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Work permit after marriage in Canada.

acer925

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Jan 1, 2010
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Im American and my fiance is canadian, we are getting married in Canada. She is going to try and sponsor me although she would not be able to prove income(I dont think income is an issue). 1.Will she be able to sponsor me after marriage without proving income and if so, how long after that can I expect to be able to work here? 2.If she cannot sponsor me, how long after marriage can I work in Canada via quickest possible way. Thanks.
 

peimomma

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Feb 28, 2010
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find a job and get a work visa. i am Canadian, and my hubby is American. He has been on a work visa for 3 years now because we have not been able to apply for PR due to $$
 

Leon

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Jun 13, 2008
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It will likely take you around 8 months to get PR through sponsorship if you apply outland through the US so then you can work after 8 months. If you apply inland in Canada, the downside is that you must stay in Canada the whole time, you could get first stage approval and open work permit if you applied for it after 6 months but PR much later, maybe in 12 to 18 months. Your wife does not need to prove income.

If she can not sponsor you, there is no other automatic right you would get to work in Canada after marriage. If you have the skills/education to get a job and get a work permit like peimomma suggested, that should be pretty fast, maybe a couple of months to get that arranged but that is assuming you would have found an employer who wanted to hire you and he could prove to immigration the he had not found any Canadians or PR's suitable for the job.
 

acer925

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Leon said:
It will likely take you around 8 months to get PR through sponsorship if you apply outland through the US so then you can work after 8 months. If you apply inland in Canada, the downside is that you must stay in Canada the whole time, you could get first stage approval and open work permit if you applied for it after 6 months but PR much later, maybe in 12 to 18 months. Your wife does not need to prove income.

If she can not sponsor you, there is no other automatic right you would get to work in Canada after marriage. If you have the skills/education to get a job and get a work permit like peimomma suggested, that should be pretty fast, maybe a couple of months to get that arranged but that is assuming you would have found an employer who wanted to hire you and he could prove to immigration the he had not found any Canadians or PR's suitable for the job.
So it would take like 6 months to get a work permit after marriage, if we got married in Canada? I dont care about PR just want to be able to work.
 

acer925

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peimomma said:
find a job and get a work visa. i am Canadian, and my hubby is American. He has been on a work visa for 3 years now because we have not been able to apply for PR due to $$

So an employer in Canada would actually hire me as an American here then I can get my work visa through them? My status is not legal I've been here for more than 6 months..
 

acer925

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What If we got married in the States, how long untill I would be allowed back into Canada? (my current status is illegal in Canada via over stay)
 

Leon

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If you apply for sponsorship inland while your status is illegal because of your overstay, they will not kick you out but it will complicate your case so instead of getting your open work permit in 6 months, they may require an interview making you wait a year or longer and during this time, you must stay in Canada because that is the requirement to apply inland.

If you apply outland, it doesn't really matter where you are. You can be in the US or in Canada but you must keep your status legal.

Getting a work permit while you are in Canada illegally is also pretty much out of the question. Work permits are granted to people based on the belief that they will respect their expiry and leave if their work permit is not extended. If you overstay a visit visa, how will you convince them that you will respect the boundaries of your work permit?

If you have overstayed less than 3 months, you can still apply for restoration of status.
 

acer925

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Leon said:
If you apply for sponsorship inland while your status is illegal because of your overstay, they will not kick you out but it will complicate your case so instead of getting your open work permit in 6 months, they may require an interview making you wait a year or longer and during this time, you must stay in Canada because that is the requirement to apply inland.

If you apply outland, it doesn't really matter where you are. You can be in the US or in Canada but you must keep your status legal.

Getting a work permit while you are in Canada illegally is also pretty much out of the question. Work permits are granted to people based on the belief that they will respect their expiry and leave if their work permit is not extended. If you overstay a visit visa, how will you convince them that you will respect the boundaries of your work permit?

If you have overstayed less than 3 months, you can still apply for restoration of status.
Thanks Leon, you seem to be the only one on here answering questions..I appreciate your time. So let me just ask you this, right now im 2 months over staying the 6 month period. Will applying for the restoration definately grant me legal status? Could it stir up problems for me in applying for that, like they could just say go back to the states? Lastly, could I go into the states and come back with my current status right now or will they lock me out of Canada for a while? How would they know I was here longer then im supposed to be? They didnt stamp my passport. Cant I still go back and forth right now regardless of my current status? Thanks.
 

Leon

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If you go by the book, you should apply for restoration of status but there are no guarantees that they wouldn't tell you to go back to the US. If you just went back to the US without saying anything and then came back to Canada, they would probably not realize your overstay and would probably grant you another 6 months of stay but there are no guarantees here. If they ever figure that you are living in Canada long term on visit status, they have the right to deny you entry.
 

job_seeker

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Jul 27, 2009
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acer925 said:
Thanks Leon, you seem to be the only one on here answering questions..I appreciate your time. So let me just ask you this, right now im 2 months over staying the 6 month period. Will applying for the restoration definately grant me legal status? Could it stir up problems for me in applying for that, like they could just say go back to the states? Lastly, could I go into the states and come back with my current status right now or will they lock me out of Canada for a while? How would they know I was here longer then im supposed to be? They didnt stamp my passport. Cant I still go back and forth right now regardless of my current status? Thanks.
Well you have one of the best if not the best forum member answering your queries :)

Anyway, is there any chance that when you entered Canada the officer at POE scanned your passport? Or did the officer just waved you in? As per Leon's advice, you can apply for restoration of status but you don't have any proof when you entered Canada (that is if your passport was neither stamped nor scanned), which is one of the documents needed to attach with your application for restoration. Or exit Canada now (you would have then complied albeit belatedly leaving Canada). But coming back in at once would be a different story if the officer at POE would ask a point blank question of when you were last here.
 

peimomma

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Feb 28, 2010
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acer925 said:
So an employer in Canada would actually hire me as an American here then I can get my work visa through them? My status is not legal I've been here for more than 6 months..
The employer would have to be willing to do an LMO, and you would have to leave Canada while they do that.
 

Heretic 10

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Jul 8, 2010
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Hi there. I have been in a relationship for close to a year with a Canadian citizen residing in South Africa currently. We are looking at getting married at the end of this year. My job in South Africa would not allow me leave any sooner than December 2011. After a year of marriage and arriving in Canada as a married couple, would I be able to work in Canada and when would I be classed as a Canadian citizen? Thanks!
 

job_seeker

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Jul 27, 2009
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Heretic 10 said:
Hi there. I have been in a relationship for close to a year with a Canadian citizen residing in South Africa currently. We are looking at getting married at the end of this year. My job in South Africa would not allow me leave any sooner than December 2011. After a year of marriage and arriving in Canada as a married couple, would I be able to work in Canada and when would I be classed as a Canadian citizen? Thanks!
Your spouse would have to sponsor you and once your sponsorship is approved, then you can come to Canada or you can come to Canada but would have to apply for a visitor's visa. You can work if you'll land as PR or come on a TRV as a worker.
 

Leon

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As a Canadian citizen, your spouse can start the sponsorship from outside Canada so you could have your permanent residency before you arrive and that would allow you to work anywhere without a work permit. You can apply for citizenship after you've lived in Canada as a PR for 3 years.