Boyfriend is going to RCMP School

[Klmcmaster]

Hello!
my boyfriend is going to be going to RCMP school (not sure what date yet, he still has 1 final step before he is gets the call to confirm when he starts) and I want to move to Canada with him when he starts school. I’m from (& living in) the US, he is from Canada. I would want to move when he starts school to be closer to him while he’s in school even though we won’t be living together, the school is 26 hours from where I am living so when he does have a break/free time it’ll be easier to be together if I’m there. I would want to move for the 6 months he’s in school, then stay for a year to live together to establish qualification to apply for PR with him as my sponsor.
My main questions before we start anything:
Should I get a visitor visa for the time that he’s in school?
If I have a visitor visa could I get a year extension using the reason that we have to live together to qualify for PR?
I work remotely for a US company, can I continue working remotely while in Canada?

 

[vancityrichard]

Hello!
my boyfriend is going to be going to RCMP school (not sure what date yet, he still has 1 final step before he is gets the call to confirm when he starts) and I want to move to Canada with him when he starts school. I’m from (& living in) the US, he is from Canada. I would want to move when he starts school to be closer to him while he’s in school even though we won’t be living together, the school is 26 hours from where I am living so when he does have a break/free time it’ll be easier to be together if I’m there. I would want to move for the 6 months he’s in school, then stay for a year to live together to establish qualification to apply for PR with him as my sponsor.
My main questions before we start anything:
Should I get a visitor visa for the time that he’s in school?
If I have a visitor visa could I get a year extension using the reason that we have to live together to qualify for PR?
I work remotely for a US company, can I continue working remotely while in Canada?

"Should I get a visitor visa for the time that he’s in school?" You're an American, you don't need a visitor visa. Americans can enter Canada for up to 6 months as a tourist, just by showing up. If you tell them you're intending to move to Canada though, they might not let you in.

"If I have a visitor visa could I get a year extension using the reason that we have to live together to qualify for PR?" You can apply for a visitor record to extend your stay after your 6 months have expired. You may or may not get it.

"I work remotely for a US company, can I continue working remotely while in Canada?" You could, but it'd be illegal, since you wouldn't have the legal right to work in Canada as a tourist.

To follow through on your plan, you'd likely have to lose your job and be prepared not to work for at least 1.5 years. If that's something you're comfortable with, it could work out for you. Continuing to work in Canada illegal could put any future common-law sponsorship in jeopardy, though. Your best bet to legally immigrate would be to marry your boyfriend in Canada before he goes to RCMP school and then start the in-land spousal sponsorship process. Alternatively, you could get married now and then stay in the US until your outland sponsorship is completed. Either way, you're taking a big hit for a long time in choosing to move to Canada via the sponsorship path. If you can apply via another stream as a highly skilled worker, that might be a lot better for you. Good luck!

 

[Klmcmaster]

Thanks for your reply! I was under the impression that no matter what we have to prove that we’ve lived together for 1 year, is that not the case with a spousal sponsorship?

 

[vancityrichard]

Thanks for your reply! I was under the impression that no matter what we have to prove that we’ve lived together for 1 year, is that not the case with a spousal sponsorship?

Nope! If you're married, you don't need to show a history of cohabitation. That said, you still need to show that the relationship is legitimate. A marriage certificate, happy photos together, wedding pics, letters from friends and family etc. There are many thousands of folks coming to Canada after being married in India or Pakistan who will have spent much less time together than you or your boyfriend.

 

[Ponga]

"I work remotely for a US company, can I continue working remotely while in Canada?" You could, but it'd be illegal, since you wouldn't have the legal right to work in Canada as a tourist.

Do you have a source to confirm this, because it is NOT true.

Here's mine:
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/temporary-residents/foreign-workers/what-is-work.html

What kind of activities are not considered to be “work”?

• An activity which does not really 'take away' from opportunities for Canadians or permanent residents to gain employment or experience in the workplace is not “work” for the purposes of the definition.

Examples of activities for which a person would not normally be remunerated or which would not compete directly with Canadian citizens or permanent residents in the Canadian labour market and which would normally be part-time or incidental to the reason that the person is in Canada include, but are not limited to:

• volunteer work for which a person would not normally be remunerated, such as sitting on the board of a charity or religious institution; being a 'big brother' or 'big sister' to a child; being on the telephone line at a rape crisis centre (normally this activity would be part time and incidental to the main reason that a person is in Canada);
• unremunerated help by a friend or family member during a visit, such as a mother assisting a daughter with childcare, or an uncle helping his nephew build his own cottage;
• long distance (by telephone or Internet) work done by a temporary resident whose employer is outside Canada and who is remunerated from outside Canada;

 

[YVR123]

I work remotely for a US company, can I continue working remotely while in Canada?

It depends on if your US company has any Canadian customers or operations. If it's ONLY US, you are ok.

BUT you need to let your company know. Some company do not allow data to go across the border and in long term, I think they need to deal with tax and other things of doing payroll to someone who doesn't live in US. (I knew friends who needs to switch to Canadian operation/payroll or become contractor)

On the side note, most new RCMP will be getting assignment in remote areas in Canada. So be prepared to relocate with you furture husband.

 

[Klmcmaster]

Thanks for the reply! My company itself is US but we are affiliated with a Canadian company. It’s all separate employees, systems, payroll, etc. Does this still count as being US only?

 

[Ponga]

Thanks for the reply! My company itself is US but we are affiliated with a Canadian company. It’s all separate employees, systems, payroll, etc. Does this still count as being US only?

I wouldn't risk it. I didn't realize your company has a presense in Canada.

 

[YVR123]

Thanks for the reply! My company itself is US but we are affiliated with a Canadian company. It’s all separate employees, systems, payroll, etc. Does this still count as being US only?

No. It doesn't. You will need to talk to them and try to get transferred to the Canadian company with a closed work permit.
I don't know how easy/hard it will be with someone from US. If you are young, there are other possible work permit too. But I am not familiar with that.

After sponsorship application is submitted and reach AOR (notification that your application is determined as complete, i.e. not missing forms/documents), you can apply for OWP (open work permit). But that generally takes a few months...

 

[Copingwithlife]

Hello!
my boyfriend is going to be going to RCMP school (not sure what date yet, he still has 1 final step before he is gets the call to confirm when he starts) and I want to move to Canada with him when he starts school. I’m from (& living in) the US, he is from Canada. I would want to move when he starts school to be closer to him while he’s in school even though we won’t be living together, the school is 26 hours from where I am living so when he does have a break/free time it’ll be easier to be together if I’m there. I would want to move for the 6 months he’s in school, then stay for a year to live together to establish qualification to apply for PR with him as my sponsor.
My main questions before we start anything:
Should I get a visitor visa for the time that he’s in school?
If I have a visitor visa could I get a year extension using the reason that we have to live together to qualify for PR?
I work remotely for a US company, can I continue working remotely while in Canada?

FYI
My friends nephew just completed the RCMP school . It’s HIGHLY discouraged to the attendees to leave the school while they are going thru their training . The training is EXTREMELY intensive, the bar is set high . If they fail a test , they are shown the door . Per my friend. All the students do is , train, sleep , study . They are expected to build a team foundation while there . Hence no socializing, and going off and meeting people off the campus .
His girlfriend was going to move to be close , and he told her no.

Breaks, free time, are non existent.
All the locations aren’t remote . He got his first choice , Nova Scotia. Small town, but close to his parents . GF got a job in an ICU in a hospital