What are the options for my foreign girlfriend to study/work in Canada?

[Alex18211]

Hello,

I am a Canadian citizen living in Toronto. My girlfriend is French and currently going through an internship program in Canada but in a different city.
Her internship ends at the end of this summer after which point she'll have to leave the country. What are her options for staying (or coming back) and being able to study or work here?
She is in early 20s and will have a Masters in e-commerce after completing the internship, with very little work experience (few odd jobs in France and this 6-month internship in Canada).

We're not in any legally binding relationship and do not live together. She very much wants to stay here but the options seem extremely restrictive, especially with the introduction of February 21 fees for employers. It feels like finding a job would be extremely difficult, what employer would want to pay extra fees just to hire someone? Additionally, university education is prohibitively expensive for foreign students so that option also has significant drawbacks.
Are there any options other than standard work permit? Is there anything I can help her with from within Canada?

Thank you for the help in advance, any information is appreciated

 

[scylla]

A student visa is certainly one option. However she will have to pay the international student fees - there is no way of getting around this. Note that she needs to be first accepted into a program by a specific school to apply for a study permit - and it's likely too late to register for a university program starting in September. So if she wants to go this route - she'll likely have to attend college (still quite expensive for international students).

As you've learned, to obtain a work permit, she must first find an employer in Canada wiling to offer her a full time job - and then that employer must obtain an approved LMIA (which will cost the employer $1K and many months of processing without the guarantee of approval).

Her only other option based on the information you have provided is the International Experience Program which would allow her to work in Canada for a fixed period of time without necessarily first finding an employer or going through the LMIA process. The downside here is that all of the spots for the most flexible program (Working Holiday Visa) have already been taken for this year (this program would give her a work permit without the need to first find an employer). This leaves the Young Professional program and the International Co-Op Internship program (which is perhaps what she is already on?). Both of these programs require her to find an employer first.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/iec/index.asp?country=fr&cat=wh

Anyway - those are pretty much the options.

 

[Alex18211]

Thank you for the reply. I see there were 3 rounds for Working Holiday Visa, is 3rd round the last one or is there a chance there will be a 4th round this year?
Also it appears that the selection is only open for 1 or 2 minutes - does it really fill up this fast? Seems like it's practically impossible to get in...
If she finds a college - will we have the same exact problem in a year? Does studying in Canada for a year open any new options? Seems like college is the easiest (but most expensive) way, but does it help in the long run?
Do I have any options to help her from within Canada?

 

[scylla]

Thank you for the reply. I see there were 3 rounds for Working Holiday Visa, is 3rd round the last one or is there a chance there will be a 4th round this year?
Also it appears that the selection is only open for 1 or 2 minutes - does it really fill up this fast? Seems like it's practically impossible to get in...
If she finds a college - will we have the same exact problem in a year? Does studying in Canada for a year open any new options? Seems like college is the easiest (but most expensive) way, but does it help in the long run?
Do I have any options to help her from within Canada?

No - there won't be a fourth round. The Working Holiday Visa program for France won't reopen again until next year. Yes - the spots are snapped up in 1-2 minutes. That's how popular the program is.

If she completes a one year college program - she will qualify for a one year Post Graduate Work Permit. This might help her in the long run or it might not. If she wants the college route to be an option, she needs to look into this asap and apply to a program as soon as possible (I don't know when the cut offs are). Also, the college program she chooses must make sense in light of her previous education and experience. To be approved for a visa, she will also need to show a bank balance covering first year tuition + $10K in living expenses.

If you get married, you could sponsor her for permanent residency as your spouse. To sponsor her as your common law partner, you would first have to physically live together for at least one full year. So common law is out right now.

 

[Alex18211]

Is the following a realistic option?
She applies and gets into a university/college, we live together while she studies for a year, and then we apply for common law sponsorship.
How difficult would it be to get the sponsorship in this situation? Would she be able to work after getting a sponsorship?