Permanent Resident applying for Common Law Sponsorship

[Laurenhannah]

Hello All,

I am new this to the 'Family Class Sponsorship' forum, as for the last 10 months have been in the 'foreign worker' section!

I am a permanent resident in Canada, and 2 years ago, my boyfriend came over on a 1 year working holiday visa (we met here in Toronto).

After his visa ran out, he has not been working for the past year and has been trying to obtain an LMO.. this is all came crashing down on Friday when his Employer would not sign the contract for the start date as it had been too long processing. Anyway, short of it is that after 1 year of waiting, he is still jobless. Our lawyer has now advised us to go down the route of Common Law Sponsorship.. we will have lived together for 1 year in April (have all the documents etc to prove it)

As we have not been able to see our lawyer yet, i have been going crazy with all these questions i've got. My main worry is, obviously applying inland and waiting what seems to be 1 year to hopefully receive an open work permit for my boyfriend, isnt an option for us. He has waited a year already and not to mention it would be a strain financially, but he will go insane if he cannot work much longer!

It seems our only option is to apply outland so then he is able to return to the UK and work if he wants. Which brings me to my concern. Our lawyer said i have to remain in Canada for the majority of the time that the application is processing to 'prove my life is in Canada'. Ideally i wish we could just pack up, go back and work, an return when he receives his PR. Am i right in understanding that this could only be the case if i was a citizen?

I understand its risky if i go for a few months, but we're not willing to be apart for the 9 months it seems it will take (deep in love and all that lol).

Can anyone give some feedback on what the best option would be? If i have to be in Canada for the 'majority of the time' fair enough, but we wont know exactly how long it will take to process will we, so how does that work?

Any feedback at all would be great. My head is all over the place at the moment, we are devastated that after this long he didnt get his work permit. I have so many questions, im sure i'll feel better once we speak with the lawyer but i'd really appreciate anyone's feed back on the situation!

Thank you!!

 

[pinklady]

It is true that as a permanent resident you must remain in canada for the processing.

However, just because it is an outland application does not mean he will have to return to England. As long as his status remains legal. He can apply to extend his stay as a visitor online. Or he can go back to england for a visit for a week or whatever and then come back to Canada.

I was in the same boat as you. My now husband was a Permanent resident sponsoring me who was in canada as a visitor. We sent off all the forms, went back to the UK for christmas, then came back after 2 weeks. Lots of people go the outland route while in canada, its perfectly legal and acceptable. It only means the location of the visa office, not your physical position.

Secondly, while the processing times for london state 7 months, most (as you can see from my spreadsheet) are completed in under 5, including the 70 days for sponsor approval!

Then once he recieves the COPR Confirmation of permanent residence, you can take a trip to the border so he can 'land'.

If you have more questions, ask away or join the london thread where there are lots of helpful people.
Also, you can go through this process without the need of a lawyer. As long as you're careful, its not that difficult!

Good luck!