Immigrating from the UK to Canada

[LoriAnne]

Hi ~ I am desperately looking for some information on how to bring my partner to Canada legally. He is from the UK. I find the internet to be extremely frustrating and it seems to go around in circles!!! A little bit about the circumstances. He has been here to visit and i have gone there. Bottom line is that we have decided that Canada is where we want to be together. He is retired. I would love for someone to tell me what are the first steps we need to take to get the ball rolling. I do know that he can come and visit for 6 months and vice versa on our passports. Can he come to Canada and we start procedures from this end?

 

[Leon]

If you are a Canadian citizen or a PR, you can sponsor him for PR but only if you are common law, that is living together for 12 months or you are married. There is also such a thing as a conjugal application but that is meant for people who are for some reason unable to live together or get married but still have a marriage like relationship for over a year. I would not recommend trying that for a straight couple with no immigration barriers.

If you have never really lived together, it might be a good idea to do a trial run. He can come visit you for up to 6 months and if you feel like getting married, you can do that and apply to sponsor him for PR. Keep in mind that as a visitor, he does not get health care so he needs some type of travel/emergency insurance. Before his visitor status expires, you should apply to extend it if he wants to stay longer. If you do decide to marry him and sponsor him, you have two ways to do that. For the UK, I would recommend outland, that is picking the application forms that state that he is living in the UK and get your application processed there. He will probably have his PR in 6-8 months after you apply.

 

[LoriAnne]

Thank you for that very informative reply. Now, approximately how long before his visitor status expires should we apply to have it extended? How do we do that, can it be done online or do we go to the local immigration office to pick up such forms?

 

[Leon]

You should apply a month before it expires. You can find the info here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/extend-stay.asp#extend on how to apply. You can either apply on paper or online. You should send some proof that he can support himself without working illegally and that he has travel insurance. You can give a reason for the extension something like exploring relationship. If you end up living together for 12 months that you can prove. you can apply to sponsor him as a common law partner instead of getting married.

 

[LoriAnne]

Thank you so much. Do we have to live together for 12 months before going for PR or can we try before the 12 months is up? If we do have to wait 12 months, can we do 6 months in Canada and 6 months in the UK? He is retired so he will not need to find work in Canada. He receives a UK pension. If we can do the 12 months ... 6 in Canada and 6 in the UK, how do i go about getting a work visa for the UK or is it even possible for that short length of stay?

 

[scylla]

Thank you so much. Do we have to live together for 12 months before going for PR or can we try before the 12 months is up? If we do have to wait 12 months, can we do 6 months in Canada and 6 months in the UK? He is retired so he will not need to find work in Canada. He receives a UK pension. If we can do the 12 months ... 6 in Canada and 6 in the UK, how do i go about getting a work visa for the UK or is it even possible for that short length of stay?

If you are going to common law route (rather than getting married) then you must live together for a minimum of 12 full months to qualify (do not apply sooner - you won't qualify if you've lived together for less than 12 months). Yes - you can do six months in Canada and then six months in the UK. As for the UK work visa, it would probably be a good idea to find a UK immigration forum such as this one where you can post that question.