Apply as spouse in a year, my only route?

[Jessi]

I've been in a long distance relationship for a few years now and have been trying to secure work so I could move to my partner in Canada. Unfortunately, I don't fall into the skilled worker category (my degree is in journalism and my work experience is mostly in childcare), and I want to live with my partner...not as a live-in caregiver.

I have yet to find a job that will hire me without already having a work permit (and most so far don't want to do their end of having to make it legal to hire an international worker) . And I can't get a work permit without having a job lined up. Seems like an evil cycle at this point of struggling to secure work for over a year now, but failing miserably.

So is my best option to just move there, apply for a visa extension at the 6 month mark, and apply for sponsorship in a year? I won't be allowed to work, which is brutal, but I'm losing hope at finding work when my only long term experience has been in childcare. Sigh.

Any help or suggestions? I don't want to go a full year without being able to work, but if that's what I need to do...

 

[Jessi]

Oh, I'm American, by the way, and have a Bachelor's degree in Journalism with minors in Business and Sociology. I've been told that it's "so easy for Americans with degrees" to immigrate to Canada, but without work experience in certain areas, that doesn't seem to be the case so far. Am I missing something?

 

[Jen85]

Hi Jessi

Not sure as I haven't looked into this much but maybe you could apply as conjugal partners and he sponsors you? Would take a lot to prove the relationship though and to prove why you cannot be together. Maybe someone else has more knowledge on this that might post with better advice. I have copied the relevant info from the sponsorship information below.

You can sponsor a person as a conjugal partner(1) if

•that person is of the opposite or same sex,
•that person is residing outside Canada (that is, has, for legal purposes, a fixed, permanent and principal home outside Canada), and
•you have maintained a conjugal relationship with that person for at least one year, that is you have been in a committed and mutually interdependent relationship of some permanence where you have combined your affairs to the extent possible.
(1) This last category is intended for partners of Canadian sponsors who would ordinarily apply as
•common-law partners but cannot meet the definition, that is were not able to live together continuously for one year with their sponsor, or
•spouses, but marriage to their sponsor is usually not an available option to them,
usually because of marital status or sexual orientation, combined with an immigration barrier (for example, rules preventing partner and sponsor of long stays in one another’s countries).

If your sponsorship is successful, your conjugal partner becomes a permanent resident of Canada but cannot exercise any rights or privileges associated with common-law status until you have cohabited for at least one year.

 

[Jen85]

Just found one thread about a similar situation... http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/-t56841.0.html

 

[Jessi]

I *have* looked into that, but here's the thing:

All of the information I've found about "proving" this or that says that there has to be a reason why we couldn't have been living together (and things like choosing to keep a current job or study arrangements doesn't count). "Immigration barriers" doesn't really work either because I could go there for 6 months and extend. And we haven't been "mutually interdependent" where we've "combined affairs" because well, we live in different countries, ha. We don't have a joint bank account or any accounts, etc, because we run different households, have different bills, buy our own groceries, etc. And we're not married (nor do I want to visit just for the sake of getting married to get me there :S), so I'm stuck.

How am I supposed to prove something when there's nothing there to prove? We've been officially "together" for about 2 years, with me visiting him roughly, uh, 4 or 5 times in that length for about 2 weeks at a time (I get vacation time every 6 months, so I would use it for that). There's commitment, but no proof.

Also, "your conjugal partner becomes a permanent resident of Canada but cannot exercise any rights or privileges associated with common-law status until you have cohabited for at least one year.".....doesn't this still mean I couldn't work for the first year (plus all the time I'd have to wait for the initial application to even be processed and possibly approved)?

 

[Jessi]

Just found one thread about a similar situation... -link-

Checking that now, thanks.....was posting the other when you linked it.

 

[Jen85]

I see what you mean. It would be very difficult to prove and sounds like it wouldn't work too well. Sorry. I know long distance relationships are very difficult as I was in one for two years. Fortunately I had dual citizenship so I was able to move in with him in the UK without all the hassle and frustration you are going through.
Don't give up...where there is a will, there is a way and you will find it!!!

 

[kelKel]

Do you plans to get married in the future? If you do you might want to just take the leap. If you no longer want to be apart. If that's not really in the cards are there any work holiday visas or youth mobility visas from your country you could take advantage of?

 

[Jessi]

I'm really losing hope here, sigh. I've already been looking for work for over a year, and been reading up on visas/citizenship/employment/etc for longer than that. Knowing that it's going to be at least another year and more likely a few years is driving me crazy. I know there are people who've made it through and I know there are people here who are waiting this long, so I don't have much right to complain, but it feels like my degree and work experience is such a waste....and that I'm wasting time....and I'm just drowning in my current situation anyway, so struggling with all this stuff on top of it is so draining. Yeah, I know the whole process is intended to be draining, lol, but geez...

 

[Jessi]

Do you plans to get married in the future? If you do you might want to just take the leap. If you no longer want to be apart. If that's not really in the cards are there any work holiday visas or youth mobility visas from your country you could take advantage of?

The whole "work holiday" stuff I've found so far is through agencies that will place me for 3-6 months (which I could stay there for 6 months anyway, so that doesn't help me much), for a very heavy fee, of course, lol. Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong places.

 

[Jen85]

Just a thought...have you tried the Provincial nominees program for the province you want to move to? You have probably looked into this but thought I would mention it just in case...I hear that way is sometimes easier than the Federal way when applying through business class.

Please don't give up...believe that you will find a way.

 

[QCSunshine]

Jessi, I have no idea what stage of your career you are at, so perhaps this is not possible at your career level, but have you looked into any sort of exchange programs in journalism? Like some sort of internship/research/cultural exchange related to your field? Perhaps some type of grant to study and report on childcare in Canada versus childcare in wherever you are from? It is a long shot, but I thought I would mention the idea...

 

[Jessi]

Just a thought...have you tried the Provincial nominees program for the province you want to move to? You have probably looked into this but thought I would mention it just in case...I hear that way is sometimes easier than the Federal way when applying through business class.

Please don't give up...believe that you will find a way.

"The Strategic Occupations component of the Provincial Nominee Program helps BC employers recruit or retain qualified foreign workers to help meet current and future labour needs. Nominee applicants under the Strategic Occupations component must either have a job offer of indeterminate length from a BC employer or have completed a masters or doctorate degree at a BC post-secondary institution in either the natural, applied or health sciences."

So I still have to either have a job lined up....or a degree much higher than I have. (The other part of PNP is as an investor/business entrepreneur, which I don't fall under either). If I could just get a job lined up, it wouldn't be an issue anyway, sigh.

 

[Jessi]

Jessi, I have no idea what stage of your career you are at, so perhaps this is not possible at your career level, but have you looked into any sort of exchange programs in journalism? Like some sort of internship/research/cultural exchange related to your field? Perhaps some type of grant to study and report on childcare in Canada versus childcare in wherever you are from? It is a long shot, but I thought I would mention the idea...

Hmm. I did look into internships/research positions, but couldn't find anything because I either A) still had to be in school and/or B) had to have more than a Bachelor's degree. It's definitely a long shot, but maybe I could keep trying to pitch ideas directly to a few companies unsolicited. Maybe I'll suddenly become brilliant enough to woo someone over, lol.

 

[Jen85]

Jessi...this may be another long shot but...have you ever considered self employment? Is there a business idea that you could open in Canada? I know someone who immigrated with the Provincial program to Nova Scotia with the plan of opening up a tea shop/gift shop to attract tourists and she was accepted...eventually. She was struggling for years with the federal programme and was getting no where but when she contacted someone from the Provincial program, things started happening and she made it. Nova Scotia are trying to attract immigrants and they were so helpful. Don't know what BC program is like. Do you think there is something with your degree that you could use on a self employment idea? Might have to be a bit creative...