American Looking to Temporarily Move

[Jkwall]

I am a Canadian citizen who has been dating an American for quite some time. For the time being, we are doing the long distance thing. I am stuck in Canada as I have steady employment and am working towards finishing my degree.

However, we were wondering what it would take to get her to be able to stay in Canada for a year. She would live with me, she has money saved up, and she has a degree (bachelor of arts). I thought it would likely be easier to get a temporary work permit than a resident visa since she only plans to stay for a year anyways. Is this correct or would there be some other better alternative?

Would she be required to have a job before coming or is it possible to get the permit and then seek employment? We are planning this for sometime during the summer of 2015, how long does the process take? Does listing her as a "dependent" of me somehow help things?

Thanks for any help you can provide. I am doing a lot of searching on my own but I find firsthand knowledge much more helpful.

 

[keesio]

Being an American will allow her to qualify for jobs under NAFTA... assuming her profession is covered under NAFTA.

What is her current field of employment?

 

[scylla]

She will need a job in Canada to qualify for a work permit. If her job falls under NAFTA, then her employer won't need to apply for a Labour Market Opinion. If the job does not fall under NAFTA, then her employer will have to apply for an LMO before she can qualify for a work permit.

The only way she can obtain a work permit without a job is if she is 18-30 years old and meets the other criteria of the SWAP visa:

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