Spousal Visa help?

[Limetime]

I'm not very good with these things, there is so much information and I don't take it in very well hah so I was wondering if someone could help me and explain it as simply as possible.

My situation is I met my boyfriend online 1 year and 4 months ago... the original plan was for me to apply for the working holiday visa as soon as I can, which I think it's closed now until next year? But between now and then I was going to visit him this summer and he was going to visit me at Christmas. But anyway, he recently proposed so now we were thinking it could be a possibility for us to get married when I go to visit him in the summer, if I did.. would the process of a spousal visa be easier and quicker than for me to wait and apply for a working holiday visa?

I asked about this on another forum and someone told me it takes years before they process a spousal visa, yet I've also heard it only takes 6 months? This person also said that they would reject our application because we haven't been together long and we're only young (21 and 24), is that true? We've only made 2 visits to each other and then went on a short holiday to Venice.. but what does that matter? We know we're ready to get married and be together.

What would be the process if we were to get married when I visit? I'm recently unemployed and we are young so we don't have a lot of money right now... does he have to have his own house and have a certain amount in the bank or earn a certain amount before he sponsors me?

We just want to be together properly as soon as we can, but I have a lot of people telling me the process for a visa is really difficult and we don't have much chance of being successful :S which I don't understand why.. is it because we're young? I mean, does it take a lot of money to make this happen?
If we don't get married this summer and instead we wait until I can apply for the working holiday visa... if I'm successful with that, could we get married while I was there on that visa or are there rules against that?

I'm sorry if this doesn't make sense, but I'm a bit confused as to how things work.. I have all different people telling me different things. One person made out as though it would be as simple as getting a marriage certificate while I was there, get married.. apply for the visa and I could also apply to extend my stay while it's being processed whilst another person has said it takes years and even then we could get rejected.

???

 

[truesmile]

Before we get into a detailed response, may we know which country you are coming from? Or at the very least is it a 'visa exempt' or 'non-visa exempt' country?

 

[amikety]

Before we get into a detailed response, may we know which country you are coming from? Or at the very least is it a 'visa exempt' or 'non-visa exempt' country?

She's British - says in her other post.

You're visa exempt, so you can go the route of applying inside Canada and extending your stay.

London VO takes 9 months (or less) to process 80% of applications. It is totally possible you'll be done in 6 months, but there are no guarantees. Yes, I believe the UK's IEC visa is 'full' for this year (but I'm not certain). It can take years to process a spousal visa, depending on where you're from and what happens. Just as an example, the Visa Offices of Islamabad (Pakistan) and Pretoria (several African countries) have published times of over 2 years!

They may reject your application for any number of reasons, but you (being a British citizen) won't be under the same microscope as others. You aren't escaping a country with few human rights or severe poverty. You won't be considered a immigration fraud risk. It sounds like the person that told you this is from a country that requires a visa. It's a totally different world for visa exempt. Yes, you're young - but as long as you're legally old enough to marry, doesn't matter.

Now, if you're "visiting" Canada and living with your boyfriend/husband, that is great proof for your relationship. You can use your Canadian address as your 'home' address on your PR application! If he's renting, get a new lease listing you on it.

There's no income requirement for spousal sponsorship. If he's not making much at the moment, he may want to include a letter stating how he will support you. If you're getting help from parents, they can offer support letters of the financial type, but not required if he has a viable income. You'll also have the opportunity in the forms to state your intended occupation and education. (For example, I told the VO I was in online university with the USA and what I planned to try to work as after I graduated.) (I wrote ONLINE in all caps several times, cuz I don't have a study permit because a) not required for online class; b) my school is American like me!) (You can take online classes with any university, whether British, American, or Canadian while you wait for your PR.)

Anyway, I blathered on enough and I'm beginning to suspect I'm no longer making sense. I shall wander away now and find the coffee pot. If you have further questions, let us know. You can also search for the London VO's thread. You'll find people from all over Europe (I know Sweden goes through London) that can help you as well!