U.K girl marrying Canadian boy needs advice please...

[kbaqua]

Hello everyone,

I am a UK citizen and my boyfriend is Canadian. We are planning to marry in 2013 and as you can imagine are drowning in the confusion of visa options, work permits and residence malarky. Once we are married we both want to settle in B.C, Vancouver. (He lives there already) I have only been over so far to Canada under visitor status and have never applied for a work permit.

A couple of questions:
1) Does it make a difference in/out of our favour with immigration which country we marry in?
2) After we are married, and if I do not have a work permit, am I allowed to stay in Canada with him longer than the normal 6 month visitor visa exempt length?
3) What, if any, is the best way about securing citizenship? I am aware it is a long and laborious process - are there stages? E.g apply for temp work permit, apply for extension, work for a few years then apply for permanent work permit/residence? Or once we're married do we just dive straight in with him being my sponser for citizenship?
4) How important is his financial status in being my sponsor? I am 4 years older than him and have more savings/current funds. Do immigration take my finances into account or just his? At the moment he would not meet the 'financial requirements' that I have read about.

Any answers to any of these questions would be GREATLY appreciated! 

[Baloo]

Start reading here...

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/spousal-sponsorship-t46995.0.html;msg344291#msg344291

[scylla]

1) Doesn't matter.
2) You can stay longer than six months by applying for an extension to your visit.
3) You have to become a permanent resident first (your spouse will sponsor you for permanent residency). After you have become a PR and physically lived in Canada for three out of the last four years, you will qualify to apply for citizenship. Once you have applied for citizenship, it will take approximiately a year to a year and a half for them to process your application.
4) As long as he is not bankrupt or on social assistance (welfare), he can sponsor you.

[Baloo]

1) Does it make a difference in/out of our favour with immigration which country we marry in?

NO

2) After we are married, and if I do not have a work permit, am I allowed to stay in Canada with him longer than the normal 6 month visitor visa exempt length?
As a visitor you can stay six months, but yo can apply to extend your stay

3) What, if any, is the best way about securing citizenship? I am aware it is a long and laborious process - are there stages? E.g apply for temp work permit, apply for extension, work for a few years then apply for permanent work permit/residence? Or once we're married do we just dive straight in with him being my sponser for citizenship?
Citizenship is a long way off, you are asking about permanent resident status. Read the link in my previous post

4) How important is his financial status in being my sponsor? I am 4 years older than him and have more savings/current funds. Do immigration take my finances into account or just his? At the moment he would not meet the 'financial requirements' that I have read about.
Spousal sponsorship for permanent resident status does not include a financial requirement - however you may be required to show how you and your partner will support yourselves.

Any answers to any of these questions would be GREATLY appreciated! 

[Leon]

Everything has already been answered so I will not bother but I'd like to add that as a UK citizen, you may be eligible for a working holiday visa in Canada, see http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/united_kingdom-royaume_uni/experience_canada_experience/working_holiday-vacances_travail.aspx?view=d

This visa would allow you to live and work in Canada for 1 year.

[kbaqua]

Thanks a lot everyone - very helpful. 

[kbaqua]

One more thing...

Thanks so much for the idea of the 12 month 'experience canada' programme.

I had already had a look at that (and am eligible) and thought it could be a great way of working in Canada while we wait for my PR to process.
However I was worried that taking a 'working holiday' permit whilst waiting on the PR papers would look bad to immigration as clearly I don't intend to leave Canada for very long before coming back again. And the working holiday programme isn't designed for people like me, it's for career breaks, students, etc.

Do you think it could hinder our PR plans? What about if I took the programme before we were married and had filed for PR? Any difference?

Thanks guys 

[sidkrose]

Doesn't make a difference. Many people stay in Canada with their spouses during the PR process, whether with visitor status or on some other visa. What matters is that you have legal status in Canada when you're here. It will not make a difference whether you are married first or not.

[Leon]

If you apply for the program now, you would have to enter Canada sometime during this year and would have a year after that to work.  Depending on when you want to marry in 2013, you might have a period that your open work permit expires while you are still waiting for PR but this is ok as you can apply to change your status to visitor while you wait.  If you wait to apply for this program, the spaces for 2012 will fill up probably at some point in the summer but you can apply at the end of this year in order to enter Canada in 2013.