Please Help, Love Partner , want to stay in Canada. A few work issues.

[stevenkristian]

Hello, I love my partner, and would like to stay in Canada. Do i have any recourse.. I am despartley seeking work , and it looks like I may recieve a part time job offer in a massage therapy salon as a trainee. so I am not skilled. but it would be considered healthcare I believe. I may also get a job as HR helper in a property management comany, and a security company wishes to train me, but only if i have temp status already.. It seems one persons says ok, but waits for the other. I really do not know what to do. My partner is a CA citizen , other than getting married, (and is getting married an option?) is there any recourse for me that anyone could see. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.. Steven.

 

[scylla]

I'm going to assume you're in Canada right now as a visitor.

To stay because of a job, there are going to be several steps you'll need to complete. First, you'll have to find an employer. That employer will then have to apply for a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) to request approval to hire you. As part of this process, the employer will have to prove that the advertised the job and were unable to find a Canadian to hire or train for the position. If the LMO is approved, you can then apply for a work permit. If the work permit is approved, you can then stay and start working. Note that this entire process often takes several months to complete. Also note that it can be fairly difficult to obtain an approved LMO for non-skilled jobs (and if the LMO is refused then you can't apply for the work permit).

Your partner can sponsor you if you are either married or common law (common law = you have lived together for a minimum of one full year). Just being married to someone doesn't mean you can stay in Canada. They have to sponsor you for permanent residency and you have to be approved. Read the first post in the following thread for more information about spousal sponsorship:

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/spousal-sponsorship-t46995.0.html

 

[scylla]

A few additional comments...

Do not start any of the jobs you have mentioned (even training) until you have an approved work permit. Otherwise you will be working illegally which can create a lot of problems for you later.

Secondly, if you do obtain an approved work permit, this will only allow you to work in the job listed on the work permit. Having multiple jobs/employers on a closed work permit isn't possible.