Hello all !!!. :)
My partner and I are new members here . We joined because we've decided that after two years of dating and 3 years of friendship (we met online) We want to spend the rest of our lives together.
I want to come to Canada to live , study and work . The problem is that we have absolutely no idea where to start!.There are so many different options on how to apply , such as "conjugal" .. how do we know which is the best way for us ?? Will someone please advise us , thank you so much .:)
Hi
Drave Wrote:Hello all !!!. :)
My partner and I are new members here . We joined because we've decided that after two years of dating and 3 years of friendship (we met online) We want to spend the rest of our lives together.
I want to come to Canada to live , study and work . The problem is that we have absolutely no idea where to start!.There are so many different options on how to apply , such as "conjugal" .. how do we know which is the best way for us ?? Will someone please advise us , thank you so much .:)
Well if you don't meet common/law (living together for 1 year and merging your lives) and are not married, and there is no reason for not marrying, then conjugal won't fly. So you have a choice either marry, or live together for a year and then apply as a spouse. You can attempt to get a work permit to work in Canada, if you have a skill and can find an employer will to obtain a Labour Market Opinion for you. Then you could live together to meet the C/law definition.
Start your research at
http://www.cic.gc.ca
Would her divorce from a previous marriage not being final be a reason we can't get married? I'm thinking that would count.
Hi
Drave Wrote:Would her divorce from a previous marriage not being final be a reason we can't get married? I'm thinking that would count.
No, it wouldn't stop you from living C/law.
PMM
But the length of time needed for c/law is a year, longer than a travel visa, and due to me not meeting the req for skilled worker, i cannot stay for the year.. could you give an example of the conjugal relationship thing and what applies?
And thanks for your replys
Conjugal partners approval is basically where the requirement of living together for a year is waived, and applicants are approved under the common-law class, because they are not able to live together or marry due to persecution (for example in cases where gay partners are not legally allowed to marry, or are persecuted for their sexual preference) or an immigration barrier that prevents them from entering each others' country.
Applicants from the UK are visa-exempt to Canada, and Canadians are visa-exempt to the UK. Therefore, it's "conceivable" that you and your partner could meet the common-law qualification by living together for six months in Canada, and six months in the UK. Immigration Canada does not care whether that would be a financial hardship, etc. In addition, if you
can marry eventually (and you will be able to do that once her divorce is finalized), you are expected to wait until you're married to apply for PR. Nationals from some countries where divorce is not permitted are allowed to apply as conjugal partners - especially when those countries are non-visa-exempt - because CIC cannot discriminate against couples when it's impossible for them to meet the qualification criteria of common-law or marriage. (For example, non-visa-exempt nationals are routinely refused visas to enter Canada when they have a romantic partner here, making it impossible to live together to establish a common-law relationship.) Hopefully that answers some of your questions - even though it's probably not what you wanted to hear.
You and your sweetie have decided to marry - so wait until after your marriage to submit your application. It's the surest way to have a problem free application process, and to benefit from quick processing. You can pull together nearly all of the information you need prior to your marriage, and fill out all the forms. Then, submit the ap as soon as you're legally married. In addition, because you are from a visa-exempt country, you will likely be able to come to Canada to stay with her while waiting for approval. An
outland application, processed through London, should be finalized in 3-9 months. The only drawback is that you won't be able to work until after you're approved and you've "landed". There's more info on entering Canada as the visa-exempt spouse of a Canadian at the
US2Canada website under the Visiting tab. Pay special attention to the information on getting a Visitor Record. Then come back here with any questions. Good Luck and Congrats!
Thanks Robsluv, that information was what i was trying to find out, thanks.
Guess we're back to the drawing board to find out what would be the best way for us then.. Hopefully we can get the ball rolling soon though :)
We'll keep using this forum for info as it's been very helpful up to now.. as wading through immigration info site upon immigration info site gets very repetitive and can never find out the answers to specific questions through them. So much easier to talk and ask people with experience or are going through the same thing.
Many thanks
YW - back when I first started this process the CIC website was my "bible", and I went to the local CIC offices for clarification and information. After being blind-sided over and over again by what I was told at the local office and what I read on the website, I finally found a couple of forums like this and finally got headed in the right direction . . . but only after crashing and burning several times in the interim. It's a process that needs to be understood clearly and, unfortunately, CIC doesn't really care whether foreign nationals understand their rights or what's expected of them. You'll find valuable info here on almost every issue you'll encounter over the next year or so. So, again, Welcome!
I so wish I knew about sites like these before making big decisons. I was in a similar situation to you Drake. Been with my partner long distance for 3 years now and we got engaged in 2006. We decided to take the conjugal partner route hoping we qualified. We were rejected and was heart breaking. We decided to move the wedding forward and got married last year but not the white wedding we had planned.. now waiting on our second application as a spouse... I am just hoping and praying.... sponsorship approved in Dec and started processing in Jan. I am so worried I can not go through any more disappointments. Just want to be with my husband now. Planning our big white wedding this year hopefully as we only could afford something small first time round.
I would love to hear from anyone who has had to deal with rejected application or anyone who has tried a second application and succeeded. Or even any similar threads as I have not been able to find any similar cases.