I've been reading the posts on this forum and It's been more helpful than any government sites I've found. So thanks to all for the posts.

Having said that...I am now so confused I have no idea what to do. My situation is that I am Canadian and I have a Welsh girlfriend who wants to move here so we can be together. I understand that she can "visit" for up to 6 months, but does that mean she has to go back to Wales (even if only for a week) and then can come back for another 6 months?

- Is there any way of staying longer than 6 months...short of marriage, work permit or study permit?

- Does she simply tell the immigration officer at the airport that she wishes to "visit" for 6 months, and its that simple?

- Is a return flight ticket required when she enters Canada? If so...should we go ahead and book it for 6 months from when she arrives (then what if they don't allow her to stay for the full 6 months, we are out the money for the ticket.)

The bottom line is that we want to do whatever we can (legally of course) so that she can stay for the maximum amount of time, as for personal reasons we cannot get married for about a year.

I had no idea that this would be so complicated, I guess I was a little naive but any information anybody can give me would be very much appreciated!

Hi

I was in the same situation 14 years ago. At the moment if you sponsor her for being your wife you have to say that you will support her for 3 years. I inquired about it (14 years ago) and you had to sign that you would support your fiance for 10 years. Maybe things have changed though.

Have you actually met in person? If not, I would suggest she just visits for a month or so, with the option of staying longer if things work out ok between you. The length of time she is allowed on any one visit is at the immigation officer's discretion . In my case my first visit to my (then) girlfriend was for three weeks, but my passport was stamped for 6 months. My second visit a year later was for one month, but was only allowed three months max by the IO, so you never know what to expect.

Yes she needs a return ticket and she will need to show that she has enough funds to support herself for the duration of the visit. One of the immmigration officers' favourite questions is "what will you do if he/she doesn't show up to meet you?"

At the moment I cannot sponsor her for being my wife, so we have to find another way to maximize her stay. Thanks for the info!

We have met in person a number of times. She is coming next month and what I don't fully understand is that if the length of stay is at the officers discretion, then should she say to the officer that she wants to stay for 3 months (which is the intended length of the visit) or should she say 6 months just in case she wants to stay longer?

And do they stamp the passport saying how long you are allowed to stay? I have never experienced this and on her previous trips they didnt do this. Although she has always only come for a max of two weeks at a time. They've stamped the date of arrival, but nothing to do with the length of time she can stay.

My passport has been stamped with the arrival dates, and the validity was hand written underneath on both occasions, so looks like she may have been lucky in that respect.

Regarding the length of stay, if it were me I would book a return ticket for three months, then if she wanted to stay longer or immigration lets in for more than that, she could just arrange to have her return flight redated.

If she's British and they don't stamp the date of departure on her passport then it's automatically 6 months from the date she entered. I entered Canada last year to visit my husband while our sponsorship application is being processed and am still here. Once the 6 months are up you can apply to have her visitor's visa extended, it costs $75 and has to be submitted 6 weeks before expiration of original visa.

Not sure about the return ticket question. I had a 3 month return ticket as I honestly couldn't find a decent one way deal. I only intended to use the return portion in an emergency, eg. immigration wouldn't let me stay. Refusal is at their discretion but on no occasion have I entered Canada and they stamped my passport with an early expiration date, I've always had 6 months as a visitor.

Link to CIC form for extending stay as a visitor and conditions (the guide is useful): http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/applications/visitor.html

She can apply to extend her 6 month stay, sometimes you can get away with this a couple of times, and ususally its a formailty if you have a spousal sponsorhip application in process. If she is planing on coming over to start the inland sponsorship process advice on the immigration side of this site is usually that she should tell the Immigration officer that when she lands to avoid trouble later on, but that she should still have solid ties in the UK so it doesnt look like she is an overstay risk.

Ask in immigration for an expert answer and details though.

Sorry, read this as 'Trying to get a girlfriend in Canada'.

Don't mind me!

how old is your girlfriend.
if she is under 30 she might consider applying for the 1yr working holiday visa. those are pretty easy to get hold of.
otherwise, if you have enough money to support her, i would say for her to buy a return ticket with every intention of returning...nudge.nudge.wink.wink. and take it from there..........

i think providing she can show funds to support herself they shouldn't have anything to fuss about. but when she lands i would lie and just say that she is staying 2 weeks. i was under the impression that it was always a 6 month stay allowed.

if you don't mind me asking, what line of work is your girlfriend in?

i feel for you. i remember the days of just pure desperation when my now husband and i were apart. but not to worry....love conquers all!! even the b*****ds in immigration.

What is the 1yr working visa and where do you get the forms for it? She works in a bank in wales. Its not a very specialized skill so I figured it would be hard to get a work permit. Looks like we will just go for the 6 month visit and take it from there.

So once the 6 months are up, if she goes back to the UK for a few days, and then she comes back...is she allowed another 6 months? Does it renew every time you leave and re-enter the country?

Thanks a lot for the advice yorkiebar99. So everything worked out for you in the end I guess?

If it's HSBC on Albany Road in Cardiff, would you mind posting her telephone number?! Only I've been trying to reach them since 9am this morning and keep getting patched through to Mumbai...

Best of luck with immigration,

Biiiiink

Hello *S*....thought i would mention this as seeing i haven't noticed anyone else has.
If you go into the Canadian Immigration Forum on this site. You will get lots of info. Many go in there that are going through the process you are talking about. And there are some experts that are happy to answer questions.
I am leavign Australia in one week to visit with my fiance. I am asking for a 6 months stay with the view to marry and then applying for PR. This is the truth and what i will be telling them. There are many things to be aware of ....as i say..do your self a favour and visit the immigration forum. All the best and enjoy your time with your girlfriend *S*

The one-year permit is a working holiday visa. It allows all Commonwealth citizens under a certain age (varies by country, but generally around age 30) to get a visa that allows them a 2-year stay in another Commonwealth country. They are allowed to work for half this time, meaning full time for 1 of the 2 years or part time for the whole two years. I met my husband while on a working holiday visa in England, so I highly recommend it!

You can get more information from the Canadian consulate in your area, as they are the ones that process the visa. It doesn't require any specialized work skills or qualifications, so you may want to look into it.

How exciting.
look at what i have found.

http://www.bunac.org/uk/workcanada/applying.aspx


will look for some more when i have time. i am writing form work at the moment.