Seagal01

I'm English (29yrs old) and currently living in Hanover with my Canadian girlfriend (24yrs old). We have been living together since September 2003 (6 months in Vancouver, and since September 2004 in Hanover). My girlfriend works as a school teacher (assistant), and will be doing her teaching training qualification in Vancouver in September. I have extensive ESL teaching (4yrs) and computer engineering (5yrs) experience. Though I do not have a University degree, I do have adequate A-Levels to go to University.

We would like to apply for a visa, and think that the family class visa, with my girlfriend sponsoring me as her common-law partner, would be the best choice. But we are unsure of the possibility of this, or the requirements for financial support. As my girlfriend is currently working Germany, how can she prove that she would be able to support me in Canada? Is this necessary? I have been living outside of the UK since 2001 and have never had any financial support from friends or family in all this time (I lived in Spain for two years and have lived in Germany for another two). Therefore, I am very independent financially, but think that I may lack points required to apply for a visa on my own merit (simply because I don't have a degree). With my experience I do not believe I would have any problems securing employment in Vancouver, but cannot do so in advance without already having a working visa.

What do you recommend? Could you advise me of the chances of success in this procedure, or if you would recommend that I apply for some other kind of visa without sponsorship?

vietcan

Your Canadian girl friend can sponsour you from out side canada as your common-law, as long as u can prove you are in a common-law relationship. She does not need to meet a min income to sponsor you, and she doesn't have to earn money in canada to sponsor you. She can submit paystubs or some kind of record of employment to show she has been earning money. Basically she just need to show she has not been on welfare before, and she wont seek the gov for $ after sponsoring you. Maybe an expert will give u a better answer then i did,

Good luck

Seagal01

Thank you for your fast response! Do you know whether I am allowed to use an Immigration Lawyer in Germany to process my application? Or do I need to use a Canadian firm?

Fluffy Boogie

Hey, we are going through the same thing. I am a Canadian living in Amsterdam with my Dutch boyfriend and I am sponsoring him as common-law. We are filling out our papers as we speak! Funny enough, I am an ESL teacher too. We are going through Berlin offices.
We aren't using an Immigration consultant for a few reasons: we don't have the money to pay for one, and two - the advice given on this site is actually VERY VERY helpful.
That doesn;t mean I suggest you not use one - it could very well save you a lot of worry. but it can get pricey and there is never a guarantee though some do offer a money-back guarantee.
People are very willing to help one another out on this site and give their stories and experiences to help you. I have had so many questions answered regarding this - and i am still asking today!
The most important thing is to prove your relationship. Prove you've both lived at the same address for over a year - get photos, you need a declaration done, so many things - you will find out about all of them as you progress.
Start by reading and downloading the forms and if you have questions, type in what you are looking for in the search link. You will find tons of answers there. Should you not, post a new thread and more often than not someone will help you.
Good luck,
Fluffy

vietcan

Kind of funny, I'm an ESL teacher as well. So that makes 3 of us. Any ways, I just wanted to add to what you said Fluffy. I'd agree that prove of relationship is most important; however, the things you listed as proof of relationship are not enough. Showing you live at the same address could be nothing more then a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship. You need to show the relationship is "Married Like" You can do this by showing proof of join things, such as Joint bank accounts, Credit cards, Wills, Life insurance, Memberships, Travel, etc. Again, good luck to you!

Seagal01

I have some questions about the paperwork for applying for sponsorship & police clearance:

1. On the statutory declaration of common-law union form, is the declarant my Canadian "partner", or is that myself?
2. For the police clearance requirement, I lived with my girlfriend in Canada on my tourist visa for the full six-month period. Does this mean I have to apply for police clearance in Canada? If so, do I have to get my fingerprints taken, even though I'm a British citizen?

cov-canuck

I could be mistaken, but I believe you have to get police clearance for EVERY country you have lived in for 6 months+. If you lived in Canada for 6 months , you'll need police clearance from there. Being a British citizen makes no difference to the clearance requirements.