Common law application for permanent residence

[Racso11]

Hey,
I am looking to sponsor my American girlfriend to get a permanent residence here in Canada.
I am a Canadian citizen and have been with her for 7 years with alot of material to proove that.

Does my girlfriend need to be out of the country for us to apply for the permanent residence visa?
Can she stay in the country as it's being processed?
Is it a straightforward process of applying, meeting all the criteria (medical, criminal history etc.) and paying the fee's?
How long is an average time that it takes to get temporary residency?

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[rjessome]

Do you live together now? Are you living in Canada? To meet common-law requirements, you must have lived together for 12 consecutive months.

It takes about 6 weeks for a decision to be made about sponsorship eligibility and then, if approved, your file will be sent to the appropriate visa office for processing. That is if you are applying outland. If you are both living in Canada right now, you can apply inland. First stage approval is 5 to 6 months (she could get a work permit then) and then it can take up to a year or more for PR to be granted.

If you apply outland your application will be processed through Buffalo. Average processing times from the date they receive the application are posted here:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/international/05-fc-spouses.asp

No, your girlfriend does not need to be out of the country to apply. If she is here as a visitor she already has temporary residency as a visitor. US citizens are visa exempt. But she cannot work as a visitor.

Hope that helps.

 

[mirkopal]

i am a PR...and i want to sponsor my partner as common law partner..we are living together for more than 14 months..out of canada because it s easier for me to stay and work in france..
to sponsor him i know that i have to stay in canada (because i am a PR) in fact i m returning in montreal at the end of november and send everything from there...
this means that i have to apply as INLAND OR OUTLAND?

 

[Leon]

Inland/outland has nothing to do with where the sponsor is located, it has to do with where the file is processed. If the sponsored person is not in Canada, you have to apply outland and the file will be processed where the sponsored person lives or has citizenship. If the sponsored person is in Canada, you have the option of either outland or inland.

Outland is usually faster to get PR, downside is that if there is an interview, the sponsored person will have to go to that country for the interview. With inland, they can stay in Canada extending their visit status as needed while their application is being processed but the downside for inland is that if an interview is needed, the file is sent to the local CIC office in your town without the needed first stage approval that would get the person a work permit and health care. The file would then wait there until the local CIC office has time for the interview which can in some cases be more than a year, up to 3 years. Another downside of inland is that the person being sponsored is not advised to leave Canada while it's being processed.

 

[mirkopal]

so if i understand well...
i m coming back in canada to stay there and i m gonna apply outland ...because my partner is going to stay in france (he will probably come to have some visit in montreal while i m there but it s going to be short trip).
we lived more than 1 year togehter abroad (easier for me) but we will separate for a moment, when i send the applciation...
is it good if we send outland in that way?
another question...my partner is italian citizen but it s been 4 years he lives and work in france...we decided to have rome visa office as external office to examine and not paris for the only reason that the amount of documents (not official) that we are sendng to prove our relationship is in italian (letters and other stuffs). moreover, he s doing his medial test in italy
if i understood well, the only criteria to choose one of the offices is that if the decision will be taken, he has to go to rome to take the visa, but thjis is not a problem for us...

 

[Leon]

He might not even have to go to Rome. They might just ask him to mail his passport and mail it back to him but if they request an interview, he will have to go to Rome.

 

[mirkopal]

ok...i tjhink that it is the same thing that happened to me..
i was in canada when they called me to have my passport...i mailed it to them and after they send it back to me...
thansk a lot

 

[Racso11]

Thanks alot for the info everyone, it is much appreciated.