Processing time for common law-partnership? And LMO help?

[Simon15]

Hi I am English and I met my Canadian girlfriend in November 2008. We met at university in Wales where she was studying to become an English teacher and I was studying towards a HND in Sport. We have now been together little over a year. She now works at a local school where I live. We do not live together but are planning to live together in Canada. I have a read and understood what would be required off us to qualify and apply for a common law-partnership which is not a problem. I know the smart thing would be for us both to live together for another year in England and then apply for the common law-partnership but she misses her family and she wants to start a life in Canada with me. I will be travelling to Canada on a 1 year holiday working visa, I will be going though bunac. I have a couple of questions.

1. Does my year on a travelling working visa through bunac count towards my year for the common law-partnership as long as we have been sharing bills and have a joint bank account etc?

2. How long does the application process take for a common law-partnership?

3. What is the success rate of LMO?

4. I having saving and will be looking for a job once I arrive in Canada. Would I be able to be sponsored by my job, whatever that maybe while my common law-partnership application goes though?

My fear is that we will both have lived together for a year, we would have applied for a common law-partnership and then I would have to go back to England because I could not get an extension on my visa. Therefore we would of been separated for a period of time which a common law-partnership states cannot happen.

We are both madly in love with each other and just need some guidance so we can stay together. Any guidance of help would be much appreciated especially if you have already gone through this process or know of someone that has.

Many Thanks, Simon   

[midwifemia]

Hi Simon,

Firstly just to let you know you'll find out more about common-law partner sponsorship over at http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/family-class-sponsorship-b5.0/

Secondly, I'm also English with a Canadian boyfriend and we've recently applied for common-law sponsorship after spending a year in New Zealand together on working holiday visas. We had lived together in Canada for 3 months before that - when I was on a WHV - but then spent 10 weeks apart while I went back to the UK so obviously we couldn't count that anymore! Anyway, you should be fine, but if you can find an employer while you're in Canada on a WHV who will sponsor you for a Temporary Work Visa then you can stay in Canada legitimately while you apply for PR (this is what I'm trying to do). Either way you will have a year living together so you should be okay. Just make sure that the moment you arrive in Canada you get a joint bank account, share bills (keep copies of everything) and keep ANYTHING and EVERYTHING related to your relationship - anything you buy together, receipts for trips you take together, take lots of pictures of you together - it'll make the application much easier when you come to do it.

As for how long, it's a bit of a piece of string job, but the London office isn't too bad apparently. It's much faster than applying as a skilled worker though. I'm anticipating around 6 months, but our case is fairly straightforward - yours should be too unless you've been in jail or bankrupt or something! We already have first stage approval after 2 months, which is that my partner has been approved as a sponsor, but now our paperwork is in London and my side of it is being processed.

I would recommend reading through all the forms and stuff now - print them off and start reading and absorbing them - I had them for a year before I sent the application and I can say that it was only towards the end - and after reading everything I could find related to it - that I began to understand it all!

Best of luck and see you over on the Family Class side soon!