iananddave

Hey All,

We would like to know if anyone can give us advise.

My partner is a Canadian national who has lived in the UK for 10 years. We have been living together as common law for 7 years. We plan to move to Toronto next summer and want to know if any couples have been in similar circumstances... We are unsure which way to proceed with the application either common law, sponsored or spouse.

Has anyone faced the same situation where one was Canadian and the other British?

Thanks for any advice.

Ian and Dave.

paulah

You partner will have to sponsor you under common-law category as you are not married.
I am British/Canadian citizen and my husband is British, I am sponsoring him under the spouse category.

bazzz

This is probably what you need:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigra...asp#common_law

you shouldn't have too much difficulty getting together the required evidence.

grodkiewicz

Hello,

We were almost in a similar boat with the exception that we're married. I don't thinks it makes much of a difference though for sponsorship. We filled out the documentation and gave as much details as possible (copies of cards, letters from family, email conversations etc). The forms took ages to fill out but if you do it properly the process is fairly straight forward. Along with the forms you download from the canadian immigration website i also had my medical done. Sent the little slip in with the whole document folder. There are other posts on this site that give more detail on what to include.

It took two weeks for the Canadian government to approve my wife as a sponsor. They then sent the file back to the UK to London to be processed. This took (i think) 4 months at which point they asked for my passport which they kept for two weeks after that we were ready to go!

All in all. Applied middle of January and immigrated early august.

Good luck and enjoy.

DDG

YOJO

HI, Were in the same boat, my husband has dual nationallity. Is it possible to enter Canada on the standard 3 month visa and apply for sponsorship inside Canada? JO

britishvixen21

You forgot to mention that it takes a little longer than 3 months and during that time the brit cannot work, also if it is done outside of Canada it takes anywhere from 12 - 18 months, as aposed to applying to London which for me too 3 months start to finish.

JAJ

Presumably you mean it takes 12-18 months if done inside Canada?

JAJ

Two tips:

1. Get the right Canadian visa before arriving in Canada. Don't just turn up as a tourist!

2. The Canadian partner should ensure to have British citizenship before leaving. If it's necessary to apply for naturalisation, then put off any plans to move until after being sworn in as a British citizen. Processing times are usually within 6 months.

YOJO

Hi. We both are british with OH dual nationality. We have 2 small children who by default have canadian nationality. I was not planning on working in Canada until our children are older. OH has applied for some Canadian jobs. If he was offered one, is it possible for me to enter Canada (not to work) and then apply for the sponsorship inside Canada? Any advice/experience appreciated. JO

JAJ

Make sure your children have Canadian citizenship cards and Canadian passports.

As for you, once again, it's really not all that easy to turn up as a tourist and then try to stay on. Possible hassles include:

- problems with the airline (unless you have a return ticket)
- problems with Immigration on arrival as you will have to tell them your plans
- problems with getting access to healthcare while you wait
- problems getting a SIN number, which means restrictions on bank accounts, credit cards etc.
- difficulties if you need to leave Canada and then return. (eg, going to the U.S. for shopping/sightseeing, returning to the UK for family reasons). People who apply in-country are expected to remain in country.
- a longer waiting time for Canadian citizenship.

And needless to say, you might change your mind about wanting to work (eg part-time). You don't know what opportunties might come up. Similarly, you might want to do a study course.

Ask further on the immigration forum but the bottom line is that the right way to migrate to Canada as a spouse is to obtain the right visa from the start.

YOJO

HI, thanks for your response -will take note.