Please help

[arsenal_guy]

I am really stressing out. so my girlfriend who i plan to marry in the next year is american. I am canadian. I live in england she lives in America.
both her parents passed and we have had a long distant relationship since 2012. I can't move to america to be with her which thankfully she has accepted as i have a very minor criminal record. She has a very good job as a lawyer we are both in our young 20's and I'm sure she could do her american job from canada or find a job in canada she has a very good degree and 4.0 gpa.

we want to move to toronto live togther for a bit then get married? how do we go about this? is it difficult?

Kind regards

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Technically, your girlfriend isn't allowed to move to Canada. She can enter as a visitor and stay for an extended period of time but she can't actually move here. Also, she is not able to work in Canada without a work permit. If her American job allows her to work remotely, she could do that while as a visitor in Canada, provided all of her work is done for American clients and she is paid in America.

In order to get a work permit, she would first need a job offer from a Canadian employer. Normally, the employer would be required to apply for a Labour Market Opinion, which is basically permission from the Canadian governement to hire a foreigner; this takes months and costs the employer hundreds of dollars, so most don't want to go through the trouble. However, because her profession is on the list of NAFTA professions, if she secures a job offer as a lawyer, she wouldn't need an LMO to apply for a work permit.

For any other job, the employer would need a positive LMO.

Once you are married, you can sponsor her for permanent residency, which would allow her to live and work in Canada. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse.asp