General Visa Advice please for 30 & 33 year old couple with canadian relations

[DebsM]

Hi

I am a 30 year old marketing professional with an Aunt & Uncle who are Canadian citizens and permanent residents. My partner of 6 years is 33, a recruitment consultant whose grandmother was born in Canada but moved to the UK.

We would both like to come to Canada for international work experience. Can anyone advice the best visa route to go down for our circumstances?

Would either of us be eligible for family sponsorship? Is the best route for me to apply for the visa for 30year olds and under before I turn 31?

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[scylla]

No - you cannot be sponsored through family class. You will have to qualify to immigrate independently. You should start by researching Canada's various immigration programs here:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/apply.asp

Alternatively you could certainly apply for the working holiday visa program which would allow you to enter Canada and work temporarily.

 

[Leon]

Is there a possibility that your partner may be eligible for Canadian citizenship? Look at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/rules/tool_04.asp If it seems possible that your partner is already a Canadian, your partner would have to apply for a citizenship certificate, see http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/proof-how.asp

If your partner is a citizen, your partner could sponsor you for PR.

Aunt and uncle can generally not sponsor you for PR but if they live in Manitoba, you would score points under the Manitoba PNP for them if you want to apply for PR through the PNP and same if they live in Saskatchewan but you would need a skilled job offer for that as well.

If you want to apply for an IEC visa, you would have to do it before you turn 31. However, the program is not open right now. They open at the end of the year / beginning of the new year and you should apply early because the visas go fast. As for your partner, according to http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/bulletins/2013/ob490.asp there would be nothing stopping your partner applying for a work permit based on your permit but you would have to prove that you have a skilled job in order for that to be granted so you would have to go first, find that skilled job, get a letter from your employer stating your job duties and position to prove that it is skilled and with proof of your partnership, copy of your work permit and a copy of that letter, your partner would be able to apply for a permit.

Your partner could also come with you to Canada under visitor status and spend time with you while you look for a job. Your partner can also look for a job in Canada but if you are unable to get a skilled job, your partner would need an LMO and a work permit based on that.

 

[DebsM]

Scylla, Leon - thank you so much for your advice. The websites are such a minefield of information that it can be so overwhelming, I've spent 2 weeks trying to decipher all the options! You have detailed below what I had thought.

As soon as the new intake opens I shall apply and hopefully not have turned 31 by then!

In the meantime is it worth contacting potential employers or recruitment agencies in our field of work?

 

[Leon]

Scylla, Leon - thank you so much for your advice. The websites are such a minefield of information that it can be so overwhelming, I've spent 2 weeks trying to decipher all the options! You have detailed below what I had thought.

As soon as the new intake opens I shall apply and hopefully not have turned 31 by then!

In the meantime is it worth contacting potential employers or recruitment agencies in our field of work?

You can try but tell them that you will have an open work permit at the beginning of 2014. Your partner would say that they need an LMO. Most employers will lose interest when somebody says LMO. It is a hassle for them to apply for it and they will not get it unless they can prove that they have advertised and can not find Canadians or PR's who are qualified.