Please advise re: sponsorship of BF who is in the US

[Toronto73]

How to go about sponsoring my BF who is in the US?

He has a Conditional Permanent Resident status. It will be expiring in April 26, 2011. He recently got divorced. Does he need a visa to come and visit? If yes, how long will it take for him to get it? Would it be easier if we got married here in Canada and then sponsor him from within Canada?

Any advise will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[steaky]

Are you PR or Canadian citizen?

 

[scylla]

Have you lived together for at least one full year? To be able to sponsor him, you either have to be married or have lived together as a common law couple for a minimum of one full year.

You may also want to read here for further info:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse.asp

 

[Toronto73]

Are you PR or Canadian citizen?

I am a PR and will qualify to apply for my citizenship in June 2011...

 

[Toronto73]

Have you lived together for at least one full year? To be able to sponsor him, you either have to be married or have lived together as a common law couple for a minimum of one full year.

No, we haven't lived together at all, and it was only recently that we started"dating" (if you can call it that). If I may, I'd like to fill you in with a little background info. This guy and I were classmates in grade school. I had to move to a different city and attended a different high school but we met and briely dated when I visited for Christmas break during my senior year. Unfortunately I had to leave again for uni, and we lost touch, although I would hear about him from common friends. It was a hit-and-miss for us - our timing was just off: he'd be in a relationship when I was single, and vice versa, and eventually I heard he got married, and I too. Last August, a few friends decided to hold a reunion and that was when I learned that he is now living in the States and well, here we are now: both divorced and single. Anyway, I was hoping we would not have to go the route of marrying just so he can stay, but apparently that seems to be the only logical choice at this point, with his visa expiring so soon....

One last question: He is a Permanent Resident but his citizenship is still Filipino. Does he need to apply for a Temporary Resident Visa to cross the border?

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.

 

[Leon]

If he has a US green card, he does not need a visa to visit Canada. You can get married and apply to sponsor him but if you just started dating recently, it might be hard for you to prove that the relationship is genuine and even if you manage that, it would be hard to prove that you did not marry for the main purpose of sponsoring him for immigration.

You have another option and that is to bring him to Canada as a visitor and apply for his visit visa extension after 6 months for him to be able to stay longer with the reason that you want to qualify as a common law to be able to apply for sponsorship that way. After a year of living together, you could apply to sponsor him as a common law partner. I think it would be less likely that way that the relationship would be questioned but the downside is that he would be in Canada for a year as a visitor and not be able to work.

 

[Toronto73]

@ Leon: thanks for clearing up the issue re: the need for a visa. As for marrying for (his) convenience, well, I had hoped there'd be other options other than that. I mean, as it is, I feel it's way too much too soon, and while I am looking forward to seeing him again, I am quite ambivalent about exchanging "I dos". Living in sin is more my style, so I may just take your advise and hope for the best.

PS I also happen to be in school fulltime (I'm now in my second year), so does OSAP qualify as "social assistance"? This is in the context of who is eligible to sponsor...

 

[Leon]

I don't think OSAP would be considered to be social assistance. Social assistance would be more like if you are on welfare.

 

[Toronto73]

@Leon: thanks once again.
@sycilla: thanks for the link.

I appreciate your taking the time to answer my Qs. I am forever grateful. Also, I'm hoping that anyone out there who is similarly circumstanced would be able to benefit from the information you guys have shared.

 

[arron]

If you are hesitant to marry him and don't have a long relationship history, you might want to hold off on sponsoring him. It is a very big commitment and you are basically telling the govt. you will be financially responsible for him for three years, no matter what happens.