Any Advice is GREATLY Appreciated !

[GuyinaChair]

Hello Everyone, thanks for taking the time to read my questions here, I've been looking on the site for a while and there's a lot of really helpful people here and I'm hoping some of you can chime in and give me some advice on my situation, so here it goes....

I'm a Canadian citizen, 34 years old, paraplegic, no kids, decent job, no debt, living in BC. I am in love with a Filipino nurse, 27 years old, no kids, currently working in Doha, Qatar on a contract at a private school as the school nurse.

My question is basically what options do I have to bring her here to Canada ? We want to get married one day. I am not sure if I should try and hire her as my caregiver, to try and find her a job in my town as a caregiver, or to try and get her a visitor visa for 6 months, then reapply for another 6 months while she's here, then by that time we will be considered common law and I can apply to have her as a permanent resident as my spouse.

I am going to be speaking to an immigration lawyer this week, but any advice before I speak to him is going to help me big time.

Thanks for your time !

 

[GuyinaChair]

just some more info to add...

She is under contract for another 11 months. We are not sure if it's best for her to go back to the Philippines and apply for a visa there to come to Canada or to apply while she's in Qatar. We want to be together ASAP, but I have no idea what is the quickest way to make this happen for us. I've been through a lot in life already and I need to make the most of the time I have left, so I'm really wanting to get her here and enjoy our life together, just hoping someone has some advice on the best course of action for us. Thank you

 

[GuyinaChair]

hmmmm....nobody has any advice ? bummer...

 

[scylla]

The fastest way to get her here would be through a TRV (i.e. visitor visa). However these can be challenging for individuals from the Philippines to obtain - especially if they are on the younger side and single. The fact she is living outside of the Philippines may make it more difficult as well since she won't be able to demonstrate strong ties to her home country to prove she is a genuine visitor and has no plans on remaining in Canada long term. If the visa officer suspects she is coming to Canada to live with you and stay long term, the visitor visa will be denied. But by all means give it a shot.

As for live in caregiver... Do you already have a live in caregiver today? Have you had one recently in the past? If the answers to both of these questions are no - it may be difficult to convince CIC that you need one and they may suspect that your real reasons for bringing your girlfriend to Canada. This process also takes many months and there are requirements you will need to meet from both an income and living arrangements perspective (for example, where you are living must have a minimum of two bedrooms - assuming you are the only person living there today).

Hope this helps - good luck.

 

[GuyinaChair]

Thank you very much, you bring up some good points that I didn't consider...

As for the caregiver situation...I have not had a caregiver since I got injured, I've had nurses come in occasionally, but no caregivers. However, after 17 years in a wheelchair my body is breaking down, and I do need more help than I used to when I was younger, so maybe they will take that into consideration ?
As for the living situation here, I have a three bedroom house and live by myself. I don't know what the financial requirements are, but I received an insurance settlement after my car accident and I have no mortgage on my house so I would hope that would help me prove I am financially capable of affording a caregiver.

The more I look into this, the more I am leaning toward a common law sponsorship, but we haven't been seeing each other for a year yet so we will have to wait to apply for that if she can't get a visitor visa. Any advice on things I should be doing now to prove we are in a relationship ? I mean, we kept our first messages when we met, and have the dates and things. With her living in Qatar and me in Canada, how is it possible to get a joint bank account or such things to prove we are in a serious relationship ?

Thanks in advance !