Sponsoring options: don't know where to start HELP

[Michaela7894]

So I am 19 yes I know pretty young but a while back I met a guy through Ofc the interenet. He's from Tunisia and lives there but I occasionally visit him from time to time. I want to sponsor him to come to Canada but I'm not sure where to start. He is 27. We started talking when I was 13 and he was 21 ( I know it looks really bad) but we never planned to love each other it just I guess happened. I haven't told my parents but my uncles and aunts know so do my friends. I still haven't told my parents due to the fact that they are HIGLY religious ( Christian). My boyfriend is a Muslim and I am a Christian. I am financially capable of taking care of the both of us so no need to worry about that. our relationship is genuine since I mean we've been together for 8 years but will the age of when I started dating him influence the approval of a sponsoring application if we choose to get married and apply? Is there a way I can bring him to Canada without getting married just yet?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[KelseyTVS]

The main issue I can see with your situation is that you aren't married and aren't common-law, which leaves you with the conjugal partner route. This is very difficult because to get a conjugal partner approved, you have to prove beyond a doubt that there was absolutely no way you could have lived together and become common law first. Unfortunately, reasons like staying in separate countries to work or finish school or be with family aren't considered good enough excuses.

Your best bet would probably be to try and get a work/study/visitor permit of some kind for him so you could live together and become common law before applying to sponsor. If any more senior member has better ideas, feel free to correct me!

 

[scylla]

In order to sponsor him for PR, you either need to be married or common law. Common law means you have lived together for a minimum of one full year.

If he wants to come to Canada before you get married, he will have to do so on his own (e.g. through a visitor visa, work permit if he can find an employer, etc.).

 

[Michaela7894]

The main issue I can see with your situation is that you aren't married and aren't common-law, which leaves you with the conjugal partner route. This is very difficult because to get a conjugal partner approved, you have to prove beyond a doubt that there was absolutely no way you could have lived together and become common law first. Unfortunately, reasons like staying in separate countries to work or finish school or be with family aren't considered good enough excuses.

Your best bet would probably be to try and get a work/study/visitor permit of some kind for him so you could live together and become common law before applying to sponsor. If any more senior member has better ideas, feel free to correct me!

So do you advise us getting married then going through the spouse route?

 

[Michaela7894]

In order to sponsor him for PR, you either need to be married or common law. Common law means you have lived together for a minimum of one full year.

If he wants to come to Canada before you get married, he will have to do so on his own (e.g. through a visitor visa, work permit if he can find an employer, etc.).

How can we live together? In order to be on the common law section. How does that work since I'm in Canada and he is in Tunisia?

 

[KelseyTVS]

You can go either the spouse route or the common-law route, whichever you prefer. The common-law route just means you have to live together for a year before you can apply for PR.

I don't know much about Tunisia, but if he moves here to live with you and establish common-law, he will need to have a work permit or visitor status. Others may know more about it. Try looking at the International Experince Canada section of the CIC website, it has countries that participate in a work permit program with Canada. If he doesn't need to work while he's here, you'll have to find out if he needs a visitor visa.

Sorry if I'm not of much help!

 

[bigredmoose]

I think you're going to have a hard time convincing the CIC that your relationship is genuine. The age gap
and the fact that you're hiding it from your parents especially. Are common-law marriages common in Tunisia? if your union (marriage or common-law) is different from what is culturally acceptable then you will have more scrutiny. Your application, however you go about it, must include a ton of proof that the relationship is genuine.

I suggest he apply to come to Canada under another category, like working holiday or something. make sure the minute he arrives you start building proof of your co-habitation, as if you were spouses. Mail addressed to both, joint bills and bank accounts, both names on leases, etc. Have him meet everybody, including your parents. Them not approving will mean less to the CIC than you keeping him a secret.

Given that you've visited him repeatedly, you don't have an immigration barrier that prevents you from getting married so conjugal won't work.

Good luck!

 

[SenoritaBella]

To establish common-law status, you need to live together for at least 1 year. It's not just living together as boyfriend/girlfriend, but being in a "marriage-like" relationship. CIC looks at things like how well you have combined your affairs e.g. insurance beneficiaries, joined bank accounts, etc.

You can either go to Tunisia or he can apply for a visitor visa or a work permit, if he can find an employer willing to apply for a Labor Market Impact Accessment (LMIA) from Service Canada. If he has skilled work experience, the other option is to apply to immigrate on his own through the Express Entry program (go to www.cic.gc.ca for more information). The gov't plans to process applications in as little as 6 months.

Visitor visas aren't easy to get because he needs to show strong ties to his home country (e.g. employment, ownership of properties, etc) enough to satisfy an officer that he will leave Canada at the end of his visit.

As for your relationship starting when you were 13 and he was 21 - not sure how CIC would view that especially considering the age of consent in Canada in 16. But if it's OK in his culture to date girls that young, may be that would "overcome" it. In any case, if I were you, this would be something to address when you write your relationship story, as well as your different religions and cultures and how you make it work.

You also wrote in another post that you intend to do a small wedding or so. If big weddings are the norm in Tunisia, then deviating from it(and other norms) would likely bring on more scrutiny. So be sure to explain your reasons if that is the case.

 

[Michaela7894]

I think you're going to have a hard time convincing the CIC that your relationship is genuine. The age gap
and the fact that you're hiding it from your parents especially. Are common-law marriages common in Tunisia? if your union (marriage or common-law) is different from what is culturally acceptable then you will have more scrutiny. Your application, however you go about it, must include a ton of proof that the relationship is genuine.

I suggest he apply to come to Canada under another category, like working holiday or something. make sure the minute he arrives you start building proof of your co-habitation, as if you were spouses. Mail addressed to both, joint bills and bank accounts, both names on leases, etc. Have him meet everybody, including your parents. Them not approving will mean less to the CIC than you keeping him a secret.

Given that you've visited him repeatedly, you don't have an immigration barrier that prevents you from getting married so conjugal won't work.

Good luck!

Do you suggest telling my parents about it then applying to sponsor?
I was wondering the same thing about the age gap. I feel like it will throw them off

 

[scylla]

Do you suggest telling my parents about it then applying to sponsor?
I was wondering the same thing about the age gap. I feel like it will throw them off

I think one of the most important things you need to do is meet at least a couple of times before you get married. Don't get married during your first visit / trip together. This is one of those things that is a big red flag for CIC and often makes them suspect it may be a marriage of convenience.

 

[Michaela7894]

To establish common-law status, you need to live together for at least 1 year. It's not just living together as boyfriend/girlfriend, but being in a "marriage-like" relationship. CIC looks at things like how well you have combined your affairs e.g. insurance beneficiaries, joined bank accounts, etc.

You can either go to Tunisia or he can apply for a visitor visa or a work permit, if he can find an employer willing to apply for a Labor Market Impact Accessment (LMIA) from Service Canada. If he has skilled work experience, the other option is to apply to immigrate on his own through the Express Entry program. The gov't plans to process applications in as little as 6 months.

Visitor visas aren't easy to get because he needs to show strong ties to his home country (e.g. employment, ownership of properties, etc) enough to satisfy an officer that he will leave Canada at the end of his visit.

As for your relationship starting when you were 13 and he was 21 - not sure how CIC would view that especially considering the age of consent in Canada in 16. But if it's OK in his culture to date girls that young, may be that would "overcome" it. In any case, if I were you, this would be something to address when you write your relationship story, as well as your different religions and cultures and how you make it work.

You also wrote in another post that you intend to do a small wedding or so. If big weddings are the norm in Tunisia, then deviating from it(and other norms) would likely bring on more scrutiny. So be sure to explain your reasons if that is the case.

I def need help especially the age difference between us when we started dating. Any suggestions how to tackle this problem? I have a feeling this might be one of the reasons they disapprove of my application.

 

[canadianwoman]

How old were you when you first met him in person? You can explain away the 13 - 21 age difference if you were just chatting over the internet at that age as friends. When did you become romantically involved? If it was several years later, it should be OK. Though even then, CIC will probably have questions about the age difference. You just have to provide more proof that the relationship is genuine than would an applicant who is close in age to the sponsor.

I would not call it 'dating' in your application if you had not yet met in person. You were just chatting.

 

[Michaela7894]

I think one of the most important things you need to do is meet at least a couple of times before you get married. Don't get married during your first visit / trip together. This is one of those things that is a big red flag for CIC and often makes them suspect it may be a marriage of convenience.

I've visited him more than 3 times I could say.

 

[jamali]

You say that you've been together for 8 years? So since you were 11 years old?

It's good that you did visit him more than once. What would even be better if you saved proof of your visits. I'm curious to know what did you tell your parents about your trips, since you haven't told them about your relationship?

 

[keesio]

Michaela7894 - from what you have told us, I'm afraid that you will have a long road ahead of you. Your have some major "red flags" (areas of concern) that CIC will scrutinize and your sponsorship application will certainly not be processed quickly.

Some of the big red flags:
-different religions (this i compounded by the fact that it sounds like that this is a big issue with your family)
-your parents don't know / not accepting. This is not always a big negative. But because you are so young, CIC will hold this against you more than if you were a lot older.
-that fact that a good majority of your relationship was when you were a minor and he was an adult