Need help for my son's dilema.

[FaithGirl]

Hi my son is a Canadian citizen and wants his American girlfriend to come live with him in Canada. He is 23yrs old and holds a full time job. Could he sponsor her even though they aren't married? Or should she apply for a permanent residency on her own? Which way should we approach this?
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[coldwater]

She would have to apply for PR or marry your son. There is no other way.

She could come to Canada on a visit visa, but of course that would only be a temporary solution.

 

[blueboom]

If they have lived together for 12 consecutive months, they qualify as a common-law relationship and your son could sponsor her this way.

 

[papirico]

She can apply for PR herself is she is a skilled worker.

 

[FaithGirl]

She can apply for PR herself is she is a skilled worker.

No she has no degree or diploma, but she has trained, worked and finished 1/2 her studies for a physiotherapist.
Is that enough to qualify as a skilled worker?

 

[scylla]

No she has no degree or diploma, but she has trained, worked and finished 1/2 her studies for a physiotherapist.
Is that enough to qualify as a skilled worker?

No - she doesn't. Not as a physiotherapist. Unfortunately she doesn't have the required education to qualify to immigrate under this occupation.

Here is what's expected:

http://www5.hrsdc.gc.ca/noc/english/noc/2011/QuickSearch.aspx?val65=3142

 

[FaithGirl]

She would have to apply for PR or marry your son. There is no other way.

She could come to Canada on a visit visa, but of course that would only be a temporary solution.

How long is a visit visa good for? If she doesn't qualify for PR, can she apply for the visa visit? If so can she work here while on one? If she comes on a VV and lives with my son for 1yr then she can apply for a PR or be sponsored by my son? I wonder if that would be the easier way.

 

[amikety]

Americans don't generally need or get Visitor's visas. Americans are visa exempt. They can enter only on their passports.

She can probably stay for 1 year - but she will have to extend her stay. She can do that online, by mail, or taking a short trip to the USA border to "flagpole." If she lives with him a visitor for 1 year, then yes, they can apply as common-law.

Working is not allowed as visitor. She can look for work, but she cannot work until she gets authorization in the form of a work permit. Just a heads up, but its rather difficult for Americans to get unskilled work permits (which is what she is right now - unskilled worker - loathe that title myself). We aren't preferred.

For reference, I have been in Canada for almost two years now as a visitor. I'm also American. My husband and I applied for PR in January 2013. It's definitely okay for her to stay in Canada as long as she maintains her status. When it's time for her to extend her status (think about 4.5 months into her stay), come back and get advice from us about how to extend her stay.

If she's interested in continuing her studies in Canada, she could also try the route of a student but the requirements are pretty hefty and she would have to pay international tuition. Since she's not working and common-law, she will be filing taxes independantly with 0 income. She will qualify for full federal aid from the USA government. Maybe she can consider a program online with a USA school? No need for a study permit since it's a USA school. (You can probably tell what I've done to kill my boredom as a visitor.)

 

[Sweden]

As a US citizen, she doesn't need a visa to enter Canada. She can come as a tourist. She might be given up to 6 months at the border, although she might have to prove that she has ties to the US etc. Once she is in Canada, she can keep on extending her visitor visa as long as she does it before the visa expires. Or she can go back to the US and come back to Canada - the clock is reset every time she enters. But - depending on her previous travel history etc - she might be asked questions at the border.

She can not work on a visitor visa - so your son would have to support her, or she would have to have enough money on her own for that. In most provinces, she would also not be covered for healthcare.

Once she has lived continuously with him for 12 months, they become "common-law", so he can sponsor her as his CL partner. she can't apply for PR on her own: she would become a PR through family sponsorship.

If he wants to sponsor her before the 12 months, then they would have to get married, then apply - there is no need for the 12 months living together if they are married.

During the PR process (once they have applied), if they apply outland, she won't be able to work. Current processing times for US citizen are about 8 to 9 months (website states 12 but a lot of cases are done a bit faster than that). So potentially, she is looking at not working for about 20 months of not working in Canada...

If they apply outland, she can travel in and out of Canada. If they apply inland, she has to stay in Canada but she could get a work permit after 6 months. For more info on the outland/inland process, read the first thread by Leon - the first page only.

Good luck,
Sweden