Spouse/common-law sponsorship??

[Jenn__]

My boyfriend (Bosnian & Croatian citizen) and I (I'm a Canadian) are pregnant and trying to get him a permanent resident visa to Canada for as early as Sept. '09.  I'm due late September and plan on giving birth in Canada!  We have only been living together for 8 months in which we traveled for a few months, the rest living in Serbia and Bosnia. 
Is it possible to begin the application process in expectation of being married in the near future despite only have lived together for 8 months??  Or do we need to wait until we've been living together a year or until we are married before applying?  Also, is it possible to for him to travel to Canada on a tourist visa while our application is being processed so he can be present during my labor?  Does having a child together benefit our case or speed-up the process at all?

Any answers or suggestions are appreciated,

Jenni

[PMM]

Hi

My boyfriend (Bosnian & Croatian citizen) and I (I'm a Canadian) are pregnant and trying to get him a permanent resident visa to Canada for as early as Sept. '09.  I'm due late September and plan on giving birth in Canada!  We have only been living together for 8 months in which we traveled for a few months, the rest living in Serbia and Bosnia. 
Is it possible to begin the application process in expectation of being married in the near future despite only have lived together for 8 months??  Or do we need to wait until we've been living together a year or until we are married before applying?  Also, is it possible to for him to travel to Canada on a tourist visa while our application is being processed so he can be present during my labor?  Does having a child together benefit our case or speed-up the process at all?

Any answers or suggestions are appreciated,

Jenni

1,  Sorry, but you either have to be married or lived in a C/law relationship for a year before you can apply. A child will not speed up the application.  He requires a visitor visa (TRV) and is unlikely that he would be issued one, as the CHC will feel his intention is to remain permanently in Canada rather than visit.  He could apply ,  you never know.

PMM

[mitamata]

Sorry, you don't qualify for common-law as you've not lived together for the required 1 year. I think your best chance here is to get married and try a spousal application. Technically, you're just dating (or are maybe engaged) and that's not valid grounds to give him permanent residency.

He's allowed to visit you in Canada while the application is in process, but be advised that sometimes a tourist visa can be hard to get at that time. Sometimes immigration feels that the person applying doesn't intend to leave Canada when the visa will expire and so deny it. And even if they grant it, he could have trouble getting into Canada when the officer finds out he has a permanent residency application in process. He might be asked to prove that he intends to leave (return plane ticket, proof of owning property back home etc) upon entering.

Having a child together usually helps prove the relationship is genuine and could possibly help you in the sense that they're more likely to skip the interview. You still have to provide plenty of relationship proof though, so be sure to keep records of your communication, any trips together, take plenty of pictures and just basically document as much as you can. Other than that, it won't really speed things up, there's no priority processing for cases like yours if that's what you were hoping for. But, since he's from Croatia/Bosnia, you'll probably want to go through Vienna and they have a pretty decent processing time, especially compared to some other visa offices. If he's lived in several different countries though, the background checks could take a while.

Hope the information helps at least a bit. Sorry, it's probably not what you were hoping to hear. I wish you two good luck with getting together :)

[Lia]

Also, is it possible to for him to travel to Canada on a tourist visa while our application is being processed so he can be present during my labor? 

First of all, congratulations for your pregnancy, Jenni! Do you know already if it is a boy or a girl?

And answering the question quoted, it is possible although can be hard in some cases. I am from a country who is required a visa to enter Canada... I submitted an application for a tourist visa at the Consulate and 2 weeks later I got the answer: visa approved. My husband and I were very honest and in our letters we were very clear about our intention to apply for sponsorship outside Canada and that we were just organizing everything to mail it to Mississauga, and what was the reason for me to travel to Canada. At the port of entry (customs) in Toronto, I told them the same, and I received 6 months to stay in the country after answering a few questions.