Strange situation...

[lalune117]

I'm going to start out by asking you all to please not lecture me; I've gotten enough of that already!

I am a permanent resident in Alberta. I came here through family class after my husband and I got married.

We are in a poly-amorous relationship and plan on having a commitment ceremony in a couple of weeks with another man, who lives in Florida.

The question is this: How, if at all, can we get him up here? He has a masters degree in library and information sciences and has been looking at getting a job here in Edmonton in that field. He also is willing to go back to school, though he already has outstanding student loans.

Any advice would be so useful. I am about ready to start pulling my hair out.

 

[Lammawitch]

He can come to canada as a visitor for the commitment ceremony. If he's is an American citizen, he doesn't need a visa.

If he want to live & work in Canada, he needs to find an employer willing to go through the LMIA process to get him a temporary workers permit (or find an LMIA exempt job), or he needs to see whether he's eiligible for PR through express entry, or PNP, and apply.

 

[scylla]

He needs to qualify to immigrate on his own. Your relationship with him won't benefit him in any way and you cannot sponsor him. Or he needs to obtain a work permit on his own. Regardless, it's something he will have to qualify for independently.

Detailed information about Canada's immigration programs can be found here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/index.asp

He or you will need to spend time reading through the details of Canada's immigration programs to understand what the options are, what it takes to qualify for each and if there are any that he actually qualifies for. There really no short cut to spending real time (this is day or weeks - not hours) researching - apart from hiring a good immigration lawyer to do this work on your behalf. If you go the lawyer route - expect to pay $3K to $5K for someone who actually knows what they are doing (there are sadly many who don't). Ignore Family Sponsorship (he doesn't qualify) and also Canadian Experience Class (he doesn't have any experience working in Canada). Focus on Express Entry / Federal Skilled Worker and the Provincial Nominee Program for Alberta.

Does he have at least one year of skilled work experience? That's pretty much a prerequisite for immigrating here. If he doesn't, I would suggest that be one thing he get under his belt in the US before attempting to make a move. He'll need to take an English test (no - it doesn't matter that he's from the US, it's mandatory for everyone immigrating through an economic stream program) - so I would start on that. He'll also most likely need to get his education officially assessed. To immigrate, you typically need to show that you have sufficient available funds to establish yourself in Canada. For a single individual such as himself (that's how Canadian immigration will view his status), this will be around $12K. If he doesn't have this kind of cash, he should start saving now.

Getting a job here is typically extremely difficult for foreign workers, but he can certainly give it a try. It will be somewhat easier if his occupation qualifies under NAFTA - but still hard. Regardless, he needs to find an employer to qualify for a closed work permit. A closed work permit will allow him to move here temporarily - not permanently.

Attending school here doesn't by any means guarantee PR, but it can help. Note that he would have to pay foreign student fees which are substantially higher than domestic tuition fees. The education he takes in Canada will need to make sense in light of his previous education / experience (so he'd be looking at either taking another Masters here or a PhD) - he'll also need to prove he has sufficient funds (show a bank balance with enough funds to cover first year tuition + $10K in living expenses).

Last but not least, I would recommend he check out the SWAP program. This provides individuals from the US with a temporary work permit to come live and work in Canada for a period of time (I believe it's a year?) without first finding an employer. The trick is that he has to meet the requirement (has to be a very recent graduate and must be the right age).

Hope this helps.