Sponsoring my girlfriend as a conjugal partner - help/advice needed

[mikedankic]

Hello everyone,

I am hoping and appreciate anyone that can help me out with my question/problem.

I am a Canadian Citizen, 26 years old and im currently in my last year at a University in USA. I met my girlfriend here last year, who is from Taiwan, but she finished school at the end of 2010 and had to return back to Taiwan as her student visa was over. One year later (now) we are still together, doing the long distance relationship, we talk every day on skype/msn, send letters and visit each other (i stayed in taiwan for 3months in the summer).

We both want to be together, and we both agree it is better to start our lives together in Canada. We do plan to get married, but we both think its better if we first live with each other, work and save money before getting married and starting a family - marriage to both of us is a big deal and expensive, and we would like to have our dream wedding which takes time to plan and time in order to save money, and of course we don't want to rush into it - the most important thing for us now is to be together with each other.

Once i graduate from the University in the states, i plan on going back to Canada and getting a job ASAP, and i would like to bring her to Canada so we can both be together with each other finally.

My question is, what is the best/fastest way to bring her back to Canada? I know ill be applying to sponsor her under the conjugal partner category, but that is about all i know.

Can someone with experience and knowledge help me out in what the best steps/method is to bring her back without being separated? Is it better to apply while she is out of the country or in the country under visitor visa? Can she apply for a temporary work permit while the paper work is being done? Are there restrictions to leaving the country or entering the country if she applies from within or outside of the country?

I do know we have to prove our relationship, which will not be hard as it is genuine and we are serious, but what other things are needed? She does have a bachelor of science and some work experience, so she has education and skills.

Thank you very much for helping me out, this means to both of us.

[Kedeisha]

 conjugal is not the best route nor will it be approved get married now as they wont accept u want a fancy wedding as reasons under conjugal

[CharlieD10]

Holders of ordinary passports from Taiwan which include their personal identification number, and issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, no longer require a visa to visit Canada.  That means, if she holds a qualifying passport, your girlfriend can visit you in Canada for up to 6 months, simply by arriving at the port of entry and requesting admission to the country.

If you are serious about living together and ensuring your compatibility, she can visit you for up to 6 months in Canada, and extend that status, in order for you both to meet the definition of common-law by cohabiting for a year.  As she is (likely) visa-exempt, it is highly unusual for such couples to be granted approval as a conjugal couple.  It's not impossible, it has been done by someone on this forum, but you will need to prove why you cannot reasonably be expected to cohabit in order to meet the common-law criteria, or get married.

Inland applications take up to 10 months for stage 1 approval, and stage 2 could take another 9 months or more.  Outland applications can take less than this, and the advantage is she can leave Canada if necessary without losing her application (an Inland application is considered abandoned if the person cannot re-enter Canada) and Outland preserves your right to appeal.

[scylla]

Conjugal partner is the hardest of the spousal classes to prove. This is because conjugal is meant for people who cannot get married (i.e. it is impossible for them to marry) and who cannot become common law (i.e. it is impossible for them to live together for a year to qualify). In other words, proving you are a genuine couple isn't enough for a conjugal application - you must also prove you cannot marry or become common law. You don't face these barriers since you could easily get married.  

This doesn't mean it would be impossible to qualify under conjugal - but it will be difficult and you significantly increase your chances of being refused.

If I were in your shoes, I would plan to apply as either a married or common law.

[melkhatib]

HI EVERYBODY 

[AllisonVSC]

PM me, mikedankic, if you'd like.

I was a successful heterosexual conjugal partner applicant in 2009 and had no immigration or marriage barrier. I'm from the US; my partner is a dual French and Canadian citizen.

Given what you've said in your original post, you may not be a strong candidate for the conjugal category, but I will be happy to share my experience and offer my opinion.

Take a look at the OP 2 processing manual focusing in on sections 5.45 and beyond. You will be better informed as to what the requirements are for being assessed as conjugal partners. You'll find the manual here http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/op/op02-eng.pdf

Allison

[elkan]

Likewise, if you'd like, you can PM me with specific questions once you've gone over the OP2 manual. I agree with some of the sentiments above, I don't know if you quite qualify as conjugal yet. Give the OP2 manual a read to see what it actually entails.

I am a Canadian Citizen and my boyfriend is a US Citizen and we applied via the conjugal route and were successful. I think if you do a search and filter by my name, you can read more about my personal case.

Cheers,

[AllisonVSC]

Elkan,
Good to hear from you again! Still hanging around the forum to help the conjugal people too, eh?
Hope you are well.

Allison

[elkan]

Absolutely! It really helped me when I was going through the process, so everyday, I scan the board for conjugal partner sponsorship questions and help! Paying it forward I guess!