My girlfriend and I will be applying in June once we pass the one year threshold for definition of common-law. I have to say that researching the application process etc. is extremely daunting and I'm shocked at how long everything takes.
She's from Brazil and we've been together about 4 years. We've been able to see each other every 3 - 4 months as I luckily had a job which had me travelling to Brazil every few months.
She's been here in Canada since June of last year. She has a TRV which expires in July 2015 along with her Passport. She also has a study permit as she spent 6 months studying English and subsequently received a co-op work permit which will expire in August.
Based on reading everything here, our plan is to submit the sponsorship application in June along with a request to change her existing work permit to an OWP. My understanding is that once they receive the application for extension along with the PR application she will have implied status and be permitted to continue working as they process the PR application.
I know you can apply for a NEW OWP along with the PR application, but that would leave her with a gap of several months where she wouldn't be able to work. It's further complicated by the fact that the terms of the co-op permit are that she cannot work for any longer than the amount of time she has studied. She studied 6 months and is therefore allowed to work 6 months. The work permit was issued in December and it took until April for her to find a job which is a 6 month contract. she's in a bit of a situation right now where her contract finishes in October but the work permit expires in August. I would think that at least based on that premise alone she should be able to get an extension on the WP for at least a couple of months since she wasn't actually working until April.
I have to say I'm not looking forward to this whole process
She's from Brazil and we've been together about 4 years. We've been able to see each other every 3 - 4 months as I luckily had a job which had me travelling to Brazil every few months.
She's been here in Canada since June of last year. She has a TRV which expires in July 2015 along with her Passport. She also has a study permit as she spent 6 months studying English and subsequently received a co-op work permit which will expire in August.
Based on reading everything here, our plan is to submit the sponsorship application in June along with a request to change her existing work permit to an OWP. My understanding is that once they receive the application for extension along with the PR application she will have implied status and be permitted to continue working as they process the PR application.
I know you can apply for a NEW OWP along with the PR application, but that would leave her with a gap of several months where she wouldn't be able to work. It's further complicated by the fact that the terms of the co-op permit are that she cannot work for any longer than the amount of time she has studied. She studied 6 months and is therefore allowed to work 6 months. The work permit was issued in December and it took until April for her to find a job which is a 6 month contract. she's in a bit of a situation right now where her contract finishes in October but the work permit expires in August. I would think that at least based on that premise alone she should be able to get an extension on the WP for at least a couple of months since she wasn't actually working until April.
I have to say I'm not looking forward to this whole process
