Moving American Boyfriend to Canada

[Kirianna]

I've been looking up all sorts of information on the internet about immigration and visas and all sorts of things so I'm hoping to be able to get some things cleared up.

My boyfriend and I have been in a long distance relationship for 3 years now. He is American and I am Canadian. We'd like to be able to live together and we have decided Canada is where we want to be. We have been talking about getting married, so that is a possibility.

Can anyone explain exactly the best way for us to be able to live together in Canada? Is there a good way to do it if we were not married? If we were married, would I sponsor him as my spouse? Do I need to be able to financially support him and how much money do I need to make to be able to prove I can do so?
How long does sponsorship take? Can he live here when we go through the process? Can he work here while he lives here while we go through the process?

There are so many questions and so much information I have no idea what I right and what isn't. I've been on the official websites, and I've read guides and about the processes and about everything else.

Any answers are helpful to me, and any links you can provide that explain things in the easiest ways are helpful too!
Thanks in advance!

 

[Alurra71]

I've been looking up all sorts of information on the internet about immigration and visas and all sorts of things so I'm hoping to be able to get some things cleared up.

My boyfriend and I have been in a long distance relationship for 3 years now. He is American and I am Canadian. We'd like to be able to live together and we have decided Canada is where we want to be. We have been talking about getting married, so that is a possibility.

Can anyone explain exactly the best way for us to be able to live together in Canada? Is there a good way to do it if we were not married? If we were married, would I sponsor him as my spouse? Do I need to be able to financially support him and how much money do I need to make to be able to prove I can do so?
How long does sponsorship take? Can he live here when we go through the process? Can he work here while he lives here while we go through the process?

There are so many questions and so much information I have no idea what I right and what isn't. I've been on the official websites, and I've read guides and about the processes and about everything else.

Any answers are helpful to me, and any links you can provide that explain things in the easiest ways are helpful too!
Thanks in advance!

Your boyfriend can not 'live' with you in Canada until he actually has a legal right to do so, such as PR. You can not sponsor him to come live in Canada in your current situation. You would need to be either married, or common law. Your description of the relationship means you are neither of those. In order to become common law you and we would need to cohabit together for a full 12 months. You can do that here, or in the US or a combination of the two, but would need to do it for a FULL 12 months consecutively.

If he comes here as a visitor, he can not work without a work permit. In order for him to obtain a work permit he would need to qualify under a NAFTA agreement arrangement between Canada and the US or he would need to obtain an LMIA job. Both of those are difficult, but the only options if he wishes to work while in Canada.

Once you are either married or common law you can submit the sponsorship applications to sponsor him for PR in Canada. You don't need to make a lot of money and must only show CIC that you can and will support yourselves once he is issued a PR visa. They only want to ensure you won't end up on welfare. When you are ready to apply it is highly suggested that you apply via the OUTLAND method. His application would be processed in Ottawa and would take roughly 6 months at the current times. When you are ready to apply these times might be longer or shorter. Nobody knows what will happen at a later date.

You should begin your reading on the topic now as there is a lot of information to process, but it is not as difficult as it might seem. This forum is full of folks that have already traveled this path and can help to lead you in the right direction. Educate yourself on the basics by reading the very first thread in this forum written by Leon. It has very useful information contained although the 'timelines' are not accurate.

Familiarize yourself with the applications (both sponsor and applicant) and also familiarize yourself with the articles you will need to include for a proper application. You shouldn't need any special assistance by any lawyers or consultants unless your boyfriend has some serious criminality issues to deal with. Even then, most of us have been through and/or seen it all and might be able to offer sound advice so ask the questions and see what the answers are.

Good luck.

 

[Kirianna]

We had been talking about getting married. We talked about it before where we lived even came up. But then we weren't sure how things would work.

Why Outbound instead of inbound? I have read the pinned post over a couple times. It does give very important information but it doesn't go into a ton of detail on some things and I still have questions.

If we did outbound, would be he be able to live and work here while it was being processed or would he have to be in the U.S?

Thanks for the info, any more from anyone would be welcome.

 

[Ponga]

We had been talking about getting married. We talked about it before where we lived even came up. But then we weren't sure how things would work.

Why Outbound instead of inbound? I have read the pinned post over a couple times. It does give very important information but it doesn't go into a ton of detail on some things and I still have questions.

If we did outbound, would be he be able to live and work here while it was being processed or would he have to be in the U.S?

Thanks for the info, any more from anyone would be welcome.

As stated by Alurra71, he cannot [legally] live in Canada, but he can `visit' you during the application process, provided he maintains his legal visitor status.

He would not be allowed to work, however, until he lands as a PR. Only an Inland applicant is eligible for an Open Work Permit...but do NOT submit an Inland application! You'll hate yourself and may even chew your foot off while you are waiting...and waiting...and waiting, ad nauseam!

 

[rhcohen2014]

We had been talking about getting married. We talked about it before where we lived even came up. But then we weren't sure how things would work.

Why Outbound instead of inbound? I have read the pinned post over a couple times. It does give very important information but it doesn't go into a ton of detail on some things and I still have questions.

If we did outbound, would be he be able to live and work here while it was being processed or would he have to be in the U.S?

Thanks for the info, any more from anyone would be welcome.

outland for us applicants = 6 month average TOTAL approval time

inland for anyone = 16 months for first stage approval (and open work permit processing) + 8-10 months for full pr status.

yes, he can be IN canada as a visitor when he submits the application and while it processes. if he can work remotely for a US company, then that is the only way he can work and be in canada during the outland process. he can NOT work for a canadian company/client until he is approved for pr.

sooooo.... that's why it's suggested for MOST applicants (not just US) to apply outland. while there is a rumor the rules about OWP processing will change for inland applicants in the new year, CIC has yet to release anything about how or when it will start or who it will affect.

 

[Kirianna]

This has all been wonderfully helpful. Thank you all so much. I'm going to look into outland some more and check out the forms and the process and such.

Unfortunate he won't be able to work but if outland is that much faster than inland it'll be worth it.

Thanks again!

(I KEEP CALLING IT OUTBOUND AND INBOUND AND I KNOW I'M WRONG!)