American getting temporary work permit to be with boyfriend instead of marriage?

[anotherbrickinthewall]

Hey everyone.

My boyfriend and I had originally planned that I would do school up in Ontario, something he would fund (that I was obviously grateful for!); however, that fell through because, in reality, his money could be spent on better things -- like a house, retirement, whatever. So now we're in a sticky position.

I have a BA in French and am fluent in the language. I'm not capable of using any of the NAFTA occupations to get into Canada, seeing as I only graduated a year ago and have had difficulty finding fulltime, gainful employment in my area. (I moved home to save money to move eventually... it isn't working as well as I'd hoped.)

So now we're thinking about me getting a temporary work permit so I can be in Canada without us having to get married. We want to eventually, but my boyfriend is staunchly against getting married for immigration purposes only. He spoke with his sister and she told him she thought that would be a bad idea.

We are 24 (I'll be 25 in early Jan) and 26 respectively.

I'm fine with trying to go as a temporary worker, but I'm worried it'll fall through and it will have been a waste of time and money. I know it's worth a shot, but is it even feasible?

We made an appointment with someone in his hometown to talk about it over Christmas. (The person works for the Immigration Services at their Cultural Centre.)

Has anyone had success with the temporary work permit who only has a BA and not a professional degree?

 

[scylla]

You don't qualify for a work permit - no point in even applying.

To qualify for a work permit, you first need to find an employer in Canada who is willing to offer you a job. That employer must then apply for something called a Labour Market Opinion (LMO). As part of the process, the employer will have to prove the job was advertised and no suitable Canadian could be found for the role. If the LMO is approved, you can then travel to Canada and be issued a work permit at the border.

You could check out the SWAP working holiday visa program too. However based on what you've said, this may not be a viable option for you since you're not a recent graduate.

http://www.swap.ca/in_eng/us_index.aspx