Immigrating and Settling in Canada

[Helgaard]

Hi Everyone!

New to this forum and really need some help and advice from anyone/everyone.

A year ago I met my now girlfriend in South Korea. We are both ESL teachers. (She's Canadian and I'm from South Africa) I have been working abroad now for the past 3.5 years now. For 2 years I was in the United Arab Emirates also working as a teacher and for the past year and half I have been working here in South Korea. We are planning on going to Canada together and settling down there, permanently. We are thinking about doing the Visitor Visa for me first and then extending it afterwards. We found out that I would have to send my South African Passport to the Philippines because it seems the embassy in Seoul do not handle Visitor Visas. (The whole process I believe will take month, excluding getting the paperwork together) I've gone home to South Africa a few times to visit my family through the years etc. but haven't been living/working in South Africa for the past few years but I have a valid and up to date SA passport.

That's our situation and I have a few questions:
When entering Canada on a Visitor Visa it is required that I need a return ticket. Where should I book the return ticket to? The most logical place would be South Africa but we are unsure.

Also is it correct that foreigners (Like South Africans) living in South Korea have to send their passport all the way to the Philippines? (I kind of feel naked without it)

Any advice or help would be really appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[steaky]

If you are thinking permanently living in Canada, why don't you ask your girlfriend to sponsor you for permanent residency while both of you are in Korea or anywhere outside Canada?

 

[Helgaard]

I don't think we can do the sponsoring option because you need to be married for that, right? Also we have only been together as a couple for a little bit over a year now. (We are not married.) We are both kind of young still (she is 26 and I am 27) and she still has to pay off some student debt (hopefully she will be able to find a job there: We will be bringing over some of our saved up funds too when we go there, and we have to stay with her parents until we can find our feet and get a place of our own) I understand I won't be able to work while I am there for a certain period of time before I can start working which might be really frustrating for me. I have looked at one of the cic sites.

It says I might get a criminal check done in South Africa. I did one prior to working in UAE and I had to get Criminal Check in UAE before coming to work in Korea. Should I then get one for all three countries? South Africa, UAE and Korea? Or just for Korea?

 

[steaky]

Yes, the sponsoring option is available to you:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse.asp

It is better this way, so that you can work right after you land in Canada. You have to get police record (criminal check) for those countries you stayed 6 months or more.

Further reading:

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/spousal-sponsorship-t46995.0.html

You can also post your questions here (so that others with common-law sponsoring experience can help you further):

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/another-commonlaw-sponsor-question-t189900.15.html

 

[Helgaard]

Last year she was living in another town and in August last year she moved to be in the same town as me. (The schools pay for our housing here so we didn't stay together as the apartments are closer to our schools) Do we still apply for the sponsoring?

 

[steaky]

You can post that question to the above link, so that other posters with common-law experience can help you.