Long distance relationship - Work VISA or Common-Law sponsor pipeline?

[ducabiin]

Hello!
I am a born and raised Canadian, lived here my whole life. I got together with my long distance partner over 2 years now, who is an American citizen currently in the US air force. He will be leaving the military in January, and plans to come live with me in Canada so that we can start a life together. Last year, I went to stay with him as a visitor/tourist for 7 months in the USA. He does not have an official degree for his job title, but has several years work experience in the military and got a great promotion. He will be putting together a very impressive CV as part of separating from the military for network engineering.

Our predicament is figuring out which pipeline of immigration he should take. Should he come live here with me for 6 months as a visitor, and we apply for common law sponsorship by the end of it? Or should he/can he apply for some type of work visa to work here as a temporary resident? If so, which work visa pipeline would work best for him considering his education/work experience? He also could apply to study at a university here as part of military funded education. Furthermore, we would be living in Quebec, and he does not speak a lick of French; his work experience and job would be within IT which to my knowledge does not require any French.

Please help us figure out the best way to process his immigration to Canada! We would appreciate any feedback or support, or if anyone has been through similar experiences.

 

[scylla]

Hello!
I am a born and raised Canadian, lived here my whole life. I got together with my long distance partner over 2 years now, who is an American citizen currently in the US air force. He will be leaving the military in January, and plans to come live with me in Canada so that we can start a life together. Last year, I went to stay with him as a visitor/tourist for 7 months in the USA. He does not have an official degree for his job title, but has several years work experience in the military and got a great promotion. He will be putting together a very impressive CV as part of separating from the military for network engineering.

Our predicament is figuring out which pipeline of immigration he should take. Should he come live here with me for 6 months as a visitor, and we apply for common law sponsorship by the end of it? Or should he/can he apply for some type of work visa to work here as a temporary resident? If so, which work visa pipeline would work best for him considering his education/work experience? He also could apply to study at a university here as part of military funded education. Furthermore, we would be living in Quebec, and he does not speak a lick of French; his work experience and job would be within IT which to my knowledge does not require any French.

Please help us figure out the best way to process his immigration to Canada! We would appreciate any feedback or support, or if anyone has been through similar experiences.

Living with you in Canada for six months won't make you common law. You need to live together continuously for one full year to become common law.

If he wants to work in Canada he needs to secure a job offer from an employer in Canada, that employer needs to obtain an approved LMIA and then he can apply for a closed work permit.

 

[scylla]

Hello!
I am a born and raised Canadian, lived here my whole life. I got together with my long distance partner over 2 years now, who is an American citizen currently in the US air force. He will be leaving the military in January, and plans to come live with me in Canada so that we can start a life together. Last year, I went to stay with him as a visitor/tourist for 7 months in the USA. He does not have an official degree for his job title, but has several years work experience in the military and got a great promotion. He will be putting together a very impressive CV as part of separating from the military for network engineering.

Our predicament is figuring out which pipeline of immigration he should take. Should he come live here with me for 6 months as a visitor, and we apply for common law sponsorship by the end of it? Or should he/can he apply for some type of work visa to work here as a temporary resident? If so, which work visa pipeline would work best for him considering his education/work experience? He also could apply to study at a university here as part of military funded education. Furthermore, we would be living in Quebec, and he does not speak a lick of French; his work experience and job would be within IT which to my knowledge does not require any French.

Please help us figure out the best way to process his immigration to Canada! We would appreciate any feedback or support, or if anyone has been through similar experiences.

One more suggestion. If at all feasible, move out of Quebec and to a different province. The Quebec government has put in caps for the number of PR visas that can be issued in a year which is resulting in processing taking years longer and a miserable experience for anyone who applies through this province.

 

[ducabiin]

Living with you in Canada for six months won't make you common law. You need to live together continuously for one full year to become common law.

If he wants to work in Canada he needs to secure a job offer from an employer in Canada, that employer needs to obtain an approved LMIA and then he can apply for a closed work permit.

One more suggestion. If at all feasible, move out of Quebec and to a different province. The Quebec government has put in caps for the number of PR visas that can be issued in a year which is resulting in processing taking years longer and a miserable experience for anyone who applies through this province.

Thanks for your help! It won't be possible for me to leave Quebec for the next while, we would be okay with doing temporary residence for as long as we can on a work or study visa instead. I would then be able to sponsor him by common-law if he can stay here on a visa for over a year. My concern is his lack of French speaking, which I assume complicates things for getting a job in Quebec.

 

[scylla]

Thanks for your help! It won't be possible for me to leave Quebec for the next while, we would be okay with doing temporary residence for as long as we can on a work or study visa instead. I would then be able to sponsor him by common-law if he can stay here on a visa for over a year. My concern is his lack of French speaking, which I assume complicates things for getting a job in Quebec.

If he want to come to work, he needs a closed work permit. As said in my earlier post, this means he first needs to secure a job offer in Canada with an employer, that employer needs to obtain an approved LMIA, and then your partner needs to apply for a closed work permit tied the that specific employer.

If he wants to study in Canada, he needs to go through the process of applying for a study permit and will also be subject to internal student fees. If you are going this route, dedicate time to researching the study permit process on the IRCC site since there are multiple steps involved and to make sure he meets other requirements such as having the required funds.