Can an illegal US Immigrant travel to Canada with a student visa?

[SoldierSide]

Hello.
I'm 18, looking to study digital art in Canada but I'm an illegal immigrant living in the US.
I entered the US legally but overstayed. I have a familly member that has citizenship in canada but is no longer living there. Looking to get a student visa and then a workers visa and hopefully apply for citizenship. Could I be able to do that? Would it be a problem that I'm living in the US illegally?
Thanks for the help.
(Note: I'll be talking to a lawyer about this but I wanted to get the opinions of other people first.)

 

[MilesAway]

Being illegal in the US will make it almost impossible to get any kind of temporary visa to Canada.

 

[SoldierSide]

I know my illegal status makes it hard but I'm still not giving up. Is there any way you see me going there legally?

 

[scylla]

Hello.
I'm 18, looking to study digital art in Canada but I'm an illegal immigrant living in the US.
I entered the US legally but overstayed. I have a familly member that has citizenship in canada but is no longer living there. Looking to get a student visa and then a workers visa and hopefully apply for citizenship. Could I be able to do that? Would it be a problem that I'm living in the US illegally?
Thanks for the help.
(Note: I'll be talking to a lawyer about this but I wanted to get the opinions of other people first.)

Unfortunately you have zero chance of getting either a work permit or study permit approved. Both require you to prove you have strong ties to your home country and have no plans on remaining in Canada long term. Unfortunately it's impossible for you to prove this given your status in the US. In fact, your status in the US actually demonstrates the opposite (which is what will guarantee the refusal).

At this time applying to immigrate also won't be feasible for you since you require at least one year of full time paid work experience and that work experience must be obtained legally.

Apart from entering into a genuine relationship with a Canadian and being sponsored as either a spouse or common law partner - I don't see any options for you being able to move directly from the US to Canada. Sorry. I wouldn't waste money on getting a legal opinion from a lawyer.

 

[SoldierSide]

Is there any accuracy to this link? hg.org/article.asp?id=27804
In case you think it's something malicious you can get the same link from searching in google "can illegals in the us move to canada?"
And in regards to the lawyer, my uncle is a lawyer so the money issue wouldn't be a problem if I ask him for some legal advice. Also I wouldn't be moving right away, I'd work for an entire year but as you said it needs to be legal so I'm not sure anymore.

 

[scylla]

Is there any accuracy to this link? hg.org/article.asp?id=27804
In case you think it's something malicious you can get the same link from searching in google "can illegals in the us move to canada?"
And in regards to the lawyer, my uncle is a lawyer so the money issue wouldn't be a problem if I ask him for some legal advice. Also I wouldn't be moving right away, I'd work for an entire year but as you said it needs to be legal so I'm not sure anymore.

There is nothing stopping someone who is illegally in the US from immigrating to Canada. Illegal status in the US (or any other country) is not held against you when you apply to immigrate provided you declare your immigration history fully in your application. The problem for you is that you don't meet the requirements for immigrating (you won't meet the requirements from an education, work experience, etc. perspective). Note that just getting a year of work experience certainly won't guarantee you will qualify or be selected. There are many members of this forum with 10+ years of experience who have applied but whose points are too low to be accepted. If you want to understand more about Canada's immigration programs, start reading here: cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/apply.asp

The same is NOT true when it comes to any temporary visa (e.g. work permit, study permit, visitor visa). In these cases illegal status IS absolutely held against you and significantly reduces the chances of approval. If the illegal immigration history is in the past (e.g. 10 years ago) - then there's some chance of approval. If the illegal history is current (i.e. the person is currently illegal in their country of residence), refusal is guaranteed.

 

[scylla]

If you are really serious about studying in Canada as an international student, return to your home country, live there for at least a year and establish roots (e.g. full time work experience, apartment rental or ownership, bank accounts, etc.). Then try to apply. This plan assume you've been in the US illegally for a year or less. If you've been in the US illegally for several years, then I think you'd need to return to your home country and live there for three years (perhaps complete additional schooling there) before attempting to secure a study permit to Canada.

Illegal status indicates past abuse of temporary visa privileges. Before Canada will approve you for a temp visa, they want evidence you won't do the same thing again. The only way to prove this is to re-establish ties to your home country. That's unfortunately the hard truth.

 

[SoldierSide]

How about my uncle who lives in Canada? Could he sponsor me?

 

[scylla]

How about my uncle who lives in Canada? Could he sponsor me?

Does he have a spouse or common law partner? Does he have any children? Does he have any family members in Canada? Are either of his parents still alive? Is he living outside of Canada?

If the answer to even one of these questions is yes - then he cannot sponsor you.