Please help me keep my British fiance in Canada until our wedding!

[katybird]

Hi there, I hope someone can help me!

My fiance, from Great Britian, has been here in Canada, where I am a citizen, since April 28th, 2011. We got engaged over the summer and have been working to figure out what steps we need to take to help him become a permanent resident. I know that I can sponsor him after our wedding, but the problem is that his current visa, a Working Holiday visa, expires at the end of April, 2012 and our wedding isn't until September 1st. Obviously I don't want him to have to leave for the 5 months between the end of his visa and our wedding. He has a good job and his employers hope to keep him on in his position, so ideally we'd like him to be able to stay and work.

What should we do? We cannot apply as common-law partners as we haven't lived together for 12 months, yet, and anyway it says on the immigration website that you shouldn't apply until after you're married. Instead of me sponsoring him, should we try to obtain a closed work permit through his company? His work is not on the list of desired occupations, and I have some trouble parsing the information available about the different types of work permits. It will be possible for him to apply from either inland or outland, but inland would be preferable due to travel expenses. I believe that his employer would fill out a Labour Market Opinion if asked.

This process is really overwhelming and confusing, so I would be really grateful for any information!

Thanks
Kate

 

[halsall]

I was in the same whole.
you need to start applying for a one year ext on his working visa.
Bunac now do a 2 year visa.

Why dont you get married now? its only about a $100. Then you can have your big day next year.

 

[katybird]

Hi Halsall,

We have considered just going down to City Hall and getting married so that we can apply, but for us we want our wedding to be as special as possible. Also I have heard that sometimes Immigration Officers don't take cheap and cheerful quick marriages seriously because they think that since the couple didn't have a big celebration they are not serious in their commitment.

But we will try to research whether it will be possible to extend his working holiday visa. I have read in some places that rather than extend it, you must leave the country and apply again (which we can do if necessary), but I will have my fiance contact the folks at Bunac and see what they say. I didn't think those types of visas could be renewed or extended. Did that method work for you?

Thanks

 

[Kaycee1]

So he has a work visa currently? Probably your best bet is to get his employer to apply for another LMO for another year, and just extend his work visa. That's what my husband did, he was here on 2 year long work visas while we got married and got his PR application improved.

 

[katybird]

Kaycee, which kind of work permit was your husband on? My understanding is that there are open, closed and holiday work permits, and I have a little trouble telling the difference between the two. Did he have to go out of Canada to apply for the extension?

Thanks!

 

[halsall]

no it didnt work for me

My visa expired before the new 2 year one came in.


That was in 2008 and i still dont have PR.
Been married a year and have 4 kids together.

DONT let him overstay!

Good luck

 

[Brian Vantana]

I am in a similar position but my BUNAC visa is running out in January.

We are common-law partners now as we have been together for over 3 years, living together for over a year and have all sorts of joint things including a mortgage for our condo.

It is very confusing indeed and I am still not certain as to what route is best to take to allow me to stay in the Canada and work whilst we wait for my PR.

I am waiting to hear back from BUNAC as to whether I can just apply for another visa. I am 30 now so it seems I have many things going against me.

Good luck and I will let you know if I found out anything that could be beneficial to your case.

 

[katybird]

Thanks, Brian. I've emailed them as well and will post any information I find out. It's really tricky to figure out whether a working holiday visa is best, because it's so confusing to try and understand the eligibility and processess for the different kinds of work permits. I don't want to have to pay a lawyer to help us if we don't have to. Can't imagine how much that might cost :-[

 

[JenB]

Hi Katy and Brian! So you actually don't have to to through bunac for working holiday visas anymore, you can apply direct through the London visa office and you are eligible to apply for two one year visas. If you apply direct they are also cheaper, only $150. You can apply for these visas from in Canada and in order to start the new visa yOu will have to re-enter the country at a border it if you are in Canada near the us, you can just drive to the border and do something called flagpoling, which means you don't actually enter America, you just drive around and get issued the visa at the Canada side.
You are eligible for these working holiday visas as long as England has been your principal home for the last three years, however yOu are allowed to have been out of the county working temporarily and your previous one year canada visa counts as temporary and one of my friends has been here three years and still got accepted. Brian as for the age thing, as log as you are 30 when you enter Canada you will be eligible!
The new permits come out some time between now and January!
I've been through all different types of work permits on my quest to stay in Canada and have lots of experience with bunac and the new permits so just give me a shout if you have any questions!
Hope my iPod predictive spelling isn't too horrid, it keeps coming up with the randomest words to replace things with!

 

[JenB]

The link to the new work permits, international experience Canada is:
http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/united_kingdom-royaume_uni/experience_canada_experience/index.aspx

 

[Kaycee1]

Kaycee, which kind of work permit was your husband on? My understanding is that there are open, closed and holiday work permits, and I have a little trouble telling the difference between the two. Did he have to go out of Canada to apply for the extension?

Thanks!

He had a regular work visa - his employer got an LMO to allow them to hire him, and then got another LMO at the end of the first year. He was able to get the extension on his work visa for another year by doing the application online.

 

[katybird]

JenB, thank you so much for this information! It made me feel a lot better, especially as BUNAC was quite costly. It's not surprising that it will still require him to exit the country and come back in again, but we're thinking that a trip to visit his ailing grandmother isn't a bad idea. Plus I figure the more we travel together the better the case we'll have when we apply for family sponsorship. The information about flagpoling is very interesting though - I was concerned US customs would give us a hassle about it. We're near the Niagara border so perhaps that would be the most cost-effective measure (and gentler on my intense fear of flying).

Have you applied for a closed work permit before? We'd like to prepare something to show his employer so they can help with the process, but I'm a little concerned about it being a US-based company. He works in their Canadian offices and doesn't have a university degree, so not great for the points-ranking system.

Thanks!!

 

[AmericaninQuebec]

JenB, thank you so much for this information! It made me feel a lot better, especially as BUNAC was quite costly. It's not surprising that it will still require him to exit the country and come back in again, but we're thinking that a trip to visit his ailing grandmother isn't a bad idea. Plus I figure the more we travel together the better the case we'll have when we apply for family sponsorship. The information about flagpoling is very interesting though - I was concerned US customs would give us a hassle about it. We're near the Niagara border so perhaps that would be the most cost-effective measure (and gentler on my intense fear of flying).

Have you applied for a closed work permit before? We'd like to prepare something to show his employer so they can help with the process, but I'm a little concerned about it being a US-based company. He works in their Canadian offices and doesn't have a university degree, so not great for the points-ranking system.

Thanks!!

There is a lot of information online right now regarding the new work permits (new as of April this year), and they give pretty detailed information regarding what is expected of the employer applying for an LMO and work visa for a foreign employee. Make sure the employer follows the guidelines, including listing the position publicly. I had an employer who went through the steps to get a work visa for me, and it ended up getting denied because they never bothered to post publicly.