Carol Spruce

Hi all,
Just hoping for some advice....
I am in the process of getting a divorce. I want to sponsor my boyfriend from England and I know that I need my divorce decree before I can apply for the sponsorship. My question is: can he come on a temporary visa with a temporary work permit while we are waiting? Do the temporary visas have a 1 year limit, or is the limit shorter?
Any information you can give me is much appreciated.

Thanks!!

Vulcanoid

You cannot sponsor your "boyfriend". You can sponsor your common-law partner once you have lived together for over a year, or your husband as soon as you are married. If he's 30 or under, the easiest thing to do would be for him to get an IEC permit and join you. Otherwise, if he wants a temporary work permit, he'll need some kind of sponsorship, likely with a Labour Market Impact Assessment (proof no Canadian can do the job he's being hired for).

If he gets an IEC permit, they're good for 2 years for UK citizens.

Carol Spruce

Thanks for the quick reply... so I need the divorce decree, then we should be married. We were intending to marry anyway so this is not shocking news lol. He is over age 35 so the IEC will not apply.

Thank you for your assistance!

Carol Spruce

One more question: does it matter whether we marry in England or in Canada? I imagine not, but you never know...

Vulcanoid

No. Marriages from each are recognised in the other.

AIUI, all else being equal, it should be easier to get married in Canada - foreigners getting married in Britain need a visa/other status, and must give 28 days' notice, whereas I don't think either of those apply in Canada.

Carol Spruce

Once we are married in Canada and I apply for sponsorship... can he then stay while it's being processed?

Vulcanoid

Now you're getting into the issue from your first post - how to stay depends on what his status is. If he gets an LMIA, he can stay as long as his permit lasts, working at his job. If he's a visitor, he can probably stay as that, will need to apply for extensions online, but will not be able to work (for an idea of how long sponsorship is currently taking, see the spousal sponsorship timeline thread, or the spreadsheet at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...#gid=396125530). If he's living with you in Canada and you apply inland, he can apply for a spousal open work permit at the same time as applying for PR, these take about 4 months to come through.

Carol Spruce

So, for example.
My boyfriend comes here on a 6 month visitor record and we get married 2 weeks after he arrives.
30 days before his visitor permit expires, we can apply for spousal sponsorship.
He won't be working, but we'll be living together.
So what happens when the permit actually expires? Will he have to head back to the UK? Or can he stay while the spousal sponsorship is being processed?
I'm just a bit confused as to the whole process
Thanks

christmasoompa

Why would you wait that long? Best to apply as soon as you're married.

But I'd suggest you grab a cuppa and have a good read of the Wiki - the amazing FAQ for spousal sponsorship should answer your questions and tell you all about the process.

HTH, good luck.

SchnookoLoly

Just adding to this, read up on the differences between inland vs outland. If your now-boyfriend-will-be-husband wants to work then an inland application probably is better as it includes a work permit (takes ~4 months to arrive), but it means he can't (read:shouldn't) leave Canada while the application is processing, which should be about a year or so. If he needs to leave Canada at all then he should apply outland, which means he won't be able to work.

Carol Spruce

OK, here is a crazy idea. Why can't he come as a visitor, with an ETA (I understand they last 6 months). During the 6 months, we get married, and I begin the sponsorship application for him as an "inland" applicant. I understand "inland" applications also include a work permit application....

While we are waiting for the sponsorship to be processed (1 year), he is able to work, and we apply for extension of his visitor's permit so that it doesn't expire while the sponsorship is being processed.

Does this sound plausible?

Former Lancastrian

That has lots of risks. The intention of a visitor is to visit and leave. Getting married and then staying shows no intention to leave Canada.
Can it be done Yes but very risky.
Too many what ifs.

Carol Spruce

Thank you for your reply. As we are intending to be married by September 2017, is there a different process for him to come over, with the INTENTION of getting married? Different from an ETA?

Vulcanoid

Canada does not have a fiancé visa category (unlike, say, the UK or the US).

Foreigners are allowed to get married in Canada while on visitor status. Given they're allowed to be there for six months, they're allowed to have life events, and they're allowed to extend after they arrive. Your problem is they are not supposed to arrive as visitors while intending not to leave. So if he goes to visit you, he should have evidence of ties to the UK (a home, a job to go back to, etc).

christmasoompa

+1. He can't just rock up with his whole life and nothing in the UK and expect to be let in, if the border officer suspects he's trying to stay whilst on visitor status, then he could be refused entry. Worth noting that FL is a CBSA border officer, so if he says it's risky, there's a reason for that!

Also worth nothing that it's *up to* 6 months, the full 6 months isn't always given, and he could only be given 10 days.