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Fiance and 2 children

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a1969daly

Newbie
Aug 23, 2012
5
0
I have been in Canada a while. My partner is Canadian and I am from the UK, we have two small children and have been here on a tourist visa but now need to find out what the best options for us starting a life together here in Canada. a few questions.
1) can i apply for a family visa from Canada ?
2) is there a concise website that doesn't charge me a fee or give me a huge run around.

regards
Andrew
 
Hey andrew,

Welcome to the forum!

yes - you can apply from Canada. Since you are from the Uk, hence visa-exempt, you can stay in Canada ( as long as you have a tourist visa) and apply from there, but apply outland - even if you are in Canada. For UK citizen it is much faster. THe fact that you are in Canada now doesn't change anything.

So - download the application guidelines, start reading and printing out, fill out the forms, gather evidences, and come back here with questions - advices are free here, and most people are really helpful - and we have all done the process ourselves, so it's pretty familiar... I'm also going through the UK office.

You'll need to send first your application to Mississauga, and then they forward it (once the first part approved) to London. First stage is currently 3 months, and in London it can take anywhere from 2 to 7 months.

If your case is straightforward, you don't need a lawyer, and you only need the energy to put the application together. Read the first post by Leon on what to think about, and read CIC guideline. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp

Anything that is not clear / just ask!
Good luck,
Sweden
 
the link i posted is the one for sponsoring your family/outside of Canada ( even if you are physically inside Canada you can choose to be processed outside of Canada, CIC itself recommends it, it's faster in your case, so don't choose "inland"), then on the page you have all the different guidelines, forms to download, etc, and also the application package for Western Europe.

It takes time to read through everything - if you feel slightly overwhelmed, don't worry, it's normal! just clear out a table somewhere, print everything, fill out by hand, start organizing the proofs etc, and it will eventually come together... but it's a long and tedious process, and feels very invading for quite a few questions - keep in mind that the application is the same for everybody ( as it should be), which also means that some questions don't make sense for all cases - but answer every question - even if you put NONE or N/A if it doesn't apply to you.

Good luck,
Sweden
 
also - it might seem like a bit of waste of time, but it pays off to read a bit on this forum once you are more familiar with the process and the forms etc. THere are common mistakes that you can avoid easily and will make the process much smoother.
 
hi
ok so i looked at the forms and they are all for my partner to sponsor me which is great but we have now been told we can not do it that way as she is on supported income from OW (ontario works)
is that true...if so what other possible routes are there to gaining permanent residency and a work permit.
i don't want to spunge off the canadian government....i just want to work and support my family. seems like it is nigh on impossible. we have 2 kids, 1 at 13 months and a month old (yes we're that lucky) so marilyn can't work at the moment and we're hiting so many obsticles. it's getting really tough to stay focused. hope someone can help point us in the right direction.
thx, andrew
 
a1969daly said:
hi
ok so i looked at the forms and they are all for my partner to sponsor me which is great but we have now been told we can not do it that way as she is on supported income from OW (ontario works)
is that true...if so what other possible routes are there to gaining permanent residency and a work permit.
i don't want to spunge off the canadian government....i just want to work and support my family. seems like it is nigh on impossible. we have 2 kids, 1 at 13 months and a month old (yes we're that lucky) so marilyn can't work at the moment and we're hiting so many obsticles. it's getting really tough to stay focused. hope someone can help point us in the right direction.
thx, andrew
Click to expand...

If she's on OW, then she cannot sponsor you through family class.

A work permit will allow you to stay in Canada temporarily. To qualify for a work permit, you first have to find an employer who is willing to hire you. That employer must then obtain an approved LMO (labour market opinion) to request approval to hire you. As part of this process, the employer must prove that they advertised the job and were unable to find a Canadian to hire for the role. If the LMO is approved, you then qualify to apply for a work permit. Probably the most difficult step is finding an employer who is willing to go through the LMO process (many unfortunately aren't).

If you want to immigrate so that you can live here permanently, then your options are the Federal Skilled Worker program:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/index.asp

(Right now you need a job offer to apply through this program. They are going to start accepting applications without job offers again early next year.)

Or the Ontario Provincial Program (you'll need an employer in Ontario to qualify):

http://www.ontarioimmigration.ca/en/pnp/index.htm
 
wow....looking really bad for us then. so i can't work and she can't sponsor me. i understand why they make it hard for people to immigrate but people in extenuating circumstances should have more options. from what i hear of Canada they just want to have nothing to do with us and keep suggesting we move to England. the math doesn't add up. 1 person moving to Canada is better economical sense than 5 (we have 2 more, older daughters) moving to England.....am i wrong ?

surely there has to be a better way ???
 
If she gets off Ontario Works (welfare) she can sponsor you. Could you maybe look after the kids (since you can't get a job anyway) while she goes out to work?
If she can get off welfare, she will be sponsoring you as a spouse or common-law partner - she cannot sponsor you as a fiance. If you have lived together for a year or more, she can sponsor you as her common-law partner.

If she cannot get a job that will support the family without social assistance, you could submit the application anyway. This is a longshot: she submits the application to sponsor and says she wants the processing to continue even if she is found ineligible to sponsor. (She will be found ineligible.) Then the processing will continue at the visa office. It will be rejected. She then appeals, using Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds, based on the best interests of the children in the case. She may win.
This option will take a long time, however, and there is no guarantee she would win the appeal. Her best bet would be to get off welfare, with you taking care of the kids. As soon as she gets a job, she can apply.
 
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