Hi everyone,
I have posted this in another thread but thought I'd repost this here to get more advice.I have a quick question and I apologise if this has been asked before, is it possible for my partner who is not eligible for bunac (as per the change in age limit he's 33) to come out on a visitor visa with me and scout around for jobs in the hope that he may find something whilst I work on a bunac visa? Has anyone out there done this before or have/has any experience in doing so and if you did how did it work out for you?

We were both hoping to go the bunac route before the change, now only one of us is eligible but I just wanted to know if this would be an option for us as I know the visitor visas can be up to 6 months at their discretion and OH would hope to find something in that time in his field (Graphic design). Thnaks in advance.

Hi

Cant offer anything concrete but would imagine that they can go to but would be restricted to a tourist visa, it would be for a shorter period (i think a tourist visa is 90 days but i could be thinking of the US) and they couldn't work. The BUNAC visa is all about getting you your SIN number (like a national insurance number) so that you can leaglly work but you can travel to canada and look for jobs (with a view to get LMO etc) without a BUNAC visa.

He could use it as a networking opportunity and hopefully find an employer who'd be willing to apply for an LMO; which would in turn let him apply for a work permit. But depending on which province you plan on going to, this could take something in excess of six months.

As others say your OH may be able to find something within that time, but then the turn around to actually get a Visa to start work within the time limit could be very tough. Your OH could leave and re-enter the country to extend the time, but I don't know how simple that is and if it could cause any complications. Plus you would have to consider that you will be living on a single income for quite a considerable amount of time.

The good thing is, if your OH is successful, and he does get a work permit then you should be able to stay on as his significant other attached to that work permit and not need to apply for a totally seperate Visa yourself when the BUNAC one expires.

I would say keep your options open, the final option is if you can find an employer that's willing to sponsor you and your OH is still struggling, then there's no reason why you couldn't start your application early and bring him in as the significant other, in which case he would then get the open Visa which is another way of getting him to legally work in the country.

You don't say here where you are thinking of going, but my OH works for Critical Mass in Calgary which is a top web-design company and they have been very supportive of her with Visas etc, and I know that they have helped others as Calgary isn't exactly a hot-bed for that sort of work so they are keen to import! Just a thought.

Thanks so much for the advice, Tommyboy, Bazzz and Hobbess, gosh I guess there are a few options / routes we could go down, I think initially we would have to both get out there as planned with me working and OH looking for employment in the meantime. I know it may be tough living on one income for a while but we have a lot of experience surviving on a budget plus we'll have some savings too.

OH has been applying for jobs from this end for a while now but always gets the same impression that employers in Canada prefer to see you face to face. another option that we have thought of is going for a provincial nomination at least this would negate the need for LMO in specific job areas according to Province? or at least speed it up. We were looking at moving to the maritimes primarily NS, PEI or NB but are open to any other provinces that look promising.

Another possibility would be if you get a job quickly and the employer wants to employ you on a permanent basis, you could use this to get fast-tracked PR - in as little as four months from when you submit your application. Then you and your other half would be able to stay in Canada as long as you wanted.

There are definately a few options open to you. Personally I would really reccomend the BUNAC option, it's pretty easy to get and gives you that open year to try things out. It's also not too expensive so if things don't work out you've not committed to an expensive program that you are then not going to use.

This may not work out great for your OH, but you're right that face-to-face is essential in getting most jobs in Canada and once either of you gets into the country and finds the job that will help out then things can move along.

Hi,

We did this a few years back, I was too old. My wife got a BUNAC visa and I applied for a visitors visa on the same bunac form my wife submitted.

I got the visa for a year and Bunac took care of it all for us. Not sure if this is still the case, it was 3 years ago.

It worked out for us, we are still here and are PR's now. We had to extend my wifes work visa via LMO, at which time I got a work visa becasue she was in a skilled job.

Hope this helps.

Mike

I have been applying for jobs from here in the hope that something comes up , right now we are leaning toward the bunac option as it will give me/us a good opportunity to try things out as Hobbess says.

Thanks Mike for your input, I'm not sure if Bunac handles visitor visas now, it may have changed form three years ago still it's good to hear from someone who has been in a similar position.

If your OH has a UK passport then he can get a visitor visa up to 6 months but it can depend on which side of the bed the IO has got out of that morning.

A crucial part of it might be needing to prove that he has no intention of working which could be through showing that he has the funds to support himself for 6 months. Also a ticket out of Canada (which you'll need for BUNAC too) to 'show' that you aren't planning on staying! (We cashed ours in when we knew that we were staying!!)

At the end of the visitor visa (hopefully 6 months) apply to Vegreville (I think, but check this as it might be another CIC office) for another visitor visa rather than doing it at boarder / POE.

This is said to be safer, i.e. you send in application plus proof of funds to support yourself, and a promise that you won't work and won't stay in Canada if you aren't welcome here! POE is more risky as you again you are dealing with what side of the bed the IO got out of. My Ozzie friend only got a 5 day visitor visa the second time around - enough according to the IO to pack her things and book her flight to Oz. She was waiting for her LMO as a senior international tax accountant for one of the big 5 accountancy firms, and had all her paper work with her. A few people on here have applied to extend their visitor visas this way, so you can do a search and see about their experiences. One guy in particular wrote a very detailed account.

Def. and also he'll have the chance to network here too.

I only have experience with BC PNP, but yes at present BC PNP seems to be quicker to get a WP than the LMO. But you'll need to do your homework on the type of jobs, qualifications, experience etc that is needed. I don't know your job / occupation / qualifications / NOC code is etc. but it might be worth looking to see if you can get on a PNP scheme that would allow your OH to come in on the back of your WP. I'm not sure whether it would be possible for you to get a new WP through PNP, and hence your OH to get an OWP, if your BUNAC one is still valid though.

Mr L2S and I were here orginally on BUNAC and then I got onto BC PNP and he's got an OWP off the back of mine when BUNAC expired.

If you're doing this joint thing then you need to check that you have enough "proof" of ypur relationship (there are other threads which covers this. Search for "statutory declarations of common-law union")

Another option as bazzz mentioned is if you can get a permanent job, to apply for PR with arrangement employment. bazzz knows more about that than me. But if you can get PR within the 6 months, and you can prove your relationship, then hopefully you should both be ok.

Thanks live2ski your post is very helpful especially the point on extending a visitor visa without going to point of entry (OH has british passport) this may be helpful in the future. It definitely looks like we are going down the Bunac / Visitor visa route as I've just put in my application . In the meantime we're being even more pro-active about job hunting from this end before we go over. The points about getting an employment offer and then subsequent PR application and also the pnp/open work permit route seem like good options too.