Moving To Canada Help

[brummi3]

Hiya,

First let me take this time to thank you in advance for reading my post and any help or information you give me!

Hi my name is Carl, 25 and living in the uk. I am engaged to a amazing Canadian girl who i meet over in the uk. She has been living in the uk now for 5 years and due to home sickness and me flying to Canada and loving it we have decided to live over there. Her mother lives in canada also but she is a original from England but my gf is a Canadian citizen.
So we are thinking the family class sponsorship visa, now i am wondering will it be quicker to wait for us to get married or do we have a good shot at the common in law part of the visa. Things going in my favour :-

Speak English
Under 25
No medical problems
No criminal record
Place to stay in Canada(her mums house while we get sorted)
Qualifications in electrical installation(electrician)

We have been living together etc and have bills and a joint bank account.

Now for all the people currently waiting for there visa to be process you all know it can be a long and stressful time, so i was wondering if i can get some information and advice form the people who have gone through or about to go through the same process as us.

I have a few questions if you don't mind answering them

1) Do i have to wait for my gf to be cleared as a sponsor before i send off my PR form?
2) What forms do we need to fill in
3) Is there a place in the Birmingham area, i can ask questions(Birmingham consult closed down)
4) Can i just walk into the high commission in London and fill in the forms?

Just any information would be great, i just don't want to mess it up and waste time by filling in a wrong form or not filling in a needed form. If anyone doesn't mind showing me a step by step guild or a run through how they had to go about it i would be truly in their debt.


Again would like to thank you for reading my post and offering any help you can

Carl

 

[CharlieD10]

Hi and welcome.

First, I suggest you read the first post by Leon in the very first thread on this forum. It will give you a good idea of how the process works.

To answer a few of your questions, if you can prove you have been cohabiting for at least 12 months consecutively, you qualify to apply as common-law partners, BUT since you are already engaged to be married you might want to wait until after your wedding to finalize your application.

1. The sponsor and applicant forms are delivered to the same centre as one complete application. Your GF is evaluated as to her eligibility to sponsor you, and then your application goes to London where your eligibility and admissibility are evaluated.

2. The forms can be found here. READ THE GUIDE carefully and get an idea of what you need to answer and what documents you need to provide. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp

3. No, but you're in a good place for asking questions.

4. NO, you can't. They won't provide any assistance and access to the embassy is restricted to persons with appointments, and no, you can't make an appointment for immigration counselling.

 

[Sweden]

Hey Carl,

welcome to the forum and the long road to PR!

First advice would be to read the first post by Leon on spousal sponsorship, it will give you lots of information.

Also - print the guidelines from CIC website, and go through it. Several times! it takes a while to get everything done, and you will need to put time and energy into it.

You have to see first if you qualify - either you are married, or you have been living for at least 12 months together and can prove it - that's common law. The fact that you are not living with your gf anymore - might be an issue, but you might be able to show that it is temporary until you get a visa etc.

see my answers directly after your questions:

Hiya,

First let me take this time to thank you in advance for reading my post and any help or information you give me!

Hi my name is Carl, 25 and living in the uk. I am engaged to a amazing Canadian girl who i meet over in the uk. She has been living in the uk now for 5 years and due to home sickness and me flying to Canada and loving it we have decided to live over there. Her mother lives in canada also but she is a original from England but my gf is a Canadian citizen.
So we are thinking the family class sponsorship visa, now i am wondering will it be quicker to wait for us to get married or do we have a good shot at the common in law part of the visa. Things going in my favour :-

Speak English
Under 25
No medical problems
No criminal record
Place to stay in Canada(her mums house while we get sorted)
Qualifications in electrical installation(electrician)

We have been living together etc and have bills and a joint bank account.

Now for all the people currently waiting for there visa to be process you all know it can be a long and stressful time, so i was wondering if i can get some information and advice form the people who have gone through or about to go through the same process as us.

I have a few questions if you don't mind answering them

1) Do i have to wait for my gf to be cleared as a sponsor before i send off my PR form? - NO - it's one package that you put together, and you send everything - then wait!
2) What forms do we need to fill in - see on CIC website, download the forms and the guidelines, print everything, and get familiar with it - you will spend a lot of time on it.
3) Is there a place in the Birmingham area, i can ask questions(Birmingham consult closed down) - no idea, I am not from the UK - but I would say that this forum is a good place as there are many experiences people that can help
4) Can i just walk into the high commission in London and fill in the forms? - NO! you need to download everything, prepare (it takes sometimes a good 3 months, or 1, or 12...depending ! ) it's a long process, with plenty of proofs, etc.

Just any information would be great, i just don't want to mess it up and waste time by filling in a wrong form or not filling in a needed form. If anyone doesn't mind showing me a step by step guild or a run through how they had to go about it i would be truly in their debt.

you need to do your part of the work - read through - and then you are very welcome to come back with questions - reading this forum is also a good idea...


Again would like to thank you for reading my post and offering any help you can

Carl

good luck!
Sweden

 

[Sweden]

Well - I see that charlie and me are on the same page, and we type more or less at the same speed then!

reassuring that the answers are the same!

Sweden

 

[brummi3]

Hiya

Sweden we are currently are living together and have been for over a year, thanks for all the quick replies. I am not afraid of the hard work just wanted to make sure i was heading in the right direction first. I think i am going to have to wait for me and my gf to have a day off work togther to hit the forms hard!

Again thanks for the help!

 

[Sweden]

Hey Carl,

good luck with the paperwork - it talks a bit of time and energy but all worth it in the end! and you seem to have a pretty straightforward case...

Don't hesitate to ask if something is unclear!
Sweden

 

[brummi3]

Hiya,

Thanks for good luck sweden, and yea its going to be well worth the wait.

Me and the gf had a long chat last night and decided to spend a few months researching and gathering our documents and information. I went over the forms and i have two questions if people don't mind answering or offering advice.

1) I see on the sponsor form there is a co-signer, just incase the sponsor doesn't meet the requirement. I was wondering if my gf's mum who is a Canadian citizen can be a co signer? this might help our case. The reason i ask is she is going to let us stay at her house while we get ourselfs sorted. If she can't be a co signer, do you think it will help my case if i ask her to write a letter explaining she is willing to put us up and give us some where to stay.

2) paperwork, it says if we photocopy ayn paperwork we need to get it signed to say they are copy's of the original paperwork. I was wondering who i can get to do this? or if other people did this who did you use? or is it easier just to send the originals? is it safe?

Thanks for all the help

Carl

 

[Isometry]

1. Her mum can't be a co-signer, but for a spousal application there's no minimum income requirement. However, since your girlfriend is currently living in the UK, she'll need to prove that she intends to move back to Canada once you get your PR. Get the letter written, and use it as part of the proof that the two of you will be settling in Canada.

2. It's easier to just send the originals, in most cases. For things like birth certificates, it's really easy just to order multiple originals, that way you still have one when you send the other to the CIC. If you want to send photocopies, I think a notary can do that, but I'm not 100% sure.

 

[Sweden]

Hiya,

Thanks for good luck sweden, and yea its going to be well worth the wait.

Me and the gf had a long chat last night and decided to spend a few months researching and gathering our documents and information. I went over the forms and i have two questions if people don't mind answering or offering advice.

1) I see on the sponsor form there is a co-signer, just incase the sponsor doesn't meet the requirement. I was wondering if my gf's mum who is a Canadian citizen can be a co signer? this might help our case. The reason i ask is she is going to let us stay at her house while we get ourselfs sorted. If she can't be a co signer, do you think it will help my case if i ask her to write a letter explaining she is willing to put us up and give us some where to stay.

2) paperwork, it says if we photocopy ayn paperwork we need to get it signed to say they are copy's of the original paperwork. I was wondering who i can get to do this? or if other people did this who did you use? or is it easier just to send the originals? is it safe?

Thanks for all the help

Carl

Hey Carl,

For question 1> I think your gf don't need a co-signer. It's mostly if there is an income requirement - for example if you were sponsoring a child, then your spouse would be the co-signer. But her mom doesn't qualify. But indeed - get a letter saying that you will stay with her when you arrive in Canada, so that CIC can see that you have a plan, and you have thought about where to stay when you arrive, and that you have a real intention of moving to Canada - and have told other people about it. So a letter is definitely in order, and you should include it in the "proof returning to Canada" for the sponsor. it can also help proving that you have a genuine relationship (her mum knows about you and the relationship, she approves of it, and she is aware that you are moving to Canada etc).

For question 2>some papers need to be originals - police check for example ( see on the guideline, it states every time it is necessary to have originals). Otherwise (for rent contract for example) you can get photocopies that are certified, as it might not be safe to send the original. Keep in mind that at the end of the process, some VO return the documents, but most don't. Don't include anything original that you would not be willing to loose. For certified copies - ask the town hall, or equivalent, normally they are able to do that. You bring the original, they do the photocopy and stamp and sign it to make it certified.

For the rest of photocopies - if you are sending things that are not "official" ( cards, letters etc), then you can make the copy yourself, I don't think it matters.

Cheers!
Sweden

 

[computergeek]

You might consider trying to find employment as an Electrician in the meantime. There are employers (in Alberta, for example) who have open Labour Market Opinion letters for electricians and thus you could find gainful employment there. That would solve several issues, including the "how is your sponsor going to return to Canada?" question. It also lowers the stress level, since you'll be in Canada together, earning a living and getting used to things - that makes it much easier to ignore the seemingly endless immigration processing time.

Absent that, it sounds like she already has some of what she needs to prove you will be moving back - the place to stay. She should also speak with recruiters in the area (as should you) to show employment options, etc. You may wish to find how transferable your credentials are to Canada and what the process is to do that.

Good luck with the process. The paperwork is painful (lots of documents to gather) and the waiting is amazingly stressful, but it will end eventually and you can get on with your life.

 

[brummi3]

thanks alot for your help!

i just got back from canada from a 3 week holiday, already trying to get the ball rolling with a job offer.

again thanks for all the help, making things alot easier