I've been reading through the CIC website for a while now and I feel like every time I think I figure out what to do I then end up finding something that invalidates my original plans, so I'm hoping someone here can at least point me in the right direction.
My fiancee and I are both United States citizens and planning to get married soon. Our ceremony is planned for April, but for logistical purposes I believe we may make it official sooner than that. My fiancee is the child of a Canadian citizen and should have her dual citizenship finalized this winter.
We both have bachelor's degrees and she should be finishing her Master's in TESOL (teaching ESL) soon, but near the end of her degree she came to realize she has no interest in teaching and is currently working as a kennel technician at a veterinary office - a field she would like to stick with. So of the two of us, I am the "breadwinner" so to speak. I am a software engineer/programmer (NOC 2174).
We were hoping to move to an area that is at least somewhat French speaking, because my fiancee is very skilled in French (her family is from the Acadian part of New Brunswick), but while I'm trying to study like crazy on my own, I'm still a French novice. We were looking at Quebec (Montreal, then Quebec City area), but the more we read about the language requirements, the more we lean East towards New Brunswick or the surrounding provinces.
Now that I've given a bit of background about our situation, I'm basically trying to figure out a general time frame and comparative feasibility between applying for permanent residency or a work permit, or some combination of the two. Originally I thought I would just apply for permanent residency, but the processing times are just so long. I don't even have 2 years in my field, so I doubt I would quality for Express Entry (the eligibility tool tends to agree that I'm not eligible). I worry that my fiancee won't be able to make enough to sponsor me for permanent residency either. I've also considered trying to go the route of getting a work permit, but I feel like that has it's own risks and challenges, and it's leaving my head spinning and has us both stressed to the core.
If you've read this far, first - you're a saint, and second, I think I can boil this down to two main questions:
1. Do you think it is possible for us to make a move to Canada in roughly a year?
2. Do you think it's best to just go for permanent residency or get a work permit and work up to permanent residency (and eventually citizenship)?
Sorry for the wall of text and I hope we don't sound crazy or overly hopeful
Cheers,
Joe
My fiancee and I are both United States citizens and planning to get married soon. Our ceremony is planned for April, but for logistical purposes I believe we may make it official sooner than that. My fiancee is the child of a Canadian citizen and should have her dual citizenship finalized this winter.
We both have bachelor's degrees and she should be finishing her Master's in TESOL (teaching ESL) soon, but near the end of her degree she came to realize she has no interest in teaching and is currently working as a kennel technician at a veterinary office - a field she would like to stick with. So of the two of us, I am the "breadwinner" so to speak. I am a software engineer/programmer (NOC 2174).
We were hoping to move to an area that is at least somewhat French speaking, because my fiancee is very skilled in French (her family is from the Acadian part of New Brunswick), but while I'm trying to study like crazy on my own, I'm still a French novice. We were looking at Quebec (Montreal, then Quebec City area), but the more we read about the language requirements, the more we lean East towards New Brunswick or the surrounding provinces.
Now that I've given a bit of background about our situation, I'm basically trying to figure out a general time frame and comparative feasibility between applying for permanent residency or a work permit, or some combination of the two. Originally I thought I would just apply for permanent residency, but the processing times are just so long. I don't even have 2 years in my field, so I doubt I would quality for Express Entry (the eligibility tool tends to agree that I'm not eligible). I worry that my fiancee won't be able to make enough to sponsor me for permanent residency either. I've also considered trying to go the route of getting a work permit, but I feel like that has it's own risks and challenges, and it's leaving my head spinning and has us both stressed to the core.
If you've read this far, first - you're a saint, and second, I think I can boil this down to two main questions:
1. Do you think it is possible for us to make a move to Canada in roughly a year?
2. Do you think it's best to just go for permanent residency or get a work permit and work up to permanent residency (and eventually citizenship)?
Sorry for the wall of text and I hope we don't sound crazy or overly hopeful
Cheers,
Joe
