What happens?

[Carla]

Hi There,
I am an Aussie and im thinking about getting a work permit under the Working Holiday Programme (WHP - valid for 12 months) and then applying for PR with my boyfriend who is a Canadian Citizen as my sponsor. My question is, because 12 months of proof of the relationship/residence together, etc is required, what happens if i dont have the 12 months proof? My WHP expires after 12 months, so what do i do if i want to apply for residency? Do i need to apply for another type of permit so i can stay in Canada and work while the immigration department processes my application or do they issue me with a permit which allows me to stay in the country and work? Or, do i have to stop working all together?

Is it advisable for me to apply for residency after a few months of being in Canada, and then forwarding on the relevant documents as soon as CIC requires them? That way i will have time to obtain them?

 

[Zhu]

I've done exactly the same thing except I'm French ;-)

My question is, because 12 months of proof of the relationship/residence together, etc is required, what happens if i dont have the 12 months proof?

It is strongly recommanded that you have a more than 12 months relationship together before you do the sponsorship. Considering everything is checked, you need to convaince the CIC that he's more than a boyfriend. As for the 12 months residence together, we got married in between so I'm not sure to which extend does the CIC check that.

My WHP expires after 12 months, so what do i do if i want to apply for residency?

There're always way to extend a visa even though this one is not extendable. You can go to the USA for a few days and re-enter, with a new 6 months stay on your passport, but no work. Or you can apply for a specific work permit to follow up with your WHV - forget the name of that one...

Do i need to apply for another type of permit so i can stay in Canada and work while the immigration department processes my application or do they issue me with a permit which allows me to stay in the country and work?

When you apply for the PR, you have two choices :
1) Apply from within Canada : you'll get a work permit while the application is process BUT it's generally much slower to get your visa
2) Apply from abroad (even while in Canada... it means you send your application the Canadian Embassy in OZ) : no work permit, but faster processing time.

I chose the latest and my visa was processed in Paris while I was in Canada on the WHV.

Is it advisable for me to apply for residency after a few months of being in Canada, and then forwarding on the relevant documents as soon as CIC requires them? That way i will have time to obtain them?

The CIC will require all the documents right away. You have to:
1) Do the medicals
2) Send the whole application with all the docs supporting your relationship

My best advice would be, if you know your boyfriend for a while (you've already stayed together, have letters, emails, pictures etc.) go for it. Otherwise, wait a bit... they can be picky.