US boyfriend wants to live in Canada...how

[Fedora100]

My boyfriend is coming in July 2013 to live with me..We are both retired and have our own pensions and medical insurance. He would like to lie here permanently and become a Canadian citizen.
We will be cohabitating at my home.
What should he tell the border guards ands what can I do to help the process....what is the process???
He is an American citizen, I am Canadian....and no one will be working...in Canada..
Can we also travel back and forth from Canada and the US?
Thanks

 

[Leon]

You will have to sponsor him for permanent residency but in order to do that, you either need to get married or you need to live together for a year to qualify as common-law partners. If you do not want to get married, there are two ways to live together for a year. Either he stays with you in Canada for 6 months and then tries to apply to extend his visitor status or leaves to the US and comes back in order to stay the 2nd 6 months or you both live in Canada for 6 months and then in the US for 6 months.

Once you are able to sponsor him, if your intention is to travel, you should sponsor him outland. That is, you use the forms for somone who lives outside Canada. If you sponsor him inland (say he is living in Canada) he will need to stay in Canada throughout the processing of his application. Once he gets his permanent residency, he is free to live in Canada, apply for health care etc.

To apply for citizenship, he needs 3 years in Canada as a PR.

 

[Fedora100]

If he stays with me in canada for six months, how long does he have to stay in the US before he can come over the border and stay with me again....for the next six months....just a couple of days??
How does immigration know how long you have stayed in canada?
How do they know you stayed one year?

 

[amikety]

If he stays with me in canada for six months, how long does he have to stay in the US before he can come over the border and stay with me again....for the next six months....just a couple of days??
How does immigration know how long you have stayed in canada?
How do they know you stayed one year?

As long as the line to get back into Canada is. He also doesn't have to go to the border - he can file extensions online or by mail. They will issue him a Visitor's Record instead of a new passport stamp.

The USA's passports now have microchips in them that are automatically recorded when scanned by the USA and Canadian's border agents. The USA and Canada share border data as well.

If he just decides to stay and not tell anyone - well there's not really an exit control. No red lights and sirens will go off at a CIC office at six months and one day. I know a man (from Germany) who has been in Canada illegally since August 2011. The risk is being illegal. If he's caught, he can get banned from Canada. If he's deported, he would require authorization to return to Canada even after his ban. You getting married and sponsoring him wouldn't fix it either. You would still need to deal with the ban and apply for authorization to re-enter Canada. And yes, this does happen to Americans.

My suggestion is he crosses the border as a visitor. He cannot "move" here and bring his household possessions. He will need to only carry a suitcase or two and a carry on bag or two - as if he was going for a long vacation. (He can bring some items of sentimental value, such as I brought a few collectables. My brother mailed me some other items that I couldn't bring on the plane/live without.) Enter with the intention of being a visitor and leaving if needed.

After a few months, he can decide how to extend his stay as a visitor.

Anytime he crosses the border, it's a best if you can be with him (although not always possible, of course).

After 12 months living together, then you can apply for his PR as common-law. As long as you do things right (provide ample proof, explain yourself logically to CIC) things should be fine. I've been a visitor since July 2011 with a PR application now in process. I've had 3 Visitor's Records and in each, I admitted to my intent to immigrate permanently with my spouse. That may be a bold move, but it has worked well for me. (I also made sure to include proof my husband could support me, so I wouldn't be needing to work illegally - so your boyfriend would want to show proof of his pension, etc.)

 

[Fedora100]

thank you so much for answering so quickly...we don't want to comprimise his being in canada and want to do everything legally..
if we live together for one year, how long is the pr process...since he can't travel outside of canada...if we cant do the outland form...?
Is the outland form available on the internet? and just a matter of mailing it from the states?

 

[amikety]

All forms are available on the internet. Try this out: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/3999Etoc.asp

Outland published times for Ottawa (the USA Visa Office) is 13 months. That means 80% of applications are done in 13 months or less. Fastest I've seen was 4. Many people seem to average 7-8 months. As long as he maintains valid visitor status, he can stay in Canada.

He can apply Outland, "visit" Canada, and travel. An Inland application (which goes to Vegreville - different application than you'll find in that link above) requires the person to be in Canada and travel isn't recommended. However, Outland can be in or out of Canada - it doesn't matter. CIC used to publish on their website to use Outland whenever possible because it's often faster than Inland. (They have since re-done their website and that quote has vanished, but the idea remains and it's perfectly legal, acceptable, etc.)

You can mail it from Canada. In fact, you can do almost everything from Canada - the medical, get the police check. I complied my entire application while inside Canada. The furtherest I had to travel was the clinic for my x-ray. (Medicals are usually cheaper in Canada, btw!)