Please help with suggestions to help keep my girlfriend in Canada.

[Loveforcanada]

Hello! Thank you for taking the time to read our story. My current girlfriend, is in Canada now with a Visitors visa, until Oct1 2013. We have known each other as friends since fall of 2012. She was invited to Canada by a mutual friend of ours, who offered to sponsor her during her two week stay. During her stay, we finally got a chance to meet face to face and we have grown to really like each other, and we both wish her to stay. We are weighing the best way to keep her here forever. At the time of her visa application, she was on a common law relationship, and filled this Information out on her visitor visa application. The relationship ended shortly after the application was mailed off. Because of this complication, we do not think it would be wise to apply for residence status and extend her visitors visa now, as this may appear to some as marriage of convenience, even though it is not. We are now looking into changing her visa to a student visa, so she can attend school here and learn English. Does anyone know what things regarding doing this will increase and decrease her chance of getting an extension? If we can get this extention, then I can apply to sponsor her after this. This will also give us more time to get to know each other and progress our relationship, which will help put our situation. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[scylla]

To be approved for a study visa, you must demonstrate that you have strong ties to your home country, are a genuine student and have no plans on remaining in Canada long term.

As a result, I would strongly recommend that your girlfriend select a course other than just English since an English course doesn't really make her look like a genuine student (it makes her look like someone who is looking for an excuse to stay here). So ideally she should aim to take a university degree or college diploma.

To be approved for the study visa she will first have to be accepted by a school. She will also have to prove she has sufficient funds to pay for her studies and also living expenses. Keep in mind that foreign students pay significantly higher tuition than domestic students. So her tuition will likely be more than $10K per year. She will have to show a bank account that has enough money to pay for first year tuition, plus an additional $10K for first year living expenses.