Scared and Overwhelmed - Bringing my UK boyfriend back

[Angie1989]

After falling in love with an english man while he was on a holiday visa to Canada I got myself a Youth Mobility Scheme Visa and travelled to Manchester to be with him in June 2012 - I plan on staying here until minimum June 2013 to be eligible to sponsor him as common law. We will have no trouble proving the legitimacy of our relationship as we have a 12 month lease together here as well as all out bills the same adress and so on.

We are currently waiting for a Labor Market Opinion to be approved so as his old boss from his previous working holiday can officially offer him his old job back where I live in Winnipeg - MB. We want to be apart for as little time as possible :-[ I should have little issue sponsoring him - but do we have to be a world apart to do that if his LMO doesn't go through and he can't get a work permit?

Would it be easier to just get married? Either in the UK or in Canada (with him there with no visa - just a visit). Is this even legal? I am prepared to do whatever it takes as I know he is eligible for PR. I just don't know wether it is simpler to get married or wait for this one year work permit?? Which we don't even know will be approved yet.

I am terrified that we will be forced apart. And at the end of the day I don't need a wedding or a ring, I just want him. We both have no records and everything is well documented. I am just so lost as to how best to go about bringing him home.

Thank you for listening, friends.

Angie

 

[Rusty53]

Angie1989, you don't need to be apart. You can apply either inland or outland. Your boyfriend is from a visa exempt country so you can both enter at anytime. You as a resident and him as a visitor. He will get 6 month automatically and it can be extended anytime. If you wish to apply common law then you must be together one year, it doesn't say that has to be in one specific place. It can be part of the year in England and part in Canada. The only downside is that if he comes in as a visitor he cannot work until he gets an open work permit. You can apply for it with your application and it will take about six months to get. With an open work permit he can work anywhere. He can still come to Canada with you and if his boss gets the LMO then he will have to leave to apply for thwe work permit. You cannot do this from inside the country. I hope this may help a little.

 

[gsize]

After falling in love with an english man while he was on a holiday visa to Canada I got myself a Youth Mobility Scheme Visa and travelled to Manchester to be with him in June 2012 - I plan on staying here until minimum June 2013 to be eligible to sponsor him as common law. We will have no trouble proving the legitimacy of our relationship as we have a 12 month lease together here as well as all out bills the same adress and so on.

We are currently waiting for a Labor Market Opinion to be approved so as his old boss from his previous working holiday can officially offer him his old job back where I live in Winnipeg - MB. We want to be apart for as little time as possible :-[ I should have little issue sponsoring him - but do we have to be a world apart to do that if his LMO doesn't go through and he can't get a work permit?

Would it be easier to just get married? Either in the UK or in Canada (with him there with no visa - just a visit). Is this even legal? I am prepared to do whatever it takes as I know he is eligible for PR. I just don't know wether it is simpler to get married or wait for this one year work permit?? Which we don't even know will be approved yet.

I am terrified that we will be forced apart. And at the end of the day I don't need a wedding or a ring, I just want him. We both have no records and everything is well documented. I am just so lost as to how best to go about bringing him home.

Thank you for listening, friends.

Angie

You dont need to stay in England with him. You can bring him to Canada with you (provided they let him in) Common law requires 12 months together. It can be anywhere, as long as you can prove the 12 months. You are free to travel between the 2 countries. With all due respect, I dont understand why you feel scared annd overwhelmed. Can you immagine falling in love with someone from a NON visa exempt country ?

I dont recommend getting married. Marriage should be for the right reasons-not for Immigration purposes. Keep in mind, either way, they will scrutinize your application due to lots of fraud. Hope it helps !

 

[rebecassss]

Angie1989, you don't need to be apart. You can apply either inland or outland. Your boyfriend is from a visa exempt country so you can both enter at anytime. You as a resident and him as a visitor. He will get 6 month automatically and it can be extended anytime. If you wish to apply common law then you must be together one year, it doesn't say that has to be in one specific place. It can be part of the year in England and part in Canada. The only downside is that if he comes in as a visitor he cannot work until he gets an open work permit. You can apply for it with your application and it will take about six months to get. With an open work permit he can work anywhere. He can still come to Canada with you and if his boss gets the LMO then he will have to leave to apply for thwe work permit. You cannot do this from inside the country. I hope this may help a little.

+1

Plus, I think you can still sponsor him while you're both in the UK (but you'll need to look into that).

It would be a bad idea to get married for immigration purposes.

There are a bunch of ways around this - you don't have to be apart. Good luck

 

[Sweden]

Hey Angie!

Welcome to the forum! and don't worry - immigration seems overwhelming at first, but we went through it and it's OK!

You seem to have a fairly straight forward case, so there is no need to worry.

What you can do - download the outland sponsorship package, and read through. Start preparing the proofs of everything that you need, get familiar with the forms, and get organised... it takes a while to sort everything out, but you're in the best place - you have time to prepare.

Basically, you can not send your application before you qualify for common-law, but you can send it as soon as you have been living for 12 months together and can prove it. so it seems that June 2013 for you. It takes most people about 1.5 month to put all the paperwork together, so it's perfect timing.

you can do the LMO at the same time, as the 2 processes are different. I don't know how long you can stay in the UK, but you don't have to be in Canada to start sponsoring him. So - put the application together, send it, and wait. If the LMO comes first, you can move to Canada and he can start working. If the LMO is refused, then you can either stay in the UK, or move back to Canada, and he can come with you on a tourist visa. It's hard because he won't be able to work, and won't be cover for healthcare, but he is from a visa-exempt country, so he can stay in Canada for at least 6 months, and more if needed. so you don't need to be apart. You can also stay in the UK until his PR comes through as well...

So - no need to be terrified, you won't be forced apart, as there are plenty of options for visa-exempt.

London is a "fast VO", and even if it has slowed down a little, more straightforward cases go pretty fast. Stage 1 is currently 1 month more or less, and then London can take anywhere from 4 months to 9 months. So potentially, if all goes well, he could have his visa before the end of the year.

REad the outland guideline, and start preparing. Come back if you have questions, and there will be people to answer - and once you've sent the application, you can just get support here, share frustrations and anxieties

Good luck - but it will go well,
Sweden

 

[Angie1989]

This place is amazing, thank you all so much. I wish I had come here sooner!

xx
Angie

 

[Angie1989]

Okay, so I'm looking through what I need to provide of my boyfried's when we apply for me to sponsor him inland. It asks for

Immigration document confirming your status in Canada

Examples:
•visitor visa,
•study permit,
•work permit,
•temporary resident permit (TRP),
•document proving that you have legal status in Canada.


what will I provide?

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Hi Angie

I also fell in love with an Englishman, moved to England to be with him and then sponsored him to come here . I highly suggest you apply outland, not inland.

Inland takes 14 months and your partner is not allowed to leave Canada that entire time. You can only apply once he is in Canada.

Outland through London is averaging 7-8 months right now, see the London thread and spreadsheet below. He is allowed to be in or out of Canada throughout the process and you can apply while you are both still in the UK.

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/thread-for-outland-london-uk-applications-t49436.10065.html
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AvI5l_hMO7UKdHc2LUJuZ2Itcld2Vk1WR25GeVZxYVE#gid=0

 

[Angie1989]

I wish I could now that I know that, but I don't have a lot of the documents I need as the sponsor here in the uk with me. I'll have to do it inland.

We will apply for his open work permit at the same time as we apply for sponsorship inland, does that still take around 6 months to go through?

 

[sakamath]

... but I don't have a lot of the documents I need as the sponsor here in the uk with me. I'll have to do it inland.

FYI, even if you both are "in Canada" you can still apply "outland". Applying "Outland" means specifying the processing office as "London UK" (in your case) instead of Canada. You both can stay in Canada while the "outland" process continues. The only drawback (if you can call that as one) is that, if by any chance an "interview" is required, your Englishman would have to go to UK office for that interview.

 

[Angie1989]

are interviews often required? do you know what usually prompts them to demand one?

 

[sakamath]

Requests for interviews are very subjective and changes from one officer to the other.

All you have to do in your application is to prove that your relationship is genuine. That you did not enter into the relationship to get in to Canada. It is much more difficult to prove "common-law" relationship than "married". However that is subject to the country from where you apply.

On a positive note, interviews are rarely (but not always) requested from people who reside in "visa-exempt" country. If there are no "red flags" in your application, chances are your spouse may not have to go for an interview. I would say, stay positive on that, but be prepared, just in case.

 

[sakamath]

are interviews often required? do you know what usually prompts them to demand one?

Think of it this way - If something doesn't make sense in an application, that triggers an interview.

For common-law it means "How you manage your common affairs?" Finances, the place your live, expenses, trips (holidays etc) - are they done together? Acceptance of your relationship within your family and friend circle. The more these are towards the "normal" trend, the less likely he would be called for an interview.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

I wish I could now that I know that, but I don't have a lot of the documents I need as the sponsor here in the uk with me. I'll have to do it inland.

We will apply for his open work permit at the same time as we apply for sponsorship inland, does that still take around 6 months to go through?

As said above, you can apply outland even while in Canada. First stage approval and the work permit for inland is actually at about 9-10 months right now.

You have no big age gap, similar backgrounds, he's visa-exempt and you have lots of proof of your relationship, so there is almost zero chance of an interview.