I'm a Canadian citizen, age 25, my boyfriend is a British Citizen, age 26. We've been together for 6 years in May. I've visited him in the UK four times, three of which were 2-3 month trips, one of which was a two and a half week visit. He's visited me here in Canada three times, two of which were 2-3 month trips, one of which was a 3 week visit.
He recently applied for the IEC Working Holiday visa, however he wasn't able to pay the government fee on time and as such couldn't get his work permit. I've read that being invited a second time in a round of pools is quite unlikely, so I'm looking into other options with the ultimate goal of having him live here permanently.
I've been reading up on spousal sponsorships. As of right now, we would not qualify for common-law as we have not lived together for 12 consecutive months.I'm also fairly certain we would not be approved as conjugal partners, as technically speaking there are no large/serious barriers preventing us from living together/getting married.
With all that said, as of right now from my understanding, our best option may be to have him visit Canada as a visitor for 6 months, apply to extend that visitor status, and then from there either apply to sponsor him as my common-law spouse or get married.
My main questions here are:
1. If he comes as a visitor, how can we prove we have the same residence address/bills etc if he's technically a visitor? Would we be able to put him on our lease even though he's only visiting?
2. We have a lot of photos together, facebook/social media accounts that have been interacting since 2013, chat logs since 2013, friends and family who could absolutely vouch for us being together this long etc. Is this enough to prove a genuine relationship?
3. Would it be easier to get married when he visits as opposed to becoming common-law? We don't really have any qualms about just marrying each other at this point, however if he isn't working it will have to be a very cheap wedding lol.
4. I am not on social assistance, but I do qualify for a low-income bus pass. No financial aid is directly given to me, but I do get the city transit pass at a discounted rate as I don't make a high wage. I also have taken out student loans, in the process of repayment at the moment. Would this affect my ability to sponsor him?
5. Is there a better way to go about this process? I am considering hiring an immigration lawyer to help us through these steps, but some opinions or experiences in the process would be so helpful.
Just let me know if you need more details to answer any of this.
He recently applied for the IEC Working Holiday visa, however he wasn't able to pay the government fee on time and as such couldn't get his work permit. I've read that being invited a second time in a round of pools is quite unlikely, so I'm looking into other options with the ultimate goal of having him live here permanently.
I've been reading up on spousal sponsorships. As of right now, we would not qualify for common-law as we have not lived together for 12 consecutive months.I'm also fairly certain we would not be approved as conjugal partners, as technically speaking there are no large/serious barriers preventing us from living together/getting married.
With all that said, as of right now from my understanding, our best option may be to have him visit Canada as a visitor for 6 months, apply to extend that visitor status, and then from there either apply to sponsor him as my common-law spouse or get married.
My main questions here are:
1. If he comes as a visitor, how can we prove we have the same residence address/bills etc if he's technically a visitor? Would we be able to put him on our lease even though he's only visiting?
2. We have a lot of photos together, facebook/social media accounts that have been interacting since 2013, chat logs since 2013, friends and family who could absolutely vouch for us being together this long etc. Is this enough to prove a genuine relationship?
3. Would it be easier to get married when he visits as opposed to becoming common-law? We don't really have any qualms about just marrying each other at this point, however if he isn't working it will have to be a very cheap wedding lol.
4. I am not on social assistance, but I do qualify for a low-income bus pass. No financial aid is directly given to me, but I do get the city transit pass at a discounted rate as I don't make a high wage. I also have taken out student loans, in the process of repayment at the moment. Would this affect my ability to sponsor him?
5. Is there a better way to go about this process? I am considering hiring an immigration lawyer to help us through these steps, but some opinions or experiences in the process would be so helpful.
Just let me know if you need more details to answer any of this.