Sponsoring a Common Law partner - how long until open work visa?

[new_canadian_guy]

Hello Everyone,

I am a (new) Canadian permanent resident looking for the best (and fastest) way to help my US citizen common-law partner move with me to Canada.

I've researched the CIC website and the sticky at the top of this forum so I've got my head around the basics - still have some queries which I hope the good folks here on this forum may be able to help shed light on.

I understand that as a PR, I myself need to be living (and established, with a good job etc) in Canada before I can sponsor my Common Law partner to join me. This will most likely be the 2nd half of next year, so we have time to plan to best way to do this.

- There then seem to be two routes - sponsor her while she is already in Canada (on a visitor visa) or sponsor her while she is still living in the States. Which route tends to be the fastest way to the end-goal of a permanent residency visa for her?

- I have also heard that, at some point in this process (after initial approvals) she is eligible for an open work permit, while waiting for the permanent residency visa. How long before she is eligible for the open work permit? And which route (her in Canada or outside Canada) is the fastest way to get to that?

Ideally she would love to just come with me and start work from the get-go - a working holiday program for US citizens would have been ideal, but there doesn't seem to be one for non-students.

Anyone got any ideas as to how she could do this? She is under 30 with a Masters degree in Environmental Science, Geography and Culture. As an M.Sc. she's easily got the points to qualify for a PR visa in her own right, but she doesn't work in one of the 20 or so occupations you need to before you can apply. She's a US citizen and not a citizen of anywhere else. Any ideas?

Thanks for taking the time to read this - any and all ideas, tips and advice will be gratefully received!

[aerogurl87]

Apply outland with Buffalo. It will more than likely let her get her PR much quicker than if you apply inland which from my understanding can take 2 years to complete. Right now the average time for Buffalo is 11 months, but from what I've read on here it seems most people get their PR in 7 months usually. If you can, try to get her a work permit while she waits out getting her PR. If she works for a US company that has another branch in Canada then she can get a transfer without having to get a LMO under the NAFTA agreement. That's what I did and I was able to get a work permit for 1.5 years.  So maybe you should look into doing that.

[Aperture]

- There then seem to be two routes - sponsor her while she is already in Canada (on a visitor visa) or sponsor her while she is still living in the States. Which route tends to be the fastest way to the end-goal of a permanent residency visa for her?

You can apply "outland" (which tends to be a faster process) whilst she lives with you in Canada.  It's probably best for you to live together if you can--if you're doing a common-law application, it's helpful to be able to show that you have been and are continuing to live together--but of course that depends on whether or not you two can survive, financially, with only one person working.  (Bear in mind it can also be maddening for the person on a visitor visa to have to spend months doing nothing!)

- I have also heard that, at some point in this process (after initial approvals) she is eligible for an open work permit, while waiting for the permanent residency visa. How long before she is eligible for the open work permit? And which route (her in Canada or outside Canada) is the fastest way to get to that?

If you apply with an outland application, the work permit is moot.  With an inland application, you have a longer process, but get a work permit halfway through.  With an outland application, you have a shorter process, but no work permit until everything is approved--at which point you immediately get permanent residency.  Because the timeline for US citizens is relatively quick (compared to other countries), it almost always makes more sense to do an outland application and wait it out for PR than to do an inland application, get a work permit part of the way through the process, and then have to continue waiting for PR.

Ideally she would love to just come with me and start work from the get-go - a working holiday program for US citizens would have been ideal, but there doesn't seem to be one for non-students.

Yeah, pretty frustrating.  That's usually the best way to bridge the gap!  :-(

Anyone got any ideas as to how she could do this? She is under 30 with a Masters degree in Environmental Science, Geography and Culture. As an M.Sc. she's easily got the points to qualify for a PR visa in her own right, but she doesn't work in one of the 20 or so occupations you need to before you can apply. She's a US citizen and not a citizen of anywhere else. Any ideas?

Thanks for taking the time to read this - any and all ideas, tips and advice will be gratefully received!

Can she telecommute for the company she currently works for?  That way should could be staying in Canada (on a visitor visa) with you whilst still bringing in some sort of an income.  Also, as previously mentioned, an intra-company transfer could be an ideal solution.

Another option is for her to apply for and gain entry into an educational institution for some sort of degree/certificate.  Obviously that doesn't bring in an income (though I do think students are allowed to work a certain number of hours per week--worth looking into), but if she was every interesting in gaining another formal qualification, this would be a good time to do it as it allows her to live with you whilst she's not allowed to work anyway.

[scylla]

Another option is for her to apply for and gain entry into an educational institution for some sort of degree/certificate.  Obviously that doesn't bring in an income (though I do think students are allowed to work a certain number of hours per week--worth looking into), but if she was every interesting in gaining another formal qualification, this would be a good time to do it as it allows her to live with you whilst she's not allowed to work anyway.

She would need a study visa in order to study in Canada for more than six months. Those on study visas are allowed to apply for off campus work permits - but not until they have completed six months of studies.