Want to be with my love ASAP!

[CandaLemon]

Here's the story.

I met my girlfriend online about a year and a half ago. She came to Canada from Sweden to visit me and to do her final school project. She was here for almost 3 months and during that time we became very close.

We are planning to try to get married at the end of August in Sweden while I'm there for a vacation. I have just purchased a house and I'm hoping that she can come live here as soon as she can move her things.

Our main priority is to be together as soon as possible.

I am a Canadian citizen.
I am self employed, but do not make a huge income. (I do own a small business)
She is a university graduate with a degree which qualifies her to be a Medical Lab Technologist. She is going through the process of getting certification for that in Canada, but the process is expensive and might take a while.
Her English skills are excellent.

What is the best (quickest) way for her to be allowed to be here and work? She is willing to do pretty much any job while waiting for her MLT certification.
Can she come on a visitor visa and look for work? If she is offered a job can the visitor visa be turned into a work visa?
It seems like it's pretty straightforward in our situation for her to get PR status if we do get married, but we would like to be together sooner and I'm not sure if I can support both of us comfortably without her being able to work.

 

[scylla]

Sure - she can come here as a visitor and try to look for work.

If she wants to work before she has PR status, she will first need to find an employer who is willing to hire her. That employer will then have to obtain an approved LMO (labour market opinion). As part of this process the employer will have to prove that the job was advertised and no Canadians could be found to fill the role. If the LMO is approved (not all are), she can then apply for a work permit.

Be aware that many employers aren't willing to consider foreign candidates for roles because the LMO process takes so much time and paperwork - and because there's no guarantee the LMO will be approved. So finding an employer who is willing to go through the LMO process will be her first challenge.

Hope this helps and good luck.

 

[computergeek]

Be aware that many employers aren't willing to consider foreign candidates for roles because the LMO process takes so much time and paperwork - and because there's no guarantee the LMO will be approved. So finding an employer who is willing to go through the LMO process will be her first challenge.

She may be a bit more fortunate than most given that her skills are in the medical profession. There are shortages of workers in some provinces in the medical profession and thus employers are in some cases more willing to obtain an LMO - or may already have an LMO. She should speak with someone familiar with the labour market in your area.

My experience is that the more skilled the position, and the more scarce workers in the specific profession, the more likely the employer is to do the paperwork necessary for an LMO.

 

[CandaLemon]

Thank you for your responses, they have been helpful!

I have discovered that Sweden and Canada have an "Experience Program" where if you meet certain criteria you can do a "Working Vacation" where you're allowed to work for 1 year while on vacation and you don't need to have a job lined up before leaving.

www (dot) canadainternational (dot) gc (dot) ca/sweden-suede/experience_canada_experience/working_holiday-vacances_travail.aspx?view=d

We're filling out the paperwork for this as we speak but I have a few questions. As part of the application there seems to be a standard work permit application form. In order to make things as quick as possible we'd like to submit everything now (this week) but I'm not sure if there will be an issue with the parts about marital status.

If we submit everything now her current status is "single"
but by the time everything goes through we will most likely be married.
Also, if she wants to change her name, this will change a lot of the information for the passport etc.
Will these changes make any difference in this application process?

 

[CandaLemon]

I just found a page that says:

Did You Know?

You can hire young workers from Sweden without a Labour Market Opinion normally required by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. Canada issues a one-year work permit to qualified applicants.

source: www (dot) canadainternational (dot) gc (dot) ca/sweden-suede/experience_canada_experience/canadian_employers-employeurs_canadiens.aspx?view=d

Is this a general rule or does it only apply to the applicants of this program?

 

[computergeek]

Is this a general rule or does it only apply to the applicants of this program?

(after 10 posts you will be allowed to include links.)

It is specific to such programs. If you look at the CIC website, it says that some foreign workers do not require LMOs due to international agreements. The working holiday program is one such international agreement.

Good luck!

 

[CandaLemon]

Thanks again,

I think I may have found the answer to my question on another page.

Q: I have replaced the passport under which my Letter of Introduction was issued (because it was damaged / lost / stolen / I got married) and am about to travel to Canada. May I still use the Letter of Introduction to obtain my work permit?

A: Yes, as long as the validity period of the Letter of Introduction has not expired. When entering Canada, you must notify the border service officer of this change so that your work permit can be issued in accordance with your current passport information. We recommend that you bring a photocopy of your previous passport along with your current valid passport for presentation at the port of entry. If you changed your passport because you got married, please also bring a copy of your marriage certificate.

and my next question was answered here:

Q: Can I change my status (from worker to visitor / from worker to student / from student to worker / from IEC participant to another category of temporary worker through Citizenship and Immigration Canada) while I am in Canada?

A: You must go to the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website or call 1-888-242-2100 to check the requirements for changing the conditions of your work permit or extending your stay in Canada. You should make your inquiries after entry to Canada, while your document is still valid.

We will be going through the process for PR status in the meantime but it looks like that can easily take longer than the one year work permit.

 

[computergeek]

Your application is very likely to be done before one year.

An OUTLAND application (which is what you should file) requires approximately 3 months for sponsor approval and then it is sent to the visa office. In your case, you would go through London.

20% of applications are completed in 3 months by London
30% of applications are completed in 3 months by London
50% of applications are completed in 4 months by London
70% of applications are completed in 6 months by London
80% of applications are completed in 7 months by London

(this is the most recent data from the open data project, for the London Regional Processing Centre for the "Spouses & Partners" class)

Unless you have some complicating factor, if you submit a well prepared application, I would expect you to receive your PR in approximately 7 months. Worst case would appear to be 10 months (unless you fall into the 20% straggler case - but generally these are complex cases with underlying issues, such as questions about the relationship or inadmissibility issues.)

Good luck!

 

[CandaLemon]

Thank you again!

I will probably come back when we're actually in the PR process to make sure I'm doing everything right. For now, you've been a great help putting my mind at ease.