Relationships and Sponsership?

[Mariac819]

I hope someone can help me.

I am a United states citizen, 26 years old who has been in a long distance relationship with a Canadian citizen since November 2009. I have been to Canada many times visiting for months at a time. I will have a BS in biology this May 2012 from a NYC University. I also have work experience in the medical field.

My questions is would my Boyfriend be able to sponser me and is there an income requirement for such Sponsership? I've read of common law Sponsership but we haven't been able to live together due to the immigration boundaries. How would this process work?

I was thinking of applying as a skilled worker but I feel I'd need to have a job offer to be accepted.

All suggestions and advice is welcome! Thank you.

 

[Jamgirl]

He could sponsor you as his conjugal partner if you can prove that you would be living together common law if you didnt have extenuating circumstances keeping you apart... the guide specifically says that a job is not a good enough reason FYI.. but education may be acceptable.... look up conjugal spouse on the website...

 

[canadianwoman]

My questions is would my Boyfriend be able to sponser me and is there an income requirement for such Sponsership? I've read of common law Sponsership but we haven't been able to live together due to the immigration boundaries.

There is no immigration barrier preventing you two from living together (unless you haven't told us about it). CIC doesn't usually feel an American/Canadian couple has an barrier. Not wanting to give up a job or school is not seen as a good enough reason. So usually conjugal cases with an American/Canadian couple don't work. It is better to either live together for a year and then apply common-law, or get married and apply as a spouse. However, there have been a couple of US/Can. conjugal cases that won on the forums, so it is not impossible - it would be easier to go the common-law or married route, though.
There is no income requirement to sponsor a spouse or partner. The visa officer just wants to see that the two of you have some sort of plan in place to support yourselves - so your education is an asset. In any case the visa officers almost never refuse a PR visa because of economic concerns when the applicant is an American. The few refusals I have seen because of low income have been where the sponsor was a recent PR from a poor country with a low-wage job, the applicant was also from a poor country, and the applicant could not speak English and had no transferable job skills.

 

[Mariac819]

I don't understand how we could have possibly lived together if we are both immigrants in each others country? Legally we couldn't live in each others country for a year because it would mean outstanding our 6 month stay.

 

[canadianwoman]

An American can come to Canada as a visitor, and stay for 6 months. He/she can then apply to extend this stay. Or the couple could live for 6 months in one country, and 6 months in another. Lots of American/Canadian couples manage to live together for a year without having a work or study visa.
The kind of immigration barriers they are talking about: a homosexual couple where the foreigner cannot get a visitor visa to Canada and lives in a country where homosexuality is illegal - Iran, for example; or where the foreigner cannot get a visa to Canada and the Canadian cannot get visa to his/her partner's country.

Usually US/Canadian couples are not seen to have an immigration barrier; there have been a few such couples who succeeded at getting a conjugal-based visa, though. One American forum member who succeeded with a conjugal application is AllisonVSC. Try searching her posts or sending her a message.

From CIC:
Conjugal partner

This category is for partners—either of the opposite sex or same sex—in exceptional circumstances beyond their control that prevent them from qualifying as common-law partners or spouses by living together.

A conjugal relationship is more than a physical relationship. It means you depend on each other, there is some permanence to the relationship and there is the same level of commitment as a marriage or a common-law relationship.

You may apply as a conjugal partner if:

you have maintained a conjugal relationship with your sponsor for at least one year and you have been prevented from living together or marrying because of:
an immigration barrier
your marital status (for example, you are married to someone else and living in a country where divorce is not possible) or
your sexual orientation (for example, you are in a same-sex relationship and same-sex marriage is not permitted where you live)
you can provide evidence there was a reason you could not live together (for example, you were refused long-term stays in each other's country).

You should not apply as a conjugal partner if:

You could have lived together but chose not to. This shows that you did not have the level of commitment required for a conjugal relationship. (For example, one of you may not have wanted to give up a job or a course of study, or your relationship was not yet at the point where you were ready to live together.)
You cannot provide evidence there was a reason that kept you from living together.
You are engaged to be married. In this case, you should either apply as a spouse once the marriage has taken place or apply as a common-law partner if you have lived together continuously for at least 12 months.

 

[Mariac819]

Thanks for all the answers everyone!

It just so happens that we are now married and will be doing Family Class sponsorship.

;D

 

[keesio]

Thanks for all the answers everyone!

It just so happens that we are not married and will be doing Family Class sponsorship.

;D

Did you mean that you ARE married? Your other post mentioned your sponsor as your husband???

 

[Mariac819]

Did you mean that you ARE married? Your other post mentioned your sponsor as your husband???

LoL yes that was a typo. I was supposed to say we are NOW married

 

[PMM]

Hi

Did you mean that you ARE married? Your other post mentioned your sponsor as your husband???

Look at the dates of the posts, there was a 2 year gap from the previous one to the present.

 

[Mariac819]

Hi

Look at the dates of the posts, there was a 2 year gap from the previous one to the present.

Thanks

Yes it has been 2 years since I post here. We are now happily married

 

[keesio]

Hi

Look at the dates of the posts, there was a 2 year gap from the previous one to the present.

The other post I was referring to is actually one in a different (recent) thread altogether (the US outland thread) and not the original post in this thread.