Sponsoring my Colombian girlfriend

[britishcolumbian]

I am a Canadian citizen and I'm trying to sponsor my Colombian girlfriend to live with me in Canada. Firstly, is it even possible to sponsor her as my conjugal partner or common-law spouse without us getting married? If so, is it likely that this can be achieved if we haven't been living together for a 1 year period, for visa reasons. Also, I have been travelling and unemployed for the last year which affects the part of the sponsorship form in which I list my earnings in the past year, they will be effectively 0. I will, however, be returning to my job in August which pays enough to easily support us both. Is this process still possible with my issues? Or, is it better to return to Canada, work for a year, come back to Colombia and marry her, then bring her back?

Any wisdom appreciated with this.

 

[canadianwoman]

To sponsor her as your common-law spouse, you two must have lived together for one year. Conjugal will not work - you also need one year of ties to each other like a marriage, but with immigration barriers that prevent you from living together for one year or getting married.
Your lack of employment for the last year should not matter - just present proof that you have a job starting in August.
If you marry her, you can sponsor her as soon as you have all the paperwork ready - you do not need a year of employment income first.