American boyfriend, Canadian girlfriend & kids

[PW1984]

Hi my name is Priscilla and Im a Canadian. My boyfriend, who's also the father of my 2 kids (ages 3 & 5) is an American. He came to Toronto in October as a visitor but eventually wants to become a citizen. How do we go about doing that? He also wants to work legally and we have no clue how to go about that either. Help anyone?

 

[truesmile]

Two options that come to mind:
1. He applies for a work permit and must do so from outside Canada (very difficult to get).
2. OR, you become common-law spouses or get married and you sponsor him from here.
More to come from others I'm sure.

 

[canadianwoman]

1. If he can find an employer willing to hire him and get a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) showing that they couldn't find a Canadian for the job, then he could work here legally.
2. If you marry him, you can sponsor him as your spouse. He can apply outland (which is faster than inland for Americans), but stay in Canada as a 'visitor' while waiting.
3. If you have lived together for one year or more, you can sponsor him as your common-law partner. Again, I would recommend outland, with him staying in Canada as a visitor.