009 and stayed in Australia until August 2009. We then made the decision that we wanted to move to Canada but we weren't ready to get married and decided that when we became eligible we would apply for my Permanent Residency as common-law partners. In order to qualify as common-law we knew we would have to prove that we had lived together for 12 consecutive months.

I initially entered Canada on a visitor visa and stayed on that visa from September 2009 - December 2009. It was really tough not working but I was determined to stick it out to satisfy the common-law requirement and luckily for me the company I used to work for in the UK applied for an intra-company transfer work permit on my behalf so that I could open an office for them out here in Toronto. I re-entered Canada on the work permit in January 2010 and in March 2010 we became eligible to apply as common-law. However, we had made the big mistake of not realising how long it would take to collect together all of the proof we would need to show that our relationship was genuine. I also had to apply for a police certificate from Italy which ended up taking 4 months to obtain! You can never underestimate what a huge task this process is.

We ended up not sending off all the paperwork until September 2010. My Passport Request came through in early January 2011 and I 'landed' as a Permanent Resident early February. It's been over 3 months since I've worked now and I'm keen to get back in the job market again but it's been worth it to get the immigration process out of the way and stay living with my boyfriend throughout, I know plenty of other couples who haven't been so lucky.

Even though I was living in Canada I applied via the 'Outland' process which was a lot quicker than 'Inland' would have been. Always remember that you have the right to apply via London even if you are living in Canada when you apply.

As you say, your other option is to get married and apply via the spousal route - my only concern with this is that it may look as though you have just got married for immigration purposes. Make sure you have a ton of proof of your relationship to send with your application!

Good luck
Suze

 

[Going West]

Hi Suze

Thanks for the great email, is good to hear that you are enjoying your life together. What sort of proof would they want to prove that we are in a committed relationship? We have been together for five months and have photos, emails, facebook and a blog entries from the very first day we met and family members would happily write letters of support. Neither of us use mobile phones. My worry is that because I came into Canada on a tourist visa it may cause complications later down the line as i will have effectively lied to gain entry because if i say i am coming over to marry my girlfriend they will not let me in. I am 32 so am too old to apply for a working holiday visa.

S.

 

[Baloo]

Hi Suze

Thanks for the great email, is good to hear that you are enjoying your life together. What sort of proof would they want to prove that we are in a committed relationship? We have been together for five months and have photos, emails, facebook and a blog entries from the very first day we met and family members would happily write letters of support. Neither of us use mobile phones. My worry is that because I came into Canada on a tourist visa it may cause complications later down the line as i will have effectively lied to gain entry because if i say i am coming over to marry my girlfriend they will not let me in. I am 32 so am too old to apply for a working holiday visa.

S.

Entering Canada as a visitor and deciding to get married is not a lie, you are allowed to make personal choices and decisions in Canada (even if you are a visitor)

Unless you really did lie when you were entering and planned to get married here al along

Keep gathering pictures.

 

[suze_h]

In terms of proof there are lots of things you can provide, although it's definitely more difficult if you haven't lived together. We provided lots of photos, both from our travels and from places we have been / things we have done together ever since we have lived together - we dated them and sent some that were obviously winter/summer etc and when hair was shorter/longer so that it was clear that they had been taken over a period of time and not just tons of photos from the same few months. We also sent photos of me with Nick's family and Nick with my family. We sent about 8 letter from friends and family members confirming that our relationship was genuine and also sent travel tickets / confirmations of bookings we'd made together, copies of our passport stamps showing that we travelled together and cards that we'd sent to each other. We were also able to send various rental lease agreements, proof of insurance policies we hold together, our car registration document, our driving licenses showing our current address in Toronto - you can send literally anything which proves that you are in a marriage type relationship rather than just travel companions....

Make sure you start collecting evidence right away

 

[TeresaLynn]

If you are from the UK you do not need a VISA, you are allowed to stay for 6 months. My partner is from the UK as well, he came in stayed for 6 months, then we applied for an extension and were granted him a year. We stated we wanted more time together for the reasoning. Then in June 2010 we applied for spousal sponsorship under common-law. You have to decide inland or outland, i can't help you there. Look at both options. We have a baby together, and bought a house together, we sent proof such as mortgage, joint bank accounts, proof of pregnancy, pictures, letters from friends and family, utility bills, joint purchase receipts. Things along those lines, htey outline it in the application what to send. You can send more stuff, it's up to you. We have another month to go for first stage approval where my spouse will be able to get his OWP and health coverage. Don't be intimidated by the whole process just be open and honest. Gather as much proof as possible. Boarding passes if you have them are good to to show you traveled together. I hope this helps. Good luck and congrats on finding the love of your life

 

[AlieW]

Great Story (My partner and I met the same way ).

You mentioned that you were too old for the working holiday visa - what about your girlfriend. Could she get one to the UK - since you are 32 i'm guessing she's around the same age?

I know you mentioned that you want to be in Canada together, but if she can get the working holiday visa to the UK you could get married (in Canada) as you mentioned. Send in the application and then spend the time/year together in the UK and both work while the application is being processed.

We did something similar and ended up establishing our common-law relationship in his country (where we could both work) before applying for his PR.

As long as she's a Canadian citizen she doesn't have to be in Canada to sponsor you.

However if you guys have your heart set on being together in Canada on a permenant basis then this obviously doesn't really work.

 

[bobshynoswife]

If you want to marry this woman - by all means, do it! Proving a conjugal or common-law realationship is a bit more difficult that proving marriage.

If I were you, and could afford the time without working, I would come to Canada to visit and then get married while you're here. If your family could come over from UK, that would be even better. Before the wedding, I would prepare as much of the application as possible, after the wedding add the photos and marriage certificate and send the package off to Mississauga. You'd be applying Outland. You then can stay in Canada as long as you have visitor status, or return to the UK and work while waiting for your application to process. (if she can take time off work, she could stay with you there. my husband and I did long-distance Alberta/London for nearly 2 years, it was ok) If you are a British Citizen and (i hate to say it, but it does matter at the London office) and caucasian, you should process fairly quickly and have your permanent resident visa in 6 months or so. You may need to attend an interview, but if you are about the same age as your wife, both first marriages, no kids, you probably won't.

If you stay in Canada 'visiting' while you process, you will fed-ex your passport to London and they will issue the visa and send it back. Then you have to 'land', which is a bit of a different process that you don't have to worry about right now. While you are in Canada visiting, I would encourage you to seek out volunteer opportunities, both to keep yourself busy, and to build your CV with some Canadian experience.

read EVERYTHING on the CIC website about spousal sponsorship. read this forum as often as you can. prepare and submit a kick-ass application, enjoy your wedding and spending time with your love, and before you know it you'll be a permanent resident, and we'll be happy to have you here!

 

[suzanne_m]

If you both decide to have your girlfriend move to the UK with you for a year to establish a relationship, she might qualify for the UK Ancestry visa, if she has British ancestors. This will allow her to live and work in the UK for up to 5 years.

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply/infs/inf9ukancestry#22494811

 

[Going West]

Entering Canada as a visitor and deciding to get married is not a lie, you are allowed to make personal choices and decisions in Canada (even if you are a visitor)

Unless you really did lie when you were entering and planned to get married here al along

Keep gathering pictures.

I plan on going to Canada on a tourist visa and getting married... Would it work against me or be refused entry if I said I was visiting my Canadian fiancée. If I said I was just visiting friends would that be a lie that would come back to haunt me when we applied for sponsorship? All advice would be much appreciated or is this being blown out of all proportion. Do they even ask the reason for your visit and could i just say 'visiting'? Do i need to have a return flight booked?

Apologies if I come across as a bit ignorant or you've been asked these questions a 100 times but there is so much scaremongering on a number of forums that i don't know what to believe. This forum seems much more balanced. Many thanks in advance.