[FONT=Arial, Verdana, Helvetica] Hi,
I'm looking into my boyfriend moving here through marriage, however I have heard that him getting a work visa may take some time. I have a couple questions:
=Do we need to apply to marry or can we do it on one of his visits?
-How long did it take you or people you know if you did it this way to be able to work in Canada?
-Is there another way to do this easier (not including getting company sponsorship unless you own a cement finishing company or know one who will hire someone with 6+ years experience)?
-Does he need to live here while waiting for him to work or can he still work in the US?[/FONT]
We might need a bit more information before we can answer you because a lot depends on where your future husband is from but I'm going to assume from what you said about him working in the States that he's a US citizen.
Basically, once you're married you file an application to sponsor him for permanent status. Until he has PR he is not eligible to work in Canada - so if he needs to work, he'd need to keep his job in the States. It is possible to apply for a restricted work permit, but the process requires that he find an employer who is willing to hire him, that employer has to get authorization to hire him (which involves proving that there are no qualified Canadian applicants for the position) and then he uses the job offer to apply to Immigration Canada for a work permit. Normally, by the time all this happens and he goes to work, his PR application would be finalized anyway.
You'll want to apply via the
outland PR process - he can still visit Canada while the application is in process. The application will be sent first to the Case Processing Centre in Mississauga where they assess your eligibility to sponsor - that takes about 30-45 days. Then (if he's from the States) they transfer the application to Buffalo where they assess him as an applicant. That process takes 4-9 months. Don't file inland because someone tells you it will get him a work permit, because it won't get him a work permit for at least 6-7 months and by then your outland PR ap could be done and he'd have PR status and be able to work without a permit.
You can get married either in the States or in Canada - whichever you prefer, either is legal. But don't mention - going either direction - that yours (or his) entry to the others' country is about getting married. They'll turn you around. As far as applying to marry - do a google search on "Getting married in (city, state, province - whatever's applicable)" and you will be able to get information about the requirements. They vary from State to State as well as from Province to Province.