Immigrating to my girlfriend

[SwedishTiger]

Hello everybody, my name is Emil Andersson and i'm an 18 year old boy from Sweden.

I've got a girlfriend who lives outside Edmonton, in a small town called Killam in Alberta. And this summer I am planning to immigrate to Canada and settle in Edmonton. I'll be graduating from High School in June and since there isn't any category about newly graduated students and such, i would like to know what i should do.

~ Emil

[thaiguy]

Hello Emil,

Since you are so young, you wouldn't qualify as a skilled worker.  So your girlfriend would need to sponsor you as a member of the family class.

You have two choices.  You can either 1) get married, or 2) live together for 12 consecutive months and consolidate your affairs (bank accounts, lease agreement, insurance, etc.) to qualify as common-law partners.

[SwedishTiger]

Alright, thanks for the info!

[skokica]

ok i have same problem... but... how can 20 year old boy with no job sponsor his wife if she wants to move to canada? I want to marry my boyfriend, but we would only suffer living apart and being married. Is there any other chance, like that I go to canada, marry him, and stay there or do I have to leave Canada while procedure for visa is going on?

[thaiguy]

skokica

There's no income requirement as long as the sponsor's spouse's children do not have children of their own.

But if a 20 year-old man wants to sponsor his wife/common-law partner, he should think carefully about what kind of life that's going to lead to.  I mean, if the only reason to get married is to sponsor someone for immigration, and he's not yet financially stable, that's a really stupid plan.  That's like having children when you can't afford it.  It creates a hardship for everyone involved.  And legally, the 20 year-old is responsible for supporting the family.

[SubatomicBionicNanoMan]

Have you considered him visiting you in Sweden living together / married for a year and then going back to Canada?
I also heard that certain countries are Visa exempt. Check if Sweden is one of them. In that case you can come
to Canada, get married and try your luck. However this visa exempt visit can last only for six months, I believe.
Somehow you would have to have it extended for six more months while living with your b/f. Then you may be
eligible for family based PR.